Can sitting a computer on my hard drive damage it?

best portable external hard drives 2013 image

Robert

Hi I recently did something rather stupid I sat my large computer on my portable hard drive , my question can this corrupt the files on it or damage them in any way?

It was only sitting on half the hard drive for like 2 min, it's a powerless portable hard drive very small size of a persons hand, is powered by USB.

I have video files on the drive and I don't want them to be corrupted from having had the computer sit on the drive, so can this effect my files and if so how.

5 stars for best answer and if you can recommend a good hard drive scanning tool apart from scan disk that can scan for corrupted damaged files and bad sectors from external damage.

Thanks guys and Gals.

Answer
Hi there

2 things could happen in this situation: if the HDD was on and plugged in, it is technically possible for the pressure on the case to affect writing to the drive, though still unlikely. Second is if it was not connected and off, there should be no problems assuming there is no physical damage.

I'm going to assume it was on. I'd load the drive and attempt to access the video files, right away they should tell you if they are corrupted/unreadable.

Agent James Robbins
In-home Cadet
On assignment in the Portland Metro Area

Answered November 1st, 2013

Would you recommend a Macbook Air or Pro for college?

ClockwrkCr

I will be starting my freshman year of college next year and am going to order a new Macbook. I will either be getting the new 2013 13.3" 128 GB Macbook Air or the 13" 2.5GHz 500 GB Macbook Pro. I was thinking I am not going to use complex programs that will push these laptops to their limits nor end up using all 128 GBs or 500 GBs of the Macbooks so I might as well go with the lighter and more portable one in the Air. I've had my current laptop for a couple years now and I've only used up 76 GB of my hard drive so far and if I run out of space on the Air, I can just buy an external hard drive or whatever. What would you guys recommend? Have you had either Macbook for college?
@theoneandonly I'm not sure if you know this or not, but the new 2013 MBA has the new and faster processor in the Haswell chip, which I believe makes the MBA faster than the Pro.

Answer
I would personally recommend the Macbook Pro rather than the Air for college for a variety of reasons
a.) The Macbook Pro has an Optical Disk Drive -- Although it may not seem like you will use the disk drive, MANY teachers/professors hand out files on discs to students, so it will be a pain to handle an external disk drive everytime you get a disc to view.

b.)The Macbook Pro has a Kensington Security Slot -- It may not seem that you might need this -- I thought the same, however, when I got the corresponding cable along with the slot and locked my laptop up, all my friends' laptops were stolen, but mine was still there.

c.)The Macbook Pro has the faster processor -- You said that you don't push laptops to their limits, so you simply do not need the SSD's speed in the Macbook Air -- However, for day-to-day tasks, a faster processor helps.

d.)Upgradability -- 2 years from now, it is possible to change out your RAM, HDD, CPU (maybe), etc. on the Macbook Pro to keep it running faster. However, this is not possible on the Air as everything is soldered.

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Why does my macbook pro keep breaking?

portable hard drive keeps disconnecting image

Magic Mith

For two years it worked fine but after....

First the processor broke, then the motherboard, then the operating system and now it takes ten minutes to start up.

Defective model?

Answer
Here are a couple of things that you could do that will get your laptop up and running better.

Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

Repair Permissions routine located in Hard Drive> Applications> Utilities> Disk Utility
http://www.gballard.net/macrant/OSX_Permissions.jpg


Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected.
3. Remove the battery.
4. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
5. Release the power button.
6. Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
7. Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Always run Combo Updates DON'T use Software Update

UPDATE:
As to the computer being a defect if it doesn't run at all or boot up or the screen, keyboard, hard drive errors if none of these are bad. Then it really comes down to the System Software and the update that were installed even a minor update like a 'Apple security updates" have been known to be the culprit.

is it possible to transfer my transfer itunes library to my laptop?

moneygrinc

if so, how? if not, is there something else i can do?

Answer
Check this out ... Extract from
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=159372&start=0&tstart=0
Option 1:
Assuming you're moving files legally between your own computers, check out iPodAgent at http://www.ipodsoft.com/
________________________________
Option 2:
The manual way around this problem is to use the iPod in its alter ego - that of portable computer disk drive. Successfully tested under iTunes for Windows 4.2, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7; Windows XP Home.

