# external harddisk and backup system



## Shaz (7 Dec 2006)

I was thinking about buying an external harddisk for my laptop as I have loads of digital photos and videos to store. However, I read somewhere about a backup system that can also function as a external harddisk.

What am I looking for when I go to the shop? Please advise as I am very illiterate when it comes to things like this. Thanks.


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## killarneyguy (7 Dec 2006)

Hi,

I use a USB(universal serial bus) Drive..This basically plugs into the back of your laptop/PC through the USB port ..It was basically plug + play and mine can store up to 1Gig of data..You can leave it pluged in and use it as an extra hard drive or easily remove it and transfer or store data.

Hope this helps,
K


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## DrMoriarty (7 Dec 2006)

Shaz said:


> ...a backup system that can also function as a external harddisk.


I think you're mixing up hardware and software...(?)

Windows comes with its own backup utility (a _soft_ware program), but it sounds like what you need is simply an external hard drive (a piece of _hard_ware) to store your photos and videos on — frankly, I'd just move them onto it as they are, without bothering with the backup utility. Then you'll be able to view, edit, attach them to emails, etc., exactly as though they were on your computer's own hard drive.

There was a good special offer at Aldi recently, but I gather they sold out pretty quickly, so have a look [broken link removed] instead. If you'd rather buy over the counter, print the page off and bring it to somewhere like PC World/Dixons/Currys for comparison purposes.

_[Edit: you can get USB flash drives up to __8GB__ now, but you'll fill that pretty quickly, especially with video clips. I'd be inclined to go for a hard drive — it'll do you for years and years...]_


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## Satanta (7 Dec 2006)

Shaz said:


> However, I read somewhere about a backup system that can also function as a external harddisk.


I'm guessing you've got this slightly backwards. Some of the external harddisks come with additional software to allow system backups. As mentioned, windows has a back up system to allow for this already so wouldn't be too worried about going for this. 
(On work PC at the moment and have a "Maxtor 1 touch" drive which handles all the backup for our project work. These have some good, fairly simplistic software which covers the backups and the drive has 360GB of space. Huge numbers of options on the market though so go for the one that suits your needs/budget)

Backing up requires space. Harddisks provide space. You'll never find a backup system which provides space, but you will find harddisks which provide additional software for backing up.


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## tiger (7 Dec 2006)

You're probably need an external USB drive.  There's a difference between using it as external or extra storage, and using it for backups (copy on both PC and USB drive).  I use a USB drive for backups, I also have a (free!) account with xdrive.com, which can store up to 5GB, and has a simple tool to mark files/directories for backups, and run on schedule.  Useful if you have broadband.  I've pulled back individual files from each as a test, but haven't had a full blown "disaster" yet! (touches wood).


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## ClubMan (7 Dec 2006)

_Windows XP_ comes with a  that can be used for backing things up if you choose. Alternatively you can just periodically copy things to another storage device or use a synchronization tool (e.g. SyncToy). Always make sure periodically that you can read stuff back from any backup that you make. No point in backing things up only to find that you can't restore in the event that you need to! This is all separate from the actual hardware device to which you are backing up (e.g. _CD-R, DVD-R, _flash drive, external hard disk etc.). Some external storage devices claim to have a push button backup capability in case that's what you were thinking of.


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## tiger (7 Dec 2006)

ClubMan said:


> _Windows XP_ comes with a  that can be used for backing things up if you choose.


Unfortunately not installed by default as part of XP Home, and not included in [broken link removed]


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## ClubMan (7 Dec 2006)

The article that I linked to covers the need to manually install it on _XP Home_. I didn't realise that it wasn't included with _OEM _versions of _XP _(_Home _or _Professional_). Bummer...


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## techman (7 Dec 2006)

Or you could use some of the free space on your Gmail account.

http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm


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## CrazyWater (3 Mar 2007)

I bought an iomega 250GB external harddrive on a firewire cable (faster than USB). It came with its own backup software. Set the thing up day one and like that paint it does exactly what is says on the tin. Just sits there and does its job great bit of kit would really recommend it.


