Help me find my perfect laptop!?

portable hard drives reviews 2011 image

Juicy Lucy

i need it for gaming so needs a disk drive

preferably 7 inch screen

i really like the vye s41b

that is exactly what im after

but only has an 800mhz processor?

please help

needs to be a convertible tablet

NOT the eee pc or any netbook,l this needs to be vista

I REPEAT, NOT A NETBOOK

budget is about £850, and i am willing to pay for smallness

would be good if it had touchscreen

and must have good size keyboard

tell me what you think of the one i suggested too

i think it is pretty perfect

(if i upgrade the ram to 2gb)

and vista CAN run on a minimum of 800mhz

thanks for helping!

Answer
Hello Time Traveller!

You need an ultra-portable 7 inch touch screen gaming laptop runnung Windows Vista!

This will be easy to get in the year 2020! (Except for Windows Vista since WIndows Seven is out in 2009, and then 2011 for ver 8, 2015 for ver 9, and so 2020 will be ver 10 or 11... so something as "retro" as Vista probably won't run on new hardware!)


Right now without all the heavy copper plumbing you would need to exhasut the heat in today's gaming graphics chips like the 9800M GTX, the unit would be too hot to hold and you would need asbestos gloves to operate the keyboard for the 10 second lifetime of the unit before it melts...

Which is why in the year 2008 you won't see a gaming graphics chip in a 7" ultra portable or even a decent CPU

Please review this list against your gaming requirements:


http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html


One possibility might be the Dell XPS M1330 which is in your price range and you can get the LED backlight option for a thinner lighter unit.

That comes with a NVIDIA 8400M GS graphics chip option that is suitable for very light gaming such as Sims 2

You can also get a 7200 rpm hard drive option with that so your games don't take forever to load.

And 4 gigs of RAM is cheap

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?config_data=&c=us&cs=19&fb=1&kc=ref&l=en&oc=DYDWTR1&x=0&y=0

(PRODUCT) RED
Intel® Core⢠2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista ® Home Premium Edition SP1
Slim and Light LED Display with VGA Webcam
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Speed: 250GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce⢠Go 8400M GS
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Verizon Wireless built-in cellular mobile broadband (EVDO Rev A)
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
High Definition Audio 2.0
2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 2Yr Warr.
Dell Online Backup 50GB for 1 year
Free Recycling Kit


If you get the "Product RED" edition, it doesn't cost any more and they send $25 to AIDS in Africa


http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_red_deal?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Macobook Pro or Macbook Air?

maria

Hello!
I am going to purchase an apple laptop for graphic design, video, and so on. I just don't know what laptop would be a good. choice. I'm not in school so portability isn't a big deal. (I'll probably just be bringing it to the library or to my work, I just like the way the air looks.)
Anyway i was wondering if there is any MAJOR differences that i should consider and what one comes on top Performance wise. Is there a huge difference between the 2011 and 2012 versions?
THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Answer
For graphic design and video, etc, I would recommend Macbook Pro 13.3 inch laptop for you. It will fulfill all your school needs. Macbook air is also very good and light weight laptop and that makes it exceptionally portable. But it has less hard drive than pro and also it doesn't have a DVD drive. And as you've said that portability is not an issue, so Pro is definitely the thing for you. This customer review will help you make your choice:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1HSLOPERWGAVY/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B007470SMM&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=armasa-20

So this laptop is excellent:
- 2.5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 processor
- 500GB hard drive
- CD/DVD drive
- Gorgeous display
- Dead silent
- Latest version

Here is the discounted price for this laptop from my research:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0074703CM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=armas9-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0074703CM

If not then you can have Macbook Air:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005CWJB5G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=armas9-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005CWJB5G

Here is the list of best selling laptops of Apple, just read the customer reviews and you'll be able to pick your choice:
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&ref_=sr_in_-2_p_4_4&bbn=565108&qid=1316938260&rnid=15784691&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A565108%2Cp_76%3A1249137011%2Cp_4%3AApple&_encoding=UTF8&tag=armas1-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957

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How does synchronizing an external hard drive work?

portable hard drive 60 image

Q. I got a portable USB 60 G external harddrive with a program as the way to add files. My computer had very little space on it due to dl music and movies and I just wanted to move them to the harddrive. It does something called synchronizing to move them...when it does this is, is it only copying or actually moving the files? Do I need to delete the files from my laptop after putting them on the harddrive?