- Start with the iPod disconnected from the computer - DON'T CONNECT IPOD YET
- open iTunes
- open iTunes Preferences - this blocks iTunes from seeing an iPod connection; leave the preferences window up and running
- connect the iPod to the computer, wait about 15 seconds before continuing
- open 'My Computer'
- Tools menu, Folder Options, View tab, enable 'show hidden files /folders'
- open iPod icon in My Computer
- open iPod_Control folder
- you should see a folder named music
- drag this folder to somewhere on your computer hard drive
- after the copy completes, right-click the new Music folder on your hard drive and select 'Properties'
- clear the checkmark next to 'Hidden'
- Close that explorer window
- eject iPod from System tray "Safely Remove Hardware" icon. This icon looks like a small gray rectangle with a green arrow floating above it. It's only there when a removable device (like the iPod in this case) is attached to the computer. Right-click & select 'Safely remove..', then click 'Stop' in the next window, OK in the next window, and then Close to complete the ejection.
- disconnect the iPod from the computer

- go back to iTunes, cancel the preferences window
- File menu \ Add folder to Library \ find that Music folder copied over from the iPod

Your iTunes library should be back in action! But wait - there's more!!

Long time forum regular Otto42 has a java script/program that can also retrieve the playlists themselves from the iPod as well. Here are his instructions and a link to the most recent thread discussing this tricky process:

] This is really useful when you're pulling all the songs off of an iPod to put them back into iTunes, because you lost your library or anything along those lines. Come up with your own reason for using it.

] Download this program:
http://otto.homedns.org:8888/iTunes/iPodGetXML.zip
(If you can't download it, try again later. The connection goes up and down a lot.)

] Now, put the iPod into Disk Mode or otherwise access the iPod as a drive. Make sure you can see hidden files, then go to the drive and the iPod_Control folder and find the iTunesDB file. Copy it to your PC.

] Put the copied iTunesDB file in the same directory as this program, then run the program. It'll read the iTunesDB, get all the playlists, and create an XML file for each one. Now just import those XML files into iTunes to recreate the playlists.

] Notes:
- The songs in playlist must already be in the iTunes library. If any one of them isn't there, iTunes throws up an error when you try to import the XML file.
- The song names, artist names, and album names in the library all must be identical as to what the iPod has. If you just copied all the music off the iPod and into iTunes, this will be the case, so it's generally not a big deal. but you'll get an error if it can't find the song in the iTunes library, so it's something to keep in mind.
- It probably won't be able to cope with unusual characters in song names. Sorry, not worth my time to fix. Dealing with unicode is way annoying.
- Smart Playlists get changed into regular playlists. It's *possible* for me to add the smart playlist stuff in there, but it'll take a while to work it all out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Original thread for Otto42's playlist recovery: http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?128@@.689c78f2/0

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How do I make an external hard drive accessible to anyone on the network?

best external hard drive network image

PummRa

How can I make my 500GB external hard drive available to anyone connected to my wireless home network?

Answer
Search for the External Hard Drive, and drag it to the shared folders or public folder. Keep in mind that if you remove the Hard Drive, it will not be accessible in the public folder.

IDK.. WORTH THE TRY

How long can an external hard drive stay on?

GrandUser1

My external hard drive is a shared drive on my network. How long can it stay on?

I'm planning no keeping it on for at least 12 hours a day.

Answer
External hard drives are simply the same kinds of hard drives that they put in computers (or into laptops). They just have a power cable (sometimes) and a data cable (USB or firewire).

The specific answer would depend on the drive that you bought. What you're looking for is the Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). There has been some interesting research along these lines:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2105611,00.asp

Frankly, hard drive manufacturers typically publish an MTBF number around a million hours. So leaving it on for 12 hours a day means about 131 years of use if you had one million hours of MTBF.

Note, however, that such numbers are averages and are based on theoretical math models. We all know that real hard drives can and do fail, and they fail much, much sooner than 131 years. The fact that you turn it on or off probably doesn't really make much difference. The drives tend to fail somewhere in the 3-5 year range on average in my experience. If you replaced it every 2 years, you'd probably be a lot safer.

Don't kid yourself that you can't get a 'lemon' and have it fail 90 days after you buy it. But expecting failure in the 3-5 year range is prudent, even though many hard drives run for far, far longer.

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Why is Windows 7 unable to recognize my external hard drive?

best external hard drive windows 7 image

808WARRIOR

Why is Windows 7 unable to recognize my external hard drive?

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate

External Hard Drive: HP SD320A


NOTES:

- It works on other computers.
- It works on another computer that is also running Windows 7 Ultimate.
- Formatted as NTFS.
- Connects to computer via USB
- Had HP Software installed prior to format and errors.
- Device is not recognized in Disk Manager
- Device is recognized as a Mass Storage Device in the Control Panel

Thank you.

