Porch Enclosure

I’m looking into purchasing a new external Hdd for my new Macbook Pro. I’ve been reading reviews, but everything is very mixed. I’m not really interested in buying an internal drive with a separate enclosure. I’d rather have one solid piece. I’m looking for between 350 and 500 gigs, and would like firewire 800 at a minimum, or eSata at a max. A 3 or 4 port drive would be best for maximum compatibility (I’ll be using on multiple PC’s and Macs). I’m considering a G-Tech or LaCie, though I’ve also been seeing some good things about Seagate. Anybody have any longterm experiences with any of these brands? Is the G-Tech worth the extra $? In researching, I’ve seen great reviews, as well as horror stories for both. Thanks!!

well i wouldnn’t go into detail when searching for an hdd..a HDD is just like anyother despite its brand…consider buying one that has the connector that u want…Firewire is very good and it will have some performance whentransfering data…and as esthetics have the Hdd the same color as your Mac…i believe yours is aluminium gray.

as for the horror storyes u will always find more bad stories than good ones…when something works flawleslly people donn’t have the time to write reviews about it…they just donn’t care,but when something goes wrong,well they share the story with the rest of the world…maybe they have the answer or just to confort them selves about not beeing the only one with the issues.

I just bought a FreeAgent Extreme 1.5TB external drive with USB, Firewire and eSATA ports. I assume since it has eSATA port, it should be a SATA harddrive inside as opposed to a PATA harddrive, i.e. it should be equivalent to buying an internal SATA harddrive and an enclosure with USA, FW and eSATA ports. But there is no where in the documents says it is. Can anyone confirm my assumption here? Thanks!

It isn’t 100% guaranteed but I would say that it is a pretty safe assumption, since otherwise the manufacturer actively has to go out of their way to make the hard drive appear to be something that it isn’t.

I don’t know what this is, and it’s really annoying.

I can force the HD to beep if I eject the discs. You’ll hear a faint two beeps (sometimes it’s only one) as the hard drive parks and spins down. This isn’t a clicking noise which usually is a mechanical problem and relates to failure. This beeping sounds more like a mechanical error with parking the heads. I’m just guessing though. Can anyone help?

Check Part 2 for even more drastic beeping.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmfIuLC1JDE

Duration : 0:0:16

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I was looking at the macbook pros on the apple website, but if I got the one I wanted with all the bells and whistles it would cost me at least 5 grand. So I found a refurbished one with less bells and whistles for 1 grand instead. Would this be a good buy?

Details -

13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
160GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
SD card slot
Built-in 7-hour battery
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
Illuminated keyboard

Enclosure Precision aluminum unibody
Processor 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 Cache 3MB shared
System bus 1066MHz
Memory 2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB
Hard drive1 160GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory2
Video Built-in iSight camera; Mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI (requires adapters, sold separately)
Display 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution
Expansion One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps), two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps), SD card slot
Audio Built-in stereo speakers, built-in omnidirectional microphone, combined optical digital output/headphone out with selectable analog audio line in
Networking Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification)3 ; built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
Hardware accessories 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord
Height 0.95 inch (2.41 cm)
Width 12.78 inches (32.5 cm)
Depth 8.94 inches (22.7 cm)
Weight 4.5 pounds (2.04 kg)4

just get a regular laptop with all the bells and whistles u want for 1 grand instead. windows is coming out and with the purchase of a vista laptop the win 7 upgrade is free.
besides, a laptop like the one you have listed would be an easy find for less than $800.

The Eagle Consus M-Series external storage system offers the most reliable and versatile storage system solution for demanding PC and Mac Users. This unit is targeted at professional users on the go. Quickly swap hard drives with its unique F.I.T. (Fast Installation Technology) and tool-less design: just pull-out the drive tray and push-in the hard drive. It’s that easy — no tools, no screws, no cables to mess with. Unique mesh design keeps your hard drive working and looking cool. Entirely crafted using the finest and most durable lightweight aluminum, the M-Series is in a class by itself when it comes to impeccable fit and finish. High quality chipset and rigorous thermal testing ensures peak performance and rock solid stability.

