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

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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.

Is there a way to install MS Visual Studio Express on a portable hard drive so I can run the program @ work?

Randall

We have Windows 7 at work and I don't have administrator access. I was wondering if I could install on my portable hard drive (not a usb), to practice creating practice c++ programs from work. Does anybody know if and how this can work?

Thanks.

Answer
No I'm afraid not, VSE needs to be installed,it load a large number of DLL's and other tools in to the system directories and modifies the registry. You would be better off using eclipse and gcc which can both be configured to run without being installed.

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When purchasing an external hard drive, what should I be looking for?

best external hard drive solid state image

Lisa

My computer is getting low on memory, so I would like to get a external hard drive to use for storing my computer games I mainly play sims2 and I know it takes a lot of memory. I really know next to nothing about computers, so please explain in detail. I have tried asking the sales people questions, but I swear most of them know less than me. Thanks in advance.

Answer
Basic things to consider:

1. Type of external hard drive: Solid-state drive which using micro chip (no moving parts to break - more expensive) or Hard disk drive which is completely the opposite (moving hard disk inside and can literally crash when moving hard disk touches - less expensive)

2. Capacity: I would get at least 2 TB of storage

3. Brand: I suggest Maxtor brand

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

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.

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Hard-drive - Samsung S2 Portable 600gb?

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Fordis

Can someone help me, I cannot access my portable hard-drive, Samsung S2 Portable 600gb.

Its okay for me to format it, theres no important files there, but i just cannot go through with it, it says there: There is no Disk in drive, insert a disk then try again.

Also - Disk Management says:

Disk 3
Unknown
596.17 GB
Unreadable

596.17 GB
Unallocated

How to fix this. If I could recover the files, better, if not, atleast I want to have it formatted so I can still use it.

Note: This was once used in MacBook laptop before, is there any related connections or just the same as with Windows-based PC?
I saw Samsung S2 Portable, 600gb on properties, but on disk management, i pasted here what i saw. Im using Windows Vista Basic, also i have windows 7.. It says, unreadable, sometimes, no disk, please try to insert disk. It was being used in Mac laptop before. Tnx.

Answer
If it was used in a MacBook, it is probably currently formatted in ext3 or ext4. If you're in a Windows environment, you probably want it to be in NTFS.

You didn't include what OS you're currently running. The info you've cut and pasted seems to be from Disk Management in Windows 7, but you're referring to it as a "portable hard-drive", which seems odd.

Try this tutorial:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/248980/how_to_format_your_hard_drive_in_windows.html

Tried to hook up my Flip camara - said not enough disk space. How do i create more disk space?

Bea

Please keep it simple....Thank you!!

Answer
um delete duplicate files buy a portable usb harddrive they are about 200-600gb each and you can get one for 90 bux and under to put your files on.delete any files you dont need. also by the way its worth it to get a hard drive either way cuz you can back up your files and not have a crowded computer. also you can use internet backup plans for a yearly charge. I wouldnt though because if the service goes out of business you can lose all your documents.

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What can you build out of Dell Inspiron 600m Parts?

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Emman

My old Dell laptop is broken and now i'm looking for good ideas to do with them. I don't want to spend too much money...
It does not work. Motherboard is fried.

Answer
A Dell Inspiron 600m.





No but seriously... there are a lot of fun projects you can attack with one.

1| You can build a WiFi router out of it. (One of my favorites, impresses people... somehow.)

2| You can turn it into Real-Time Anti-Virus. It will work by becoming a proxy between your main computer (or network) and it intercepts all of your downloads, scans them, and then send them to you all transparently. If the file is dirty, you can have it delete it, send to you with a warning, or even attempt to "clean" the file.

3| You can build yourself a portable media center (i.e. Plugs into TV/Stereo system and immediately plays Movies/Muziks. You can even set it up to display an interactive menu on the screen which a smartphone controls giving you unlimited options.



But all this relies on the laptop functioning at least enough to run. It will require the following things to work:
A working power source (battery or AC adapter)
It will require a working processor.
it will need to have at least 64MB(tiny amount) of memory (RAM, not disk)
A working basic input/output system or unified extensible firmware interface.
Finally it needs to be able to interface with something somehow, so Serial port, Ethernet port, working keyboard, etc.

It does NOT need:
A working screen/monitor
A hard disk drive*
A CD/DVD-ROM
Wireless card
Windows



Link for 1| http://rbgeek.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/ubuntu-as-a-firewallgateway-router/
For 2| and 3| just google those things with the words "linux" at the end... lol.

Whats the best malware program to use to get rid of malware?

johndeere_

Answer
The Top Malware Removal Tools of 2012

Norton Antivirus 2012

Norton has long been a big name in computer protection. The newest edition of the Antivirus program makes it easy for malware to be stopped. This even includes protection against exploit programs that are often skipped by some other removal tools. You can even get real time information on any threats that the program stops as they come into your computer.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus

Bitdefender has a program that is noted for having some of the industryâs best malware detection rates. It uses scheduled scans to find malware and works quickly to remove old malware files from a computer. It even uses quick scans that can be used in the background without causing your computer to slow down.

