Which external hard drive?

Samsonite1

Double_V wrote: »

WD USB3 are very good drives.

How many ports do you have at front ?
If there are 4, then 2 will be USB2.0 and 2 USB3.0.

Also how old is your PC.

I think the OP said it was at least 5 years old. Mine is 5 years old an has 2 USB 2.0 ports at the front and USB 3.0 ports at the back. We are not sure if they even have USB 3.0 at this point, but hopefully we can find out!

kwikbreaks

I can confirm that it is probably common for rear ports to be USB3 and front ones USB2 as my own desktop has that setup.

I'd guess that a 5 year old machine is likely to be all USB2

The colour isn't a 100% certain guide. Certainly the USB3 pen drives I have show blue but both the USB3 ports and the single USB2 port on this laptop look identical and black.

I'd also question the assertion that most modern drives are USB3 - there are still plenty of USB2 ones on sale so if you want USB3 check the specs.

Samsonite1

To the OP TomsMom: If it is difficult for you to check if the rear USB ports are blue or not, you can check within Windows (assuming that is what you use).

If you click on the start menu (assuming pre-Windows 8), type "device manager" (without quotes) and expand the section that says "Universal Serial Bus controllers". If there is mention of USB 3.0 in there then you have USB 3.0 on your motherboard (back of your computer) - you will have to make sure you use the blue ports to get full speed connections to your new external drive (if the ports have different colours - most desktop PCs do).

As I say, make sure you get a USB 3.0 drive and not a USB 2.0 drive.

TomsMom

Helloooooooo, is it safe to come out now? Oh dear, I didn't mean to start such a heated discussion .

The computer was purchased in June 2010.

The now defunct WD external hard drive was purchased in December 2008 - is that a good life for one? I didn't have any indication it was giving up the ghost.

I have Windows 7 Home Premium so I've checked the "Device Manager" under USB Controllers and it lists

USB Universal Host Controller - four times
USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Root Hub - five times

(it wont let me copy and paste so I've just put what I think might be relevant.)

I manged to ease my tower out of it's cosy little compartment in my computer cupboard and have taken a couple of photos.
Back (the port is black):






So I think that means USB2.

Front (white):



So without meaning to cause any further debate, ('cos you've totally confused me :rotfl: ), do I buy a USB2 or USB 3 drive? Do they come with the lead that's long enough to go from the back so it can sit on top of the tower? Or do I buy that separately?

Sorry for what's probably dumb questions, my late hubby used to do all this and I'm still trying to learn.

Thanks again for all your replies.

Samsonite1

Thanks for the info - very detailed and good!

You still want to buy a USB 3 drive for future proofing (who knows, maybe your PC will pack up in the next few years or you just want a new one - then you will have a USB 3 drive). USB 3 drives can plug into USB 2 ports but will operate at USB 2 speeds.

We just needed to know if you had USB 3 anywhere to be sure you could just plug into the front without a performance penalty. As it happens you will get the penalty in any port, so nothing to do there!

None of these question are dumb! The fact that we had a heated discussion shows that it is not as simple as it seems.

enfield_freddy

buy a usb 3 drive , it will be newer than old stock usb 2 ones , and if you buy a new computer with usb 3 , it will perform much faster on it , usb 3 is backwardly compatable , no brainer , unless you are trying to save money by buying older stock .




you have not said what size yours was , or what is needed , ?


you seem to have managed doing file copies for 5 plus yrs , so I don,t think you need anything fancy that includes software


pcworld (convenience) 1t drive for £47 .
Connection: USB 2.0 & USB 3.0
3 year manufacturer's guarantee
WD Elements Exclusive Portable Hard Drive - 1 TB, Black




they come with a lead , and yes its usually long enough to sit on top of the tower

Samsonite1

TomsMom wrote: »

So without meaning to cause any further debate, ('cos you've totally confused me :rotfl: ), do I buy a USB2 or USB 3 drive? Do they come with the lead that's long enough to go from the back so it can sit on top of the tower? Or do I buy that separately?

They come with a lead, although it may only sit at the back of the top of the tower. You can get a short extension cable which will make things a bit more flexible - male to female USB extension. I use a short one like this (came with something):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delock-Type-Cable-0-15-Black/dp/B0053JBKFW/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1433518540&sr=8-10&keywords=extension+cable+usb+3

But you can get a longer one like this, buy may add to the cable mess if it is too long:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Female-Computer-Extension-Cable/dp/B007PPH1V4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1433518540&sr=8-2&keywords=extension+cable+usb+3

TomsMom

Samsonite1 wrote: »

Thanks for the info - very detailed and good!

You still want to buy a USB 3 drive for future proofing (who knows, maybe your PC will pack up in the next few years or you just want a new one - then you will have a USB 3 drive). USB 3 drives can plug into USB 2 ports but will operate at USB 2 speeds.

We just needed to know if you had USB 3 anywhere to be sure you could just plug into the front without a performance penalty. As it happens you will get the penalty in any port, so nothing to do there!

None of these question are dumb! The fact that we had a heated discussion shows that it is not as simple as it seems.

Samsonite1 wrote: »

They come with a lead, although it may only sit at the back of the top of the tower. You can get a short extension cable which will make things a bit more flexible - male to female USB extension. I use a short one like this (came with something):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delock-Type-Cable-0-15-Black/dp/B0053JBKFW/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1433518540&sr=8-10&keywords=extension+cable+usb+3

But you can get a longer one like this, buy may add to the cable mess if it is too long:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Female-Computer-Extension-Cable/dp/B007PPH1V4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1433518540&sr=8-2&keywords=extension+cable+usb+3

Thank you very much. I'll get a USB3 one then. The cable I've got at the moment is just over a metre long, not really much cable mess as it's all behind the tower in the cupboard. Someone told me my present cable isn't that good so I think I'll get a better one so thanks for your suggestions.

enfield_freddy wrote: »

buy a usb 3 drive , it will be newer than old stock usb 2 ones , and if you buy a new computer with usb 3 , it will perform much faster on it , usb 3 is backwardly compatable , no brainer , unless you are trying to save money by buying older stock .




you have not said what size yours was , or what is needed , ?


you seem to have managed doing file copies for 5 plus yrs , so I don,t think you need anything fancy that includes software


pcworld (convenience) 1t drive for £47 .
Connection: USB 2.0 & USB 3.0
3 year manufacturer's guarantee
WD Elements Exclusive Portable Hard Drive - 1 TB, Black




they come with a lead , and yes its usually long enough to sit on top of the tower

Thanks for that suggestion. I've just realised that my old WD drive is probably older than 2008 (the one I was thinking of I got for my son, used my computer for him to buy everything as his had packed up).

I can't check the details of my old one as it's no longer recognised when I plug it in. It's 5" x 3" and black, that's all I can tell you.

It's not for anything fancy, just want to have an extra copy of all my files and documents as a back up in case my computer dies on me.

Thanks again to everyone for helping me out .

bsod

in what way is it defunct, does it spin, does it light up, does it work on other machines, does it appear in device manager or disk management

enfield_freddy

DO NOT buy a USB extension lead from the likes of PCsharks ,