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Windows 7 - Free way to store HD when not in use? |
07-17-2010
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#1 | | |
Free way to store HD when not in use? I'm using docking stations so I'm wondering if anyone has come up with some neat improvised methods of storing the drive when not in use? I don't see shelling out $15 for those plastic drive cases. I'm just thinking some of you may have come up with clever ways to store the drive I haven't thought of.
There must be something better than a shoe box or the box the thing shipped in. Maybe something where you could store 2 or 3 in one box without them banging around against each other? Just looking for ideas. Something that might be hanging around the house that has natural separators in it or something along that line.
| My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Media Center OS Windows 7 32 bit CPU AMD 5200+ dual core Memory 2 GB Graphics Card NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB Monitor(s) Displays CRT Screen Resolution 1280x1024 Hard Drives 500 GB Sata internal :
SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives Other Info SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card. |
07-17-2010
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#2 | | |
I just put them into the anti-static bags and put them into one of the drawers in my little plastic storage cabinet. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HAL-9000 OS Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit CPU Intel i7 2600K @ 4.44Ghz Motherboard Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.1 Memory 16GB DDR3 1333 Corsair XMS3 Graphics Card XFX HD5850 1GB EyeFinity Sound Card Logitech G35 & Sennheiser PC135 & VIA HD Monitor(s) Displays 23" HP 2310e, 23" Samsung B2230, 21.5" Viewsonic Screen Resolution 5760x1080 Keyboard Logitech G15 and G13 Mouse Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse PSU Antec True Power New 650watt Case Cooler Master HAF-932 Cooling Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler, 3x 230mm Fans, 2x120mm Fan Hard Drives 16TB of Storage
128GB & 256GB Crucial M4 SSD's, 2X 1TB WD Black, 3x 2TB WD, 3x 2TB Samsung F4, 1.5TB Seagate, WD 500GB, Internet Speed 50/10 Mbit Other Info Speakers : Alesis M1 Active Mk2 Studio Monitors , APC RS 1200 UPS, HP 4500DN Color Laser, HP P1006 mono Laser, Kodak 8500 Dye-Sub, Epson 1280 inkjet, Epson Worforce 610 MFC |
07-17-2010
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#3 | | Windows XP-Pro-SP3, Windows 7 |
Ok, I'm confused.
Why would you take the drive out of the computer in the first place?
That's probably the safest place for it.
Forgive....but at my age I confuse easily anyway. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Home Made OS Windows XP-Pro-SP3, Windows 7 CPU AMD, 2X, Dual Core 5200+ Motherboard MSI K9N Platinum Memory 6 gig DDR2, Super Talent Graphics Card Winfast Sound Card On Board AC97 Monitor(s) Displays 19" Envision LCD Screen Resolution 1024x768 Keyboard Generic Mouse MS digital PSU Antec Earthwatts 650 Case Pac Man Mid-Tower Cooling 11 fans Hard Drives 3x , Maxtor/Seagate SATA2 (160, 160, 200gig) Internet Speed 5 Meg Cable |
07-17-2010
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#4 | | |

Quote: Originally Posted by DrWho Ok, I'm confused.
Why would you take the drive out of the computer in the first place?
That's probably the safest place for it.
Forgive....but at my age I confuse easily anyway.  Ideally, you want to store your backup offsite, like in a safe deposit box at the bank.
Depending on the case and the amount of drives you have, sometimes the backup drive wont' fit in the case for storage. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HAL-9000 OS Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit CPU Intel i7 2600K @ 4.44Ghz Motherboard Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.1 Memory 16GB DDR3 1333 Corsair XMS3 Graphics Card XFX HD5850 1GB EyeFinity Sound Card Logitech G35 & Sennheiser PC135 & VIA HD Monitor(s) Displays 23" HP 2310e, 23" Samsung B2230, 21.5" Viewsonic Screen Resolution 5760x1080 Keyboard Logitech G15 and G13 Mouse Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse PSU Antec True Power New 650watt Case Cooler Master HAF-932 Cooling Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler, 3x 230mm Fans, 2x120mm Fan Hard Drives 16TB of Storage
128GB & 256GB Crucial M4 SSD's, 2X 1TB WD Black, 3x 2TB WD, 3x 2TB Samsung F4, 1.5TB Seagate, WD 500GB, Internet Speed 50/10 Mbit Other Info Speakers : Alesis M1 Active Mk2 Studio Monitors , APC RS 1200 UPS, HP 4500DN Color Laser, HP P1006 mono Laser, Kodak 8500 Dye-Sub, Epson 1280 inkjet, Epson Worforce 610 MFC |
07-17-2010
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#5 | | Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Get one of these with the number of drawers you need. To be space efficient, the drawers should be just big enough for the hard drive and its enclosure: | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Self OS Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2 CPU Main - Core i7 2600K; 2nd - Core i7 920 Motherboard Main - Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3; 2nd - Gigabyte GA-EX58-UDR3 Memory Main - 16GB Corsair Vengeance; 2nd - 12GB Corsair Vengeance Graphics Card Main - XFX Radeon 6870 1GB; 2nd - XFX Radeon 4870 1GB Sound Card Both: Onboard Realtek Azalia Monitor(s) Displays Main - Hann 25" + I-INC 25" + Acer 23"; 2nd - Upgrading Soon Screen Resolution Main - 1920x1080 (All Three Monitors); 2nd - Upgrading Soon Keyboard Main - Razer Reclusa; 2nd - Old MS Keyboard Mouse Main - Logitech MX Revolution; 2nd - Old MS Mouse PSU Main - OCZ 600W Modular; 2nd - OCZ 600W Case Main - Thermaltake Element G; 2nd - NZXT something or other Cooling Main - Corsair H80; 2nd - Prolimatech Megahalems Hard Drives Main - (1) Crucial M4 128GB (Boot)
Main - (1) Seagate 2TB 64MB Cache (Data)
Main - (1) Seagate 2TB 64MB Cache (Data Backup)
2nd - (1) Intel X25-M SSD 80GB (Boot)
2nd - (3) Seagate 1TB 32MB Cache (Data Backup)
2nd - (1) Seagate 320GB (Because) Internet Speed 20Mbps Time-Warner Cable |
07-17-2010
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#6 | | |
Thanks. The storage with the drawers looks like a good idea. It didn't occur to me at all. Have to get one at Walmart or somewhere. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Media Center OS Windows 7 32 bit CPU AMD 5200+ dual core Memory 2 GB Graphics Card NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB Monitor(s) Displays CRT Screen Resolution 1280x1024 Hard Drives 500 GB Sata internal :
SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives Other Info SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card. |
07-17-2010
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#7 | | |