Kaspersky Antivirus 2012

The 2012 edition of Kasperskyâs flagship program has some of the best malware removal rates in the industry. It works on all major operating systems including Windows 7. It also uses detailed descriptions of individual malware programs to give you an idea of what is being removed from your computer.

F-Secure Antivirus

F-Secureâs program has a strong malware detection rating. What makes it particularly valuable is its customized scanning feature. This is where you can adjust the program to scan in specific spots in the computer including spots where you feel there might be some malware in that area. This could be used to control trouble spots quickly.
Avast Pro Antivirus 2012

Avast is another popular name in malware removal. This program has support for not only computer hard drives but also for flash drives and other portable hard drives that can link up to a computer. It makes for an easy to use device that is convenient and works well for anyone who is interested in getting a good program to scan items.

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What kind of Mac computer should i use for lots of photoshop?

best portable hard drive 1tb for mac image

Tim

Hi, I am looking for a new mac computer for work. There it is connected to a big server and I want to use it a lot for photoshop, illustrator and indesign.
What I all ready found:

iMac 27 inch
3.4 GHz quad core Intel i7
RAM 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3 (Maybe with 32GB?)
Fusion drive 1 TB (128 Flash memory + 872 HDD)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 675MX 1 GB DDR5

and

Mac Pro
Two 2.40GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
12GB DDR3
1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB

Wich one should you suggest? Or maybe you have other suggestions?

Thanks
(Mac Pro is the desktop computer from apple, not to be confused with the Macbook Pro)

Answer
well if your are not bothered about being portable then i would go for the imac. the mac pro may be easily upgraded but it has not been updated in years and i now far less powerful than the imac. you could maybe even consider a mac mini as these may be the cheapest mac on the market but they would still be pretty good for photoshop. whatever you get make sure that you pay for all the extras so that it is at the highest possible spec. in the long run it will make a big difference.

Is using an external hard drive just a matter of dragging wanted items to it?

bee

I am considering purchasing an external hard drive to store photos on. I have a macbook pro and will by an external hard drive for a mac.... will it be just a matter of dragging wanted photos to it?

Any other tips or suggestions when it comes to purchasing one?
Thank you

Answer
pretty much. works like a internal hardrive. all you do is select the drive and drag and drop. easy!

i do suggest buying a backup for it tho. i have 2. encase one goes out.
buy from western digital. they have the best warranty. usually up to 2 years on there drives. if they go out you can replace for free. warranty are only valid for the drive and not the information on the drive. data recovery is at own expense.

i use 2, 1.5TB hardrives and a portable 1tb

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Can you see the contents of an external hard drive after its been unplugged?

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legalsatir

I had an external hard drive loaded onto my computer, but it dropped and died. I want to review what was on there (filenames, not contents, obviously) to see if its worth sending to data recovery.

Is there some way to see that? The folders were visible on my computer at one time, and I haven't shut it off or cleared the RAM. Any ideas?

Thanks, I'd really appreciate it.

Answer
with compupic pro i am being able to do that
but i erases after you disconnect a drive, as an usb memory pof a hard drive.
And cenatek's ramdisk is able to load all of a program into memory, that it means that kind of things its possible.
The problem is how to take data bak from memory to hard disk. Its like when you rise the buffer on winamp, you place a cd, load the winamp buffer (eg. 55000kb) and then expulse the cd and the music still is playing on winamp.
I was looking many time ago a software like that and nothing appears yet.
Someone must be wonking on it at any place but at least someone is doing it, im sorry i can't help more.

What is the best external hard drive?

Ferretfool

What is the best 500GB, 7200+rpm external USB hard drive, and why? Reading the reviews on Amazon they all seem rather inadequate. I want something that won't lose my data or crash, and if it were to have a great amount of cache that would be great as well, though its not required.

Answer
It's best to assume that ALL hard drives will crash eventually. That's why you should be backing up your data. There is no crash-proof hard drive - that would be like a crash-proof car. if you drop it or hit it while it's on, it will most likely get damaged and lose data. the cache will help with speed - don't ask how - it's too complex to explain here. Get one with good warranty - the longer the better. Also know that in general, 7200 rpm drives are less reliable than 5400 rpm drives, but they are faster. Drives are made in factories all over the world, and some batches are better than others - so even with the same model, it may vary.

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What is a good Macbook to get? Suggestions please?

portable external hard drive versus desktop image

Sam

I need a decent laptop. I've been using an ancient desktop for my entire life and it's time I got my own computer, I'm 17 aha.
I'm only considering Macbooks because A) I actually know how to use them B) I know nothing about computers and I'm too lazy to learn about them and sift through all bajillion laptops on the market and C) I know that whichever one I choose, most major stores will probably carry it.

Price is irrelevant, I'm pretty good at saving my money so I'll figure it out one way or another. Here are my requests:

- I don't want a big giant computer, but I don't want it to be so small that it starts to slow down pretty quickly. I've seen laptops big enough to provide heat to a small village, and since I'll be travelling with it, I definitely don't want one that big.

