Thinkpads Forum

I've had my 40GB Western Digital Passport drive (silver) for a few years now, and it's been fantastic; my voracious MP3 downloading habits, however, require more GBs....so, logically, I just ordered another Passport drive from Amazon at a good price; turns out, the newer, black 120 GB model is quite different from my older model: cheap plastic, feels like junk, and Windows started complaining with formatting and file transfer issues right out of the box....shipping this crap straight back to Amazon...

anyway, just curious if anybody recommends any particular brand/model of portable external HDD for use with their T60...I'm now considering one of the Seagate "FreeAgent Go" models, which are quite reasonably priced.

Thanks for any responses.

ps. my thinking regarding my problems with the new passport drive (Model WDXMS1600TN) is that it might not be getting enough power via the USB port...one can purchase an extra "Y" cable to power from two separate ports, but that really defeats the purpose for me.

I have a 2 Seagate external drives, a 160GB Seagate FreeAgent Go (ST901603FGA1E1-RK) and a 160GB external drive (ST9160821U2-RK). I have had no problems with either and would recommend either. Both come with the "Y" usb/power cable, so you won't need to buy extra one.

The FreeAgent Go is very compact and weighs practically nothing (6.4 oz), especially compared to other Seagate (10.3 oz) I listed. My one complaint is that since the case is constructed out of plastic it does feel kind of cheap. My other Seagate is enclosed in metal and feels a lot more durable. I guess it's matter of preference....compact or druable.

There is one minor point that I should mention. The FreeAgent Go has one side of the drive that glows orange when active (it fades in and out), while my other Seagate drive has a very bright blue light. The bright blue can be pretty annoying in a dark setting, whereas the FreeAgent is a lot more mellow. Not a big deal, I know, but sometimes the details matter.

The FreeAgent comes with some preloaded software that automatically starts when you plug in the drive. The idea is that you can load whatever programs and passwords onto, plug into a computer, and you can use it without worrying about any of your private data being stored on the computer. Nice idea, but bloatware in my opinion. The FreeAgent comes set up for encryption while the other Seagate doesn't. I just wiped the drive to remove the pre-loaded utilities and use TrueCrypt for encryption (which works on basically anything).

As I said, I haven't had any problems, ever, with either drive. Both are very quiet, almost silent (the FreeAgent just a little bit more than the other). I bought these drives a few months ago and the price was good then; I don't know what a similar 160GB drive would be now so I can't really recommend another brand (also since I haven't used any others).

Hope this helps.

thanks for your reply, Superego; so, with the FreeAgent Go drive, does it need two USB ports to function? If so, I find that a bit disappointing given that my existing 40GB Passport drive has worked perfectly from one; perhaps once the drive capacity exceeds a certain point, it needs more juice to work?

ps. it seems I may have initially judged the new 160GB Passport drive too harshly; I reformatted the drive to NTFS and it seems to be working ok at this point, but we'll see...

I have the 120GB FreeAgent. It come with a two headed USB connector though I personally use the shorter single cable from my MP3 player which has worked fine on every computer I've used it on.

Recently, the same question was discused in the thread Suggested IDE/PATA enclosure for 2.5” external ThinkPad hard.

In the case you want to buy an enclosure for yourself, and a HDD to mount in the enclosure, this is my advices to consider with respect to the enclosure:

As you say, there are TONS of external harddisk enclosures around (to use via USB), and they work much alike. Some are too cheap to be worth the money, because although you can get them from down around $5, I would personally rather pay a bit more, and then buy a “recommended” one from a shop having some sort of customer feedback… because saving a lot of trouble is more worth than saving a few $$$. Of the US computer shops having a wide selection, being easy to navigate through, and having a very, very fine customer feedback section, I prefer Newegg (actually, I knew very few such good shops in the US with a similar amount of very qualified and usable customer feedback).

What to look for? An enclosure of metal (will conduct heat from the HDD to the surroundings), the enclosure must be designed for the HDD you intend to use (either SATA or ATA/PATA/IDE, the latter being three different words for the same thing), preferably some LED (light emitting diode) to show when the HDD is “on” and active, and an enclosure. You also want a Y-cable that connects to two ports at the PC, because a PC, e.g. a ThinkPad, will only source (=deliver to an external device, e.g. a HDD) 0.5 Amp per USB-port, and a large (two-platter, having capacity over 100 GB) 2.5” HDD will typically require between 0.7 to 1 Amp to spin up. In any case, it is nice if being able to power an external (big, power-hungry!) 2.5” HDD only via the ThinkPad USB-ports, then you need a from-the-external-HDD-to-USB-PC-ports cable with two USB cables/connectors (in the PC-end). If using an external power adaptor, no problems. Also, it is of course absolutely inconvenient to have/need an external power supply for these small, external HDD’s since sufficient power IS already available via the USB-ports on the ThinkPad.

I just discovered what I haven’t seen before; this: VANTEC NexStar3 NST-260U2-BL Blue External Enclosure - an "Tee-cable" allowing the two USB-ports of the PC to source the external HDD with all the power it needs, and simultaneously having a “pass-through” USB-connection in one of the connectors such that you can simultaneously use e.g. an external USB-mouse and the external HDD itself. The “T-like” USB-connector looks a bit spooky (because I haven’t it before), but it is of course nice if you always use an external mouse, also while making backups to the external HDD!

So, what to choose? One of those with an USB-cable having a Y-connection (w/two USB-connectors connecting to the laptop) in the one end, and a drive capable of lie flat rather than NEEDING to placed vertical (if it already lie flat, it won’t fall, and thereby potentially damage the HDD inside). Get one with a protective bag – then it can mush better take it accidently being “bumped around” a bit while not in use.

