Windows 7 - External HD

RonBin79 · 07-04-2011

My 600GB external HD is rapidly running out of free space, I have a lot photographs stored on there. I am considering an external 1.5TB but having read the earlier comments about lack of communication between external HD's, and bearing in mind I have Windows 7 Premium which one would anyone suggest, something which is not too expensive please......

The next question is, how would I get all the info off my 600gb external to my new one and would I have to format it please??

Best wishes,

ronbin79

pparks1 · 07-04-2011

Well, you have a couple of options.

1). buy a larger external hard drive
2). get an enclosure, and a stand alone hard drive, and put it together (pretty easy).

Either way, you will need to format your new hard drive before you use it.

To transfer your data from the 600GB drive to the new drive, just plug them both in and copy and paste.

DocBrown · 07-04-2011

You might check out this unit I just put together

Build your own External Hard Drive

whs · 07-04-2011

If you have a large requirement for space (as with videos), you might consider an external enclosure like this one (which happens to be the eSata example I have, but there are many others - Sata II, Sata III, eSata and combinations).

The advantage is that you can buy much cheaper external 2.5" and 3.5" internal disks in the future and always have a "home" for them. And if you want faster performance than Sata II, buy a relatively cheap PCI card for Sata III or eSata (I prefer eSata).

linnemeyerhere · 07-04-2011

RonBin79,
Why use an external and slow down the transfer speeds when you have the power cable and sata connections to run a nice 2TB internal.

bobkn · 07-04-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by RonBin79

My 600GB external HD is rapidly running out of free space, I have a lot photographs stored on there. I am considering an external 1.5TB but having read the earlier comments about lack of communication between external HD's, and bearing in mind I have Windows 7 Premium which one would anyone suggest, something which is not too expensive please......

The next question is, how would I get all the info off my 600gb external to my new one and would I have to format it please??

Best wishes,

ronbin79

Is your machine an XPS 8300?

If so, it has an eSATA port. If you're looking for the best performance, that'd be the interface to use.

I'm unaware of problems copying data between two external USB drives. I suppose that you could avoid that by using a USB drive with an eSATA.

pparks1 · 07-04-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by linnemeyerhere

RonBin79,
Why use an external and slow down the transfer speeds when you have the power cable and sata connections to run a nice 2TB internal.

With an eSATA dock and a 2TB internal drive inserted into the external dock, you can get pretty much the same external speeds as you get internal. And you can then take that drive and keep it offsite (if it stores data or backups) and have protection from your computer being stolen, or your house burning to the ground or flooding and wiping out both internal hard drives.

linnemeyerhere · 07-04-2011

I understand esata speeds as I'm currently running 4.5 TB's via it. And at a paltry 7.5 TB's total plus the OS SSD I understand that space for data and back up plans plus interchangeability can be very useful idea. Note my hot swap 3.5 and 2.5 bays. But just wanted the OP to know that they have an on board option with speed and capacity then maybe add a multi-bay esata external for the ultimate flexibility.

Maxxwire · 07-05-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by linnemeyerhere

...then maybe add a multi-bay esata external for the ultimate flexibility.

I have found the 2TB Lacie HD Max Raid 0/(1) eSata Drive to be both fast and reliable. Not only does it do video transfers at speeds nearly as fast as my Intel SSD writes, but it does 8GB Macrium Reflect image restorations on my Win 7 x64 computer in a small fraction of the time that it takes using a conventional USB drive.

~Maxx~

Windows 7 - External HD

External HD problems?