Answer
Hi:

When Windows 7 start up. The first thing it does; is to send out a request to your Drive Manager and ask Hey buddy what drives do we have and the drive manager tell it, this what we got Drive C: Drive D : and Drive A ( if got that ( a Floppy disk drive) ). when you connected it to the USB port The USB bus should send a Request to Windows and say we got a New piece of Hardware and windows 7 should send a request to the New hardware asking what are you? and if your new drive has a plug and load program - it send a request to Windows 7 saying I'm a New disk drive and I want to load my drivers ( the interfacing program that enable windows 7 and the New drive to talk to each other) into you and please put my Id in your Disk Manager So I will recognize via my coded input code. And Windows will either say "go ahead" or No, because I don't recognize you HP code however sometime Windows 7 will recognize it - only after you restarted your again with the USB still plug in to it in both your drive and it. than it will recognize your external hard drive. to initialize the drive program

I hope this helps

How to solely operate an external hard drive on Windows 8 laptop.?

Jonathan

I have a cheap little Dell Inspiron 3520 running windows 8 and an external hard drive with windows 7. No matter how I change the boot order in bios it still runs the windows 8 primary drive. There's no way to disable it in bios and I can't physically remove it without going through the effort of unscrewing parts. Is there a program or a different way to disable the default hard drive and run the external only?

Answer
I would go to http://www.microsoft.com/support/windows8 forum or question & answers & you may find your answer there

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How to copy files on to a Portable Hard Drive?

partition portable hard drive vista image

$$$MAKER

I have a toshiba 160 GB but when I plug it in but it does not show up on my tray, and when I go to move one of my files the portable hard drive is not a choice, its says no drives available, I have Vista if thats any help

Answer
If you go to computer from the start menu is it listed there? If the drive is new you might have to format it to hold data.

Disks
To make use of it you need to create a partition on it and then you can format it and use it.
Open Disk Management tool (diskmgmt.msc) or right click My Computer and click Manage.
Select the disk, right click and create a New Partition, give a name and format it, it should appear on Explorer eventually.

Can a portable hard drive be formatted as a bootable USB?

rubixmaste

I know that Flash USB's are capable of being formatted into USB's that the computer can boot from the BIOS, but can the same be done with a Portable hard drive such as one from Western Digital (the passport types) ? And if so, will it completely work?

Thanks in advance!

Answer
yes, it will work perfectly. but there are procedures to be done. follow the steps

** creating a windows vista/7 bootable USB drive

* this can only be done using machines with vista or 7

* run command prompt as administrator

c:\diskpart

DISKPART> list disk

DISKPART> select disk 1 (assuming usb drive is disk 1)

DISKPART> clean

DISKPART> create partition primary

DISKPART> select partition 1

DISKPART> active

DISKPART> format fs=NTFS (this will format the usb drive)

DISKPART> assign

DISKPART> exit (this will exit diskpart command)

* insert windows vista/7 into ODD

c:\cd d:\boot

c:\boot\bootsect /nt60 g: (assuming usb drive is named g:)

* use windows explorer to copy all windows vista/7 files and folders from CD

* restart PC to be configured and locate BIOS setup & change the boot sequence to USB drive as priority

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What laptop would you recommend or not recommend?

portable hard drive big w image

K

I need to purchase a new laptop. I need it to have a webcam & microsoft programs included. I also would like it if this new laptop lasts a while & does not run slow. & a laptop that isn't too expensive... Any suggestions on a brand/name/where to find it?

Answer
For LADIES LOOKING FOR PORTABLE 14" LAPTOPS, try the Core i-5 Toshiba Satellite M645-S4050 or Satellite E205-S1980 from www.BestBuy.com, both comes with 512MB Class 3 NVIDIA GeForce 310M dedicated graphics card for a little bit of gaming like the SIMS 3.
or this one, click here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asâ¦
that has a Class 2 NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M, for a much better gaming graphics.

If you're not into gaming or installing Photoshop or AutoCAD designing softwares, then you don't care about the video card w/c fits your budget just fine.
If a laptop has a dedicated video card, THE PRICE GOES UP (this is indicated by A LOGO STICKER for NVIDIA or ATI MOBILITY RADEON on the computer surface, just below the keyboard. But if you can find a good deal with at least 256MB dedicated video card, it will be better for watching DVDs.
Just make sure that the laptop has AT LEAST 2GB DDR2 RAM modules in it so that it will always ran smoothly & not freeze up on you (HIGHER IS BETTER; DDR3 & DDR5 are faster & newer types of memory modules that came out).
But what makes a computer really run fast? It is it's processor! So if you really want your processor to have computing prowess & for you to be able to run different applications simultaneously, make sure it's AS EFFICIENT AS an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (Centrino 2 is a Core 2 Duo featuring power saving capabilities; Quad Core is for gaming fanatics). A Core 2 Duo is like having 2 motors running the computer each independent of the other w/c means for a Quad Core, it's like 4 motors are running the machine (that means it will run faster & more efficient even if its frequency is lower to that of a Core 2 Duo). Intel: Core 2 Duo, Centrino 2, Quad Core, Core i-3, Core i-5 & Core i-7 are all VERY MUCH FASTER & BETTER THAN an Intel: DUAL CORE, PENTIUM, CELERON, ATOM & their more affordable AMD counterparts.
In your case, get one with a Core 2 Duo or Core i-s & NOT one w/ a Pentium, Celeron or Atom.
Just make sure you have AT LEAST 2GHz of speed on your processor so that will be able to appreciate your laptop's fast response and performance.
The HDD (Hard Disc Drive) should be at least 320GB.
For the battery life to last longer, you need more cells into it. So if you can get a Dell from www.Dell.com with the HIGHER CAPACITY 6 CELL BATTERY, do so. The regular one doesn't last long. There are a lot of options & different combinations if you want to customize your own laptop, just STICK TO THE ESSENTIALS first.
8 cell, 9 cell & 12 cell batteries means they can last longer.
The average laptop LCD screen size is 15.4", and since you want something smaller than that w/ these 3 features I just shed some light on, expect the price to go higher (ex. for 13.3" & 14.1" LCD screens).

