Do It Yourself Making an External Hard Drive Guide

If you're looking for some extra external storage for your notebook you could go out and buy a ready made USB or FireWire external 100GBhard drive for around $200, or you could more cheaply andquite easily make your own portable external hard driveby buying an enclosure and "naked" hard drive and slapping them together for around $100. Furthermore, instead of chucking away that old 40GB notebook hard drive you just upgraded you can read this guide and see how to easily use it as an external hard drive for data backup.

My 2.5 <STRIKE>Cents</STRIKE> Inch External Hard DriveDIY

If you need an external hard drive for extra storage, why buy one "ready made" when you can easily make it yourself for much cheaper? Or why throw away that 40GB notebook hard drive that you just replaced with a faster 100GB 7200RPM drive?

Recently I was in need of a bigger external drive. Ihad seen aSeagate came out with their own branded "Portable External Hard Drive" and thought, why not try to matchthe performance andcapacity of the Seagate "ready made" drive with aDIY style and see if it's worth it.

The Benchmark

The Seagate 120GB external portable hard drive reviewed here not long ago is a fine external hard drive. It sports a 2.5" 5400 RPM hard drive inside, has a stylish aluminum case with a blueLED lightand 1-year warranty. It can be bought for as low as $219 according toour review, but if you look hard you might find it for even cheaper. Either way I will not focus on price only since there are other benefits to building your own drive, nor isthisa casestudy against big name external HD makers such as Seagate.

What you'll need

1. A 2.5" hard drive of your choosing (naked, no enclosure)
2. An enclosure to put the hard drive in and that will connect to your laptop via USB/FireWire and interface with the hard drive.

The hard drive I chose was Samsung SpinPoint 120GB 5400 RPM Bulk to match the Seagate drives size and speed, I bought it at Ewiz.com because they offered the lowest price of $139 (they were kind, helpful and agreed to take my order unlike NewEgg.com who havestrict policies), at the time of writing these linesI see Ewiz.comlowered the price of the Samsung drive even more to $127.

For the enclosure I went with a Coolmax HD-211 2.5" USB 2 Aluminum enclosure because I liked how it looked and it is one of the cheapest out there at only $10 (also purchased at Ewiz.com). If you think I'm superficial and cheap, wellyou are right, but this choice has some logic to it as well -- more about that later.

the enclosure (left)and hard drive(right) ingredients, just mix togther ... DON'T add water! (view large image)

Packing and contents

The Samsung SpinPointHD came in a static shield bag without much else, the Coolmax enclosure came shrink wrappedwitha carryingpouch, 4 mounting screws, 6 case screws, a "Y" type USB cable, a jewelry screw driver and a mini-CDwithdriver software in case you need that.
.

(view large image)

Coolmax was thoughtful enough to include everything you needwith the enclosure you purchase(view large image)

The DIY part

Calling this a DIY project is somewhat stretching the term, it is as simple as can be. Like adding milk to your cereal (only here you close the milk afterwards and plug it into your notebook)

Step 1: Using the jewelry screwdriver, unscrew the 2 enclosure screws in theback panel of the enclosure and remove the back panel.

Step 2: Slide out the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), on whichour hard drivewill be mounted.

Step 3: Attach the Hard Drive to the 44-pin connector of the PCB.

the HD attached to the connector (view large image)

Step 4: Fix the Hard Drive in placewith the 4 mounting screwson the underside.

the mounting screws in place (view large image)

Step 5: Slide the Hard Drivethat is now attached to the PCB back into the enclosure and fix the back panel back in place andput the two screws backin tightly.

That's allthere is toit! Any enclosure will provide instructions and may of course differ a bit, but will never be much more complicated than this -- and possibly even easier.

