Computer Space

[Red Door]

Okay guys, I'm about to run into a little problem with my laptop with space issues. It's a Vostro 1500, with about 150 Gigs of space, which I've used about 130 with programs, music, and some other stuff. First off, it is not an option for me to delete stuff because I've done that several times already and frankly, I'm stubborn.

I think I should use some money to buy an external hard drive, but I'm a little (okay, completely) lost on what to do. I'm not exactly highly computer literate, so I really just want something with space (and a lot of it, I'm talking 500 gigs+) that I can plug into my computer and have that space.

Basically, I'm wondering what an external hard drive is exactly and what does it do? How portable are they?

If the external hard drive isn't feasible (meaning, it's not very portable), what is another solution?

Also, I'm trying not to spend over $250, but it can be done.

 

[Strider]

They have pocket sized hard drives (about 4 x 3 in.) at best buy. I believe they were about 250 gigs in sized and operated by USB.

It's not that difficult. Your going to have trouble finding a 500 gig HD for under $250 though.

 

[Cutlass]

A USB hard drive plugs into the USB port and works just like an ordinary HD. It's a good solution to limited space. Make certain it is placed somewhere where it won't fall off the desk though. Hard drives don't like falls.

 

[Zelig]

There are 2.5" and 3.5" drives. 2.5" ones are slower, more expensive, and smaller, although they're more portable.

When looking at interfaces for external drives esata > firewire 800 > firewire 400 > usb 2.

2.5" drives top out at 500GB, and run about $270 for that. (not counting the cost of an external case)
3.5" 500GB drives are available for under $70. (+ case cost)

 

[Red Door]

They have pocket sized hard drives (about 4 x 3 in.) at best buy. I believe they were about 250 gigs in sized and operated by USB.

It's not that difficult. Your going to have trouble finding a 500 gig HD for under $250 though.

Looking at newegg.com, there seem to be many options for under $250, even at the larger sizes. They're not pocket sizes though.

A USB hard drive plugs into the USB port and works just like an ordinary HD. It's a good solution to limited space. Make certain it is placed somewhere where it won't fall off the desk though. Hard drives don't like falls.

I'm guessing these things aren't able to move around much then. Even the smaller ones.

There are 2.5" and 3.5" drives. 2.5" ones are slower, more expensive, and smaller, although they're more portable.

When looking at interfaces for external drives esata > firewire 800 > firewire 400 > usb 2.

2.5" drives top out at 500GB, and run about $270 for that. (not counting the cost of an external case)
3.5" 500GB drives are available for under $70. (+ case cost)

Hmm, seems like the 3.5'' might be the better option for me. I don't need maximum portability, but I do need it to be able to move once in a while. The cheaper price and more space are a big sell. How necessary are cases for the 3.5''?

 

[taper]

You must have a case of some sort. You can either buy a true external drive that comes with one, or buy a regular internal drive and a separate case. As for interfaces, USB is pretty slow for this kind of use, but your laptop might not have a port for anything else. Some drives have multiple ports. Even if you have eSATA, you might want to get a drive with that and USB, just so you can plug it into just about any computer you come across.

 

[Red Door]

You must have a case of some sort. You can either buy a true external drive that comes with one, or buy a regular internal drive and a separate case. As for interfaces, USB is pretty slow for this kind of use, but your laptop might not have a port for anything else. Some drives have multiple ports. Even if you have eSATA, you might want to get a drive with that and USB, just so you can plug it into just about any computer you come across.

The computer does have one firewire port. I do see the pros of getting the USB port though.

 

[Quintillus]

If you haven't done so already, here are a couple things that will help in the interim:

*Turn off System Restore if it is still on. Right click on My Computer, select Properties, and then go to the System Restore tab. Then check the "Turn off system restore" box. Note that this does mean you won't be able to use system restore if something goes wrong, so if you have a tendency to do things that later cause you to use System Restore, this is a bad idea. This would save you about 18 GB of space.
*If you don't use Hibernate, turn it off to save an amount of disk space equal to however much memory you have (probably 1 GB or 2 GB). Right-click on your desktop, click properties, go to the screen saver tab, click the Power button, go to the Hibernate tab, and uncheck "Enable Hibernation".
*If you never use all your memory, you also could disable virtual memory. But if you ever come close, I wouldn't recommend this.

Combined, this could save you 20 GB, which might be enough to delay buying an external drive for a month or two. But it sounds like you'll need one before too long regardless.

Another note: You could look into getting an ExpressCard that would plug into your ExpressCard slot (I know you have one - I have de facto the same computer) and would give you an eSata connection, if loading files quickly is a concern. But these cost about $40 based on a quick Newegg search, so they may not be worth it if loading speed isn't all that important.

On the plus side: You've still got 20 GB! I can report from experience that you'll be fine with 1/10th that space free on the same size hard drive!

 

[Red Door]

I'm worried about the system restore, only because in my past (not with this computer), I've needed to use the system restore. I'll do that if I'm desperate. I'm not worried about loading times, so I really think going firewire is the best option at this point.

 

[Abaddon]

Just burn your porn vids onto cd instead.

