external usb2 hard drives

[null]

I'm thinking about buying one of those 200 GB thingies, just for backup purposes, when one goes on sale somewhere for $69 or so. I would want it to be able to be connected to my win2k box, or my mandriva 2006 box, or any other modern linux distro.

 

Last time I tried an external drive was with an Iomega external 80 GB drive my dad gave me for my son's computer. My son has win2k also, but I could never get win2k to recognize the drive (My Computer was unaware of it). Maybe I could have messed around in the BIOS settings, but I did not really make an effort to figure it out back then.

 

Should these drives work under win2k? (I have SP 2).

 

How about under linux? I assume it will be just like when I connect my usb stick, and gnome throws up an icon immediately for the "drive". (btw, I can't get kde to do the same thing).

 

Also, do these drives get formatted just like internal drives? I mean, I would need to format it ntfs, or fat 32 right? If I want the files (pics, mp3s, family videos, etc) to be accessible from both win & lin, then I would need to do FAT 32, not ntfs.

 

thanks for any pointers, or warnings!

[Gowator]

I'm thinking about buying one of those 200 GB thingies, just for backup purposes, when one goes on sale somewhere for $69 or so. I would want it to be able to be connected to my win2k box, or my mandriva 2006 box, or any other modern linux distro.

No probs I have 3 connected permanantly

Last time I tried an external drive was with an Iomega external 80 GB drive my dad gave me for my son's computer. My son has win2k also, but I could never get win2k to recognize the drive (My Computer was unaware of it). Maybe I could have messed around in the BIOS settings, but I did not really make an effort to figure it out back then.

Nope its just like you say later ... just like a USB stick (but bigger)

 

Should these drives work under win2k? (I have SP 2).

 

How about under linux? I assume it will be just like when I connect my usb stick, and gnome throws up an icon immediately for the "drive". (btw, I can't get kde to do the same thing).

 

Also, do these drives get formatted just like internal drives? I mean, I would need to format it ntfs, or fat 32 right? If I want the files (pics, mp3s, family videos, etc) to be accessible from both win & lin, then I would need to do FAT 32, not ntfs.

Yep you'll need FAT32 to even start taking advantage.if its for both.. you can partition them just like any disk... indeed you can buy a box and put a normal disk in it... one of mine is this the other two are Lacie ...

[ianw1974]

I believe a maximum partition size for FAT32 is 30GB, so if you're disk is bigger, you'll need multiple partitions.

[SoulSe]

I believe a maximum partition size for FAT32 is 30GB, so if you're disk is bigger, you'll need multiple partitions.

Not true - Fat partitions can go up to 2 terabytes, but MS has deliberately retarded the filesystem in Windows. Under Linux, however, you can create large Fat32 volumes and use them in Windows too ;)

 

See Wikipedia's article on File Allocation Table

 

Handy information.

[scarecrow]

Microsoft has not limited FAT32 making to 32GB with any bad intention- it was a wise, practical decision.

Large FAT32 partitions amount to a hell of a lot slack space (sometimes more than 35% of the actual HD space), and defragging them (as they do get fragged very easily) within windows may take DAYS.

IMHO you should NOT use FAT32 partitions larger than 32 GB- although it's certainly doable, with various means (not within windows 2000/XP/2003 though).

[SoulSe]

I have a 70 gigabyte external usb drive that uses Fat32 to fill the entire drive. I have had no problems with it. The file system can certainly do anything under 100GB (in my experience) without any hassle.

 

I'm not saying it's a good filesystem. I actually think it's crap - but it's the only one we can use seamlessly between Linux / Windows / OS X

[Gowator]

I have a 70 gigabyte external usb drive that uses Fat32 to fill the entire drive. I have had no problems with it. The file system can certainly do anything under 100GB (in my experience) without any hassle.

 

I'm not saying it's a good filesystem. I actually think it's crap - but it's the only one we can use seamlessly between Linux / Windows / OS X

Reiserfs ? I think you need drivers for windows but its possible? just mentioning since it might be better in two ways...

 

1) Its journaling so if you pull the cable by accident unlikely to be a problem (not recommending doing it deliberatly but FAT32 is really unstable for this)

2) It makes far better use of the space, especially over 32GB

[null]

hmmm..... ok, how about this:

 

The only reason I would need a huge partition is for backups of in-process home videos that I have captured with kino, but have not edited and burned to DVD yet.

 

So it seems that, say, a 30 GB FAT32 partition for use under win2k, for my tons of mp3s and digital family pics, which would also be accessible under linux...