Assuming you have Windows XP you don't need to install any of the drivers that were included on themini CD. If you want to initialize and partition thea new hard drive, use Windows XP built-in Disk Management. There are a few ways to get to that, the quickest is by typing clicking Start &gt; Run and type in"diskmgmt.msc". The Windows Disk Management snap-in will open.

the Coolmax with its red and green leds (view large image)

I have two importanttips to add to these steps above:

1. First make sure you have a clean tidy surface to work on, those screws are awfully small and will go missing in the blink of an eye. Thegoodnews isthe provided screw driver is magnetic and Coolmax saw fit to include 2 extra screws just in case you lose a couple.
2. Second, before you start, discharge any static electricity in your bodyby touching something made of metal and handle the Hard Driveonly from the sides. Avoid touching the bottom exposed circuit of a Hard Drive or the exposed circuits of the enclosure.

Price

The total cost of the parts for this DIY external hard drive was $137 ascompared to $219 for the Seagate external drive that was reviewed. Currently Newegg.com lists the 100GB version of the Seagate portable external hard drive for $168, so this 120GB DIY solution is still cheaper than even that.

Power &amp; Performance

Even though this is a 120GB drive it will run just fine on a single USB cable power source, however if more power is needed just plug in the RED plug as well. Other enclosures tested with this drive proved a single cable was just fine in those cases too.

Transfer speedsto the hard drive were very good, averaging 18.8 MB/sec with 18.1 ms seek time, not as fast as the Momentus inside the Seagate but good enough for an external USB enclosure. Real life test of copying a typical 700MB file from the notebook to thehard drivetook about 30 seconds.

Heat &amp; Noise

The enclosure never got warmer thenthe equivalent of the normal human bodytemperature, so it never felt hot.It was also very, very quiet without any clicking (like many Hitachi drives do) or chippering (like many Toshiba drives do), just avery low humming sound.

Warranty

All new 2.5" drives come with at least a 3-year manufacturer's warranty, while the Ewiz.com product page doesn't specify this, the NewEgg.com page has it in writing. So if something happens to thehard driveinside your "DIY drive" you will be covered. Andif the enclosure breaks? Well, youjust throw it awayand buy another one for $10!

The right HD for you

When I bought the Samsung Spin Point 120GB HD I was afraid that not all enclosures would support it chipset or power consumption wise. I'm quite happy to say I was wrong, even enclosures that specify they only support up to 80GB worked just fine with this drive.

I think any new generation 2.5" large capacity drive (&gt; 100GB) would work flawlessly in almost any enclosure since the specifications are similar across all drives.For evidence I can testify I used Hitachi 7K60 7200 RPM 60GB HDin the same enclosure without any problem . The only reason I chose the Samsung brand really wasbecause it was the cheapest and looked to be very quiet if not the quietest.

Choose your enclosure carefully

The Coolmaxwas not the only enclosure Itested. The enclosure itself is almost as important as the HD inside. It's interesting to note that many enclosure are just "branded" versions of a generic enclosuremade by an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer). It's quite possible two enclosures you see from different brands were actually made by the same original manufacturer and just re-badged with a brand name. If two enclosured from different brands look exactly the same, chances are that it is the same but by a different name.

(left to right) Coolmax, Hotdrive, Sweex are just brand name versionsof ODM enclosures (view large image)

I'd go with an enclosure that has mounting screws that secure theHard Drivetightly like the Coolmax does, it seems more solid than the suspended by pins only approach of the Bytecc Hotdrive 2.5" enclosureI tested (cost of $17). Some users might find the lack of mounting screws a plus if they intend to swap theHard Drive inside the enclosure quiteoften,in that case the highly respectedThermaltake Silver Muse is good because it opens up like a box with a hinge and hasfoam paddingto hold the HD in place.

The Coolmax (left) holds the HD secure with 4 mounting screws while the Hotdrive uses pins (view large image)

On thedown side for the Coolmax enclosure, theenclosure thickness is only half of the Bytecc Hotdrive one. Not that the Coolmax is flimsy or anything, but I would prefer the thicker enclosure for more protection.

The Hotdrive (below) case is thicker than the CoolMax (on top)(view large image)

The carrying case you get with the enclosureis also an important factor to consider, they range from thin pouch that is designed to prevent scratches only to thick book cover like protection. If you think you'll need a carrying case for your hard drive I recommend choosing an enclosure that comes with a case and one that fits your needs .

