USB Powered External Hard Drive

I'm looking to buy a good, reliable USB Powered External hard drive. I haven't really had any luck finding any out there. If you know of any good sites where I could get them, or how I should search for them, it would be greatly appreaciated.

 

The Western Digital Passport seems like it'd do the job for you.

Check out NewEgg for some of there external hard drives, they have a good selection.

iPods work too .

 

Definitely the WD passport. I acquired the 250GB version. It works like a charm. Newegg has them at good prices and if you look on ebay you can acquire an authentic WD hard carry case for it for about under $15. Its worth the money i gurantee.

 

Put me in for another vote for the WD Passport, albeit a much much smaller one. I believe it uses a similar HDD to that of the iPod; I noticed when I first used it to move stuff around that it clicked very similarly to when the iPod shuffles songs and is equally silent.

Also, RasBastard is right; the black one particularly is extremely vulnerable to scratches and fingerprints and dust, again, much like an iPod.

Oh, and not to hijack, but what's the deal with the mini-USB cable? I've heard that it's that short for power requirements and also that longer cables work fine (the manual lists a 22 in. cable). Any firsthand experience with that?

 

I never understood it either. Maybe just for the look? I know for some phones that I sure would want a Mini-USB port instead of a regular one.

 

The mini-cables are no good, as the power is rarely enough.

Also, these USB drives tend to have 2.5" drives, the same size as the ones in laptops. iPods, UMPCs, and really expensive external drives use 1.8" drives that are smaller, less power hungry, but incredibly slow and less reliable.

 

I dunno, it clicks exactly the same as my iPod and is not that much bigger physically than my 30 Video. But I'm no expert...

What I meant by mini-USB is that the cable is extremely short, no more than 4-5 inches. I've got another one that's a good 4-5 feet and I'm unsure whether it's "safe" to use it with the HDD>

 

I think it also has to do with the simple fact that its now a standard... There are VERY few USB-A to USB-A cables. The standard seems to be USB-A to USB-B cables for Printers, Scanners, and 3.5"/5.25" drives, and USB-A to USB-mini for phones, cameras, 2.5" drives, MP3 players, etc...

It isnt really a problem imo, since its not like finding replacement cables for them is hard. Plus, its more aesthetically pleasing, as the port is literally 1/3 as big as a USB-A port.

Keep in mind you pay a sizable premium for USB powered hard drives. You are also limited to around 300gigs, since they use the same hard drives as laptops(the ones that req. power adapters are standard desktop hard drives, but go as big as 1 terabyte. You can get a 500 gig one of those for around the same price[in my area at least] as a 160 gig usb powered 2.5" drive)

 

Yes, but people who are mobile wouldn't find it very efficient to use an external drive that requires you to plug it into a wall jack.

 

I have 2 now both from newegg one i put together (external enclosure+spare drive)
and one i just bought hole both work like a charm the one i put together was accualy droped 4+feet and still works great as long as u pick no ac power under the advanced search on newegg it will be powered off the usb port or ports you can get faster drives (7200rpm) 16mb cache ect in the 3.5 inch but they will need ac power not worth it imo

the only thing i would do differant is to get one that had an ESATA +usb2connection as it will provide more bandwith than just a usb2 but they cost more
I would sugest 8mb cache and 5400rpm these seem most bang for buck here is the search http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...Subcategory=414&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=

here is one with the esat connection this is case only you will need to add 2.5 drive i could not seem to find the one that came with the drive I think it was an iomega posibly out of stock not all cases will take all sizes of drives 80< is allways safe tho good luck and read up

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Subcategory=92&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=

in my reading i have found transfer rates are as follows esat>1394(firewire)>usb2>usb

 

I built myself one with an old 40gb laptop hard drive, and a $10 case on ebay.
Works like a charm.

 

I used a Bytecc 2.5in enclosure for a long time. It had dual USB plugs; one for power and one for data. I never had a problem with it and a 60gb WD drive I had lying around.

I switched to a 250gb WD and 3.5in enclosure recently, though. $30 for a new enclosure for my desktop hard drive was more appealing than $100+ for a similar capacity 2.5in drive.

 

The reported issues with the power requirements from older models even the 250GB WD passport is in the power rating of the USB rail on some laptops. I know alot of MacBook Pro users complain about WD passport and even with the optional Y cable, they are unable to use it beacuse the USB ports are not close enough. The 'Y' cable is available on WD's website and I even read in one of these forums that they may ship it to you for free if you call to complain...don't quote me on that part. Short of that the Passport has been wonderful for me thus far. It's light, always works with my Thinkpad ( God bless their wonderful engineering) and once you get a carrying case it's that much more protected when you lug it around on your travels.

 

also pay attention to internal conection this is what kind of drive the enclosure will take ex. ATA ,Sata it would suck to get a nice Sata drive and have an enclosure that will only take ATA or buy an enclosure that will only take Sata and you allready have an ATA drive. Thats if your puting your own together

 

I've used an Apricorn 2.5 USB enclosure for many years with different drives, and it had no problem running off of USB bus power. It's instructions call for the use of 2 USB ports, one for data and the other for power. However it has been unneccessary, as the drive runs on just the data cable without issues.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817155602

Note: Hard drive is not included. Also, it takes IDE drives (not SATA). You'd be better off with IDE anyway, as they usually have lower current draw than their SATA equivalent......

 

dave932932 is correct, mp3 hdds use 1.8" hdds. I want to replace the 30gig hdd on my ZVM, but I'm still waiting on a 120gig 1.8" that's 5mm thick.

Back to the topic, I've seen the WD Passport 250 gig for 140 usd at Costco. I had considered getting one, but I want eSATA speed. It would be cheaper to get this drive, rip it out, and place it into my own enclosure for usb/esata than to buy the hdd separate at this point.

 

Thanks a lot guys, this info helped a lot!!

 

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10928

Im about to buy this one. Looks good, no need to worry about scratches like with wester digital one. Personal preference maybe but I dislike the WD black glossy finish.

 

That is a decent price for a 250GB. Too bad the Firewire version is $80 more.......

 

Costco. WD 250GB $140.

 

Even better price, but still just USB 2.0. It is a shame more models are not available with dual interfaces...........

 

I usually just make my external drives. Just buy a HD and buy a cheap case... But if your after a 250GB external drive, then strangely, it is cheaper to just go with the WD drive for ~$140 from Costco or Newegg. A picked up a 120GB drive and a case for $66 the other day.

 

I Personally have had very good luck using the western digital hard drives myself.
the best part is being able to crack open the case, and remove the mini-Ide to usb controller. then being able to use about any ide hard drive via usb 1.1 or higher. though i strongly recommend 2.0 for obvious reasoning