FOR the best PRICE COMPARISON, go to Fry's Electronics, MicroCenter, CostCo & BestBuy's web sites.
The MSI GT680R 15.6" Gaming Notebook I got w/ the Intel® Core⢠i-7 for using my DesignCAD software and playing Diablo III, retails for $1,499.99 (+ tax & other sur-charges).
I chose to pay more to have the newest technology so that I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT GETTING OUTDATED WITHIN THE NEXT 11 YRS.
click here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152239

Additional info, read on:
I used to work for a big name computer company & usually received a lot of call regarding battery issues.
A brand new computer's battery comes w/ a Standard 1yr Limited Warranty w/c means the expected life time of battery is only 1 year. Same thing goes for the charger.
So, if you don't know how to take care of it, it will die out on you sooner than than expected.

FYI: I always tell my customers, a laptop's battery is similar to a cell phone's. You charge it when it's depleted & you unplug the adapter when it is already fully charge (this will prevent the battery from getting overcharged & extend the life of the battery). So for less hassle, I always advice my customers to just remove the battery if they plan to use the computer for long hours straight (more than 1 hour) and just run it on AC power alone so as not to overcharge it & shorten the battery life.
ONLY USE THE BATTERY FOR PORTABILITY, if you're on a trip, at McDonalds or Starbucks.
If your not after its portability, you can use it just plugged into the wall socket all the time.

For chargers, make sure you don't stretch out the cable too much that the one by the power jack that you plug into the side of the computer gets bent. Make sure this part is always straight or else the copper wires inside will break & soon you'll have the problem of the charger not working anymore like what happened to some of my callers.

One white pixel in the middle of my laptop screen?

University

I have a Samsung laptop I bought brand new in November, about 6 months ago.

I am just noticing a white pixel in the middle of the screen. It's really annoying. Are there any techniques to get rid of it? I'd rather not return it if I can avoid it, and I don't know if they'd even accept the return for one pixel. I bought it from Future Shop.

Thanks for all advice!

Answer
I used to work for a big name computer company & usually received a lot of call regarding your issue.
That's what you call a dead pixel & no amount of rubbing would be able to get it out.
Your computer is still in warranty, but it takes a certain number of dead pixels before you can ship the computer in for Depot Repair.

I would suggest you call Samsung's Consumer Electronics support hotline number: 1800-SAMSUNG, & ask about how you go on about sending your laptop for repair.
Make sure to write down the name of the person who'll take your call.

FYI, which ever country your call will be routed to, please be patient & polite to the person who will take your call. After all, you are the one calling them for assistance with whatever issue you are having with your portable computer. Make sure to speak your name clearly (spell it, if need be) & provide all the info needed & asked for. They are trained professionals for handling simple matters, so I believe they should be able to assist you w/ any issue as long as IT IS WITHIN THEIR SCOPE OF SUPPORT. It depends on the company but be cooperative because these phone technicians have a specific handle time to be able to resolve the issue of a caller, so please do not be a jerk. Listen carefully to their instructions & follow it, because IF YOU THINK YOU K

What is the biggest (maximum capacity of memory) Portable Hard drive? Pls help :) Thanks ?

portable hard drive 640gb image

miguel

WHat is the biggest (maximum capacity of memory) PORTABLE hard drive made? That is also powered by the usb
I would appreciate if you can send me the link. Thanks again

Answer
How are you defining "portable"? I've seen USB NAS setups (Network Attached Storage) with the possibility of RAIDing multiple terrabyte hard drives together, for a reported supported capacity of over 32TB. If you need that much space and not running a large company, you have some issues...those typically run upwards of $400. They are relatively portable, in that they have handles and can be picked up and moved, but not like thrown in a backpack or something. They are about the size of a briefcase or small suitcase.