Same enclosures as viewed above but inside their provided carrying cases(Coolmax, Hotdrive, Sweex) (view large image)

I also think the looks factor is somewhat important becauseall enclosures seem towork pretty much the same. I often choosean enclosure at least partly based onstyle &amp; accessories included, the Sweex enclosure is an exampleof that, I bought it because it offered a screws implementation for mounting the HD andit had abrushed aluminum case which is very stylish and nice to touch.

Conclusion

The "DIY" optionfor creating a portableexternal storage solution isthe way to go when in need of an external HD. Also, thenext time Toshiba or Delltries to overcharge you $300 for a HD upgradewhen configuring yourlaptop, justget the cheapest40GB hard drive they offer.Thenuse the money you save to buy the hard drive you actuallywant from a cheaper source (say a 100GB 7200RPM drive from NewEgg.com), then when you get the laptop swap out the 2.5" 40GB you configured witha fast hard drive you really wanted insde the laptop, then take put the 40GB crappy driveyou were forced to configure in the laptopinto a $10 - $30 drive enclosure of your choice. And of course feel free to send me any money you save by taking this DIY route!

Pros (for building your own external hard drive)

• Moregigabytes of storagefor your dollar
• Better warranty on the hard drive when you buy it without an enclosure, usually at least 3-years
• You can choose the style of the enclosure you want

Cons (for building your own external hard drive)

• Must have opposable thumb and be willing to turn a screwdriver

Some places to shop for Hard Drives and Enclosures are:

• www.NewEgg.com
• www.Ewiz.com
• www.Amazon.com
• www.BestBuy.com
• www.CompUSA.com

and a number of other places, just search the web or ask around in the hardware component upgrade forums!

 

Nice and cheap. Good DIY guide. Make sure the enclosure you get is USB 2.0 if you go for the real cheap-end.

~ Brett

 

Great guide - some rep is there for you!

I have built four external drives. The first was two years ago. Back then I bought an external case with USB 2.0. Hi-speed sticker on it. It turned out that it could give me only 13 MB/s on average. Nowdays it is better, but just a warning - not all USB 2.0 hi-speed external closures can provide over 30MB/s in the beggining and over 20MB/s at the end. The newest one I have is a sharkoon one - more expensive, but the average speed with an "old" Seagate 80 GB 5400 disk is 27MB/s with 35 MB/s in the beggining and 19 MB/s at the end. That is almost like my disk inside on IDE interface. Very fast.

Cheers,

Ivan

 

Great guide! I have already built 2 of these in the past. But 3.5" ones. For under $100 you can put together a 200GB SATA external HD.

A little something to add. In general the 2.5" external drives are cheaper make than to buy a decent margin. But 3.5" external drives are usually cheaper to just buy. In the past when I have seen deals on slickdeals.net and other sites, I find that often it is cheaper to buy an external drive already made, than to make your own. For example I have seen 160GB external drives for $70. I just paid $67 shipped for my internal 160GB drive. Add another $20 for the case and power supply. That would be $87 vs. $70.

One more thing too add. Never, Never plug a 3.5" drive in without the power supply. A friend did this to his computer and it blew his motherboard. The USB power isn't enough to power a 3.5" drive but it's enough for a 2.5". And for desktops the front USB ports generally don't get quite the power as the back ports, so the back is the best place to plug it in.

 

Great guide! Nice for people that find 80 GB in notebooks way too less.

Charlie-Peru

 

God! Now where am I going to find an opposable thumb!!!! LOL!

 

I have the same coolmax enclosure for my hard drive, I had a few problems I with the enclosure. One of the problems was that when I plugged it into my laptop it would read as so random symbols, instead of the hard drive model in the enclosure, and couldn't find the drivers for it. Since I didn't use the screws and swaped in and out hard drives regularly, the hard drive wasn't plugged into the pins tightly enough, make sure you push in the hard drive into the pins as much as you can and use the screws if possible.

The second problem was the drive, when installing, was not being recognized properly giving me errors upon install. This results in two problems but solved by the same singular solution, either the hard drive needs some time to spin up before you plug it in, as I discovered with my 60 gb hitachi and the other problem was that the drive needs some extra power for it to work properly. The solution would be to plug in the red powered usb part of your "Y" usb cable first, wait a few seconds for it to spin up properly, then plug in the other end of the "Y" connector and follow the rest of gilo's guide, which is a pretty good and straight forward one, might I add.

