-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Connecting external hard drives
- From: Gman <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2008 17:15:24 -0400
Roger,
I often wonder what sort of mischief you're in when I don't hear from
you for a while. Now, I know. You've just been practicing the art of
Copying files. I suspect you're quite good at it by now. ;0}
These external devices require the back USB ports because those ports
are 'hard wired' to the laptop's mainboard and are much less likely to
experience bad cabling, loose connections, etc. than their internally cabled
counterparts in the sides &/or front of the laptop. Of course, no laptop
designer looks at the possibility of someone adding an array of external
drives to them, so they only provide a couple of ports for this use. If you
require more than you have, you'll definitely want to go with a hub
connected directly to one of these back ports, but be aware of the risks
involved. If an external is accidentally disconnected before Windows gets
around to finalizing your last disk write, you'll lose data. That type of
accident could also scramble the MBR, making it more difficult to recover
the data that is not affected. For this reason it is always best to use the
hub for devices like your Printer and leave your main external hard drive
connected directly to the other back port on the laptop. Having said that,
I often connect a second external to the front ports of my tower, but only
long enough to do whatever I need to do to prepare it for transport when I
go on house calls. If you're the only one around (and there are no roaming
pets in the computer room), you should use your own judgement on whether the
risks are minimized enough for your own comfort zone.
Incidentally, powered hubs are designed primarily for devices that get
their operational power through the USB port (mice, keyboards, etc.) and
that do not have their own dedicated power cable. I'm guessing that both
externals and the printer get their power from the wall, so you don't need
to focus on this so much. Unpowered hubs will still distribute enough power
for most low power devices, but are taxed more easily since they can only
distribute a single USB port's power to all of the devices they are
supporting.
And now for your requested derogatory comments:
YOU LOUSY LITTLE &#*)%$(^!!!!!!!!! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT &#*$& GO ANYWHERE
NEAR THE %*&#$???? OF ALL PEOPLE, YOU CERTAINLY SHOULD KNOW BY NOW THAT THE
%*!&%*$%^ CANNOT POSSIBLY $%%*e THE #*&~^*%(^! THAT'S IT!!!! I'M THROUGH
WITH THIS *#%*$ DISCUSSION!
Peace,
Gman
"The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask."
----- Original Message -----
From: "R. M. B. White" <roguer@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "pc techtalk" <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2008 5:35 AM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Connecting external hard drives
> Now that my new 250G Seagate is getting full of copies of copies of
> copies, I have just got a 500G Maxtor as well.
>
> However they each (as well as my Brother MFC 260C Multi-function
> printer/fax/copier) want to be connected to the BACK of my laptop, and
> they regard connection with the FRONT or via a USB hub as dangerous.
>
> I have a fairly standard hub but understand from something I have read,
> that it may need to be a POWERED hub to overcome this danger.
>
> Would appreciate any helpful coments please (or even derogatory)
>
> Roger W
---------------------------------------------------------------
Please remember to trim your replies (including this sentence and everything
below it) and adjust the subject line as necessary.
To unsubscribe or change your email settings:
//www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk
To access our Archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/
//www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/
To contact only the PCTT Mod Squad, write to:
pctechtalk-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
---------------------------------------------------------------
Other related posts:
