usb hard drive question

[Guest rb]

How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip work?

I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

[Guest philo]

Re: usb hard drive question

 

 

"rb" <rbig@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

news:Od%235rviNJHA.1896@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip work?

> I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

>

>

 

 

They work quite well (as long as you use a USB2 port)

 

I bought a few from Newegg

[Guest Big_Al]

Re: usb hard drive question

 

philo wrote:

> "rb" <rbig@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

> news:Od%235rviNJHA.1896@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip work?

>> I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

>>

>>

>

>

> They work quite well (as long as you use a USB2 port)

>

> I bought a few from Newegg

>

>

 

And I would add that you can buy empty cases to put old drives in, or

you can buy a new drive for them. Effectively making your own combo.

If you have a preference on size and manufacturer of drive (the real

guts of the device) then this is not such a bad idea. Some of the

already assembled USB drives I've seen come with unknown drive hardware.

Remember this is for the picky person, but it has its point.

 

Also note that 3.5 inch drives and cases, usually have an external

supply since the drive is larger and draws more power. 2.5 inch

drives/cases are made with laptop drives and usually draw less power and

can be powered off the USB port making them very portable, almost like

thumb drives. I have one of each.

 

One last feature is that when turned or of disconnected they provide

perfect isolation from a machine and viruses. Protecting you valuable

backups and data (not that data is usually infected... but).

 

This is more than you wanted but I'm a bit bored right now and wanted to

type. :-)

[Guest Onsokumaru]

Re: usb hard drive question

 

He may also find some 2.5 in external drive leads come with two USB

connectors. This is in case the drive won't spin up, so you use two USB

ports to power the drive in that case. One of the leads is thinner than the

other as this only has connections to the power output of the USB port.

 

I've only used one, built using a laptop from an old HDD, and it worked

fine.

 

Some USB devices have problems when running from unpowered USB hubs, so bear

that in mind.

 

"Big_Al" <BigAl@md.com> wrote in message

news:OErCdPjNJHA.4408@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> philo wrote:

>> "rb" <rbig@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

>> news:Od%235rviNJHA.1896@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>> How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip

>>> work?

>>> I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

>>>

>>>

>>

>>

>> They work quite well (as long as you use a USB2 port)

>>

>> I bought a few from Newegg

>>

>>

>

> And I would add that you can buy empty cases to put old drives in, or you

> can buy a new drive for them. Effectively making your own combo. If you

> have a preference on size and manufacturer of drive (the real guts of the

> device) then this is not such a bad idea. Some of the already assembled

> USB drives I've seen come with unknown drive hardware.

> Remember this is for the picky person, but it has its point.

>

> Also note that 3.5 inch drives and cases, usually have an external supply

> since the drive is larger and draws more power. 2.5 inch drives/cases

> are made with laptop drives and usually draw less power and can be powered

> off the USB port making them very portable, almost like thumb drives. I

> have one of each.

>

> One last feature is that when turned or of disconnected they provide

> perfect isolation from a machine and viruses. Protecting you valuable

> backups and data (not that data is usually infected... but).

>

> This is more than you wanted but I'm a bit bored right now and wanted to

> type. :-)

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: usb hard drive question

 

"rb" <rbig@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

news:Od%235rviNJHA.1896@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip work?

> I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

 

It's actually the case, not the drive, you are referring to. You can buy

excellent cases starting around $25 and then use your choice of hard disk.

It takes minutes to set up. You can also buy cases that support multiple

hard disks with RAID and FTP functions and that have Ethernet ports.

 

There are two types of case. One has a separate AC power adapter, and

these are usually used with desktop-sized (3.5") hard disks.

 

The other type uses a special cable with three ends. Two of the ends attach

to USB ports, and one attaches to the drive. This is most often used with

laptop-size drive cases, and works well.

 

The three ended cable is necessary because a hard disk often draws nearly a

full amp of power.

 

In fact I've got a damaged 160 gig SATA laptop drive in front of me, and

it's rated at one amp. A couple of desktop drives in my desk drawer draw

about .75 amps at 5v and .5 amps at 12v (desktop drives use both voltages,

while laptop drives use only 5v).

 

USB ports, by spec, can provide no more than *half an amp* - 500m, so a

single port cannot supply enough power for these drives.

 

If you try to run a one-amp hard disk off a half-amp port, you won't have

positive results. Usually the protective circuitry shuts down the port

before damage is done, but you aren't likely to be successful. You may

have to shut down the machine and reset the BIOS to get the port back.

 

This also means that if you attach such a drive to a passive USB hub - one

that does not have its own power adapter - to one system port, you'll draw

too much power and the port will crash, at best. When purchasing powered

hubs, it is important to look at the power rating of the adapter. It has

to be over an amp.

 

HTH

-pk

[Guest smlunatick]

Re: usb hard drive question

 

On Oct 25, 12:10 pm, "Onsokumaru" <onsok-s...@ninja.village.jp> wrote:

> He may also find some 2.5 in external drive leads come with two USB

> connectors. This is in case the drive won't spin up, so you use two USB

> ports to power the drive in that case. One of the leads is thinner than the

> other as this only has connections to the power output of the USB port.

>

> I've only used one, built using a laptop from an old HDD, and it worked

> fine.

>

> Some USB devices have problems when running from unpowered USB hubs, so bear

> that in mind.

>

> "Big_Al" <Bi...@md.com> wrote in message

>

> news:OErCdPjNJHA.4408@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>

> > philo wrote:

> >> "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

> >>news:Od%235rviNJHA.1896@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> >>> How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip

> >>> work?