I hope this helps anyone with the same problems I have had with my experiences.

 

Very cool guide, and 2.5" are more portable than the 3.5", however I feel the overall price and capacity of making or buying an external 3.5" is much better even if you have to have its own power supply. Since you can make cheap 300GB external closures with great performance while the slower and less power consuming laptop drives with enclosures are still pretty expensive.

Wouldn't building your own 3.5" for the laptop be better if you don't mind the slight extra wait and power requirements?

 

Good How-to. I've made one such drive, a 3.5", 80gb Seagate external. Went like clockwork. If I had to do it over again, I would definately go with a 2.5". Not only is it smaller, but you can get away with no external power supply, thus cutting your "Travel" weight and size in half.

Come to think of it, I have been wanting to upgrade my 20gb 4200rpm hard drive to something larger and a bit faster, I suppose I could always use the 20gb as an external. Hey, thanks for the headsup!

 

Thanks. I've been thinking about doing this for awhile.

I didn't think it would be that cheap though.

Thanks alot, great guide!

 

Ha! I just did this yesterday with an old 20G laptop drive i have and $19 enclosure from newegg.
Instant portable storage!

You can do it with regular 3.5" desktop drives too. Of course the enclosures are a bit bigger, but a cheap way for a LOT of portable storage.

 

Thank you for this excellent guide, gilo.

Chris583, in my opinion there is a huge difference in portability between 2.5" and 3.5" drives. I would not want to travel with a 3.5" external drive but a 2.5" drive doesn't take a lot of extra space, especially since a power supply is not needed. With that in mind I think it is better to spend a little extra for a 2.5" drive.

 

I did this with a 3.5" and put Ubuntu on it. It wasn't quite dual booting but I could chose to use whichever OS I wanted at startup. By going through old computers, I now have three old drives lying around: a 3.5" 4 gb and 8 gb and a 2.5" 1 gb. These are dinosaurs. I'm waiting for one to fail to take a peak inside.

~ Brett

 

I have a bunch of external drives. They do come in handy. I can't find a decently cheap SATA enclosure for the new generate sata drives. If I could find one I'd buy it.

 

Hmmm, talk about external hard drive, I'm pretty satisfied with mine.
With an old 20G HD from mine broken DELL, it only costed me 20 bucks, for the enclosure. I'll just show off some pictures. Pity I don't have a macbook to go with it.

 

Thanks for the compliments guys ,

Actually some are due to Andrew who tidied up my review and added intro and other clarifications .

3.5 vs. 2.5 debate
Both sides are right , the 3.5 will get you ~X2 gigas for the same price however the enclosure are not dirt cheap like the 2.5 ones . I have a popular 3.5 enclosure and the lower price range quality is not something I would buy again .

Once you go 2.5 comfort you wouldn't want to go back to the heavy hot nosiy 3.5 with the extra cables and power adapter . The added bonus is that you can swap it with your notebook HD at will ( I not longer have any desktops ) .

ODMs
Andrew gave a very useful tip about the odms , indeed I saw substantial price differences for the same enclosure under several names .

Btw the ODM for the Sweex is Zynet , they have a wide range of enclosures , some look very good . The reviewed one is very stylish with the brushed aluminum and sanded plastic , I wouldn't mind if my notebook outer shell was made like that , or even just the sanded plastic ( silky ) .

The only down side is its weak 2 color led and that its hard to find .

 

Nice guide
Thanks

 

Great guide. I assumed it was common sense to do this type of thing, but the obvious escapes me from time to time - as I'm sure it does to others as well.

I'd like to add that I usually buy my enclosures locally, only because I can get my hands on them immediately - the $10 find for the enclosure is a great deal.

