Additional Storage

[ThreadBaron]

My hard-drive (40Gb - yeah, yeah; small I know) now only has 5Gb spare (even after ruthless pruning) due to the large number of photographs I now store. I have a WD Passport (120Gb) to which I backup/synch all my data.

It is obvious that I need additional storage. With so much out there what the hell do I choose? :uhoh: I would prefer not to have to open up the case to install an internal, but never say never!

[Wader2]

open up the case to install an internal,


There you go, cheap and simple.

It really is quite simple and I have done it on several machines even canabalising a works machine by taking the hard drive and memory out of one.

Usual precautions - earthing static etc.

Open up your case, ensure there is a free drive bay and there is a ribbon connector and power lead.

Buy a massive hard drive. Ensure you have a 7200 rpm and ideally the same type PATA or SATA as is there already (guessing here). Set it to Slave. Boot up and it should be there.

You may wish to convert it to NTFS then simply create your photo storage there and copy everything across. Then repath your software to save on the new drive.

An external USBdrive is OK but you will also need the case and power supply. It does not look as neat either. OTOH is can be removed in event of emergency.

Best choice, do both.

[Saab Dastard]

In addition to increasing capacity, you should take the opportunity to review your backup policy and requirements.

Perhaps you should consider making CDs / DVDs of your photos (and then duplicate the disks and ideally keep one off-site). Possibly consider online storage.

You could look at your storage requirements in terms of - for example - portability, resilience, flexibility as well as pure capacity.

Do you need to share storage across more than one PC in your location - a Network attached solution might be appropriate.

Do you want to take your data with you - a portable external hard drive may be appropriate.

Do you want increased resilience - a RAID array (internal or NAS) may be worth considering.

Some thoughts to start with, anyway!

SD

[Keef]

I bought a 500GB external USB2 drive (not expensive). A little batch routine (remember those?) creates a "dated" folder and copies all my stuff over every week. I clear out most, and keep a few, just in case. Quick, easy, no faff, and works fine.

Stuff I really care about (pix of the family, mostly) gets copied off to CDROMs and left up in the Norfolk cottage, with daughters, and so on.

[ThreadBaron]

Gents, thank you. Batch routines ... I remember those from when I worked as a lad in the bakery:}.

[Saab Dastard]

terrabite = Terabyte.

1 byte = 8 bits

1 Nibble = 4 bits

I kid you not!! :)

SD

[reynoldsno1]

I've got a Seagate 320gB USB external drive - works for me - was about 90 quid at today's exchange rate

[matt_hooks]

The USB drives are quick and easy to use, and scarily cheap. 500Gb will set you back less than £100.

If you're happy with opening your case and plugging things in then the internal route is for you, and it is even cheaper than the USB option as you don't have the added cost of a case and power supply.

I run the 80Gb internal HDD on the lappy as a system drive, with very little other than programmes I use regularly on it. Then I store stuff on my 500GB external drive, backed up to a network drive on our main computer. I also have an 80GB passport drive that I use for portability as it runs entirely off USB power, so no need to carry a separate power supply. Most of that is filled with music, about 60Gb! :\

Important photo's I post to my Picasa online storage, one click uploading, as well as on my network drive.

Anything that is of any real importance is backed up in 3 different places. The external drive, the network drive and on a CDRW that I keep in a lockbox in the garage, separate from the house, though there's not much that warrants that.

You can go as simple or complicated as you like. I personally don't trust online backups for sensitive information, never quite sure how secure they are, but for pics and the like they're ok.

[Mac the Knife]

Its worth getting a portable drive with Firewire as well as USB - very quick, and an add-on Firewire card is cheap as chips.

:ok:

[matt_hooks]

Mac, I have a firewire connection to my drive, but I actually revert to USB2 connection mostly, because I find firewire can actually slow things down! :confused:

I know on paper the transfer rates SHOULD be much higher, but that doesn't seem to be reflected in the transfer times. It may just be the PCMCIA card I'm using for the firewire that's causing the problem, though it should be fully compliant.

I would suggest, anyway, that the extra money for the firewire connection on the drive, plus the cost of a firewire card for the PC, might not be reflected in a huge improvement in data transfer times.

[kenhughes]

Quoting SB
1 Nibble = 4 bits

<pedant>1 Nybble = 4 bits</pedant>

You're showing your age even knowing that. :)

Today's youngsters can't comprehend anything below 32 bytes.

ThreadBaron - if you have an oldish machine and are thinking of replacing it in the near future, go for an external USB drive. New boxes have changed from having parallel connections (PATA) to serial ones (SATA) for their internal drives, and the two types can't be interchanged.

I bought a new Acer box recently and had to buy new hard drives, memory strips and even a new video card - none of the old stuff in my 4-year-old box would fit.

Yet another way for the box-makers to screw us!

Ken

[green granite]

Yes but what's a word nowadays, 16 or 32 bits? :hmm:

[hellsbrink]

Ken, you can still buy add-on PATA (IDE) cards to stick in an expansion slot so you can use your old drives, and most new mobos still have an IDE connector on them as SATA CD/DVD drives have been a bit thin on the ground until recently.

Generally these IDE cards need the old style PCI slot but there are a few which fit into the newer PCI-e slot (as long as you have a spare slot!!)

[Saab Dastard]

Kenhughes,

Thanks for the "nybble" info. I'm sure you are right that it was originally written with a "y"; however, common usage over the last 20 years has moved, it appears, more to "nibble".

c.f. wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibble)

Indeed, there are even those who argue that a Nybble is to a nibble as a byte is to a bit. But I think they are biting off more than they can chew!

And yes, I am a saad old dastard! :p

SD

[ThreadBaron]

Saab

biting off more than they can chew

... or even 'byting'.

Thank you, guys. Hugely informative ... but have I made my mind up yet? Nah!:ok:

[hellsbrink]

Get both then, an internal AND an external drive. That way you have plenty space on your PC AND a drive for backing up important stuff.