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## jrewing (3 Mar 2007)

I recently bought an 80GB external hard disk in Argos, which includes backup software. As far as I recall it was around the Eur 100 mark, but there were also cheaper, lower capacity versions available.

The Lidl 250 GB hard drive looks like good value for Eur 99.99. Just confirm that your version of Windows has backup software, as this seems not to have.


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## DrMoriarty (4 Mar 2007)

There should be no need to pay for backup software; why not try this free application, linked to at 100-downloads.com (in turn linked to in the free software and tech support links key post at the top of this forum)?

If 2GB is sufficient for your needs, you could even dispense with the need for an external drive and store your encrypted backups online with something like Mozy (although personally I wouldn't like to rely on online storage alone).


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## ClubMan (3 Apr 2007)

Yorky said:


> The external HDD is now making a clicking & squeaking noise every few seconds.


Usually this is a very bad sign. Find out what make/model the hard drive is (not the unit - the actual drive inside) and get the manufacturer's drive diagnostic utilities to check for problems.


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## car (4 Apr 2007)

> Usually this is a very bad sign. Find out what make/model the hard drive is (not the unit - the actual drive inside) and get the manufacturer's drive diagnostic utilities to check for problems.


 I dunno about this, I thought externals usually click when in use or least when being written to.  Ive 3 at home, one was an expensive (at the time) maxtor with "liquid cooling" etc that doesnt click but the other 2 are from aldi, both circa 2 years old and have been clicking since day one and are fine,  I wouldnt necessarily worry about it at the moment based on that.



> BTW,there are two USB plugs on the lead and I am using the main one directly from the external HDD - what is the other one for?


Do you mean theres 2 USB ports on the external HD?  If so one might be _firewire_, either that or it might mean the drive can also be used a USB hub as well, ie, you can daisy chain other USB products off it, lot of externals come with this  functionality.  But in both instances above the ports would be different then a main USB _out_ port.  
If you post the make and model of your drive, someone will advise what they are.


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## ClubMan (4 Apr 2007)

The "Y" _USB _cable is for power. If the drive cannot run successfully with one of the _USB _plugs connected to the _PC _then you need to connect the other one to make sure that the drive gets enough power. If it still doesn't then you might need to use an external power supply if applicable. Not saying that this is the cause of your problems but it explains what the two plug "Y" _USB_ cable is for.


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## Towger (4 Apr 2007)

Your hard drive is powered from the PC. It has two USB plugs incase your PC cannot supply enough power from one USB port. If you look at the plugs one may be marked 'Power and Data' and the other 'Power'. The beeps are a warning that it is not getting enough power. You need to plug in both plugs, USB ports are normaly in banks of 2, so you *may* have to plug one in the front and one in the back of the computer or if you have 4 or 6 ports etc in the back not two which are side by side. There should also be socket on the harddisk of a seperate power supply, if the two USB ports still don't supply enough power. 
As the harddisk no longer works, I hope it is because you pluged the 'Power' only plug in.

Towger.


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## ClubMan (4 Apr 2007)

car said:


> I dunno about this, I thought externals usually click when in use or least when being written to.


Depends on the nature of the noise really. Some will make noises under normal use but if the noises change and there are other symptoms of problems such as mentioned above then I would start looking to run drive diagnostics to check if there was a drive problem.


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## karltimber (4 Apr 2007)

You could also use one of these.
goto pixmania.ie and search for "Memup media"

it's an external hard drive that you can connect to your pc and make a backup of your data,music.videos etc.

but it also aloows you to connect it to a TV and it comes with a remote and you can play your .avi's and mp3's thru your tv. e210 for the 400gb.

check out Norton Ghost for to make an image of your HD after removing your data files ( temp any way), so you have your operating system back up also.

