external hard drives

[theoldandgrey]

I am needing an external hard drive for back up purposes. I am unsure which type to buy - 2.5 or 3.5- I realise the latter is larger and this might be a problem. He who should be obeyed (but knows nothing about computers) is concerned that a 2.5 does not take power from the mains and wonders if this would be a problem, particularly if it is used elsewhere with a low powered laptop. Space is not a real problem at home but if I need to transport it obviously weight and size come into the equation.

Furthermore I have a hard disk kicking around from an old computer presumably that would fit only a 3.5 enclosure.

Am a novice with regards to this sort of thing so any help would be gratefully received

[Ben]

Hi,

The power for the 2.5" drives is usually taken from a 2nd USB port. So you will need to have 2 USB ports available to use it. The voltage for USB devices is standard (5V approx) so should work on older machines. (If you are using a hub, it will need to be powered). These drives are normally the type you would find in a Laptop and tend to have a slower data transfer rate. But they are much more portable.

If its only going to be sat on a desk. Then a 3.5" drive would probably hold more data & transfer it quicker (especially if connected via firewire). These are quite cumbersome to carry around.

If you decide to use your old HDD. Make sure you check wether it has an IDE (40 Pin Ribbon) Connection or SATA (Small Modular L-shaped) Connection

Hope this info is of some use.

[theoldandgrey]

Hi Ben

Thanks that is useful info - I am getting short on USB ports without using those in the front of my pc so don't really want to use any more than necessary. Think I shall be going for the desktop version. No fire wire unfortunately.

Yes the old drive is a ribbon connection so I shall make sure I get the right enclosure.

I'll now trawl the possibilities to see the best deal

Many thanks