Quote: Originally Posted by DrWho Ok, I'm confused.
Why would you take the drive out of the computer in the first place?
That's probably the safest place for it.
Forgive....but at my age I confuse easily anyway.  I use docking stations to do video, with double duty as image backup storage. I have more drives than docks. SIIG, Inc. : SuperSpeed USB to SATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive Docking with Fan - (SC-SA0D12-S1 ) | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Media Center OS Windows 7 32 bit CPU AMD 5200+ dual core Memory 2 GB Graphics Card NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB Monitor(s) Displays CRT Screen Resolution 1280x1024 Hard Drives 500 GB Sata internal :
SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives Other Info SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card. |
07-17-2010
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#8 | | |

Quote: Originally Posted by profdlp Get one of these with the number of drawers you need. To be space efficient, the drawers should be just big enough for the hard drive and its enclosure: btw is there an online store or a link where I can get the name? Just makes searching easier. Most of the hits the drawers are way too big or the thing rolls around on wheels | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Media Center OS Windows 7 32 bit CPU AMD 5200+ dual core Memory 2 GB Graphics Card NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB Monitor(s) Displays CRT Screen Resolution 1280x1024 Hard Drives 500 GB Sata internal :
SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives Other Info SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card. |
07-17-2010
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#9 | | Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2 |
I was just looking for a picture to give a clearer idea of what I was thinking of. The one I nabbed the image of costs $275.
Google "Multi-Drawer Cabinets" and you'll get a lot of hits.
For what it's worth, when I moved a year ago I was shopping around for ways to get my stuff more organized in the new place. I found tons of similar cabinets at Walmart for a good price. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Self OS Main - Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-Bit; 2nd - Windows Server 2008 R2 CPU Main - Core i7 2600K; 2nd - Core i7 920 Motherboard Main - Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3; 2nd - Gigabyte GA-EX58-UDR3 Memory Main - 16GB Corsair Vengeance; 2nd - 12GB Corsair Vengeance Graphics Card Main - XFX Radeon 6870 1GB; 2nd - XFX Radeon 4870 1GB Sound Card Both: Onboard Realtek Azalia Monitor(s) Displays Main - Hann 25" + I-INC 25" + Acer 23"; 2nd - Upgrading Soon Screen Resolution Main - 1920x1080 (All Three Monitors); 2nd - Upgrading Soon Keyboard Main - Razer Reclusa; 2nd - Old MS Keyboard Mouse Main - Logitech MX Revolution; 2nd - Old MS Mouse PSU Main - OCZ 600W Modular; 2nd - OCZ 600W Case Main - Thermaltake Element G; 2nd - NZXT something or other Cooling Main - Corsair H80; 2nd - Prolimatech Megahalems Hard Drives Main - (1) Crucial M4 128GB (Boot)
Main - (1) Seagate 2TB 64MB Cache (Data)
Main - (1) Seagate 2TB 64MB Cache (Data Backup)
2nd - (1) Intel X25-M SSD 80GB (Boot)
2nd - (3) Seagate 1TB 32MB Cache (Data Backup)
2nd - (1) Seagate 320GB (Because) Internet Speed 20Mbps Time-Warner Cable |
07-17-2010
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#10 | | |
Thanks for the follow up. Yeah, I did a bunch of searches but when prices went over $50 I went to the next place.  I have an old brief case that I could set up for now. I could probably store 3 or 4 drives in it, until I find a better solution. Plastic drawers would be ideal but I really don't want to spend more than $25. I guess I'll watch and wait for bargains. I'm not going to go too crazy with the drives so the brief case may be the no cost solution for the time being. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Media Center OS Windows 7 32 bit CPU AMD 5200+ dual core Memory 2 GB Graphics Card NVidia GeForce 6150SE 128 MB Monitor(s) Displays CRT Screen Resolution 1280x1024 Hard Drives 500 GB Sata internal :
SIIG USB 3.0 docking stations w/WD Caviar Black 6 Gb/s drives Other Info SIIG USB 3.0 PCIexpress card. Free way to store HD when not in use? problems? All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:46 PM. |  |