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External hard drive help
- Thread starter gjm87
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It's a lowish capacity IDE/ATA/PATA relic and isn't really worth pursuing unless you're trying to retrieve data from it, in which case your options are...
a) buy the cheapest USB2 / 3.5" ATA enclosure you can find – like this.
b) buy a naked adaptor kit – like this.
Advantage of the enclosure is that it allows you to continue to use the drive, albeit at USB2 speed. Advantages of the adaptor kit are that 1) it's a useful weapon to have in your arsenal, 2) it impresses the laydeez. If you want to go down this route then I'd strongly recommend getting a USB3 device.
If this is *not* a data retrieval job then throw the disk away and buy a modern 2.5" bus-powered USB3 SATA drive. A decent 500GB can be had for <$40; a 1TB for another $20.
a) buy the cheapest USB2 / 3.5" ATA enclosure you can find – like this.
b) buy a naked adaptor kit – like this.
Advantage of the enclosure is that it allows you to continue to use the drive, albeit at USB2 speed. Advantages of the adaptor kit are that 1) it's a useful weapon to have in your arsenal, 2) it impresses the laydeez. If you want to go down this route then I'd strongly recommend getting a USB3 device.
If this is *not* a data retrieval job then throw the disk away and buy a modern 2.5" bus-powered USB3 SATA drive. A decent 500GB can be had for <$40; a 1TB for another $20.
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In the States you can find good prices on external drives from WD or Seagate at Costco or Sams. Frys, MicroCenter, and the Apple stores will also have them....just maybe at as good a price.
I think these days you can get a 3TB drive for around $100 and maybe 4TB for around $125.
I think these days you can get a 3TB drive for around $100 and maybe 4TB for around $125.
There's no reason to throw that drive away, ignore what others are saying.
If you want to find an enclosure to put it into, you need a 3.5" enclosure for PARALLEL ATA drives (NOT serial-ATA, or SATA, drives).
They can still be found "for cheap".
If you don't need an enclosure, but still would like to access the drive, you can find P-ATA adapters, like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119152
320gb is plenty of storage capacity for a "secondary backup drive" that contains essential files...
If you want to find an enclosure to put it into, you need a 3.5" enclosure for PARALLEL ATA drives (NOT serial-ATA, or SATA, drives).
They can still be found "for cheap".
If you don't need an enclosure, but still would like to access the drive, you can find P-ATA adapters, like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119152
320gb is plenty of storage capacity for a "secondary backup drive" that contains essential files...