Answer
Be careful with the sync program. IF it is set to sync automatically, then you manually delete music and movies from your laptop, the program may try to delete the same data from your USB Hard drive as well. The program will not delete anything from your laptop. You must do that manually.

IF your going the way of transferring files, then deleting them off the laptop computer, you need to be very careful with the sync program. Sync works great if you want exact duplicate folders. In your case, it sounds like you want everything on the USB drive, so sync'ing may not be the best option. Just a manual copy and paste, then a manual delete of the laptop data. You may have an option for the program you are using, which gives you the option to add new data from a folder without deleting the stuff already on the USB hard drive. Thats what you need to do. What ever the case, you should delete the laptop data manually to make sure you haven't lost anything until its copied.

Am I able to add an external hard drive to my acer aspire one?

za24

I am considering adding this
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/iomega-iomega-ego-500gb-2-5-portable-external-hard-drive-34988-34988/10152190.aspx?path=528cc1af10ad2e4ba9ac03056ed8406ben02

Will it work? If not, why? What will?

Answer
Yes, that drive will work with an Acer aspire One (fellow owner of one).

Although I HIGHLY recommend getting an external dribve that has it's own power cable because the Aspire One isn't designed to have continuous running power draw while it's running it's own hardware too.

Your pricing there is a bit high too, especially for a 500Gb drive. You should be able to find even the same model for about $35 - $40 less.

I'd personally go to www.geeks.com and browse their hard drives page, which also has cables with power supplies, hard drives of 1Tb for about $60.00, and external cases for under $10.00.

Their easier to assemble and build than You think, and if You only plan to use the external at home/school/work, You can score a FANTASTIC combo deal building it Yourself with it's own power supply.



Good Luck!.

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Can you plug a portable hard drive into a xbox 360 4GB?

portable hard drive to xbox image

R_Flip

So i want a xbox, im looking at a 4gb kinect bundle, its on sale and really cheap.
What are the cons of 4gb?
Does this xbox have the same features as the others? like 250gb and whatever else?
Like wifi? and usb ports?
so can you plug a portable hard drive into it and save things on and and it work the same?
Thanks .

Answer
Yes, you can use a portable hard drive with an XBOX 360, but BEWARE! It won't work the same. There are some disadvantages of choosing this method for storing data.

+ You can use the entire hard drive for files you add on your PC or Mac like movies etc...
- You can only use up to 16 GB space for XBOX 360 Storage. (for games, saves etc etc) on an external (portable) hard drive.


I think you should get an internal hard drive, which is has no limitations for the XBOX 360 storage (the whole HDD is for XBOX 360).
You can only use a geniue Microsoft hard drive specifically designed for XBOX 360 Slim.

(it's hard to make hard drives for older XBOX 360s work and it's impossible to use a regular 2,5" SATA hard drive that are for PCs. Even thought it has a 2,5" SATA bay, it WONT accept a regular HDD, it spins it but it doesn't show up no matter how I format it. It needs a specific firmware, which is only present on Microsoft's HDD for XBOX 360)
So it's a much easier way to just get the official 250 GB HDD. It also has a special enclosure which makes it sliding it perfectly and fits it tight.
So basically it's just a slide-in thing.


So I would suggest you getting the Microsoft 250 GB Hard drive for XBOX 360 Slim. That's what I will do; I also have an XBOX 360 Slim 4 GB. (w/o Kinect)

Can you use a portable hard drive on the xbox 360 as memory?

skibum_us

I am out of memory and I have a 400GB portable hard drive that I would love to use. Is it possible to use it on the xbox 360?

Answer
unfortunately it is not able to be used. The only option you really have regarding a portable is to play music or pics from it. Can store to it. Sorry :(

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What are all the storage devices and their capacities?

portable hard drive wikipedia image

Lashy93

Looking to find all of the storage devices and their largest capacities, so far i have: CD
DVD
USB memory stick/pen drive
Blu- Ray Disk
Portable Hard drive
Internal and external Hard drive
Magnetic tape
SD card
Flash card
3.5â floppy disk


Thanks

Answer
Look what I found in Wikipedia! of all places! Who would have thought!

how can i share my HDs on my home network?