- I won't be doing anything special with it, I'll be using it for internet surfing, school work, writing, shopping, etc. I doubt I'll be doing any gaming on it or anything

- Like I said, I've never owned a laptop before so I don't know how long they last, but if I'm going to spend a lot of money on one, then I want it to last at least well into my university years (I'll be going to university in a year and a half, but by the time I actually save up and buy the computer it will probably be a few months away)

I know nothing about this stuff :( You can probably tell by how stupid and nooby I sound aha. I just don't know where to start. Macbook Air? Macbook Pro? Macbook Mini? Which model? Which size? Anything else I should be looking for?

Anyway...if you have any suggestions, advice, or can think of a computer that better suits my needs (that won't cost me a mortgage payment) , I'm all ears. That's for the help :)

Answer
Hello,
First off, you're quite funny, "laptops big enough to provide heat to a small village" haha. Well back to the topic, I suggest for your personal standards, a MacBook Air would be, as it seems to me, would be the best choice. Now many after me will argue the MacBook Pro, but I will disprove this theory with the information you told me above.

1. You said you don't want it to slow down. MacBook Airs have an SSD storage drive; basically a large flash dive as their storage drive where documents can be stored. This is much faster than an HDD in a MacBook Pro, which uses a physical writer rather than a virtual one. Plus it will rarely ever crash, unlike an HDD, and if the computer was let's say ever dropped, which face it, you might do this once or twice (on accident of course), you would have about 0% chance of messing up your hard drive containing all of your work, while an HDD drive if dropped in a computer has about a 50% chance of messing up some files. Not a risk I would take as a student. And if you need more storage space, get an external 1 TB hard drive on like Amazon.com for $100 and carry that in your backpack. (And for those who want to yell at me about SSD's in MacBook Pros, consider this; it's about $400 cheaper to get the Air with the same hard drive amount than the Pro, both having 256 GB. And I know that price doesnât matter, but doesnât everyone not want to spend a ton of money?)
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air
http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Portable-External-Drive-Storage/dp/B006Y5UV4A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362887607&sr=8-1&keywords=1+tb+portable+hard+drive

2. You are not into gaming. Or video editing. Mac's are used a ton for video editing, and on the go video editing is mainly used by the MacBook Pro. Since you are not into CPU intense stuff, and more into surfing the web or typing, then the MacBook air is the way to go.

3. Weight. While both are light, the MacBook Air clocking in at about 2.4lb or 3lb depending on the size versus 4.5lb and 5.6lb on the MacBook Pro is quite a significant difference. It also helps that the MacBook Air is really thin (I mean it's called the Air - thin and lightweight)

I think my points above prove my idea of what you should buy. I would suggest the 13 inch, 256 GB flash memory model, with 1.8 GHz CPU. Again, this is what I think based on your information provided. The only downfall I can see to this device is the battery life, maxed at 7 hours. I would hope that you would carry a charger with you want that you wouldn't need stuff like Bluetooth on all the time or your screen on full brightness and you shouldn't have any problem. But if battery is your concern, consider a MacBook Pro, where your only cons are price and weight. But please, do not rule out the Window's PC option as well. You can get a great, more powerful Window's PC that even has a touch screen, for about the same price that can be used very easily. But if you are adamant about Apple computers, you know my suggestion. If you have any more questions, feel free to add them to additional details. Thanks!

P.S. I just want to let you know, there is no such thing as a MacBook Mini. You probably meant the Mac Mini, which is a actual desktop computer, not a laptop. I know you said you were not very tech savvy, but I though I should just let you know. Thanks! (Again)
http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/

P.P.S.S. Or however you say P.S. again, I own a MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air, and a couple of Window's PC's, so I am not at all being biased above. Thanks! (Again^2)

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How do I keep my music on my portable hard drive and put it on my iPod?

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skibum_us

I have music on my portable hard drive and I want to put it on iTunes so that I can put it on my iPod. How do I do that?

Answer
You could also just set iTunes to search removable devices as well.

Can't be more specific because I don't personally use iTunes, and each version of it is different.

But when You do a search for new files to add to the library You'll have an option to check removable drives or the entire system, make sure the portable hard drive is plugged in at the time.


Good Luck!.

Can anyone tell me how to install programs onto a portable hard drive?

Catherine

I just bought a portable hard drive and am looking forward to installing programs on it so my computer's hard drive will be less cluttered. Does anyone know how to do this? I want to install my computer games, music media organizer, and various others onto it. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Answer
When you connect the protable hard drive you will need to format it with your Windows software or the Portable hard drives manufacturers CD which came with it. Then once it is formatted all you will need to do is connect it via the USB cable and then it will install itself. You then can go to MY COMPUTER and see it listed there. Then any file or program you want to store on there or save on there can be easily transfered/stored by left clicking on the file (highlight it) and then on the top of the open window go to left click EDIT, then either COPY TO FOLDER or MOVE TO FOLDER, (then another window will pop up with all you drives and folders) you will then find your PORTABLE HARD DRIVE in there LEFT click on it and it will save to that hard drive. You can also make a new folder once you open up the Portable Hard drive in the popup window so you can save different things in different folders. Hope this helped..

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