Also: Just to add - I did the same thing to make an external dvd-recorder... I purchased a USB2.0 CDRW drive used from Ebay for $15 shipped, when it arrived - I removed the CDRW drive and replaced it with a NEC ND3500 I had from an upgrade, and presto instant external usb 2.0 16x DVDRW/DL drive. The ND-3500 (which is a terrific drive btw) is available at newegg for around $35.

THANKS FOR THE GUIDE! GREAT WORK!

 

I was going to write one of these myself for my 3.5" enclosure. good job. My Kingwin Enclosure from newegg and 250gb WD SE16 only cost me 140 total (90 for the drive, 30 for enclosure plus shipping). The installation was tooless, just hand screw two screws on the bottom, slip in the drive and connect the SATA cables. I also got similar HD tune results, except I averaged about 22kbps across the board, never dipped past 20kbps, probably the 16mb buffer.

The best part about the 3.5, other than price, is that i have an SATA hookup in the back of the enclosure so i get blazing transfer speeds with my desktop. Another benefit is the 3 year hard drive warranty, as opposed to the standard 1 year on most externals.

 

I read this article with some interest. My hard drive died (laptop doesn't boot up), but I've been trying to see if I can salvage any data. I think I have a 2.5 SATA (100 gb [this is Dell Latitude D620]), so I don't know if it's easy to find a cheap enclosure for it. Luckily, I did back up more crucial data before the hard disk found its maker -- but if there's any hope for getting some more back, that'd be great.

I'm hoping that even though it doesn't boot up, maybe if I can just get it running I can salvage a bit (I even partitioned the hard drive before, but don't know if that helps any). It did run before but the second time this problem happened it would intermittently crash.

Any suggestions for enclosures and / or tips on getting it running? I know there's not much hope left. I should be getting a new hard disk on Tuesday. If that doesn't work, then I might as well get a replacement (believe it or not, the notebook is only about 4 weeks old). I just want a cheap + easy solution (if possible), but otherwise forget it.

Or, am I wrong and this can't be done on a notebook hd?

 

there's a bootable Linux live disc called Knoppix. it's german, but is available in english, very safe, i've run it before. just google for it then download the .iso from their website and burn it to disc with nero or any program that can handle .isos. then just boot off the disc, load linux, and your hard drive shows up as a separate drive and you can transfer files to a thumb drive or external.

or, from newegg.com you can purchase a 2.5" hard drive enclosure for around $15-$20, though a 2.5" SATA enclosure might be pricier.

If you have an external or a means by which you can store the information, then i would suggest at least trying Knoppix first to see if it works. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not as familiar with linux but I have a friend that can help out. It's a pretty big download, so I'll see if this'll work in the morning. I suppose that if the hd isn't recognized then it's pretty much toast. Many thanks.

 

yeah you dont have to know anything about linux, it boots up a mac osx like interface and the hard drives are right on your desktop. really its supposed to be a full OS by itself complete with webbrowser and what not. hope it allgoes well.

 

Month old HD shouldn't crash , is it a Toshiba ?

Any 2.5" 9.99$ enclosure should work , just put in the HD , plug to a working computer and see if you can "see" the HD , if so its not toasted just needs a refreshed install .

You can spend a bit more if you plan on keeping it even if the HD is toasted for a future easy backup device which I'm sure you'll consider .

Good luck .

 

Well, I got the CD to boot -- but I don't see any drives listed, unfortunately (it'll detect one through USB though). I'm actually posting from my laptop running Knoppix, a neat trick I must say.

I did try getting an enclosure from CompUSA, but it has to be for SATA 2.5 (there's only 4 pins for the data, I believe), which aren't cheap (may have to order online for $30 or so plus shipping). So it looks like the hard drive is toast or not cooperating. That is okay though, since I was wise enough to back up most of my crucial data that I spent time working on. There's other stuff, but it's mostly media files. I can play around with this a couple more days, maybe my friend can work some magic, but I think the drive was dying for the past week.

The current drive is Seagate, I believe, and they're sending a replacement Toshiba. I was traveling with the notebook (but it was in a laptop backpack), and maybe there was some compression, but it wasn't a lot of weight. The issue resolved itself, but I had the same issue when flying back, plus more errors (got the blue screen in Windows, saying some kernal error + had to perform a memory dump). Also, both times before I got the system working again, the hard drive would make a loud whirring sound when booting up (but went away with subsequent boots). Now there's a clicking sound when I start (and about 10 seconds later it says that no bootable devices found).