Drew

I have 5 computers, the main one running Vista, one laptop running Windows 8, and three netbooks running Windows 7. I'd like to be able to watch movies and listen to music that I have stored on 3 external hard drives hooked up to my main computer (the Vista one). How can I access these things on all the devices in the household?

Answer
For file sharing I would recommend a dedicated NAS.

If this is out of your budget, many routers support USB for printer sharing or USB storage devices.

You can connect a USB portable hard drive and use it like a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage You'll have to check your router manual to see if it supports USB storage devices and how it is configured on the router.

The advantage of network attached storage (NAS) is that the data can be accessed (shared) by other devices connected to your network and you don't have to have a dedicated PC running 24/7 to share the drive.

You are not going to get the speed or versatility of a dedicated NAS, but if you have a limited budget it does function.

I personally use three different brands of dedicated NAS devices, two are configured in a raid one configuration for redundancy, you can even have the device email you when a drive is failing, and swap in a replacement without losing a bit of data.

If you're in the market for a NAS, I would highly recommend the Synology line. http://www.synology.com/products/product.php?product_name=DS212j&lang=us By far the best user interface and features. It runs Linux and is highly configurable. It includes a download server, media server, individual user security, and too many other features to list. The Synology DS212j is now under $200 at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005YW7OLM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005YW7OLM&linkCode=as2&tag=excharge-20

You can also set up file sharing,

For this to work you need to set up file sharing on the desktop and share the external USB drives. The methods to do this vary with your OS and version. Here is a video for setting up file sharing on a Win 7 OS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP3eR3aNxEw

The desktop PC will need to be left on and connected to your home network, preferably via a 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet connection or Gigabit Ethernet.

Good Luck...

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How do you make all your downloads go to your external hard drive?

best external hard drives 500gb image

JENJEN

I just bought an external hard drive(500gb)because I was running low on memory on my hard drive (disc c)So I was told when I download all my games,music,pics,etc,I need to have them go to the external hard drive.So how would I go about doing this?

Answer
When you download something, it always asks if you want to run or save the download. When that question comes up, click SAVE. Then you will see another BOX named BROWSE. Click on Browse and scroll through the listing til you come to your external hard drive. Click that and then SAVE and you are home.

How can I get fraps to run better with an external hard drive?

Alex

I have a new Seagate external hard drive with 500gb, and I really need to know how to make fraps run faster with it! I use fraps to record minecraft, so please let me know as soon as possible! Thanks!
I'm NOT looking for storage, I'm looking for it to write files with a faster speed!
I'm NOT looking for storage, I'm looking for it to write files with a faster speed!

Answer
You are running to an issue with the speed of the USB port you are using to connect the Seagate drive to the computer.

Unless you have a usb 3.0 connection about the only thing you can do is change external drives to a SSD based one. Even then you may still have speed issues.

"Traditionally the hard drive was the one of, if not the slowest component inside the computer. Despite all of the advancements in CPUâs and RAM, both of these components were still forced to wait on the hard disk drive (HDD)."

To read more: http://www.whatisssd.com/benefits-of-ssd-drives/

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External hard drive pics?

portable hard drive maplin image

Tom

I'm overwhelmed with all the external hard drives there are out there. I did a lot of research too. I found a few external hard drives that looked pretty good, and I want to know which one is the best in your opinion.
1. Western Digital WDXMS1200TN Passport 120 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive

2. Seagate ST302504FDA1E1-RK FreeAgent Desktop 250 GB USB External Hard Drive

3. LaCie Rugged All-Terrain Hard Disk
Hi-Speed USB 2.0
80GB

Don't worry about the storage capacities, I just want to know which one is the best in reliability, quality, customer support, features, etc...

Thank you for your time and effort to answer this question.
(I will give the best answer 10 points)

Answer
Western digital and seagate are both excellent. Have had a 320gb western digital drive for the last three years and it still runs perfectly.