Next step down (in physical size): raided 1.5TB drives (total 3TB). These are still about shoebox sized. They run about $250 or so. Still kinda big and heavy, but would fit in a backpack if needed.

Next step down: Standard external 3.5" drive, like a MyBook. 1.5TB. These run about $180-200. They are about the size of a moderate hard cover book.

Next step down: Standard 2.5" external drive, 640GB. These run about $150-200 at this size, depending on what other connectors you want on it. About the size of a small paperback.

Next step down in size: External 1.8" solid state drive. Largest I've seen is 256GB, but at a whopping price tag of over $1000 for one this large. About the size of a credit card.

Next step down in size: USB drive/Thumb Drive/Jump drive/etc. Biggest I've seen is 32GB (before going to 1.8" solid state drive), but one that large will run about $150-300. You can get smaller ones for much less. Slightly smaller than your thumb.

Next step down: MicroSD Card. About the size of a pinky fingernail. Max size I've seen is 8GB. However, this is not usb unless you have a media reader built in (which is technically always USB anyway).

Would this laptop be good for gaming like world of Warcraft and mine craft?

Andrew

Toshiba - Satellite 17.3" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 640GB Hard Drive - Mercury silver Enjoy your media with this Toshiba Satellite L875-S7108 laptop that features a 17.3" display with TruBrite technology for arresting high-definition images. The DVD+/-RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support lets you create customized CDs and DVDs.
Product Features

3rd Gen Intel® Core⢠i3-3120M processor
Features a 3MB cache and 2.5GHz processor speed.
Intel® Core⢠i3 processor
Features smart 4-way processing performance for HD quality computing. Intel® HD graphics provide extra graphics power for your laptop when you need it.
4GB DDR3 memory
For multitasking power, expandable to 16GB.
Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media; also supports DVD-RAM.
17.3" LED-backlit TFT high-definition widescreen display
With TruBrite technology, native support for 720p images and 1600 x 900 resolution showcases movies and games in striking clarity.
640GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times.
Mobile Intel® HD graphics
Feature shared video memory for lush, detailed images. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV.
Built-in high-definition webcam and microphone
Make it easy to video chat with family and friends.
Multiformat media reader
Supports Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, SDXC, miniSD, microSD and MultiMediaCard formats.
2 USB 3.0 ports and 1 USB 2.0 port
For fast digital video, audio and data transfer; USB 2.0 port with sleep-and-charge capability.
Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n)
Connect to the Internet without wires.
Built-in 10/100 Ethernet LAN
With RJ-45 connector for quick and easy wired Web connection.
Weighs 6.3 lbs. and measures just 1.3" thin
For portable power. Premium keyboard with 10-key pad enables comfortable typing and simple data entry.
Fusion finish in mercury silver
Provides a stylish look.
Microsoft Wi

Answer
Minecraft isn't that demanding. You should be fine.
Below are the system requirements for World of Warcraft. Looks like the laptop would be good enough to run it but personally I would upgrade the RAM to at least 8 gb.

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How do I change Portable/External Hard Drive permission?

best portable hard drives for mac 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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What external portable hard drive is best for my Macbook and Dell desktop PC?

portable hard drive mac partition image

ddkreft88

I regularly switch from these 2 computers . My Simpletech is now giving me problems as it cannot load or read to my Mac so forget that brand. I am choosing between Maxtor, Toshiba or Western Digital. Any pros and cons? Thanks!

Answer
I'm a big fan of Seagate hard drives but that's my preference. I would look at warranties for all the products you are looking at.

Also getting a regular size drive and putting it in an external enclosure will be a cheaper option but the draw back is that it will need it's own power source.

Also with the issue with your simpletech hard drive. I would copy all data off it then reformat it. I bet this brings your drive back to life on your mac. For instructions check out here http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html

Be very careful not to format the wrong drive.

How to recover an mountable hard drive?

Josh

I don't care about the data on it, I have that safe.

It was used on time machine on a mac, but it stopped working. Now I just want to be able to use it as a usb storage device. When I plug it into my pc (windows) it can't see it. When I go to disk manager, I can't reformat it of change the letter or anything. If it helps, the hard drive is by samsung and it's a S2 Portable 500 GB.

Basically, I just want to wipe it and make it like new.
Sorry! In the question I meant an unmountable hard drive!

Answer
Right-click the Start menu and choose "Properties". Click the "Customize" button, and put a check for "Display Administrative Tools".

Next, Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Computer Management

â On the left, under "Storage", select "Disk Management".
â Click on the drive to select it.
â Remove the partition, link below explains how.
â Add a new partition, link below explains how.
â Under the "Action" menu, select "All tasks" > Format. Choose NTFS.

