Want External Hard Drive to be available at all times

[GrannySRX]

My external hard drive "USB" used to become available when I boot-up the computer. Then one day it wouldn't become available until I shut it off and turned it back on. I need to install 2 programs on it and I really need for those to be available at all times. What can I do to go back to the good old days and have it come on automatically again?

 

[PhilFrisbie]

A recent operating system update could have caused this issue (Windows?), or it could be a progressive problem with the USB drive. This is really just an annoyance, but I worry that you are using a USB drive to install programs.

External drives tend to be less reliable than internal drives due to various reasons such as being susceptible to drop damage, they may not have adequate cooling, and the power supplies can fail easily. If you have an older computer with a small internal hard drive I would suggest installing a larger one and then using the USB drive for backups.

 

[GrannySRX]

I considered installing a 2nd hard drive but talking to a tech at Office Depot, he made it sound like such a major ordeal that I got scared. Bios changes & all.

 

[andrewcarr]

Its actually rather simple to install a second drive. You can even remove the hard drive from an external storage device and use that in your computer.

 

[andywork78]

External HDD Control board does not having good communication between pc and ex hdd.
The control board is old that's all.
Reboot wild your usb ext hdd on then show up again right?
Yeah.. time to get new ext hdd case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182155
this one i have it for 3month so far. i like it.

 

[ram1009]

Sounds to me like you really want an internal drive but got scared off by some "tech" who wanted to sell you an external. As already stated, installing a second drive is very easy and should require no BIOS changes. Most people on this forum would be happy to assist. Personally, I think that being able to switch off my external HDDs is a great advantage. Less wear & tear.

 

[GrannySRX]

If I choose another internal drive, how do I determine what kind of hard drive to get?

 

[andrewcarr]

It is pretty standard you want a SATA connection and depending on what you want low power or performance go 5400 rpm for low power and 7200 rpm for higher performance. Most 5400 rpm drives will actually work fine for most users. Depending on how new/old your computer is I would use a 3 Gb/s drive. It is backwards compatible and it wouldn't be worth it to get a faster drive of 6 Gb/s.

 

[GrannySRX]

I've been checking online at Compusa & Best Buy for hard drives and I don't find any 3GB - do you mean 300GB? There are so many - it is so confusing!!

I've had my external HD for several years now. It is 80G and was an internal that I got online at CompUsa for about $35 back in Jan of 2006. Then I had to buy the HD Kit to convert it to USB, which cost more than the HD. They have increased incredibly in price since then.

Once I find the right HD what are the steps I need to take to install it. I mean after opening the case and plugging it in. I guess instructions will come with it regarding pin settings for slave & master, right?

 

[andrewcarr]

3 Gb/s is the maximum transfer rate of most hard drives. 6Gb/s maximum is now a newer version that is potentially double the speed but if you are using a mechanical drive you can't even reach 3Gb/s in most cases. Only way you can fully utilize the full data rate is with a SSD. I would get a drive of about 500 GB. Remember GB is totally separate from Gb/s.

If you have put a hard drive in an external case it won't be harder to put it in the computer. You slide the hard drive in the slot, then screw it in. Hook up the power and the transfer cable (you have to buy this separate) which is SATA. Once you hook the SATA cable up to the new hard drive and hook it to the mother board you are good to go.

 

[GrannySRX]

WOW! The guy at Office Depot made it sound like a formiddable project! Thank you for this info, it sounds simple enough. This will be a 2nd HD. Slave, right? My computer is about 5-1/2 yrs old - I guess. OS is XP. RAM is 2G. I'm considering upgrading that, too. Would you recommend it?

 

[andrewcarr]

Look to see how many free memory slots you have if you have two free add another two if not see how much it would cost to replace the two sticks you have to maybe 4GB.

 

[GrannySRX]

Thanks Andrew. My thoughts exactly.