There is another kind of hard drive that works as a normal external hard drive should but can also connect to your tv via scart . That means, you can download your programs/movies on the pc and then watch them on your tv in comfort. I plan on getting one in the near future.
Heres a link showing an example. Worth considering i think.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=221816&source=1&DOY=31m12

Is there a portable "power source" where I can plug in my desktop external hard drive?

che-anne

I recently bought a 1TB desktop external hard drive, I know it's not supposed to be travel friendsly since it has to be plugged in first to an AC outlet to have it working. But my problem is, there are times when I have to bring it out with me in some places where I can't have it plugged in to a power source (i.e. in a restaurant perhaps). So my question is, is there a portable "power source" or a battery or a "charger" where I can plug in my desktop external hard drive? The concept is kind of similar to a portable cellphone charger. Thanks in advance for helping! :)

Answer
Its unlikely that you will be able to source something like this as a 1TB hard drive is going to chew through any battery type power supply quickly. You can use power from your USB sockets on your laptop but it will take a lot of power from the laptop battery and reduce use time considerably.

A 'wind up' power supply may be the way to go, but I don't think they are commercially available yet.

Check out your local Radio Shack / Maplins type store, you may find something designed for a different product but with the correct voltage output to suit your needs.

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Is there a PORTABLE external hard drive over 1tb?

best portable external hard drive 1tb image

Evilep0pta

I have been looking for a replacement for my current portable 1tb external hard drive. I have not found anything larger than 1tb without an ac adapter. I highly prefer Western Digital, but I will take anything at this point as long as it is reliable and fast. Portability is a HUGE requirement.
If there isn't one that you know of, maybe you are aware of some that are planned to come out. Please let me know.

Answer
Drives over 1T usually need a power source as you have found out! there are some that are "portable" but not convenient...something like this perhaps...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154480

What is a good portable external hard drive to buy?

Romario M

I need a portable external hard drive to save my games and music on. I would prefer 500gb. So what would be great for me, I need some ideas. Tell me the best brands.

Also is saying external hard drive or portable hard drive the same thing?

Answer
I like the Western Digital Passport drives - http://www.wdc.com/en/products/external/portable/

I've got two of them a 500Gb and a 1Tb. I've had them just over a year and used them on multiple computers at work and at home with no problems.

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What is the best portable external hard drive brand ?

portable external hard drives best buy image

Q. I want to buy a good external hard drive that's portable, and is also made by a good brand. Please give me details on some good models made by the company. Where is the best place to buy it, and where can I get a good price for it.
Thank you so much.

Answer
It depends on the hard drive itself, not the company that makes it. For example, HP Pocket Media Drives use a hitachi hard drive. I think hitachi is the best and it makes the most hard drives in the world.

What is best free backup/sync software for Iomega external hard drive?

hockeyaand

I bought the Iomega Prestige Compact Edition USB 2.0 1 TB Portable External Hard Drive 34866 and was wondering what is the top software to backup/sync my laptop running vista. Preferably free. Thanks.

Answer
I use and recommend you Handy Backup, it's good and reliable software to backup/sync your laptop to external hard drive. Compatible with Windows Vista. It has free version also.

http://www.handy-backup.com - free edition
http://www.handybackup.net - free trial

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should i get an external hard drive or USB memory stick?

best external hard drive usb image

Emily the

I write novels as a hobby (I know I'm a total geek!) and I was wondering what would be better to keep all my stuff on either an external hard drive or a USB memory stick.I know Externals hold more but USB sticks are more convenient because of their size? What should I get?

Answer
It all depends on how much data you are trying to store, and how you want to use that storage.

If you are only writing your books via a word processor like Microsoft Word and you want to be able to easily carry your work with you around in case you might want to show someone, then yes an 8gb or so flash drive should suit your needs.

If you are planning to use this devise as a backup drive for your files and you intend to store more than just word files (such as images, movies, music, etc), you will need more space, and an external hard drive is more practical at that point.

If you want something in between, go for one of those small Western Digital external solid state drives. Something around 60-80GB would give you plenty of storage, in a package that is pocket-sized.