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Can I use an external hard drive with my Xbox?

portable hard drives that work with pc and mac image

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.

can I share a portable hard drive between my mac AND pc?

witt8199

I've been looking at some 320 gb external hard drives for my extensive photo files and as a back up for my documents. I have a Mac Pro laptop, and a PC desk top and need to share the portable hd files between them. Is that possible?

Answer
Yes. Ensure your drive is formatted correctly or purchased those drive with the Mac OSX and Windows compatible logo. See the link below for more info about the different formats.

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what video formats does the xbox 360 support?

connect portable hard drive xbox image

barcafan

I want to rip my dvds to a portable hard drive so i can then watch them on my xbox 360 when i connect it to the portable hard drive.

What format should i rip my dvds to? .avi? .wmv? .mp4?

Answer
I believe the Xbox 360 supports .wmv, .avi, h.264, and MPEG 2. I would recommend .avi because it will work with pretty much anything (by anything, I mean other media devices). And although the Xbox was made originally to play only WMVs it now fully supports .avi. BUT, just so you know, an external hard drive needs to be formatted to FAT32 before the Xbox can detect it and even then it is only limited use but you can watch movies off it. If your rip the DVD to .avi, the Xbox will also support 5.1 DD if the DVD is 5.1 and you correctly ripped it. If your external hard drive isn't formatted to FAT32, use a flash drive or stream it from your computer using TVersity which is an excellent piece of media sharing software found at www.tversity.com

Can i connect XBOX 360 4GB Console wit 320GB WD Portable HDD to use 16 GB for games and rest for Mp3,Videos?

Paiyya

I have brought XBOX 360 4GB console. I have a 320 GB Western Digital Elements 2.5" Portable Hard Drive. Will i be able to use this to extend 16 GB memory to store some games and remaining for for my personal Mp3 and videos for entertainment ?

Answer
Yes as long as it's compatible with the 360. It needs to be FAT 32 to play media on the console. You can partition it under the memory section when you choose to use it to store 360 content. Set aside 16GBs for use on there and the rest will be accessible on your computer to add media.

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If I plugged a portable hard drive from western digital into my mac, will it be available on PCs as well?

portable hard drive mac image

Marcus Mas

If I plugged a portable hard drive from western digital into my mac, will it be available on PCs as well? I didn't reformat anything, I just put it into the USB port. It didn't even ask if I wanted to do anything of the sort.

Answer
Format must be FAT32.

Will any portable hard drive work for an Apple computer or do I need to specifically buy an Apple product?

thmtom

My wife just got a Mac-book (or some apple computer of shorts). It is the first apple base computer in our family. Being I'm a Microsoft guy (I have not converted yet), I'm clueless about Macs. I want to buy my wife a portable hard drive for her birthday (and she has been asking for one). Will any portable hard drive work for an Apple or do I need to specifically buy an Apple product?

Answer
If you were to go to an Apple retail store, you'd see that none of the portable hard drives are Apple-branded. Apple doesn't make its own hard disks, not even the ones in their Time Machine backup product.

If you get something from Seagate, Toshiba or Western Digital you should be fine. Those are all big players in the storage market and I've used drives from all those manufacturers successfully with a Mac running OS X.

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What are things you need to know about a Portable Hard Drive?

portable hard drives 2tb image

Kayla ~

Does it just plug & go like a normal USB Thumb Drive? Do I have to back up everything on my computer or can I pick what I want to put on the drive? I just want to put some pictures & music on there so it's not on all my laptop desktop. It's not for business use or anything.

Answer
It works almost like a thumb drive but consider that is much more fragile than a solid state media.

On a portable HD you actually carry a laptop hard drive on a case. Depending on the speed and capacity it will have energy needs. USB 2.0 has a certain capacity as far as power goes, so some USB hard drives will require two USB ports to work properly, one for data and the other for extra juice.

Consider this when buying one. They are mostly pretty sturdy, I have dropped mine and has survived fine, but don't consider it as a main media back up since due to its size and the fact that is mobile, it will be more fragile than a regular external back up HD.

I keep a complete back up of important files in an external iOmega HD (powered, 2TB) and carry around a 500 GB Maxtor, but I had to buy a powered hub because it kept on shorting my USB ports when I connected all my other peripherals (mouse, Keyboard, etc. etc.)

Does anybody know where I can buy a hard drive enclosure replacement for my WD My passport 2tb Portable HD?

UnkownK

I purchased the hard drive by itself because I thought I can replace my laptop's hard drive but it is bigger than I thought.

I'm not sure if any type of HD Enclosure would work because the passport uses a usb plug and not mini usb.

I searched online and google it but all I found was the results for the actual product.