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Hi. I just connected a shiny new 500GB external hard drive to my xp-based laptop. Yay! It’s like a new beginning, no? But I’m cautious about just dragging/dropping everythimg from the main drive (80GB) to the new external. Any advice would be appreciated. The new external is 7200rpm Seagate in a Wiebetech enclosure which they formatted for me at the local store. But they just sent me on my merry way with no extra software or advice, except to plug the monster in (firewire) and to always "safely remove hardware." I’m wondering whether I should just drag everything from MyDocuments onto the new external (how will this affect certain applicatons)? Also, what is that folder on the new external labeled ".Trashes" and the file called "._.Trashes" Can I delete these? Also, can I change the drive name? It’s defaulted as "Jiggy" which I think i consider utterly nonsensical. Thanks for any advice.

You can drag and drop the my documents folder no problem, this will only copy the folder to the new drive, not delete it from your current drive. Yes you can rename the volume and the trashes is probably the local trash can folder for that drive.

im looking to make use of my 20gb ide hdd’s laying around, so my boss has his into external with an external enclosure he bought from newegg, and i decided i would do this too, but i am not sure if i would actually need the whole thing, is it possible to just buy a few wires to do it, ill have it in my computer more than out of it so i would just like to buy a power and ide to say usb or firewire cable so i dont have to unscrew the case to get my hdd out everytime.

or on the other hand do you think it is at risk or static…etc

You need to fit it in a proper enclosure which adapts the ide to usb and back, and uses external power in order to prevent disturbing the machine when connecting. The internal connections are also not designed for continual connection and disconnection.

“The Ultra Stackables offer a number of different models to choose from. There’s a 7 port USB2 hub, card reader + 6 port USB2 hub and three 3.5″ HDD enclosures. The HDD enclosures are available in USB2, SATA, and Firewire models. As the name suggests, they are all stackable, but also can be used individually and positioned horizontally or vertically. They even have a180-Watt Multi-Outlet Power Center to power all the stackable units. Watch the video to find out more and check out the bloopers at the end.” ~3dGameMan.com

Duration : 0:6:36

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Has the disk completely failed, or is did it just have a Windows breakdown? I have bought a CoolMax 3.5" External Enclosure, which connects an internal 3.5" IDE drive to any computer by USB or firewire, but my Windows XP Pro computer still doesn’t give it a drive letter.

However, the weird thing is that when I plug in the USB cable, Windows goes "Kerplunk" and says a USB 2.0 device has been connected. Also, when I right-click on My COmputer and go into Properties > Device Manager, the 3.5" drive shows up under my list of disk drives (WDC WD60 0BB-75CCB0 USB Device).

How can I force Windows to register and explore this hidden drive?

p.s. My primary drive is a WD 160GB and it is working fine (2005). The WD 60GB is 2 years older, but was working last time I checked… the workstation has been used for about 6 months by my sister since I last used it).

You’re probably missing some drivers. Check the manufacturer’s website, see if you can download them.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DabbaTZhN5s

This beeping happened when I ejected the firewire enclosure. And as it spun down the beeping kept going. I had to manually turn it off. This also happens when the enclosure is idle for a long time and then parks itself or goes to sleep. Power settings are set to NOT put disks to sleep. What’s going on here. Sometimes when it sleeps it doesn’t beep, but will always never come back from sleep and cause my Mac to beachball until I manually turn it off, wait a bit, and then turn it back on.

Hard drive is Seagate 7200.10 320gb. I’m not aware of the HD or the enclosure having it’s own power savings settings. Does anyone have an idea? The chipset of the enclosure if Oxford 934DSB.

Check Part 2 for even more drastic beeping.

Duration : 0:0:23

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