How do I hook up an external hard drive usb to my old laptop computer ethernet connection?

Bender

I have an old IBM notebook with only an ethernet connection available. I have a My Book external hard drive full of music that connects via USB. How do I hook up the laptop ethernet to the external drive USB? I want to play the music on the external hard drive while hooked up to the old laptop. My computer experience is limited. Thanks.

Answer
You can't.

USB and Ethernet are two completely different technologies.

You can use a USB port to connect to the ethernet using an adapter because USB was designed to be versatile.

But you cannot do it the other way around.

Your only option would be to go and buy a PCMCIA USB card and install it into your laptop.

But even then, it is not a guaranteed fix.

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What type of portable external hard drive should I use for my laptop?

best deals on portable hard drives image

History Fi

I am looking for a Portable External Hard Drive for my HP laptop. I need one that has at least 2tb of memory and is fast but affordable (preferably under $150) I'm looking for a good reliable brand too. I just don't know where to start. If it helps any I have Windows 7.

Answer
You can get a 3 TB Western Digital hard drive from Amazon for under $150.00
I have a 2.5 and a 3.0 TB for my two laptops from Western Digital and they have worked flawlessly. One of my laptops is Windows 7 and one is Windows 8. I don't work for Amazon (retired postal service) but I really like Amazon for deals. Check them out and do some searching. I think you will find what you need.

Who makes a good portable hard drive for a computer?

Bleacher K

I recently had rain checked a "Western Digital 120gb 2.5" Passport Portable" hard drive from Best Buy. I got on the internet and read some user reviews and found them to be quite horrible though. I want one that can handle both laptops and desktops and that will last for a long time and is quite durable. I do not have a lot of knowledge on portable HDD's Any help will be very appreciated. Thank you.

Answer
I have found that the big names work best, ie. Seagate, Western Digital etc. However, if you are looking for a good deal and a site that generally has reviews by mostly informed consumers, try buy.com. Here is a link to some results that you may find to optimal:

For example this hard drive is 250GB, for 79 dollars and has 38 reviews to read, most of them are great:
http://www.buy.com/prod/seagate-250gb-freeagent-usb-2-0-7200rpm-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/204110100.html#cRevSec

more results:
http://www.buy.com/retail/searchresults.asp?querytype=home&qu=external+hard+drives&qxt=home&display=col&dclksa=1

Thanks,
Matt

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New WD external hard drive wont show up in my computer?

wd portable hard drive drivers image

anonomiss?

brand new just taken out of package wont show up, ive downloaded allt hese drivers and formatters and crap and it still will not show up. could it have to do with my internal hard drive being from another computer? or is it just this damn hard drive
forgot to mention that the light ont he hard drive is on so it knows its there but it wont recognize it
i can feel that its getting power, and no its not showing up in my device management

Answer
do you feel the hard drive has power and running? is it portable hard drive? did you plug in the power cable?

also go to Disk Management to see if the hard drive shows up there:

right click My Computer -> Manage

How do I access (open) my WD Portable Hard Drive, after I accidentally formated and wiped it.?

Andrew H

I have a WD 160GB Portable Hard Drive. I accidentally deleted the volume in Computer Managment. I have recovered the data, which is all good, but how do I open my Empty Portable Hard Drive now, there is no New Software detected. And all attempts at installing a new driver and software have failed. It seems as if the External Hard Drvie does not even know it exists, and nor does my computer.
have a WD 160GB Portable Hard Drive. I accidentally deleted the volume in Computer Managment. I have recovered the data, which is all good, but how do I open my Empty Portable Hard Drive now, there is no New Software detected. And all attempts at installing a new driver and software have failed. It seems as if the External Hard Drvie does not even know it exists, and nor does my computer. It does not show under somputer managment either. It seems as if , nothing will read it, Although I know it is being read somehow, because the file transfer light is blinking on it, and I recovered the files, but how do I use it as storage or is it just a big paperweight now.?

Answer
even though it is external harddisk it will shows in computer management just try again i shows as unallocated space

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What external hard drive can I use with desktop computer?

best portable external hard drive for pc image

v lane

Is there anything I need to look for? Or can can I use anything for desktop as long it has a USB connection?

