Buying an HDD from Ebay

polybear

I'm looking at buying another HDD from Ebay, to use as a backup. I'm undecided about internal or external. Can anyone offer advice about the following please:

1. My existing drive is an ATA100. Could I use an ATA133 as well?
2. I plan to stick with new units (I don't like the idea of used or refurbished - worried about viruses etc.). Are there any scams to watch out for?
3. If I go for an external unit, many of them seem to be internal units (Seagate etc.) repackaged in an enclosure. Anything to be aware of/is a cooling fan important?
Thanks for the help.

POLYBEAR.

T4i

Whats your budget?

1. You can use a ATA133 drive with a ATA100 - If your chipset supports it go ATA133 (if you run the 100 and 133 on the same channel I **think** they will both work at ATA100.

2. HDD's are really dodgy to buy, faults are not easy to see. I wouldnt touch any refurbs either, not worth the hastle. I would really recommend you buy a HDD that includes a warranty.

3. Internal HDD's in a enclosure are a good idea in my opinion, you can easily recover someone elses HDD without having to open your p.c up and it creates more air-flow space in the case. HDD's get really hot, but having it in a external enclosure should be fine. I've never seen problems with heat in a enclosure.

StockportGerbil

Hi!
Second hand / second user HDDs are a really dodgy buy. On ebay they don't seem terribly cheap when compared with new ones (from places like aria, microdirect, ebuyer etc) and you just don't know if the things are working correctly.

If you want another one you will save an awful lot of time and aggravation both now and in the future by buying a new one. Sorry - I do have bitter experience here! :-)

Regards

Kevin

leesmithg

StockportGerbil wrote:

Hi!
Second hand / second user HDDs are a really dodgy buy. On ebay they don't seem terribly cheap when compared with new ones (from places like aria, microdirect, ebuyer etc) and you just don't know if the things are working correctly.

If you want another one you will save an awful lot of time and aggravation both now and in the future by buying a new one. Sorry - I do have bitter experience here! :-)

Regards

Kevin

They are great to harvest and recover information from though.

Retail HD is your best bet. Least it's under warranty.