[WooDyR]

im probably getting a external hdd soon and i was wondering how they work exactly.. plug and play? do you need put a OS on it? i wanna use this thing as a huge flashdrive to store all my goods in it..

heres the one i wanna get soon
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822161828

just wanna know how they work exactly before i buy it..

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Hi WooDyR!

Yes external hard drives work basically like flash drives. They both plug into a usb slot on the back or front of your computer depending on where the USB slots are located on your computer. The first time you plug them in, it takes a little bit for Windows to recognize them and to located and install the drivers for them, but after that they are both recognized immediately and can be used as soon as you plug them in. As long as you are running Windows XP, then the drivers will be found automatically. Once the drivers are installed you will be able to see it. You will see it listed in MY COMPUTER and will be able to drag and drop, copy/paste or save files directly to the external hard drive. And also access them just as easily.

The only difference between the two is that external hard drives need to be plugged into an outlet to receive power while flash drives get their power directly from the usb slot itself.

Fenor

Edited by Fenor, 29 November 2005 - 07:53 AM.

[Fenor]

Hi WooDyR!

Yes external hard drives work basically like flash drives. They both plug into a usb slot on the back or front of your computer depending on where the USB slots are located on your computer. The first time you plug them in, it takes a little bit for Windows to recognize them and to located and install the drivers for them, but after that they are both recognized immediately and can be used as soon as you plug them in. As long as you are running Windows XP, then the drivers will be found automatically. Once the drivers are installed you will be able to see it. You will see it listed in MY COMPUTER and will be able to drag and drop, copy/paste or save files directly to the external hard drive. And also access them just as easily.

The only difference between the two is that external hard drives need to be plugged into an outlet to receive power while flash drives get their power directly from the usb slot itself.

Fenor

Edited by Fenor, 29 November 2005 - 07:53 AM.

[dsenette]

as long as ure just using the device for storage...there's no need to install an opperating system on it....also...it's not very easy to install windows on a usb drive...(depending on your motherboard)...the drive just needs to be formatted correctly...then filled with your "goods"....

[WooDyR]

thanks guy.

[redline582]

If you want it is even cheaper to just buy a normal internal HDD and buy an external enclosure. All it is is a case with either an IDE or SATA interface that converts it to USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394 (firewire). I usually buy my HDD and the enclosure from www.newegg.com. Of course that is just my suggestion and if you dont want the hassle you can just buy an external drive haha. There isnt that much of a difference i just like to put things together.