'Desktop external hard drives are based on the 3.5-inch internal hard drives and laptop (or portable) external hard drives are based on the 2.5-inch internal hard drives.' (Cnet) But can you use a 2.5 with desktop?

Answer
You can use anything that has a USB connection. That is, if you go to the store and buy an external hard drive, it will work with your PC.

If you want to put your laptop's hard drive in an external case and hook it up to your computer, you have to make sure to get the right type of case for the hard drive.

The higher the RPM, the faster you will be able to access the data.
USB 2.0 is many times faster than 1.0.

Can I use an external hard drive with my Xbox?

Kyle

I am ordering a Seagate Backup Plus 500GB Portable USB 3.0 External Hard Drive, (compatible with PC and Mac) from Staples. If I plug it into the USB input on my Xbox 360, (newest edition, 4GB) will I be able to select it as a storage device to save downloaded games to?

Answer
I know for sure that you can use a USB drive. You might as well try it out. There's nothing holding you back. Plug it in and see if it pops up when it asks you to pick which storage to get your saved games from.

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Does have an idea of when the price of hard drives will drop down again?

best external hard drive of 2012 image

Johnny

I was planning on purchasing an external terabyte hard drive and saw that the price dramatically increased within a fairly short time. I've read that there was a flood where the drives are manufactured and they weren't able to produce as many as they originally planned, so the prices were raised. I'm guessing that in early 2012 the supply will meet the demand and the price range will return to its Summer 2011 range. Does anyone know any more about this? Thanks!

Answer
Experts predict that the floods will affect drive prices until 2013, but practically you should see consumer drive prices down to about where they were before the floods by mid 2012. I'd say wait at least until March before getting a large drive, though it's up to you if you need the storage now or later.

How much memory is my computer using?

Rubbersoul

I know this is a n00b question, but I want to purchase an external hard drive for my computer so I need to find out how big a hard drive I would need. What is the normal amount of memory a 14in laptop would use? I have an HP Pavilion dm4... Thanks!

Answer
You are much more than a noob, you are completely uneducated in computers, no offense....

***********************************************
A hard drive IS NOT MEMORY!!!!
Your RAM is memory.
***********************************************
Any size hard drive can be used as either an internal or USB external storage device.
You can buy any size external hard drive you want, according to how much stuff you think you need to store on it. As they are relatively cheap nowadays, I recommend getting at least a 1TB (1024GB) external hard drive for your file storage needs.
*****************************************************************
As far as the normal amount of RAM (memory) in a 14 inch laptop, that can vary by type, brand, specs, price, etc.
It can be anywhere from 2GB to 8GB or even 16GB of RAM.
*******************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************
REMEMBER THIS:
A hard drive is just permanent storage space for operating system and personal files, like a closet or chest drawer, if you want. The bigger it is the more stuff it will hold. In your case, the bigger the hard drive, the more files you can store on it.
Here are a 3.5 inch desktop hard drive and a 2.5 inch laptop hard drive.
http://www.hidinginsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bothformats.jpg

RAM - an acronym for Random Access Memory (aka memory, system memory or operating memory) on the other hand, is where your computer temporary stores system and program files as well as all other stuff needed to run the operating system and any program or application you are using at that moment.
RAM memory gets constantly erased and overwritten during normal computer operation and is dumped (emptied out) when the computer is shut down.
Here is how RAM (memory) looks like:
http://writers-pavilion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Types-of-Computer-Memory.jpg

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How do I change Portable/External Hard Drive permission?

portable hard drives mac best image

Silver Sha

I need to copy some movies and games onto my friends Portable/External Hard Drive using my mac. But the permissions are set to "Read only" and I need to change it to "Read and Write". How do I do this?

Answer
Go to the properties of that Device...

How to format a hard drive to work with Mac + PC?

Elliott

I have a Lacie Starck 500GB Portable Hard Drive. Unfortunately it is only compatible with Mac, but I do a lot of crossing over between Windows and OSX.
Can somebody please help me to format the device so it can be used on windows too?
This would be of great help!
Thanks.

