Combining Hard Drives

[RONNCC]

So if i buy 4 x 60 gb hard drives, is there anyway to 'join' the USBs or the sata etc via some sort of hub so that I can access them?

Essentially any way to combine all of the SATA/USB connectors into one so that I can access all / individually - external raid is really expensive

 

[Dr_JRE]

USB = Universal *SERIAL* Bus. Data can only flow in 1 direction at a time and the USB pipe is small. you can purchase USB adapters for all the drives and run them on USB, but it will be slow going.

Internal IDE controllers are cheap and can be found used by the bucket load (check computer recycling centers, shops that sell off customers old parts after upgrades, etc.)

Internal SATA controllers can be found dirt cheap and is the best way to do what you are trying to do.

esata is an option, but not the direction you want to go as it's pricey.

Another option; find the cheapest used POS garage sale throw away computer you can find, and turn it into a cheap network attached storage solution. (Xubuntu is your friend.)

 

[Hawkeye22]

Doesn't your motherboard have at least 4 sata ports? Why not just hook them up internally. You can then use them individually or if your motherboard supports raid, you can raid them. I have 4 internal drives (non-raid) and two externals and my board is fairly old (gigabyte EP-45 UD3R).

 

[dingo07]

The first issue I see with your statement RONNCC is that you mixed HDD with USB. As Hawkeye22 mentions, your motherboard should have enough ports to connect them inside your computer. The question is do you have enough power to power them off your current power supply.