Hi,

I'm looking for an external hard drive for my laptop, which doesn't have USB
2, anyone have any suggestions about models and where to buy etc?  I'm in
the UK.

Thanks!

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

James wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm looking for an external hard drive for my laptop, which doesn't
> have USB 2, anyone have any suggestions about models and where to buy
> etc?  I'm in the UK.
>
> Thanks!

USB2 drives should work just fine with USB 1.1 ports, I move my USB2 drive
around from USB1 to USB2 systems without problems.


--
Nik Simpson

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

In article <M4fDc.1144$5N4.837@bignews4.bellsouth.net>,
Nik Simpson <n_simpson@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>James wrote: 
>
>USB2 drives should work just fine with USB 1.1 ports, I move my USB2 drive
>around from USB1 to USB2 systems without problems.
>
>
>--
>Nik Simpson
>
>


You can buy a USB2 PCMCIA card for a few bucks.  Backup with USB1.1
works, but fast really better.  Buy a USB2 disk. It will work with
USB1.1, and if you want more speed you can always buy the PCMCIA card.



--
Al Dykes
-----------
adykes  at p a n i x . c o m

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Nik Simpson wrote:
> James wrote: 
>
> USB2 drives should work just fine with USB 1.1 ports, I move my USB2
> drive around from USB1 to USB2 systems without problems.

Oh they'll work, but you can measure the data transfer time on a geological
timescale!

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

In article <cbjtrp$thc$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk>,
me@outerspace.com says...
> Hi,
>
> I'm looking for an external hard drive for my laptop, which doesn't have U
SB
> 2, anyone have any suggestions about models and where to buy etc?  I'm in
> the UK.
>

Do you have firewire ports on the laptop?  (If so, go
with an external firewire drive.)

Other options are to simply hang a NAS box off of the
network hub (or use a cross-over cable).  Transfer rate
will be a lot faster then the slow USB 1.x (USB 1.x on
my laptop eats up the CPU, making it near-impossible to
do anything during a transfer).

There are also PCMCIA cards that you can plug in that
will provide USB 2.0 (and possibly firewire) connectors.

Or there's a 5GB laptop drive that is the size of a Type
II (type III?) PCMCIA double-thickness card.  Takes up
both PCMCIA slots and is a tad pricey.

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Miss Perspicacia Tick wrote:
> Nik Simpson wrote: 
>
> Oh they'll work, but you can measure the data transfer time on a
> geological timescale!

Transfer rates don't seem that bad, of course it depends on how you want to
use the drive, but for the purposes of moving some files around its
acceptable IMHO.

--
Nik Simpson

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Nik Simpson" <n_simpson@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:G6gDc.2086$_F5.1131@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
> Miss Perspicacia Tick wrote: 
>
> Transfer rates don't seem that bad, of course it depends on how you want
to
> use the drive, but for the purposes of moving some files around its
> acceptable IMHO.

No need to qualify that opinion:  it's entirely acceptable for much or even
most use.  Far faster than a broadband download, no noticeable delay at all
for smallish files (up to 100 - 200 KB), fast enough to stream audio and
most streaming video.

Only when moving data around in bulk (multi-MB files that aren't too
fragmented) will the 1.5 MB/sec transfer speed seem a bit leisurely.  No,
you might not want to use it to perform a full-disk image copy (though I've
used it with Partition Magic to back up my laptop's half-full 2 GB system
partition to a spare 3.5" disk:  well worth the wait if I ever need it).

- bill

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Hi again,

Thanks to everyone who replied.  Decided to buy a drive and a PCMCIA card
which gives 5 USB 2 (reversible) ports, and this gives me extra ports
aswell.  Found what I was looking for on Amazon.


"Toshi1873" <toshi1873@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1b47558fddaf4aa0989923@news-50.giganews.com...
> In article <cbjtrp$thc$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk>,
> me@outerspace.com says... 
USB[vbcol=seagreen] 
in[vbcol=seagreen] 
>
> Do you have firewire ports on the laptop?  (If so, go
> with an external firewire drive.)
>
> Other options are to simply hang a NAS box off of the
> network hub (or use a cross-over cable).  Transfer rate
> will be a lot faster then the slow USB 1.x (USB 1.x on
> my laptop eats up the CPU, making it near-impossible to
> do anything during a transfer).
>
> There are also PCMCIA cards that you can plug in that
> will provide USB 2.0 (and possibly firewire) connectors.
>
> Or there's a 5GB laptop drive that is the size of a Type
> II (type III?) PCMCIA double-thickness card.  Takes up
> both PCMCIA slots and is a tad pricey.

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Without USB 2.0 you are out of luck for a good solution.

--
DaveW



"James" <me@outerspace.com> wrote in message
news:cbjtrp$thc$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Hi,
>
> I'm looking for an external hard drive for my laptop, which doesn't have
USB
> 2, anyone have any suggestions about models and where to buy etc?  I'm in
> the UK.
>
> Thanks!
>
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 14:33:44 +0100, "James" <me@outerspace.com>
wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm looking for an external hard drive for my laptop, which doesn't have US
B
>2, anyone have any suggestions about models and where to buy etc?  I'm in
>the UK.
>
>Thanks!
>

Does the laptop have firewire (1394)?
That is the preferred interface, it is faster than USB2 in use.
If you also needed another USB2 port, then USB might be a good
compromise solution, but if the only real need is the external
drive, get a firewire card and enclosure... keeping in mind that
you'd also need firewire on a desktop (if drive is to be moved
around), which some have but others don't.

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]