Answer
FAT32

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My portable hard drive keeps connecting and disconnecting.?

portable hard drive keeps connecting and disconnecting image

Diondre Th

Earlier I was at least able to access it but when I click on a file it would freeze my laptop until i disconnect the hard dive from it. The problem may be that hard dive is corrupt. It got disconnect mid way through transferring a 100 MB file from my laptop to my portable hard drive. Now when my hard drive is connected to my laptop, every minute or two I get 2 messages saying " you need to format the disk in drive G: before you can use it"and "you need to format the disk in drive H: before you can use it". by the way it works on my Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360

Answer
Try rebooting with it plugged in, sometimes that well restart the file transfer.

Whats Wrong With My Portable Hard Drive?

Luciie

On my portable hard drive i kept all my pictures + videos + movies, i had copied a movie onto it one day, and then about 1 month later and plugged the hard drive into my laptop and i clicked onto it, it let me onto the hard drive, but when i tried to click on the pictures folder it just freezes and then doesnt respond, i've tried it with every folder on the hard drive and it does the same thing over and over, ive even tried it on two other computers and it still wont work, i dont know what to do as it has alot of my old pictures + videos on which i dont have a copy of. please help?

Answer
You can try unplugging then replugging the hard drive a few times. That includes the data cable (if any) and the power cord. I suspect either the driver or a system file is corrupted.
You can also try to visit that portable hard drives manufacturer web site and look for support links. Maybe they have a solution or some file you can download to your computer that might help.
But don't be surprised if the drive is dead.

I use two large capacity memory sticks to backup all my data (not the applications since I have their CDs and DVDs). In case one breaks, I purchase another memory stick and transfer everything from the good stick to the new stick. This way I always have two backups.
I am also considering purchasing an external hard drive that will be used strictly for backing up files. So the only time I connect it is when I do my weekly backups. Otherwise, it remains disconnected and powered off. That will lenghten it's life since the internal disks won't be spinning the whole time.

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What is the biggest pocket size external hard drive you can buy?

best external hard drive usb powered image

Bethany

I have a 2TG hard drive but it is hard work taking it round cos you have to plug it into a power socket ect. Do you know if you can get 1 or 2TG external hard drive with just a USB? Something which is really small and neat?

Answer
No problem

Here is a link to the products on bestbuy.com

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/External-Hard-Drives/External-Portable-Hard+Drives/pcmcat186100050006.c?id=pcmcat186100050006

What is the proper way to disconnect an external USB hard drive?

green mekl

I just got an external hard drive to keep my data safe (since my laptop is old and living on borrowed time). It's powered by the USB cable, and starts up when I plug it in. However, when I do the 'safely remove hardware' thing, the icon on the taskbar goes away but the drive itself keeps spinning (I can feel the vibration). Is that supposed to happen? If it's like that and I simply disconnect the USB cable, will the head be stowed properly before the drive spins down? If not, what am I missing here?

Answer
You don't even have to do the "Safely remove hardware"....not really.

As long as you don't rip it out in the middle of a read/write, you'll be fine.

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Is it possible for low memory to cause this?

portable hard drive wiki image

Grave Graf

My laptop computer had been telling me that my battery needed replacing. I recently bought a portable hard drive and pulled some things off of my computer (about 100 GB worth) and now it's saying my battery is functioning properly, and is in perfect condition. I just wanted to know, could low memory cause my computer to think my battery is shot, or can laptop batteries repair themselves (I know this part is stupid)?

If it helps, the computer is a Hewlett Packard.

Answer
Sometimes the controller in the battery pack needs to be reset and something you did caused a reset. Draining the battery pack as completely as possible before recharging is claimed to be one way to cause a reset of the controller.

How big is the drive in the laptop ? When you removed those things you might have freed up a lot of contiguous space that reduced "thrashing" of the hard drive.

Windows (and other operating systems) have a paging file on the hard drive. The operating system will offload data from RAM to the paging file so memory-intensive operations will run more smoothly. If the paging file is highly fragmented it causes more disk activity which requires more power from the battery.

If the operating system deletes the old paging file and creates a new paging file that is contiguous on the drive, thrashing is reduced and the laptop can actually power down the drive for longer periods, which gives the battery longer life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging_file

There is no Wikipedia article about hard drive thrashing that I can find (yet).