> >>> I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

>

> >> They work quite well (as long as you use a USB2 port)

>

> >> I bought a few from Newegg

>

> > And I would add that you can buy empty cases to put old drives in, or you

> > can buy a new drive for them.   Effectively making your own combo. If you

> > have a preference on size and manufacturer of drive (the real guts of the

> > device) then this is not such a bad idea.  Some of the already assembled

> > USB drives I've seen come with unknown drive hardware.

> > Remember this is for the picky person, but it has its point.

>

> > Also note that 3.5 inch drives and cases, usually have an external supply

> > since the drive is larger and draws more power.   2.5 inch drives/cases

> > are made with laptop drives and usually draw less power and can be powered

> > off the USB port making them very portable, almost like thumb drives.   I

> > have one of each.

>

> > One last feature is that when turned or of disconnected they provide

> > perfect isolation from a machine and viruses.  Protecting you valuable

> > backups and data (not that data is usually infected... but).

>

> > This is more than you wanted but I'm a bit bored right now and wanted to

> > type.   :-)

 

Portable hard drives should not be left connected when not being

used. These are never intended to be powered on constantly and the

power supply will wear out faster.

[Guest smlunatick]

Re: usb hard drive question

 

On Oct 25, 12:10 pm, "Onsokumaru" <onsok-s...@ninja.village.jp> wrote:

> He may also find some 2.5 in external drive leads come with two USB

> connectors. This is in case the drive won't spin up, so you use two USB

> ports to power the drive in that case. One of the leads is thinner than the

> other as this only has connections to the power output of the USB port.

>

> I've only used one, built using a laptop from an old HDD, and it worked

> fine.

>

> Some USB devices have problems when running from unpowered USB hubs, so bear

> that in mind.

>

> "Big_Al" <Bi...@md.com> wrote in message

>

> news:OErCdPjNJHA.4408@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>

> > philo wrote:

> >> "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

> >>news:Od%235rviNJHA.1896@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> >>> How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip

> >>> work?

> >>> I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

>

> >> They work quite well (as long as you use a USB2 port)

>

> >> I bought a few from Newegg

>

> > And I would add that you can buy empty cases to put old drives in, or you

> > can buy a new drive for them.   Effectively making your own combo. If you

> > have a preference on size and manufacturer of drive (the real guts of the

> > device) then this is not such a bad idea.  Some of the already assembled

> > USB drives I've seen come with unknown drive hardware.

> > Remember this is for the picky person, but it has its point.

>

> > Also note that 3.5 inch drives and cases, usually have an external supply

> > since the drive is larger and draws more power.   2.5 inch drives/cases

> > are made with laptop drives and usually draw less power and can be powered

> > off the USB port making them very portable, almost like thumb drives.   I

> > have one of each.

>

> > One last feature is that when turned or of disconnected they provide

> > perfect isolation from a machine and viruses.  Protecting you valuable

> > backups and data (not that data is usually infected... but).

>

> > This is more than you wanted but I'm a bit bored right now and wanted to

> > type.   :-)

 

Please note that most mobile hard drive were never designed to be

constantly powered on. You should disconnect when these are not in

uses otherwise the power supplies will fail early.

[Guest Ian D]

Re: usb hard drive question

 

 

"smlunatick" <yveslec@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:2f7b55b1-9b1c-42f9-a60c-fd125b0796c2@m73g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...

On Oct 25, 12:10 pm, "Onsokumaru" <onsok-s...@ninja.village.jp> wrote:

> He may also find some 2.5 in external drive leads come with two USB

> connectors. This is in case the drive won't spin up, so you use two USB

> ports to power the drive in that case. One of the leads is thinner than

> the

> other as this only has connections to the power output of the USB port.

>

> I've only used one, built using a laptop from an old HDD, and it worked

> fine.

>

> Some USB devices have problems when running from unpowered USB hubs, so

> bear

> that in mind.

>

> "Big_Al" <Bi...@md.com> wrote in message

>

> news:OErCdPjNJHA.4408@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>

> > philo wrote:

> >> "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

> >>news:Od%235rviNJHA.1896@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> >>> How well do the usb hard drives that are powered from the USB strip

> >>> work?

> >>> I see a lot of 'em are this way, now.

>

> >> They work quite well (as long as you use a USB2 port)

>

> >> I bought a few from Newegg

>

> > And I would add that you can buy empty cases to put old drives in, or

> > you

> > can buy a new drive for them. Effectively making your own combo. If you

> > have a preference on size and manufacturer of drive (the real guts of

> > the

> > device) then this is not such a bad idea. Some of the already assembled

> > USB drives I've seen come with unknown drive hardware.

> > Remember this is for the picky person, but it has its point.

>

> > Also note that 3.5 inch drives and cases, usually have an external

> > supply

> > since the drive is larger and draws more power. 2.5 inch drives/cases

> > are made with laptop drives and usually draw less power and can be

> > powered

> > off the USB port making them very portable, almost like thumb drives. I

> > have one of each.

>

> > One last feature is that when turned or of disconnected they provide

> > perfect isolation from a machine and viruses. Protecting you valuable

> > backups and data (not that data is usually infected... but).

>

> > This is more than you wanted but I'm a bit bored right now and wanted to

> > type. :-)

 

Please note that most mobile hard drive were never designed to be

constantly powered on. You should disconnect when these are not in

uses otherwise the power supplies will fail early.

 

Either that, or the drives will eventually fail from running at elevated

temperatures for an extended time.