How can I made an external backup drive out of an internal drive?

P

Pete

I don't have money to buy an external backup drive. They are too
expansive. I need a 300GB drive for backup. My system has Firewire
and internal SATA. It has USB 2 but I guess USB 2 might be slow. I
heard of those drive rackets. Are they fast? Are they convenient?

Anyway, If I buy an internal 300GB drive, most likely ATA interface,
how can I turn it into an external drive?
 
O

old jon

Pete said:
I don't have money to buy an external backup drive. They are too
expansive. I need a 300GB drive for backup. My system has Firewire
and internal SATA. It has USB 2 but I guess USB 2 might be slow. I
heard of those drive rackets. Are they fast? Are they convenient?

Anyway, If I buy an internal 300GB drive, most likely ATA interface,
how can I turn it into an external drive?
Lash out and get yourself an `ICYBOX` external caddy. The one I`ve got is
USB\Firewire compatible. Got it`s own power supply, and cables. Runs great,
wouldn`t be without it
best wishes..OJ
 
J

Jeffro Toll

Pete said:
I don't have money to buy an external backup drive. They are too
expansive. I need a 300GB drive for backup. My system has Firewire
and internal SATA. It has USB 2 but I guess USB 2 might be slow. I
heard of those drive rackets. Are they fast? Are they convenient?

Anyway, If I buy an internal 300GB drive, most likely ATA interface,
how can I turn it into an external drive?

this is a joke..........yes................no

set it as a slave to the master

or am I missing something here............
 
S

spodosaurus

Pete said:
I don't have money to buy an external backup drive. They are too
expansive. I need a 300GB drive for backup. My system has Firewire
and internal SATA. It has USB 2 but I guess USB 2 might be slow. I
heard of those drive rackets. Are they fast? Are they convenient?

Anyway, If I buy an internal 300GB drive, most likely ATA interface,
how can I turn it into an external drive?

Purchase an external case for it. You'll probably want to spend the
extra few dollars to get one with both USB2 and Firewire. I'm doing this
with a 200GB drive.

Cheers,

Ari

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/
 
S

spodosaurus

Jeffro said:
this is a joke..........yes................no

set it as a slave to the master

or am I missing something here............

What part of external don't you understand?

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/
 
B

Bob Knowlden

Use an external drive enclosure.

I have one that supports both USB2 and Firewire. It's one that only supports
3.5" drives, and cost about $50US. The Firewire interface seems faster for
me, although, in principle, USB2 can be faster. I got the enclosure mainly
to re-use an old 80 GB drive. It's passively cooled, so there may be issues
with larger drives.

I doubt that you'll save a great deal of money over a ready-made external
drive. (This assumes that you're buying one from an online source like
Newegg, rather than paying a regular price at a chain store like Circuit
City or Office Max. Their sale prices might be competitive, though.)


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
 
J

Jeffro Toll

spodosaurus said:
What part of external don't you understand?

--
spammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

OK then poster needs lessons in grammar...........
 
J

John Weiss

Pete said:
I don't have money to buy an external backup drive. They are too
expansive. I need a 300GB drive for backup. My system has Firewire
and internal SATA. It has USB 2 but I guess USB 2 might be slow. I
heard of those drive rackets. Are they fast? Are they convenient?

Anyway, If I buy an internal 300GB drive, most likely ATA interface,
how can I turn it into an external drive?

Buy an external USB2 or Firewire enclosure for it.
 
A

Andy Axnot

I don't have money to buy an external backup drive. They are too
expansive. I need a 300GB drive for backup. My system has Firewire
and internal SATA. It has USB 2 but I guess USB 2 might be slow. I
heard of those drive rackets.

I'm not sure if you're talking about removable mobile racks here. These
work quite well and are inexpensive. Lots to choose from. You can use
IDE or SATA drives, install the dock into the computer case, then the
drive carrier slides in or out of the dock.
Are they fast? Are they convenient?

They are fast, basically IDE or SATA speed.

I find them convenient, some might not. Available in plastic (cheap) and
aluminum (better heat dissipation). I don't think any of them has really
great heat dissipation, though. Not hot swappable, you have to power down
to change drives. Works for me. YMMV.
 
B

Bud in FL

....>Use an external drive enclosure.
....>
....>I have one that supports both USB2 and Firewire. It's one that only supports
....>3.5" drives, and cost about $50US. The Firewire interface seems faster for
....>me, although, in principle, USB2 can be faster. I got the enclosure mainly
....>to re-use an old 80 GB drive. It's passively cooled, so there may be issues
....>with larger drives.
....>
....>I doubt that you'll save a great deal of money over a ready-made external
....>drive. (This assumes that you're buying one from an online source like
....>Newegg, rather than paying a regular price at a chain store like Circuit
....>City or Office Max. Their sale prices might be competitive, though.)
....>
....>
....>Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
....>
....>....>>I don't have money to buy an external backup drive. They are too
....>> expansive. I need a 300GB drive for backup. My system has Firewire
....>> and internal SATA. It has USB 2 but I guess USB 2 might be slow. I
....>> heard of those drive rackets. Are they fast? Are they convenient?
....>>
....>> Anyway, If I buy an internal 300GB drive, most likely ATA interface,
....>> how can I turn it into an external drive?
....>
------------------------
Try this item that is only $14.99 with free shipping..via
few days 1st class mail.
http://www.pcmicrostore.com/PartDetail.aspx?q=p:10501935

HTH
BudinFL
<>SPAM-KILLER<>- If you really want to contact me,
then -budinfl<at>cfl<dot>rr<dot>com
 

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