Found a paragraph :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paging#Fragmentation

What is a good brand name for portable hard drives?

Brian

I've never bought one of these before, so I have no Idea what to look for or what brands to trust.
If it matters, it's gonna be for my laptop, and it will mostly be used to hold my vast mountains of music.

Answer
a R.A.I.D (reluctant array of inexpensive/independent disk) is like a giant memory stick, litterally.
it's obviously bigger than a memorystick, and I think it's pretty good.

(wiki:)
Many operating systems provide basic RAID functionality independently of volume management.

Apple's Mac OS X Server and Mac OS X support RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 1+0.
FreeBSD supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 3, and RAID 5, and all nestings via GEOM modules and ccd.

Linux's md supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 4, RAID 5, RAID 6, and all nestings. Certain reshaping/resizing/expanding operations are also supported.

Microsoft's server operating systems support RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5. Some of the Microsoft desktop operating systems support RAID such as Windows XP Professional which supports RAID level 0 in addition to spanning multiple disks but only if using dynamic disks and volumes. Windows XP can be modified to support RAID 0, 1, and 5.

NetBSD supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 4, and RAID 5, and all nestings via its software implementation, named RAIDframe.

OpenBSD aims to support RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 4, and RAID 5 via its software implementation softraid.

FlexRAID (for Linux and Windows) is a snapshot RAID implementation.

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How can I partition my portable hard drive to save files both from my MAC and from an old PC?

portable hard drive on mac image

mr blonde7

I just want to save a ton of files from my MAC to my portable hard drive and if possible, also save files from my PC. I was told the hard drive can be 'partitioned' but have no idea how. I'm fairly clueless regarding all things tech so please use keep it simple LOL.

Answer
You have two options.

1) You can format the drive to FAT32 (MS-DOS in OSX) to make it both PC and Mac compatible. This will allow it to be used on both types of system without partitioning. This is the best option, except that this format won't allow file transfers of single files larger than 4GB in size.

2) You can follow the link below to learn how to use Disk Utility to partition your drive, created two partitions on the one drive, format one for Windows(NTFS) and one for OSX(Max OS Journaled). This will give you storage space for both Operating Systems, but you wouldn't be able to copy items between the systems. By default, OSX cannot read and write a NTFS drive, and Windows cannot read and write to a Mac OS Journaled drive.

http://macs.about.com/od/applications/ss/diskutilitypart.htm

What portable hard drives work with macbooks?

One is Too

Well im looking for a portable hard drive that can work with a macbook. I thought every hard drive works with and type of computer but i looked on the back and it said only windows vista, windows 7 or windows xp... so what can work for a mac book

Answer
You can consider buying
1)Iomega eGo Helium 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 34709
*Ultra Thin - Thin and lightweight (.44 lb.) USB 2.0 portable hard drive
*Stylish - Perfect match for the new MacBook Air notebook (HFS+ formatted); compact silver design slips easily into a purse or briefcase
*Rugged- The Drop Guard feature protects the drive when dropped up to 51-Inch (40% above the industry average!)
*Secure -EMC Retrospect software and MozyHome Online software included for backup (via download)
*3 year warranty with product registration
http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-Helium-Portable-External-34709/dp/B002L16KVE/?tag=best-laptops01-20

2)Western Digital My Passport for Mac 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBAAB5000ACH-NESN (Charcoal)
*Compatible with Apple TimeMachine
*Automatic, continuous backup software included
*Password protection and 256-bit encryption
*Visual drive control center
*Securing private or sensitive data
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Passport-Portable-WDBAAB5000ACH-NESN/dp/B002KG0JOE/?tag=best-laptops01-20
Hey you can visit below link you can find more options here :
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=external+hard+drive&x=0&y=0&ih=1_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0.3445_1&fsc=-1&tag=best-laptops01-20
or
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574865779&toolid=10001&campid=5336686710&customid=laptop+best+deal&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%2Fi.html%3F_nkw%3Dexternal%2520usb%2520hard%2520drive%26_trksid%3Dp3286.c0.m282

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