Anybody know where I can get it I would greatly appreciate it.

Answer
http://www.storagereview.com/2tb_western_digital_my_passport_portable_hard_drive_review

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installing logic pro 9 onto a portable hard drive instead of my macs hard drive?

best portable hard drive firewire 800 image

Nik

ok, i really want to buy Logic Pro 9 for my mac to do recording and such, but i know i dont have enough memory on my mac to instal it because i only have the 64GB mac. if there anyway to instal Logic Pro 9 onto my 500GB portable hard drive instead of my macs hard drive? i dont want to spend $200.00 and then realize i cant install it.

Answer
Logic Pro 9 comes with huge collections of libraries, which means program itself isn't that big; around 1 GB or less.

Other than that you can pretty much install on an external drive if you have any.
If you still don't own please make sure you buy one with:

SATA or eSata port - if your Mac supports those connection or you have enough money to get PCI cards for the port. Second choice would be Firewire 800 then USB2. and it also depends on what kind of audio interface you are using.

7200RPM or more; no 5400RPM
which means 2.5 is not recommended - it limits number of the samples you can play simultaneously.
but if you think you won't max out the spec you can go for it.

plan accordingly





Usama Minegishi
Logic Pro Apple Certified Trainer

What is best external hard drive for a laptop?

phstriton

I heard that external hard drives are a good thing to have.I was wondering what a good storage size is and if I can use it for my laptop. What are some good brands and models?

Answer
Everyone will probably have different experiences with different brands, and everyone gets a lemon sooner or later to complain about.

I've had very good experiences with Western Digital external drives. I've used the Passport models to carry around with me, and I have a MyBook that I keep at home. I've also heard good things about the Seagate FreeAgent line, but I haven't used them personally.

My lemons were a pair of Maxtor OneTouch III drives -- both have failed repeatedly. Other people recommend Maxtor highly and it's possible I just had a string of bad luck.

As for size, I think the standard advice applies -- buy as much space as you can afford. Even 500GB portables (i.e., the 2.5" drives), which haven't been available that long, are only about $100 at Amazon.

Don't forget to consider the connection. Pretty much all drives support USB 2.0, but if you're going to be using it for video editing you might want to look for one that also supports Firewire 800 (provided that your laptop supports FW, of course).

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I want to install a new operating system on my laptop.?

portable hard drive keeps freezing image

Shr S

So i want to install TInyXP, because i absolutely hate Windows 7. But i installed it on this same model before, and it didn't work. It kept freezing the laptop or shutting it down..And TinyXP always has a problem being installed on laptops for some reason.
But i really don't want to keep Windows 7, is there any efficient way to back everything up? I was going to put my files and stuff on my external hard drives.

Answer
Save the contents of your disk as a windows virtual machine using Microsoft Windows Disk2VHD or Virtual PC utility programs. Disk2VHD sounds easier, but idk whether it works with Windows 7. That way, even if you decide that you want to reinstall Windows, you won't have to reinstall all your other programs. You can simply run them in the "virtual" environment that you saved in the "virtual machine" with them. One catch is that they only support VM's of 128GB or less.

To copy everything to an external hard drive is as easy as 'drag and drop.' If you need to conserve space on the external hard drive use a zipper tool like 7zip. I would not use the Windows compressed file system because I don't think that it is very portable.

I definitely recommend installing a popular flavor of Linux such as Gentoo, Ubuntu or Mint rather than working with Tiny XP. Linux will keep getting better because it is the best open-source OS in the world and millions of developers love it, while Tiny XP will tend to get worse as interest wanes.

One of the biggest headaches of Linux is getting manufactures of new hardware devices to make Linux drivers, or even just to publish an interface specification so that the community is able to write one. The XP ripoff crowd is going to have just as much difficulty or more, especially if the evil empire decides to crush their little rebellion.

I have important documents on my apple but its frozen what do i do?

Ryan

my apple computer just froze with a bunch of important documents and the spinning wheel just keeps spinning. my power point is due in the morning how do i save the documents or at least try to! please help quick

Answer
It depends what you mean by frozen :
If your OS X is frozen there are many solutions in fact the easiest would be downloading a portable OS like Ubuntu for example and burn it to a CD then boot your mac with it WITHOUT installation ... just run it from the CD and copy all your work to an external USB drive or flash memory, here is Ubuntu download page, it's free of course :

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

If you mean your Mac it self is frozen like it won't boot at all you'll have a limited chance that really needs a technician to disassemble your hard drive from your Mac and then you can put it in a USB enclosure and move your data to another computer ..
good luck

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Will everything be erased on my ipod?

portable hard drive keeps connecting and disconnecting image

Lauren:]

So i have an ipod and it has 1000+ songs on it. we used to use limewire to load all of the songs onto the ipod but then limewire had a viruse and we had to get rid of limewire. now we have a new computer and we have another account for another ipod loaded onto the computer and it has other songs that i dont want. so if i plug my ipod into the computer will i loose all of my songs? please help with this!

