515 Crew

[joseph]

i have an elementary school question. if i wanted to have an external hard drive how would i do that? and should i?

[Churro]

i have an elementary school question. if i wanted to have an external hard drive how would i do that? and should i?

Most external hard drives are USB connected. So basically, you buy it, plug it in, and connect it to your computer with a USB cable, and that's it. Most of the ones you can buy from Wal Mart are plug-in and go so you don't have to do anything.

If you ran out of hard drive space on your computer, I would recommend getting one. It's usually cheaper for larger volumes of storage, and you can transport them easily. It's also not a bad idea to use it for hard drive backup.

[inx515xhell]

PUT IT IN THE DISHWASHER

[robdigi]

don't buy an external drive to expand your space- it's a waste of money. you'll have to buy a second external drive to back up both the stuff on your internal and external hard drives, and it's a pain to juggle all that data. your priority should be to back all your stuff up (have it saved on two different devices) before worrying about getting more space to store stuff.

just spend half the money you would have spent on an external on a big internal hard drive and put the rest towards a single external drive so you can back everything up. for a laptop you can get a 500gb internal hard drive for less than $100, even cheaper for a desktop hard drive.

[Churro]

I would not recommend trying to install another internal hard drive in your laptop. It can be a very painful process that can easily be impossible. And if you have an external hard drive you can use it to backup the stuff on your computer and also store more. If your computer crashes you won't lose the data.

If you have a desktop, either way is fine. I would recommend getting another internal one though. Less desk space being taken up. I guess I just assumed you had a laptop.

[robdigi]

impossible only if you try and do it yourself, unless your laptop has an easily accessible drive bay (which many if not most do...) in which case it will take you all of maybe 5 minutes to do the actual deed of installing the hardware. moving your data is another story, but you should already be backed up, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal to move your backed up data to the new hard drive...

it's not expensive to have one put in for you by a technician if your notebook computer happens to be over-engineered.

if you have a laptop and go the external route for expansion go ahead and have fun carrying an extra piece of equipment with you everywhere you go if you want to listen to music. you also need to carry two if you don't want to risk losing the extra stuff on your expansion drive when it inevitably fails.

[joseph]

hmm. ok. im completely computer stupid.
i want to load a bunch of music for the stupid traveling ipod. ive heard its best to have an external hard drive so it doesnt fuck with the computer? last time i made it through 3/4ths of my cds and the computer crashed(i have no idea if that was why) but that was the only thing i was actually saving on the computer. yes it is a laptop.
cant i link itunes to an external drive? yes i know nothing.

[Churro]

you also need to carry two if you don't want to risk losing the extra stuff on your expansion drive when it inevitably fails.

Lol at this. Don't drop it. It won't fail.

[joseph]

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articl ... ard-drive/

Consolidate: The Right Way

Moving the Library Database

Using an External Hard Drive and a Portable Computer
Once you have consolidated your library content onto an external hard drive, iTunes will continue to use that location for any newly imported or downloaded content, subject to your iTunes preference settings.

However, this creates an additional consideration for users of portable computers, since the external hard drive may not always be available. Fortunately, iTunes actually works around this quite well, so there’s no need to pack up the external hard drive when going out with your laptop.

Basically, when you start iTunes with your external drive disconnected, the iTunes Media folder path will temporarily revert to its default location on your local hard drive. This allows iTunes to run properly, although obviously you will not have access to any of the content that’s not already in that location. You will get broken links to any files that you try to access, since the external hard drive is not present. No need to worry, however, as this will correct itself once the drive is available again.

However, this does allow you to download new content (ie, import CDs, add files to your library, download podcast episodes, purchase content from the iTunes Store, etc). This new content will be saved in your local iTunes Media folder, and will be playable from there.

You can even sync your iPod (or iPhone) to your library in this state. “Missing” tracks (those with the exclamation marks beside them) will remain on the iPod, since they are still listed in the library. You obviously won’t be able to add content to your iPod that isn’t already there, but you could certainly sync any new content you’ve added while disconnected, since those files do exist on your laptop computer. Further, even ratings and playcounts will be updated in the iTunes library during an automatic sync.

