I was hoping to go a bit lower in price. I bought the laptop for $100. As a computer novice, I didn't expect to spend $90. BUT, if you see any more modest pricing deals PLEASE let me know. Thanks

It's no fun if we have to drag all the information from you.
We asked you how big a HD you need...
And what your budget is...
No answer to either.

Don't expect to sit in the first row for only peanuts.

I purchased this enclosure today from Ebay. The battery is fine(green light when fully charged and unpluged), the cardbus is due to be delivered anyday. Now, where do I go from here?

I want my data files saved to an external not to my main HD. Do I need to buy a HD for the enclosure that I bought or am I done? Forgive me for asking so many questions but like I say,"I AM A NOVICE"!!! Thanks for ALL your help.....

Yes you need a HDD.
Give me a minute to poke around and Ill give you some options.

Ron

Any of these will work
http://www.geeks.com/products_sc.asp?cat=906
These start at about $40.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... gesize=100
On the bay they start at $21.60 plus shipping
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_trkparms=6 ... 513&_pgn=3

TIPS
7200 rpm is better than 5400 rpm is better than 4200 rpm
MUST be SATA, PATA will not work in the enclosure
As the drive gets bigger, the size packed into it gets cheaper (cost per gig)
120 gigs will hold about 120 movies or 240 CDs

Ron

THANKS I can see that some of the other contributers are getting a bit ansy with me but I continue to say that I know NOTHING about the internals of computers really and I apologize for ALL my questions but some fuses are shorter than others....So, I THANK YOU once again for maintaing patience and continuing to help me....(For peanuts...LOL)

I edited my last response, so go back over and catch up with everything.

Ron

As far as RBS goes.....
He is good as gold, HOWEVER he has little patience for people asking redundant questions.
Dont ask him how to fix something.
Tell him what your trying to fix, and he will walk you through the entire process, as he has helped me many, many times.
He will give you the shirt off his back, but you will need to tell him WHY you need it.

His question to you was valid. How much storage do you need?
I went for the minimum about 120 gigs. That was an assumption.
However we both know about assuming...........................

RBS is a true asset to the forum!

Ron

As you have seen, RBS brought up a 6th option -- a dedicated external HDD. If you wanted to upgrade the existing factory 4200 rpm 40GB HD inside of your machine to a faster larger 80 GB HD, it will cost you around $80. That is $1 per 1 GB.

With a dedicated external HDD (it sits vertically on your desk, about the size of a small text book), that same $80 gets you 1 TB (i.e. 1,000 GB). That is 8 cents per 1 GB!!!

Everything is about personal preference.

One of the nice things about owning a Thinkpad is the flexibility with the Ultrabay. I think that it was Ron who said that he doesn't like to carry around a USB enclosure. He put his secondary HD inside of his machine in the Ultrabay and left his DVD/CD player in his desk drawer at home.

One of the nice things about USB enclosures is that I have several friends who are constantly upgrading their machines. They view computers as commodity items and must have the latest and greatest machine. They don't want to risk losing any personal info by taking their old machine to the recycling center. I remove their old HD, wipe it out with 1's and 0's, and keep their old HD for myself. The recycling center gets everything else. So, USB enclosures work well for me.

Tells us how many hours of video you plan to store? Are these videos captured from your digital video camera? If so, then you will need an adapter to receive data from your video camera -- Another PC CardBus (for firewire) may be needed.

It helps to make a shopping list to prioritize your needs.

I know people can have short fuses for people with less expertise than them so I just and continue on....EVERYONE on this forum has helped me tremendously and I am truly greatful for ALL of you....UPDATE: I purchased a ST9120823AS-R -- Seagate Momentus 7200.2 120GB SATA/300 7200RPM 8MB 2.5 Hard from Geeks.com today...When all the parts come in the mail will I be good then? P.S. ALL of you are needed on this forum...to complete the harmony of the forum!!!

I have the same HDD in one of the same type enclosures. You will be fine. Holler when you get the items in.

Ron

Hey Ron,
So, everything is here now....I'm ready for my next move...

Open the enclosure with the 2 tiny screws. The HDD will only fit 1 way. Firmly but gently install the hadd onto the end "header" then reassemble everything.
Plug it in and let us know when the computer finds "new usb storage"

Ron

Thanx....sounds simple enough....I'll be back with you when the new usb storage is found.....cross your fingers.....

If "USB something of the other" pops up
Right click of start
Explore
Right click on My Computer
Then click on Manage
Double click storage
Double click disc management

You should see 2 different HDDs in the bottom pain of the box.
DO NOT do anything to Disk O
Disk 1 should say un-formatted
Left click on that black band, then right click and tell it to format.
Once it is formatted you should run a HDD fitness test on it, then copy something big to it. Use it for a few days to make sure everything is good, before you put a bunch of stuff on it.

Ron