Making internal sata an external

[ryanbatc]

Ok funny story....

Once upon a time I had a Seagate external HDD

Life was good, my pics had a new home, and everything was peachy

Well one day I installed a new mobo and some goon hooked up the USB front panel connectors wrong on the mobo.

He then connected the seagate via USB.....there was a large spark, and no more working front panel USB, he thought the HDD fried, and life was bad

One day, he ripped apart the external case, and to his amazement, found he could successfully install the HDD into his case via SATA. It worked! pics found, data saved! cha-ching!

So that's the story

lol, now, I want to have an external hdd again, cause I'm scared it being inside my PC will have a better chance of losing data. How accurate is my assessment?

Is it possible to buy an enclosure, and make it a USB drive once again?
Can anyone point me to a decent enclosure?

Thanks

[Zantheus]

Well here it is

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...017228&cid=516

and on Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153066

[ryanbatc]

hmmm, interesting, I was hoping for more of an enclosed thing, so dust and stuff wouldnt get in

Looks like it got good reviews though

how bout this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153061

[juneau]

Internal HDD's actually die less then external. Especially the all complete options like the Western Digital MyBooks. External is also only fast when using eSata or firewire... you want to use USB so there's another few points lost.

I do have an external HDD but it's used as a backup to my storage drives on 2 PCs. And this is the only use i see for it.

If you really need to have one then i suggest this.

Edited link: Link in next post.

Hopefully you'll find one on newegg etc.

[Dead...Again]

There are a lot of external enclosures out there. You just need to make sure you get one for one with a SATA connector and not IDE.

However, I'm with Juneau. An internal HDD will probably last longer than an external drive as long as you have sufficient cooling.

[juneau]

Oops. Didn't notice i linked the IDE version.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=14&subcat=72

[ryanbatc]

hmmmm, well I only use it for data backup, mostly pics

What I'm afraid of is a virus or something, I don't know, maybe I'm just afraid of losing pics for good.

I do have pics on CDs and DVDs, as well as my main HDD.

Maybe I'll just keep it in the case...

[-IRC-MIKE]

I have a couple laptop drives external, but I really would stay away from external if at all possible. One bump can send the drive heads crashing onto the platters causing premanent damage...no more pictures..no more data on those drive sectors. Like juneau said, this is only advisable as a backup of your data.

Personally, I back up my old photos onto a cheap 40 gig drive now and then, and box it up, date it, put it on a shelf. I probably have 6 drives I can pull out and plug in as external. For the time being, it is cost effective for me to do it this way and quicker to do than burning a double sided dvd.

[Dead...Again]

hmmmm, well I only use it for data backup, mostly pics

What I'm afraid of is a virus or something, I don't know, maybe I'm just afraid of losing pics for good.

I do have pics on CDs and DVDs, as well as my main HDD.

Maybe I'll just keep it in the case...

Well, if you keep the external drive connected and powered up you have just as much chance to get a virus as an internal drive. If you only turn it on when you back up, then there will be less.

Are you moving the pics from your other HDD or making copies?

[ryanbatc]

Well, if you keep the external drive connected and powered up you have just as much chance to get a virus as an internal drive. If you only turn it on when you back up, then there will be less.

Are you moving the pics from your other HDD or making copies?

both

I have one copy on my main HDD, one copy to the "internal," and one copy to a CD or DVD