 

and the rest (170 GB) would be ext3 or reiser or whatever - for use under linux, for all my linux /home stuff - including home videos in process. Since I do my video capturing under linux, I would not need winblows to access it...

 

thanks for the tips !!

 

PS: so win2k does positively work with external usb2 drives, right ??? We aren't talking about XP - I don't own XP !

[ianw1974]

Yeah, Win2k is fine. You just might need to be running SP4 from memory.

[SoulSe]

I have a 70 gigabyte external usb drive that uses Fat32 to fill the entire drive. I have had no problems with it. The file system can certainly do anything under 100GB (in my experience) without any hassle.

 

I'm not saying it's a good filesystem. I actually think it's crap - but it's the only one we can use seamlessly between Linux / Windows / OS X

Reiserfs ? I think you need drivers for windows but its possible? just mentioning since it might be better in two ways...

 

1) Its journaling so if you pull the cable by accident unlikely to be a problem (not recommending doing it deliberatly but FAT32 is really unstable for this)

2) It makes far better use of the space, especially over 32GB

The Window's implementation was extremely shaky the last time I checked and OS X..... actually... I haven't tried that yet lol Will look into it... I just presumed it wouldn't work :huh:

 

I've become a fan of HFS+ since I got my powerbook :P

 

EDIT: HFS+ is also fully supported in the 2.6 kernel tree.

[null]

Yeah, Win2k is fine. You just might need to be running SP4 from memory

 

like I mentioned before, I recently tried an 80 GB Iomega external usb2 drive my dad gave me for my son's win2k box, and I could NOT get win2k to recognize it... and I tried everything the Iomega help suggested...

 

So, yes I did figure it may need a later service pack. I know there have been 4 for win2k (I think), but I have only gone to SP2. If I remember correctly, there was something in the news a long time ago about maybe you would not want to go beyond SP2 - something about spyware, phoning home, automatic updates, or whatever... :huh: :unsure:

[ianw1974]

Nope, SP4 for Win2k Is fine, it's WGA or Windows Genuine Advantage you need to worry about. You need SP4 to get USB HDD's to work, as well as USB sticks.

[null]

my usb stick works fine on my win2k SP2 box.

 

But, yeah, tonight when I get home, I'm gonna d/l the SP4. No need for SP3, since later SPs include all the earlier ones.

 

Here's a user's comments, from Aug. 2002, about SP3:

I have a little problem with license agreement that says: The OS Product or OS Components contain components that enable and facilitate the use of certain Internet-based services. You acknowledge and agree that Microsoft may automatically check the version of the OS Product and/or its components that you are utilizing and may provide upgrades or fixes to the OS Product that will be automatically downloaded to your computer.

 

I know the current discussion going on about WGA, but I don't have to worry about that. Don't own XP and not planning to. The above user's complaints are just about MS saying that they can automatically check your machine, and d/l what they want when they want, or as they call it, "automatic updates". I'll have to make sure to turn that OFF after I d/l SP4!!

Edited July 6, 2006 by null

[ianw1974]

If you pull updates, be careful that Windows Genuine Advantage isn't in the list. It's under critical updates, but I'm not sure it's just for XP, but maybe for Win2k as well - I really dunno. I'm not sure, but I think it downloaded to mine.

[iphitus]

If you pull updates, be careful that Windows Genuine Advantage isn't in the list. It's under critical updates, but I'm not sure it's just for XP, but maybe for Win2k as well - I really dunno. I'm not sure, but I think it downloaded to mine.

 

He said that ;) afaik WGA is XP only. besides, if you've got a legal copy, there's little to be concerned about.

 

Fat32 blows, but it depends on what you use it for as to how much it blows. I store all my windows games and all my movies on a Fat32 partition, so pretty much, big stuff, that isnt going to move around, so fragmentation is minimal.

If you plan to share between windows and linux, fat32 is pretty much your only option. Others exist, but their stability and usability are questionable at best.

 

The good thing about USB hard drives, is that all the major manufacturers follow the same usb mass storage device standard, so in nearly all cases, they will plug and work on any major OS provided filesystem support is there.

 

If you've got time, go to a swap meet, you can get a decent external casing for a drive, really cheap there, and then just order a good hdd from your favourite hardware vendor. Big vendors tend to sell the casing for exorbitant prices.

Alternatively, you can just buy a straight external, already put together, but you'll find these have surprisingly large markups over the standard hdd. I've seen markups more than $70AU, which is quite a lot. Maxtor seem to be reasonable, they sell theirs quite cheaply.

 

James