K


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## ClubMan (4 Apr 2007)

Yorky said:


> Thanks again. I've plugged both in now and the noise continued for about ten minutes but has now stopped.


Maybe the noise is the normal sound of the drive working and it has stopped because there is nothing more to write?


> Would it take that long for the increased power supply to register?


No - it would be immediate. If the drive works at all then you probably don't have a power problem.


> Perhaps I should just get a USB hub such as this one? [broken link removed]


If you need more ports then it makes sense to get a hub and preferably one with an external power source option just in case.


> Also, do you know how to back-up bookmarks in Firefox? If I have back up the browser, would it save the Bookmarks?


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## ClubMan (30 Jun 2007)

Quite possibly you have blown something in the hub and any connected devices. If the hard disk is not showing up when connected to another _USB _hub or port then it's looking grim...


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## santiago (3 Jul 2007)

In [broken link removed], what's the difference between 2.5" and 3.5" hard drives? _[No smart answers about 1"!]_ Is it just the physical dimensions of the item or something more techy?? If so, how can I tell what I need?
santiago (luddite)


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## ClubMan (3 Jul 2007)

One simple way of looking at it is that a 2.5" _HD _is a laptop _HD _and a 3.5" _HD_ is a desktop _HD_. 2.5" _HDs _in an external _USB _housing can often be powered from _USB _only while 3.5" _HDs _will always need an external power supply. The different sizes use different _Parallel ATA/IDE _connectors. I'm not sure if _SATA_ versions use the same connectors regardless of form factor.


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## santiago (3 Jul 2007)

Thanks.


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## aircobra19 (4 Jul 2007)

I use Karens Replicator (Freeware) to Synch my external drives. I like it because it handles deletions well.


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## ClubMan (4 Jul 2007)

(also free) may do the same job.


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## ClubMan (4 Jul 2007)

Yorky said:


> Is it possible to replace the hard drive only on an external 2.5" HDD i.e. take the old one out of the chassis and put a new one in?


Yes.


> If so, is there a difference between an internal & external one for this purpose?


 Not really. USB enclosures just house a standard drive unit. Although you can only replace a _PATA (Parallel ATA/IDE) _with a _PATA _and a _SATA (Serial ATA) _with an _SATA_. Few if any _USB _enclosures will take both.

Be careful when swapping units though - e.g. static and risk of bending _PATA _pins...


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## ClubMan (4 Jul 2007)

Yorky said:


> How do I ascertain which type I am using?


Open the housing up and see if it's .


> I've removed the 'dead' one just to see how it connects to the chassis - hope I haven't damaged it in any way....


 I thought it was working again!? Probably not - I was just pointing out that you always have to be wary of static and bending pins with hard disks...


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## ClubMan (4 Jul 2007)

Yorky said:


> It has 24 pins along the top row and 23 along the bottom so it must be PATA (from my interpretation of the link, thanks ClubMan)


Yes - 2.5" _PATA _it is.


> It _was _working but now it's not. It has a one year guarantee but have had no reply from the Ebay seller based in Hong Kong.


 What make/model of hard drive (the bare drive itself and not the enclosure) is it? It's possible that the manufacturer may do their own warranty and RMA process. I just got a replacement 120GB _Samsung _drive under warranty _RMA _replacement today (see here).


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## ClubMan (4 Jul 2007)

Does it work at all or does it fail on specific sectors? Have you tried the hard drive manufacturer's test and erasure tools on it?


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## ClubMan (4 Jul 2007)

The Ultimate Boot CD includes the _Fujitsu HD Diagnostic Tool._


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## ClubMan (6 Jul 2007)

If it's not working then you won't be able to wipe it and without going to some trouble others won't be able to read it. If it was me and it was under warranty and could be swapped under _RMA _I'd probably go ahead even if it contained sensitive data. It'll probably end up in a skip/crusher anyway.


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