Anyway, thank you everyone for your help. Sorry to hijack this thread, but if there's one thing that I learned is that there's a difference between connections in SATA and ATA, so to all future readers be aware of that.

 

Great guide. I have a few external enclosures, and was curious to know if anyone benchmarked using both USB plugs vs. just one. I have not felt a difference, but I wonder if there is.

 

well even though it didn't work, if in the future you have issues then you can always boot up knoppix to try the data backup

 

I think I just made a dumb dumb mistake.

I got this and this. But when I opened up the Bytecc enclosure, and opened up my HDD, I couldn't "mix" them together. Where did I go wrong??

 

the enclosure is IDE and the hd is SATA

 

Thought so...are there SATA enclosures at all?

EDIT: Found one. Hella expensive, and I wonder if newegg does exchanges...

 

the 3.5 SATA enclosures are cheaper as are the hds but the enclosures are bigger and require external power. i don't think that ide and sata makes too much difference when it comes to usb 2.0

 

The second USB plug is just for extra power should the first USB port not supply the required power , not data .

Amol , ask Newegg if they will replace one or the other , it does say "serial ata150" in HD name but I admit its a bit confusing as I'm used to SATA or ATA133 shortcuts , maybe they will understand and help you out in some way .

Btw : I found a 3.5" IDE to SATA adaptor , maybe there is such thing for 2.5" ?

 

3.5 Sata External DIY: How? I've read this thread and understand needing an external power source for a desktop drive, can't quite seem to find power supplies for exteneral equipment listed at NewEgg though. Can someone put together the basics needed for doing it cheaply, I'm in the early stages of researching a notebook purchase and want to consider my options. Is a SATA drive to USB2.0 input possible through any means?

What's needed for an external setup on THIS SEAGATE 3.5
/Thanks.


peace,

 

there are SATA 3.5" external enclosures. I'd recommend the kingwin enclosure with usb and SATA outputs simply because that's what I have. What people mean by "3.5 hard drives require an AC power source" is that you need a power brick that will come with the enclosure so if you buy an external enclosure for a 3.5" drive, it will come with one.

 

What kidA said .

But if you are moving to notebooks and the 3.5" drive is just an option , consider a 2.5"" drive and enclosure , that way you can switch between them .

 

They said that I will have to return it. Meh, it's no big deal. I work at Radioshack, and I have access to everything there. The FedEx guy comes every day so I just have to give it to him. It's teh shipping fees that are a problem. I don't really wanna pay them ya know ^^;;

And no, I couldn't find an adapter.

 

320 GB 3.5" 7200rpm usb2.0 ide for 110. Already built together. Nifty.

 

Are there any HDD Smart Monitoring applications that support external hard drives? There are some apps for internal HDDs like ActiveSmart, but I can't find any for external drives.

Are those types of programs any help? Or are they just a marketing scheme?

 

Gilo, are u telling me ewiz sent u a bare HDD without any padding ???

3.5 vs 2.5
I disagree with the 2x factor, its more like 3.5x. I just built a 400GB external 3.5 HDD for around $140, same as what gilo paid for his 120GB setup. All top components too, seagate HDD + apricorn enclosure.

BUT also keep in mind that 3.5" drives cannot take as much shock as 2.5" ones.
The shock tolerance of a power'd off 3.5 drive is the same as that for a
running 2.5 HDD. I would not want to do much travelling with a 3.5 drive because of this. They are meant to be used in a stationary environment.

For anyone thinking about 3.5 enclosures, apricorn ones are the best (can be obtained from zipzoomfly.com - reputable sellers), for:
1.Alumimium
2.80mm fan

aluminium+80mm fan = good cooling, => HDD life prolonged.
There are very few enclosures which are of metal AND have a fan.

 

frnchung

Good question , there should be something like this as the sensor is inside the HD , maybe someone with technical knowhow can explain this .

wearetheborg

No , ofcourse it was padded and in such a big box I expected to see it padded with a laptop .

