Hard Drives? Info? Now?

ginger_55ginger_55 Registered Users Posts: 8,416 Major grins
edited December 31, 2004 in Accessories
External? Internal? We have no PC experience, how difficult are these things to install?

Can one take external ones places?

Advice, don't want to spend much. Our repair person will come over and install one for a little over 100.00, I think Staples has said it would cost us about 150.00 to buy one.

Right now I have 16% free on my hard drive. it is 55 GB But I am putting RAW on it all the time.

At this point, no tax return, limited funds, but this seems to be my priority of the month. If it is too much money I will get data disks and get this stuff all backed up, most is, some isn't. Some I just need to have around. Any, if it is too much money, I can deal with it other ways. For now. Don't want to, have plans for the day.

How big does my hard drive need to be? It is a Dell desktop. Right now it has 700 mb of memory. I would like to up that, too. I know it sounds like a lot, but, well, you all know that this sickness is a heavy PC user.

Please, I will do something very soon. My PC is blinking at me, it is quite unhappy right now. I just defragged it, thought that might help, don't think it did.

ginger
After all is said and done, it is the sweet tea.

Comments

  • SeamusSeamus Registered Users Posts: 1,573 Major grins
    edited December 30, 2004
    ginger_55 wrote:
    External? Internal? We have no PC experience, how difficult are these things to install?

    Can one take external ones places?

    Advice, don't want to spend much. Our repair person will come over and install one for a little over 100.00, I think Staples has said it would cost us about 150.00 to buy one.

    Right now I have 16% free on my hard drive. it is 55 GB But I am putting RAW on it all the time.

    At this point, no tax return, limited funds, but this seems to be my priority of the month. If it is too much money I will get data disks and get this stuff all backed up, most is, some isn't. Some I just need to have around. Any, if it is too much money, I can deal with it other ways. For now. Don't want to, have plans for the day.

    How big does my hard drive need to be? It is a Dell desktop. Right now it has 700 mb of memory. I would like to up that, too. I know it sounds like a lot, but, well, you all know that this sickness is a heavy PC user.

    Please, I will do something very soon. My PC is blinking at me, it is quite unhappy right now. I just defragged it, thought that might help, don't think it did.

    ginger
    Hi Ginger,

    I checked Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/3151351/ref=br_bx_c_2_0/002-9222282-6098443

    Your $250 will get you a 250gb external usb2.0 drive. afaik these should just plug into your computer. There are cheaper ones on this page also. I hope this helps.

    shay.
  • ginger_55ginger_55 Registered Users Posts: 8,416 Major grins
    edited December 30, 2004
    Thanks, Shay, am trying not to go that high on price, so will look at the cheaper ones. Now if I were to win this challenge and get the thing for the last challenge, I might consider it. But I have the feeling this is going to take awhile to resolve........the challenge prize thing.

    How much hard drive space do the rest of you heavy shooters use? How much memory? I know Andy added, or has 1 gig. I have 750 mbs.

    Do you all do this stuff yourself? Can you talk people through it?

    ginger
    After all is said and done, it is the sweet tea.
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 30, 2004
    ginger

    try an external 250gb or 120gb hard drive by maxtor. they plug in via usb 2.0 or firewire.

    you'll need either of these ports on your pc. firewire is ez enough to install a card if you don't have one. so is usb 2.0

    andy
    Andy

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  • ginger_55ginger_55 Registered Users Posts: 8,416 Major grins
    edited December 30, 2004
    What is a firewire?

    Andy? Anyway, I could hook up my prize money to this thing?

    It is on Amazon. And is an Amazon product.

    ginger

    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000ZOLLO/qid=1104421449/br=1-9/ref=br_lf_e_9//102-1396680-9164950?v=glance&s=electronics&n=3151351


    If you can't go there it is about 170.00, free shipping, I think about 160 gb of space. All stars filled, in other words good reviews.
    After all is said and done, it is the sweet tea.
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited December 30, 2004
    Ginger, does your computer have USB 2? If it does, do as they suggest. Buy an external hard drive that you can afford, and plug it in. That should be all it takes, assuming you're running Windows XP as your computer software.

    I now have 2 external hard drives, they work really well and are truly plug-and-play.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited December 31, 2004
    ginger_55 wrote:
    Please, I will do something very soon. My PC is blinking at me, it is quite unhappy right now. I just defragged it, thought that might help, don't think it did.

    ginger
    16% free space is bound to make editing difficult at some point :D

    Can you give us an idea of what your PC consists of? What operating system,
    CPU speed, model or brand name?

    As others have said, an external plug in drive will be the easiest to install.
    In fact, you can take the $100 the repair guy will charge and use it toward
    a larger disk. Really. If you can plug in an electrical cord, you can install an
    external USB drive.

    If your PC is an older one, you might need to purchase a USB 2.0 card. This
    will cost about $20. It will require a free PCI bus slot which leads us back to
    the first question about configuration.

    Ian
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • ginger_55ginger_55 Registered Users Posts: 8,416 Major grins
    edited December 31, 2004
    Ian, I, too, have wondered how to install the 2.0 thing. My computer is a Dell Dimension 4550. About 2 yrs old now. Or three, doG, I hope it isn't three, my warranty would run out.

    Somewhere it says that it has about 55 gigs of hard drive. I had memory put in, I have about 700 now.

    Yes, I had thought that, too, concerning installing it myself. For some reason the idea of an external drive appeals to me. And I want whatever I should have. I took a bunch of photos tonight. Came home, had to see what was backed up (need to do that again), and I did some serious editing. And I will be in trouble again soon. After I took off all I could possibly consider, I only had 30% left, and that was before I put on the stuff tonight.

    I personally, which means, all total in our family of two and dogs, I have 345.00 right now. That is it. And I try to keep it above $150.00, can't do better than that. the 45.00 is for my haircut, and I do not save on that, it is the only "beauty" thing I do, and it makes me feel good.

    So, all that is why my husband yelled at me that I don't "need" a hard drive right now. (I think he was frustrated that he couldn't help me pay for it)

    Anyway, I am still thinking of this thing very seriously as I take pictures like rabbits have babies, and this is super annoying.

    The kind of hard drive Andy mentioned, people loved it or hated it, on Amazon. It either hums along forever, or it dies with all your photos on it.
    So that is confusing. To put out all the money, more than I ordinarily would. I have to eat something, so that would seriously make me feel broker than normal. Anyway, what would you suggest, but not over 200.00 with the 2.0 gadget. We have an USB Port free, Bill said anyway.

    I don't even want to pay 200.00, but as I said I want to do as close to what I should as I can.

    ginger

    (I don't know anything else about the computer, a CD thing, no DVD, nice speakers, a cheap printer and we have cable)
    After all is said and done, it is the sweet tea.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited December 31, 2004
    The good news is that 4550 has USB 2.0. So installing an external drive
    is a viable option. The 4550 is about 2 years old.

    Ian
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited December 31, 2004
    I have two Maxtor drives and love 'em. Haven't had them long enough to know if they die. But they're silent as can be.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • luckyrweluckyrwe Registered Users Posts: 952 Major grins
    edited December 31, 2004
    If you can go to Sam's Club or Costco you can get an external 120GB drive for about $100. A cheaper way to go is to buy the drive and then buy the casing separate. The case is about $40 and you can drop a drive in it in about 10 minutes.
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 31, 2004
    ginger_55 wrote:
    What is a firewire?

    Andy? Anyway, I could hook up my prize money to this thing?

    It is on Amazon. And is an Amazon product.

    ginger

    you now can apply *two* gift certs to this purchase :D
    Andy

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