External HDD?

lazarus219 · Oct 1, 2004

hey,
i was wondering if it would be worth buying an external hardrive, and if anyone here uses them, i started needing to delete photos all the time to have memor for new ones, and i really dont like storing them on cd only. So do you think it would be worth buying an external HDD to store photos?
And if i get a decent brand one is there really any chance of memory loss from it?
Thanks!

gecko · Oct 1, 2004

i have 3 hds on my system all internal
but
external hds have the advantage that u can add as many drives as u have usb ports for (or firewire)

i think if u get another hd like that u should also consider storing your more important photos on cd also

i mean if loss is important to you

photobug · Oct 2, 2004

I dump all my RAW files onto a CD and then onto a firewire external HD. My iBook only has a 20Gb HD, so it didn't take long to eat it up shooting RAW.

I got the external drive so I'd have a second copy of all my files.

Axel · Oct 2, 2004

lazarus219 said:
hey,
i was wondering if it would be worth buying an external hardrive, and if anyone here uses them, i started needing to delete photos all the time to have memor for new ones, and i really dont like storing them on cd only. So do you think it would be worth buying an external HDD to store photos?
And if i get a decent brand one is there really any chance of memory loss from it?
Thanks!

It'll be way cheaper for you to get more memory than an external HDD! Of course, an external HDD is very good, but you have to ask yourself if you really need it or if there is a way around your problem which is cheaper, unless you just feel like spending the money, no matter what!

The previous posters are pretty right too; You ought to sort out what pictures are really important to you and store them on a CD. The quality doesn't get better/worse because you store them on an HDD/CD!

BTW, do you mean memory or HDD space? In any case, it'll be cheaper to get more HDD and/or memory than an external HDD...

gecko · Oct 2, 2004

for me i guess the external hd sounds good because i have a laptop AND a desktop

Axel · Oct 2, 2004

Yep! In that case it is an advantage to have it! If you are going to transfer data between different computers, you can definitely do with an external. Depending on what additional space you lack/need though, you may want to consider one of those USB keys. They are smaller and store up to a gig, if I'm not too outdated... You can use one of those keys exclusively for pictures. In that way you can bring it to friends too (having it in your shirt pocket!).

gecko · Oct 2, 2004

i also like the usb transfer cables they make which lets u network two computers with just a usb cable

Axel · Oct 2, 2004

Now I don't follow...

gecko · Oct 2, 2004

if u wanna transfer files between two computers u can use a usb cable sorry
i got side tracked

what about tape drives?
they arent too expensive
and for archival purposes ive heard they are great

Axel · Oct 2, 2004

Could you please expound the following terms:

USB cable

Tape drives

Please tell me what the advantages are...

gecko · Oct 2, 2004

well a usb cable is merely good for connection two computers, sorry i mentioned it

and a tape drive is a somewhat long term storage solution that uses removable "tapes" that u can fill up remove and put a new one in

santino · Oct 2, 2004

I don't think that tape drives aren't too expensive (maybe a used one for 120m or something like that) and you would have to buy a scsi controller, tapes, expensive cables etc. (off course there are IDE tape drives, I've heard different things about).

External HD's are great! (windows/mac/linux compatibility via usb or firewire). I think a external HD is worth it's money. I reccomend everybody Lacie's HD's

Digital Matt · Oct 2, 2004

Axel said:
It'll be way cheaper for you to get more memory than an external HDD! Of course, an external HDD is very good, but you have to ask yourself if you really need it or if there is a way around your problem which is cheaper, unless you just feel like spending the money, no matter what!

You can buy a 200 gig Maxtor external HD for $250. You show me a 200G CF card that even exists, let alone costs that much.

I think they are a pretty cheap, and good alternative. We have tons of them at work. You don't have to leave it hooked up all the time either. Just connect it when you need it. You can have several. They are great for backup.

hobbes28 · Oct 2, 2004

I have a 120Gig hooked up that I use all the time. It's especially handy for backups and when I do a reformat of the machine. It's easy to move files that way, too.