I went to Newegg and selected: Home > Computer Hardware > Computer Cases > External Enclosures (x) > Size : 2.5" (x) > Material : Aluminum (x) > Internal Interface : IDE (x) > External Interface : USB 2.0 (x) – this all took me here. Then, have a look for yourself – any particular taste? See this one (having a Y-style USB-cable, and a big carrying bag, holding both HDD and cable). What is the “One-touch backup system: P&G (Press & Go) built-in”? f you don't alreday have a backup program, I suggest to use Acronis True Image (I have only used up to ver. 9, which functions very well under XP, but won't support Vista. ATI ver. 11 will support Vista). If like the blue or red ones, I’d say get either this one or this one.

Remember to place a thin sheet of plastic – or just a piece of paper - beneath the drive itself and the (inner) bottom of the enclosure – to prevent the drive from directly touching the electrically enclosure (and by this potentially short-circuiting some of the HDD electronics). As a reviewer says somewhere:

“Cons: When I was researching new enclosures I read of buyers who had problems with the board touching the inside of the enclosure and shorting out. SAME HERE! Took care of it by cutting up the static bag and a little tape”.

A few recent large 2.5" ATA drives are discussed in the thread T41: Which HDD to buy? Seagate 160 or WD 250GB?. Personally, I prefer Seagate drives - cool, quiet, reliable and comes with a 5-year warranty.

When you are all set, then see the guuide at How to Install an External Hard Drive Enclosure.

Best regards,

Johan

npish wrote:with the FreeAgent Go drive, does it need two USB ports to function?

No. Someone with more technical experience may correct me, but It will function with just the power+data cable. If you have a lot of USB devices attached you may run into an issue. I usually use the drive with both cables plugged in, but that is because I usually only have a mouse plugged in (leaving two other usb ports free).

Three weeks ago I got the 160GB FreeAgent Go at Best Buy (for $90). I haven't had any problems with it, and it is pretty fast.
I was going to buy a 200gb Hitachi 7k200, with the enclosure, as they were being sold for $130 or so, and advertised as being the 5400 rpm, but were shipping with the new drive. Of course I then inteded to take my T60 drive out, and swap it with the new, faster one. However, only serial numbers that started with DEG or DTG had the 7k200 drives, and I could not find one for the life of me (Ebay resellers must have bought them all).
In any event, the Seagate works fine.

Superego wrote:

npish wrote:with the FreeAgent Go drive, does it need two USB ports to function?

No. Someone with more technical experience may correct me, but It will function with just the power+data cable. If you have a lot of USB devices attached you may run into an issue. I usually use the drive with both cables plugged in, but that is because I usually only have a mouse plugged in (leaving two other usb ports free).

@ Superego: Could you please be specific about what exact PC (desktop or laptop) you use the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive with, that will work with power being supplied from only one USB-port?

According to the review at Seagate FreeAgent Go 160 GB (ST9016031E1-RK), the HDD inside is a (Seagate) Momentus 5400.3 model ST9160821AS w/160 GB capacity and with a Serial ATA (SATA) interface. Now, according to the datasheet for this drive - see it at Momentus 5400.3 datasheet, this drive will require up to 1 A at start-up... and USB-ports are only rated for supplying 0.5 A (as per specifications - see e.g. at ThinkWiki - Universal Serial Bus - although some PC's may no doubt be capable of sourcing more). The question here and now therefore this is: IS a full ampere really necessary for this drive to spin up, or will the drive start up (perhaps at a slower rate/speed/acceleration) if the USB-port is not capable of sourcing more than 0.5 A?

PS: If you check Customer Reviews for Seagate FreeAgent Go ST901603FGA1E1-RK - 160GB5400 RPM USB 2.0 External Hard Drive you will see that everal users report that TWO USB-ports ARE indeed necessary. Beware!

Best regards,

Johan

My Hitachi external case (The ones that came with a 7200RPM drives, which I have since swapped out with a 5400RPM Samsung 320GB HDD) works fine on my T61p with 1 USB port (the supplied cable was also 1 port) ... it's a plastic shell, but I like the look of it, and I don't think it feels cheap at all.

Highly recommended...

I got mine from eBay... but it looks like this:

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/hard- ... /39480897/

npish wrote:just curious if anybody recommends any particular brand/model of portable external HDD for use with their T60

You could roll your own. I have an iMicro USB enclosure which says that it works with drives up to 200 GB. However, it worked fine with my new WD 320 GB drive when I was prepping it. As noted elsewhere in this thread, current drain through the USB port is a concern. The WD is specified at 500 ma R/W.

I am looking at the Freeagent go, as the price is alright and I can pick it up locally (need one asap) however I only have one free usb port. Can anyone confirm that you definitely need 2 usb ports for it to function properly?

I have made a post in the x40 section, that I hope you can help me with.

Thanks!

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 611#387611

Johan wrote: @ Superego: Could you please be specific about what exact PC (desktop or laptop) you use the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive with, that will work with power being supplied from only one USB-port?

Johan

I am running R&R (backup) with the FreeAgent Go as I type this, with only the one usb connector (the power&data one of course), on a T60. The drive is connected to one of the usb sockets on the right hand of the TP. So, at least in my T60, it runs with only one cable attached. I hope this helps.

My own preference is instead of using an external USB enclosure to use the laptop drive of your choice in the Lenovo SATA ultrabay hard drive adapter. Very portable, no cables or USB power issues and very fast data transfer.

I like to use an identical to my primary drive (200 gb Hitachi 7k200) in that ultrabay adapter to clone my primary hard drive on a regular basis to back up my entire system. And then also use the 100 gb 7k200 that my system originally came with in the same ultrabay adapter for additional storage if/when needed. Costs a few bucks more than a USB enclosure (but not much more) but I think it's well worth the extra cost.