 

[Shadylookin]

unless I'm mistaken all external harddrives require a wall outlet to power them and a USB/firewire to plug into the computer. Since it takes 2 wires(power and usb) and most of them don't fit conveniently in your pocket I would recommend against it for portability. You may want to just consider purchasing a larger internal harddrive. Or you could burn all your music/whatever to DVDs to clear up space and carry a cd case with you

 

[BCampbell]

unless I'm mistaken all external harddrives require a wall outlet to power them and a USB/firewire to plug into the computer. Since it takes 2 wires(power and usb) and most of them don't fit conveniently in your pocket I would recommend against it for portability. You may want to just consider purchasing a larger internal harddrive. Or you could burn all your music/whatever to DVDs to clear up space and carry a cd case with you

Some USB drives are powered through USB itself. They're a bit more expensive and I'm not sure if they go to large capacity though.

I second burning videos. That should save quite a bit of space.

I have all of my music on an external USB hard drive. USB 2.0 is fine for this use. This saves a ton of room, though I have to upgrade that drive soon since it's only 40GB. I could easily fill ten times that much and keep going, so not storing that on my main HDD is a bonus. This is for a desktop though, laptops have portability issues to consider.

You could go through add/delete programs and get rid of anything you don't need too. I've installed and deleted so many games from my PC I can't keep track. Do you really keep to keep games on there you haven't played in a year?

Alternately, you could get a 320GB laptop internal drive for under $150.

 

[Red Door]

Do you really keep to keep games on there you haven't played in a year?

I don't. I'm thinking of buying the hard drive next month when I should have an even larger surplus of cash and I'm leaning towards a USB one.

 

[BCampbell]

Generally, you'll pay more for extra portability. I'd suggest looking for a model that doesn't requre it's own power source. I believe this limits you to USB, I'm not sure if firewire carries power and data. Someone can correct me there though.

I would stick with 2.5" drives for portability. Here are a few models to look at to give you an idea of what you can get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822242007
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136247
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148313
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136269
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822215010

I'll correct myself. Firewire can be self powered as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822161016

 

[Red Door]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148235

I think I found the one that's right for me. Can someone please tell me something wrong with it, if anything before I purchase?

 

[BCampbell]

That's a 3.5" drive. It'll be bigger than a 2.5" one. This could matter to you, since you're already carrying around the laptop, you might get sick of carrying around another biggish piece of hardware.

Before you order, you might want to go to an electronics store and just look at the different form factors for external drives to get an idea of what you're in for. The dimensions on that are 7.5"x1.6"x6.4". A sheet of paper is 8.5x11, so this is about the size of half a sheet of paper, and inch and a half thick, and probably weighs a couple pounds (doesn't specify). By comparison, looking at one of the 2.5" drives, it's 5"x3.1"x0.6" and weighs .4lbs. That's less than half the size of the 3.5" drive.

If portability is important to you, you'll really want to compare the two, hands-on if possible. The (physically) larger drives are generally better as easily moveable but usually in-place storage for desktops or for occasional use, and it sounds like you're going to be using this thing every time you fire up your laptop.

 

[Red Door]

That's a 3.5" drive. It'll be bigger than a 2.5" one. This could matter to you, since you're already carrying around the laptop, you might get sick of carrying around another biggish piece of hardware.

Before you order, you might want to go to an electronics store and just look at the different form factors for external drives to get an idea of what you're in for. The dimensions on that are 7.5"x1.6"x6.4". A sheet of paper is 8.5x11, so this is about the size of half a sheet of paper, and inch and a half thick, and probably weighs a couple pounds (doesn't specify). By comparison, looking at one of the 2.5" drives, it's 5"x3.1"x0.6" and weighs .4lbs. That's less than half the size of the 3.5" drive.

If portability is important to you, you'll really want to compare the two, hands-on if possible. The (physically) larger drives are generally better as easily moveable but usually in-place storage for desktops or for occasional use, and it sounds like you're going to be using this thing every time you fire up your laptop.

I don't carry around the laptop much, and when I do, I certainly won't need the music and programs that will probably end up on the hard drive. When I would move the drive, it certainly would be a long enough time to justify it. Space on the desk-top isn't an issue either, as I have several areas I can put it.

I went to Best Buy today and checked out size and prices of various devices to get an idea and found both sizes to be manageable, so that isn't a problem.

I really am liking this drive more and more, especially at the price. I think it's a match made in heaven.

 

[BCampbell]

Cool Enjoy it! I have an external drive (just bought an enclosure and tossed an old 40GB drive into it) that I use solely for music (and which is almost full, so I need to get a bigger one). It's a great solution, especially if I want to bring all my music somewhere else -- in my case, it's making the one part of my desktop that I want portable.

 

[Red Door]

Cool Enjoy it! I have an external drive (just bought an enclosure and tossed an old 40GB drive into it) that I use solely for music (and which is almost full, so I need to get a bigger one). It's a great solution, especially if I want to bring all my music somewhere else -- in my case, it's making the one part of my desktop that I want portable.

Well, the price went up to $140 because I didn't pull the trigger, but I think I found a just as good option that I jut bought several minutes ago.

It was this one. Hopefully, this all works out.