External 2.5" HDD Drive - any suggestions?

[tehsoul]

Hi

first and foremost, thanks for taking the time to read this post

I'm in the market for a 2.5" external HDD and I wonder if any thinkpad users here use one and what their findings on them are.
I'm especially looking for one that can be powered by just 1 usb port; there seem to be a lot of models out there that require dual usb cables; one connection for power, one for data... Since TP's only have 2 and I'm still keen on using my mouse, that's a big issue for me...

The only real interesting product I came across so far is the Western Digital Passport line:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products ... anguage=en

any suggestions?

[emorphien]

You can buy a 2.5" drive, and put it in an enclosure yourself. I think this is a better option and should save you $20 or $30. I have the MAPOWER 2.5" Firewire + USB 2.0 enclosure with a 60gb 5400 rpm drive in it and I'd expect to pay about $140 tops for the pair, whereas the WD 60gb is $170 or so.

[pphilipko]

Futureshop.ca is selling the 80GB external hard drive for 89.99 CDN. Free shipping.

[eigh]

i second the notion on building your own external 2.5" hd. just buy another 2.5" hd, and buy an enclosure that only needs one usb port to run.


i would do that, but earlier this summer i purchased a large 3.5" desktop drive and dont think i should be lugging that around.

[tehsoul]

hmm, after reading up on some western digital passport reviews, i seem to read that some users have problems powering the drives with their laptop usb ports (not enough power compared to desktops)... does anyone here use a 2.5" laptop hdd powered by 1 thinkpad usb port?

[beq]

Hey, I've also been thinking about similar needs, as discussed at:

http://forums.storagereview.net/index.p ... opic=20422 (which also links back to another thread on this forum).


Anyways, I like my current Hitachi 60GB/4200rpm 1.8" HDD in a modular USB enclosure (3.2" x 2.8" x 0.4"), which can always run off USB bus power from just 1 port since startup peak power draw is just 2.1W. It's just that I want more capacity (FYI Hitachi will have 80GB 1.8" model soon).

I can get more capacity with 2.5" HDDs, but their startup peak power draw seem to necessitate always using 2 USB ports If I can live with that, I was going to use one of the following 2.5" drives in a modular USB enclosure (4.5" x 2.6" x 0.4"):

- Hitachi's 120GB/4200rpm model (slower; startup power draw is only 4.5W)

- Seagate's 120GB/5400rpm model or wait for their upcoming 160GB/5400rpm model (faster; startup power draw is 5W or exactly the bus power of 2 USB ports)

Hitachi's 5400rpm models max out at only 100GB. As for Hitachi's and Seagate's 7200rpm 2.5" drives, their startup power draw is 5.5W which I'm worried is more than many computers can supply even from 2 USB ports.


P.S. What's ironic is that other than startup, the actual running operations of the 2.5" HDDs (seek/read/write/idle/standby) don't generally exceed the bus power of just 1 USB port!

[tehsoul]

i emailed western digital with this question and got quite a fast and good response.

i quote

It is possible that this laptop does not provide enough power, but unfortunatley we do not yet have a comperhensive list of which machines can power the drive and which cannot. 95% of computers can power the drive, but some older laptops cannot. However should you need the additional power supply I will post it to you free of charge.

i figure the thinkpads can power these without any problems... i ordered the 80gb version, i'll post my findings as soon as i have my t43p in (might be a few weeks )

and the 1.8" hdds are definitely nice, but way overpriced imho...


also a little footnote: several reviews stated that the length of the cable has an impact on the ability to power a 2.5" hdd... the enclosed (short) cable works without problems, while longer cables arent able to get the drive spinning

[emorphien]

hmm, after reading up on some western digital passport reviews, i seem to read that some users have problems powering the drives with their laptop usb ports (not enough power compared to desktops)... does anyone here use a 2.5" laptop hdd powered by 1 thinkpad usb port?

I have a Hitachi 60gb 5400 rpm 2.5 drive in a MaPower USB2/firewire enclosure. It runs fine off one usb port on my T43p. Yours might be the same, but don't expect this to work on all computers. The drive demands more power than is standard spec for a USB port.

[Smiley]

It put my 2.5 inch HDD in a no-name brand usb 2.0 enclosure which comes with a cable requiring two usb ports. As my T20 has only one USB 1.1 port, this enclosure works even when it's plugged into one usb port, but the speed at usb 1.1 is extremely slow.

So, I got a pcmcia adapter that provides two usb 2.0 ports and manage to get this enclosure transfer at the high speed, and I end up getting one usb port for my mouse. Problems solved by getting the pcmcia usb adapter.

[Franasia]

I've been using an Addonics Mini ExDrive USB 2.0 that fits any 2.5" HDD and powers up from any USB port. I use it to transfer files from any USB equipped PC with no problem. I got it from Amazon for about $34.00 with free shipping.

Hope it helps.


2373-3UU T42 SXGA a/b/g BT Hitachi 60GB 7200 from Bill

[tehsoul]

thanks a bunch for the replies, now i'm sure that it'll work with mine