Hard drive prices have been dropping for years, and the trend continues. I recently purchased a 200 gigabyte internal disk drive for $99.99. The store also had larger capacity drives available at higher prices. Such storage capacities were unheard of only a few years ago. However, to add one of these drives to your computer, you either have to be a computer hardware whiz or at least know a hardware whiz that you can ask to help. This week I thought I would describe how you can easily add one of these drives to a PC, Macintosh, or Linux system without opening the case. In fact, you can probably do the task yourself, with or without the whiz' help.
The secret is to purchase an external case designed to hold the disk drive, and to make sure that it also has a USB2 connection. (Most USB2 interfaces are "backwards compatible;" you can also use them on the original USB connections although the speed will be slower.) I bought mine for $39.99 at CompUSA although similar units are sold at almost all computer stores. To see a sampling of these devices, look at http://www.google.com/froogle?q=USB+2.0+3.5+inch+External+Hard+Drive+Enclosure&btnG=Search+Froogle. I returned home, assembled the items, and plugged them into the PC, all within 15 minutes after arriving home.
To be sure, I could have purchased a hard drive already mounted in an external case. However, I could not find a 200 gigabyte external drive for anywhere near the $139.98 that I paid for these two items. Most such external drives sell for $225 and up.
You do not need to be much of a "techie" to assemble and install these drives. First of all, open the new external case and read the instructions. Most will tell you to make sure the disk drive is jumpered as "master." Next, open the disk drive and read its instructions, paying close attention to the jumpers that select "master" or "slave." Change the jumper as needed. Then connect the signal connector and the power connector, bolt the drive in place, and reassemble everything. You're done!
NOTE: Windows 98 users will also need to load software drivers that are included with the external case. However, later versions of Windows and all later versions of Macintosh already have the necessary drivers and do not require loading any special drivers. When in doubt, check the specifications printed on the USB2 enclosure's shipping container.
When you want to use your new disk drive, plug the external case into an AC power outlet, and you will see the lights come on. Next, insert the USB2 connector into a USB port on your PC or Mac, and wait just a few seconds. Your screen will soon display a message to notify you that your hard drive has been detected.
Next you will need to format your new drive. Instructions should be included with the USB2 case. In Windows XP, click on Start, then select Control Panel. Next, select Performance and Maintenance and then select Administrative Tools. Click on Computer Management and then on Storage. Finally, click on Disk Management to see your disk drives. Right-click on the newly-connected hard drive and select Format. Other versions of Windows, Macintosh, and Linux will have similar instructions. A large disk drive, such as 200 gigabytes, will require quite a bit of time to format.
An external USB disk drive is noticeably slower than the internal drive that is connected directly to the computer's internal connections. You probably will want to leave all programs installed on the internal drive for performance reasons. However, data files and seldom-used files can easily be moved to the external drive. You will now find it easy to back up either your entire hard drive or just important files and folders. If your computer's hard drive is nearly full, you can move old, seldom-used files along with all the graphics images and MP3 music files to the external drive. If you own more than one computer, use of an external drive allows you to easily move large files from one computer to another. Copy the files from the first computer to the external drive; then move the external drive to the second computer, and copy them back to that system. I often transfer files from home to the office this way by carrying the external drive in my briefcase. We also use external hard drives at the office to perform full backups before upgrading someone's computer to a new operating system or to a bigger internal drive.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the same external hard drive works on all operating systems: Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. I copied several gigabytes of MP3 music files from a Windows XP system to the external hard drive, then moved the drive to my Linux system and copied them back.
All in all, creating and installing an external hard drive system for your computer is perhaps easier than you think. It will take about as long as the time required to read this article.
Now, go out and backup your computer!
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