This can be a useful way to import a few tracks off a new CD when you’re away from home and get them loaded onto your iPod without having to wait until you get home or having to resort to switching your iPod to manual mode.

Once you do return back home and plug the external hard drive back in, you simply need to restart iTunes and it will detect that its proper iTunes Media folder has returned, and go back to using that as its iTunes Media folder path. Any content you’ve downloaded or imported while you were away from the main library storage area can be transferred over simply by running the “Consolidate Files” option to copy those files over.

The way that iTunes handles this provides a very effective way to maintain a large iTunes library that is somewhat usable on the go without having to keep it all on your laptop’s internal hard drive.

[crow]

you also need to carry two if you don't want to risk losing the extra stuff on your expansion drive when it inevitably fails.

Lol at this. Don't drop it. It won't fail.

wrong.

[Churro]

you also need to carry two if you don't want to risk losing the extra stuff on your expansion drive when it inevitably fails.

Lol at this. Don't drop it. It won't fail.

wrong.

I suppose I'm just basing this off of the hundred+ external hard drives I've dealt with/set up. My bad, dawg. Of course there will be factory mess ups.

[robdigi]

Your choice, trust the guy with only his own anecdotal evidence, or the guy who troubleshoots and repairs computers for a living and sees failed external drives on the daily. Those things usually come with 3-5 year warranties for a reason. All hard drives fail, it's just a matter of when. Putting all your eggs in one basket is a recipe for a lost music collection.

[joseph]

you guys dont make any sense to me. robigi has the edge with the employ but i dont get it. ill ask the townie drunk that raves about his ipod but thanks.

[crow]

Putting all your eggs in one basket is a recipe for a lost music collection.

this has happened to me 3 times and i've never dropped a hard drive.

[inx515xhell]

or you could listen to me and put it in the garbage disposal.

[Shane]

Your choice, trust the guy with only his own anecdotal evidence, or the guy who troubleshoots and repairs computers for a living and sees failed external drives on the daily.

Sorry dude, this is anecdotal as well. Anything other than controlled, statistical data on hard drive fail rates is anecdotal. Your argument holds no more water than Cory's, it's just different.

[robdigi]

I wasn't comparing anecdotal evidence against statistics, I was comparing his personal anecdote and my being a fucking professional with training and real knowledge of how these things work and, more specifically, -don't- work. I could share failure rates on this completely google-able site, but I don't feel like putting my job with the most secretive tech company you can think of in jeopardy.

Speak to any legitimate technician about how hard drives don't often fail because it has never happened to you and be prepared to be laughed out of the room.

[Shane]

Whoa, big surprise, robdigi is a fuckin' expert on this, too.

Joseph, if you choose to buy an external hard drive, it probably won't fail. Clearly, as with anything else, there are going to be external hard drives that stop working prematurely, but if the outlook on every external hard drive were as bad as rob is making it look, nobody would buy them.

The hard drive that's in your computer now is going to be the same kind of hard drive that is in an external one, but the reason why it may have a shorter life is because it's more likely to sustain physical damage. It's just like anything else, if you treat it nicely it'll last longer.

[Churro]

but I don't feel like putting my job with the most secretive tech company you can think of in jeopardy..

What? I've never heard of an IT job being "secretive".

[joseph]

Joseph, if you choose to buy an external hard drive, it probably won't fail. Clearly, as with anything else, there are going to be external hard drives that stop working prematurely, but if the outlook on every external hard drive were as bad as rob is making it look, nobody would buy them.

The hard drive that's in your computer now is going to be the same kind of hard drive that is in an external one, but the reason why it may have a shorter life is because it's more likely to sustain physical damage. It's just like anything else, if you treat it nicely it'll last longer.

thanks. thats the first reply i understand with my very limited know nothing. i got an ipod for free. its junk. the battery doesnt last. it works for road trips. thats all i use it for. i dont like it but its way more convenient than bringing a box of tapes that tend to melt.

[joseph]

or you could listen to me and put it in the garbage disposal.

video?

[robdigi]

With these guys -everything- is secret. Not just fancy new products. It's actually a pain in the ass to have to work around.

[tylerjames515]

Apple is secretive so they can rip you off.