UK: Converting old IDE 30GB hard drive into external

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I am wanting to buy a new large hard drive (over 100GB) for use in a PC
with XP Pro.
I have an older 30GB drive which I would like to take out and make it
into a portable "external" hard drive.
I have heard the term "caddy" and am not sure what I would need to buy
to accomplish this. I have a had a look at different UK sites (EBuyer,
Dabs, Savastore etc.) and see they sell some of these but some are 2.5
and some 3.5. Some have fans, a lock (?), USB 2. Not sure what I need
and don't want to spend a lot to convert the older drive.
Is there a decent FAQ or can anyone recommend what to buy (and where)
and what parts I will need.
Many thanks!
 
Here is a little detail in a build in caddy.......the pictures show it quite
well.
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=422
USB ones are also availabe that are not build in ....you just plug one in when
needed and require less effort than build in ones.
It really is your choice.....Its just a plastic/metal case that holds a HD that
makes it portable.Buy a reputable make of whatever version strikes your fancy.
peter
 
©® said:
I am wanting to buy a new large hard drive (over 100GB) for use in a PC
with XP Pro.
I have an older 30GB drive which I would like to take out and make it
into a portable "external" hard drive.
I have heard the term "caddy" and am not sure what I would need to buy
to accomplish this. I have a had a look at different UK sites (EBuyer,
Dabs, Savastore etc.) and see they sell some of these but some are 2.5
and some 3.5. Some have fans, a lock (?), USB 2. Not sure what I need
and don't want to spend a lot to convert the older drive.
Is there a decent FAQ or can anyone recommend what to buy (and where)
and what parts I will need.
Many thanks!
Click to expand...

The lowest cost solution would be to purchase a caddy, as you say.
"Mobile Rack" is a popular brand. It consists of two parts:
- A 5.25" frame that you fit inside your PC, much like a CD drive.
- A drawer to house your 30 GByte disk. The drawer fits into the
fixed frame. You can then insert or remove the disk at any time,
provided that the PC is powered down.

You must set your BIOS so that it detects the disk automatically.

Don't worry about locks or fans, unless you live in a tropical country.
 
©® said:
I am wanting to buy a new large hard drive (over 100GB) for use in a PC
with XP Pro.
I have an older 30GB drive which I would like to take out and make it
into a portable "external" hard drive.
I have heard the term "caddy" and am not sure what I would need to buy
to accomplish this. I have a had a look at different UK sites (EBuyer,
Dabs, Savastore etc.) and see they sell some of these but some are 2.5
and some 3.5. Some have fans, a lock (?), USB 2. Not sure what I need
and don't want to spend a lot to convert the older drive.
Is there a decent FAQ or can anyone recommend what to buy (and where)
and what parts I will need.
Many thanks!
Click to expand...


UK poster...
I don't think the device you're looking for is the one recommended to you by
some posters in this newsgroup, i.e., a mobile rack. You refer to a
"portable external hard drive", so I assume from this that you're referring
to a USB external hard drive enclosure to house your 30 GB drive. It's
entirely practical and probably would serve your purpose if that's what you
want. I assume your computer has one or more USB ports and that you have USB
2.0 capability. You could use USB 1.0 or 1.1 if you do not have support for
USB 2.0, but data transfer is very, very slow if you do not have USB 2.0
capability.
On the other hand, if you are considering a mobile rack to house a removable
hard drive, i.e., a device that's built-into one of your computer's 5 1/4"
bays and which contains a sliding removable tray (or caddy) that holds the
drive, that hardware configuration can be an excellent option especially for
backup purposes of your working hard drive. But it is not portable in the
sense of an external hard drive referred to above.
In any event, do a Google search for "USB external hard drive enclosures"
and/or "mobile racks" and you'll come up with a wealth of info on these
devices.
Art
 
©® said:
I am wanting to buy a new large hard drive (over 100GB)
for use in a PC with XP Pro.
I have an older 30GB drive which I would like to take out
and make it into a portable "external" hard drive.
I have heard the term "caddy" and am not sure what I
would need to buy to accomplish this. I have a had a
look at different UK sites (EBuyer, Dabs, Savastore etc.)
and see they sell some of these but some are 2.5
and some 3.5. Some have fans, a lock (?), USB 2. Not
sure what I need and don't want to spend a lot to convert
the older drive.
Is there a decent FAQ or can anyone recommend what
to buy (and where) and what parts I will need.
Click to expand...


The term "caddy" or "removable tray" or "mobile rack"
usually refer to these things:
http://www.kingwin.com/pdut_Cat.asp?CateID=25

I personally use this one that has an axial fan built into
the bottom of the removable tray, and I find it keeps the
hard drive quite cool (approximately body temp):
http://www.kingwin.com/pdut_detail.asp?LineID=&CateID=25&ID=136
The rack/tray pair goes for about the mid- to high-$20s in
the U.S., and additional trays go for about $14. To install
these babies you have to have a spare 5 1/2" bay, though.
The upside is that you have IDE/ATA speed and you don't
need an external power supply. There are lots of utilities to
clone your present hard drive onto the new hard drive, and
the removable hard drive can even be bootable if you want
to keep an entire spare system for backup in case the
primary hard drive crashes.

*TimDaniels*
 
Thanks everyone. From the replies, I see I need an enclosure and not a
rack as the drive needs to be portable all the time without slotting
into the 5.25 bay inside the PC. I have USB 2 slots so that is good.
I will just need to look at a decent place to get enclosures. A quick ?
Do they all come with all the parts needed or do you have to buy each
part seperately. If separate, what are all the bits 'n bobs I need?
Thanks!!!
 
Oh...and just to add...3.5 enclosure seems to be what I need to go for
as I won't be needing to put anything else (e.g. CD drive etc.) in it.
 
| Oh...and just to add...3.5 enclosure seems to be what I need to go for
| as I won't be needing to put anything else (e.g. CD drive etc.) in it.
|
|

Here's an example of exactly what you are talking about. Includes
everything you need in one kit:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-145-125&depa=0

I purchased a similar Vantec model for the original drive, when I updated
the 2.5" hard drive in my notebook computer. I'm very satisfied.

Jef
 
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