Answer
You can also save the files to your new computer

How do I transfer my itunes library from my iTouch/iPod onto a computer?

1. Connect the iPod to your PC. If iTunes starts syncing (ie erasing) your music automatically, hit the X in the upper right hand corner of iTunes display, to the left of the search box, to stop it.
2. In Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, double-click your iPod.
3. In the Tools menu - Options, in the View Tab, check Show hidden files and folders.
4. Navigate to the Music folder. On my 2nd gen 'pod, the full path is
Portable Media DevicesUSER'S IPOD (F)iPod_ControlMusic
5. Select all the music folders, and drag and drop them into a folder on your hard drive, or directly into iTunes.

And you're done! The iPod music folder structure is strange and inexplicable, but once you move your files into iTunes you can set it to automatically organize your folder by artist and album to clean that up. (To do this, in iTunes Edit menu, choose Preferences and in the Advanced tab, check Keep iTunes Music Folder organized.)

This has work for 3 other yahoo answer users on here, good luck i know you can do it.




Syncing ipod manually

If you've tried syncing Podcast music and movies and they wont work try syncing manually.

1. Connect your iPod to your computer and open iTunes.

2. Select your iPod in the DEVICES section of the iTunes Source list.

3. In the main iTunes browser window, select the Summary tab.

4. Select the "Manually manage music and videos" option. This will deselect the automatic sync settings for the Music, Movies, and TV Shows tabs. Automatic syncing for Podcasts, Photos, Contacts, and Games can be individually disabled by selecting each of those tabs. Note: When manually managing iPod, disk use is enabled and iPod must always be manually ejected in iTunes before disconnecting.

5. Click Apply.

6. To manually add music, audiobooks, movies or TV shows to your iPod, choose one of these categories under LIBRARY in the Source list

7. Select and drag items you want (to choose multiple items, Command-click items on a Mac or Control-click items in Windows), then drag them onto your iPod icon in the Source list.

8. To add a playlist, select it in the Source list and drag it onto your iPod in the same ways as a song.

9. When you are ready to disconnect your iPod, select it in the Source list and click the eject icon.

My portable hard drive keeps connecting and disconnecting.?

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.

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what is the best way to store files?

portable hard drive in walmart image

Tiffany

I have a ton of pics and avis. Does anyone know of a safe way to store these? I currently have them on cd. Is there a better way like an external hard drive or do those crash. I don't want to keep them on the computer because i'm scared it will crash and loose them all. Is cd currently the best way.

Answer
USB pocket drive...I got a 1.0 GB for $12 at Walmart. Actually, I got 2, they're so cheap. One I actually take to work...portable, as intended.

Also got a USB external 80 GB drive by Iomega. It's good...came with back up softwere that works good, too.

*And*, I back up on DVDs and CD-ROMs. CD-ROMs are so cheap now...I actually will just throw those out as I re-do current back ups.

Finally, I have 2 installed HDs, so, right, I will occasionally back up things from one internal to the other internal HD for a very, very fast backup.

Also, I occasionally store data DVDs "offsite" -- like maybe at work or in my car, just in case my house gets completely burned down or who-knows-what in this incredibly dangerous world.

Why so much? Cuz I'm human and do stupid things, like the time I formatted my backup drive *and* killed the files on my installed drive. If I ever get that stupid again, (and it's likely, cuz I'm human) I've still got those data DVDs, CD-ROMs and USB pocket drives. And because I really value the accumulated data...some of which represents years of work.

How valuable is your data? What's it worth to you to never have to completely re-write, re-download, re-shoot every last byte of it? Your back-up investment should be commensurate with how much you value the data.

What is a good portable hard drive for PS3? What is a good internal hard drive for PS3?

WiiPS3 Pla

I don't want to spend more than $100 on either.

Answer
A good internal Hard drive for the PS3 would be any 2.5 inch SATA hard drive.

Here's some links to a hard drive that can be used Internally for the PS3 that's under $100 dollars:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9208971#Specifications

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/500917-REG/Western_Digital_WD2500BEVSRTL_250_GB_Scorpio_2_5_.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/484050-REG/Western_Digital_WD1600BEVSRTL_160_GB_Scorpio_2_5_.html

The brand name for the PS3's Internal Hard drive really doesn't matter, but personally I would go for a Seagate or Western Digital Internal Hard drive.

Any portable USB External Hard drive should be fine, but here's some links that I found:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8692408&type=product&id=1198286608940

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8692408&type=product&id=1198286608940

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