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using internal Hard Drive as an external HD...

cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 12, 2002
4,128
4
BrisVegas, Australia
i am down to my last 2GB of HD space, so i desprately need a bigger HD. i've got a 667 TiBook, and it's only got the 30GB (27GB formatted) HD. i could get a 60GB internal to replace the 30GB, but that would cost a bit. my other option is to get a external HD, or an iPod, but that would cost as well.

so i was thinking, is there any way i could use a internal HD sort of like a external HD? it would be alot cheaper- AU$200 for an 80GB HD.
could i have a internal just sitting in an empty tower, with adapters so i could use it as a firewire HD? is there any way i could get a internal HD to hook up to my Mac, just so i can back stuff up?
it doesn't matter how complex or obscure the idea of how to make it work, just post it. i just might be desprate enough to do it!;) :p :eek:
 
arn

arn

macrumors god
Staff member
Apr 9, 2001
16,363
5,795
Re: using internal Hard Drive as an external HD...

Originally posted by cb911
i am down to my last 2GB of HD space, so i desprately need a bigger HD. i've got a 667 TiBook, and it's only got the 30GB (27GB formatted) HD. i could get a 60GB internal to replace the 30GB, but that would cost a bit. my other option is to get a external HD, or an iPod, but that would cost as well.

so i was thinking, is there any way i could use a internal HD sort of like a external HD? it would be alot cheaper- AU$200 for an 80GB HD.
could i have a internal just sitting in an empty tower, with adapters so i could use it as a firewire HD? is there any way i could get a internal HD to hook up to my Mac, just so i can back stuff up?
it doesn't matter how complex or obscure the idea of how to make it work, just post it. i just might be desprate enough to do it!;) :p :eek:
Click to expand...


Hmm... is there a way for an internal HD to work like an external HD....

The answer is yes... and the answer includes an enclosure/bridge chip/powersupply.

I'm not sure why you think you have to go through so many hoops... enclosure/firewirecase/power costs about $100 US. Maybe cheaper.

arn

arn
 
cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 12, 2002
4,128
4
BrisVegas, Australia
ok, thaks arn!

i'll have a look around for all that stuff. enclosure, bridge chip and power supply- now i know what to look for, thanks.:D
 
strider42

strider42

macrumors 65816
Feb 1, 2002
1,461
7
Originally posted by cb911
ok, thaks arn!

i'll have a look around for all that stuff. enclosure, bridge chip and power supply- now i know what to look for, thanks.:D
Click to expand...

there are several firewire and USb enclosures for ide drives out there, many work without drivers, all as one unit.
 
cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 12, 2002
4,128
4
BrisVegas, Australia
ok, got it. adding to my list- Oxford 911 chipset.

know any links where i could find out more about this stuff? like a article on how to put one of these together?
and more importantly, what are some good Australian sites with all this kind of stuff?
 
LethalWolfe

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
Originally posted by cb911
ok, got it. adding to my list- Oxford 911 chipset.

know any links where i could find out more about this stuff? like a article on how to put one of these together?
and more importantly, what are some good Australian sites with all this kind of stuff?
Click to expand...


Yer making this more complicated than it is. All you do is buy a firewire enclosure and put yer HDD inside of it. Here is an example of what you want.


Lethal
 
cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 12, 2002
4,128
4
BrisVegas, Australia
thanks LethalWolfe!

that's exactly what i needed!:)

but does anyone know an Australian site i could get it from? it would be a pain to get it from the US.
 
D

datalok

macrumors member
Jan 6, 2002
70
0
hey cb - i am here in Aus and I have a clearlight firewire enclosure with a 10 gb 2.5 inch hdd I am lookin to sell - anyway if you wanna email me I can tell you anything you want about firewire HDs - I have to say they are brilliant - I had a USB ORB drive that took 70 minutes to copy 2 GB - the 9GB Firewire takes about 8 minutes - would be even faster if i spent $50 on a power supply rather than use the port power. I even used to run different OSs on the firewire drive and boot directly from it .

Don't think this is a sales pitch - I am just very impressed with them.
 
AlphaTech

AlphaTech

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2001
4,556
0
Natick, MA
Hey cb911, if you put your internal hard drive outside your computer, what are you going to use inside the computer??

As for adding space/storage, why not get the external firewire enclosure for a 3-1/2" hard drive and use that to keep your files/data??? You could pick up whatever 3-1/2" ATA hard drive you want and toss it into the case. It's NOT a difficult thing to do either, and you could easily install a 120GB or 160GB drive into that case. The enclosures typically sell for about $100 (for a good one). I actually have a 40GB drive sitting inside this one and it works great (when I connect it and use it).

I'd say, leave the drive you have inside the PowerBook and just add storage to the firewire bus... that's what it's there for. :p :D
 
cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 12, 2002
4,128
4
BrisVegas, Australia
i'm not going to take out the HD i have in my Mac, i was think of getting a external FW case and putting a regular HD in it, thus making an external HD.

but i'm having second thoughts about that now. it looks like the FW case would be about AU$200, and i want a decent size HD, so i'll probably go for a 80GB. and the cheapest HD i could find is about AU$350. that makes it a total of AU$550 and i could get an external 80GB FW HD for AU$470!! here's the one i'm talking about: http://www.palaeographics.com.au/cgi-pg/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=1212&sid=3G1muFhx
i've still got to find out a bit more about the IceCube, but so far it looks like that's the easiest and cheapest way to go.
 
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