About the price factor , the higher you go with 3.5s the less you pay per giga so it its depends . Also remember that today this setup would cost about 100$ .

You have a good point about shock res. & mobility , it adds to the weight & size advantages .

 

I second the above on the 3.5 drives giving you ALLOT more disc storage for the $$$$$, and the Apricorn units being good, and will add something that I think has not been addressed.


Chipsets, and SUPPORT after the sale.... find out what chipsets are being used as the cheap drive enclosures use cheap chipsets... and buy a drive that "cools" the hd, the drive is in direct contact with the external housing, none of that mounted in a plastic tray, or plastic housing junk.

(On the Apricrons there is a direct thermo path to the aluminium outer case, and as a "back-up" a huge 75mm fan.)


Also look for a vendor that not only sells the BARE housings, but also sells complete units as Apricorn does giving the vendor "real-world" experiance, having DIRECT contact with the end user and RESPONDS to e-mails.


Apricorn, after several weeks of research, emails was the only one that met the above, and was the ONLY vendor that responded back to a very simple e-mail asking what chipsets their units used, and in one case I asked for a source to buy from with ZERO respond from ALL the other "case sellers"..... Sent several e-mails back and forth to Apricorn and they responded to EACH and EVERY one of them right away. I ended up placing an order directly thru them for one unit EZ-BUS-DTC (USB 2.0 /FIREWIRE 400) and got a EZ-BUS-DT (usb 2.0 only) on a rebate deal ...


Bottom line is, do your research, KEEPING IN MIND YOUR DATA on that drive is worth more than the differance in cost between a cheap and a good unit.



Reference links:


The official external ENCLOSURE thread
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=28&threadid=496281


Apricorn E-BUS-DTC review /info:


http://www.amazon.com/Apricorn-Fire...4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2963931-4640131?ie=UTF8


PS: Apricorn makes the 2.5 enclosures also....

One last thing, another benefit of "building your own unit" is in most cases the itself is covered by a 3 year warranty, instead of only 1 year on most external units.

 

i bought a 160 hd at circuit city for 131 dollars but after mail in rebate it will be around 84 dollars

 

Thanks Gilo for this thread.

If I never saw it, I would never have tried and saved some dough.

I went with the Samsung Spinpoint M60 120gb and the I-ROCKS IR-9200 enclosure





I initially tried an nGear enclosure but it didn't work.

 

The I-rocks enclosure looks like a freaking discoteque. Blue lights down the whole long side of the enclosure... red light flashing down the other long side of the enclosure. LOL

 

do I need an enclosure with a fan? fans are annoying.

 

I think that as long as it is a metal enclosure, you probably would be fine without a fan. I've got two 3.5" disks and one 2.5" all in metal fanless cases and they are fine.

 

Thats right , I'd also highly recommend the newer WD Scorpio HDs , which IMHO they are the most cool & quiet among the current 2.5" range as well as the better value .

 

Good topic if the original info held true.

The best external hdd company I know of Lacie sells stuff like a super super portable 160gb hdd for 150$ direct from them, and even cheaper thru e-tailors.

For that cost the DIY is kinda pointless, and you wont match there build quality.

Just a quick pricegrabber search found me the 100gb for 75$
http://computers.pricegrabber.com/hard-drives/m/24338205/search=lacie%20mobile drive

Of course everybody needs to know, the OP posted this nearly a YEAR ago! prices have come down alot.

Just want to point out, knowing how/where to shop can be just as benificial as DIY somtimes.

 

Funny that you took this example of Lacie becuase it looks to me that the company that makes the "best externals" actually uses the same OEM I used in my example manufactured by Zynet .

You'd also get only 1 year warranty VS. 3 years and the HD is only a 4200 RPM drive which is probably 3 years old

However I must agree with you that prices have dropped considerably as consumers got wise ( maybe they read NBR ? ) and now that I look a 160GB WD ready made external goes for close to a DIY price using the WD Scorpio drive ( a good example to your point ) .

Tough you get only 1 year guarantee with the ready made externals .