My Iomega external hard drive died... Any chance of getting it going again? Or getting the drive(s) out and into another case? [more inside]
posted by rleamon on Dec 4, 2009 - 7 answers

Dual-bay SATA Enclosures! Which ones let me copy from one drive to the other on a Mac? [more inside]
posted by sdis on Nov 28, 2009 - 3 answers

Can I get old registry data off a 2nd hard-drive? [more inside]
posted by ian1977 on Oct 30, 2009 - 3 answers

iMac drives failing - first external, then internal. Seems to be hardware in both cases. Questions about troubleshooting or replacement inside. [more inside]
posted by tkolstee on Oct 29, 2009 - 5 answers

Are there any hard drive enclosures for 3.5" form HDs that can be powered off a USB port alone? (ie, without additional AC plug) [more inside]
posted by chefscotticus on Oct 17, 2009 - 9 answers

until today, my laptop wont read and open up my external hard drive. i haven't unplugged it without safely removing it or anything either. it also makes this constant tapping noise, like the sound of a tap dripping. (which it never used to make) does anyone know what i can do to make my laptop find my external or fix it? cheers
posted by sockpim on Sep 5, 2009 - 9 answers

500GB internal SeaGate hard drive disappears from Windows, Linux, and the BIOS. What can I try before I pay to have the data recovered? [more inside]
posted by Avenger50 on Jul 3, 2009 - 10 answers

Just put a new hard drive in my 5G Ipod. It's sort of working but sort of not. Should I return the hard drive? Is my Ipod finally toasted? [more inside]
posted by sully75 on Jun 23, 2009 - 9 answers

Due to a virus corrupting my USB drivers, I've been thinking about a fresh WinXP install. But I'm thinking of getting a 1TB hard drive (my current one is 250). My question is, are there any potential pitfalls in having a HD that is so big? Other than the fact that it might fail six months in and I lose a large chunk of stuff. The reason why I want a huge HD is that I like the feeling that I don't have to worry about all the crap I might put on my desktop, or how many videogames I want to install.
posted by Sully on May 25, 2009 - 9 answers

What is the best way of backing up video recorded on SDHC cards? Is it possible to upload data from a SDHC card to an external hard drive without a computer? [more inside]
posted by chefscotticus on May 13, 2009 - 2 answers

Why Can't I Copy My iTunes Library to an External Drive? [more inside]
posted by Gingercat on Mar 3, 2009 - 11 answers

I have a portable usb hard drive that I use for keeping all my documents / backups on. Windows seems to love using this drive for everything, for example I am installing IE7 from windows update, and it is using the drive to hold all the temporary files during the install. Because of this the drive is always in use and I can never eject it. [more inside]
posted by Syntoad on Feb 17, 2009 - 5 answers

Anyone own one of these? MvixBOX. I'm wondering if it lived up to your expectations.
posted by Area Control on Feb 8, 2009 - 3 answers

What to do about a hard drive failure? Disk Utility says my SMART status is failing. [more inside]
posted by ofthestrait on Jan 23, 2009 - 6 answers

Will operating an external hard drive at a 45 degree angle significantly reduce its life? [more inside]
posted by pseudonick on Dec 21, 2008 - 14 answers

I've just bought an external hard drive for carrying around my music, movies, and pictures. Is there a portable media centre program I could also put on it? [more inside]
posted by edbyford on Dec 16, 2008 - 7 answers

Windows Illiteracy Filter. Help me help my mother via long-distance to understand the difference between memory and hard disk storage, and how to access information on her Windows XP machine that will tell her how much memory she has, if there are any empty slots, what type of memory her computer requires, and how large her hard drive is, including used/available space stats. [more inside]
posted by Devils Rancher on Nov 29, 2008 - 14 answers

Hard drive issues: Frequently when I attempt to open a folder on my Windows Vista partition I will have to wait 5 seconds or so for the drive to spin up (I hear it). Is there some way I can fix my cache or otherwise set up the drive so that it doesn't need to spin up every time I access files on my root drive? [more inside]
posted by Aanidaani on Nov 22, 2008 - 3 answers

Why am I having problems changing my new MacBook Pro's hard drive? [more inside]
posted by brandoniain on Nov 5, 2008 - 14 answers

Mac, Leopard, La Cie external hard disk drive spins but does not mount. What's my best option for getting data off this drive? [more inside]
posted by gen on Nov 2, 2008 - 21 answers

What are all the things I should do to prepare an old iBook of mine before I sell it to another person (who I don't know and isn't related to me)? [more inside]
posted by micawber on Oct 27, 2008 - 3 answers

Where do I find a new MP3 player with all the features of my old iriver H320? [more inside]
posted by AZNsupermarket on Oct 25, 2008 - 13 answers

Can I temporarily swap out the controller board on my seagate hard drive without voiding the warranty? [more inside]
posted by grandsham on Oct 23, 2008 - 5 answers

New computer, how do I keep the old programs? [more inside]
posted by Marky on Oct 22, 2008 - 8 answers

iMac G5--how do I wipe the drive prior to recycling? [more inside]
posted by 6:1 on Oct 9, 2008 - 13 answers

Older Apple Hardware Filter: My Google-fu has failed me. Anyone have some resources on/experience with replacing Apple-branded SATA drives in a G5 XServe with non-Apple-branded ones? [more inside]
posted by liquado on Sep 9, 2008 - 9 answers

The Last-External-Hard-Drive-I-Ever-Buy is stuck between heaven and hell. Can anyone please help me figure out how to rescue it? [more inside]
posted by LongDrive on Sep 2, 2008 - 5 answers

Replacing my laptop's hard drive. I think I've almost got it but have some questions about the cloning process. [more inside]
posted by nomad73 on Aug 29, 2008 - 8 answers

My external hard drive just crashed so can anyone suggest a Portland, OR, based data recovery service?
posted by tangyraspberry on Aug 25, 2008 - 9 answers

My Seagate FreeAgent external HD may have been damaged in a move. Making clicking noises and not being detected by my computer. [more inside]
posted by Mr_Crazyhorse on Aug 19, 2008 - 9 answers

Can I get my WD external hard drive back to the way it was? [more inside]
posted by droplet on Aug 19, 2008 - 8 answers

Great MeFites, I come bearing but a humble request. I bought a MacBook Pro about six months before Leopard was released. When it finally came out, I installed it on a partition on an external drive, which I would boot from (because OS X is awesome like that, amirite?) so I could test out all my apps. Now I'm ready to commit to Leopard full-time - what's the best way to go about transplanting my Leopard partition? [more inside]
posted by indiewizard on Aug 18, 2008 - 6 answers

Is there a desktop search solution that will index my external hard drives? So far I have had no luck with Google Desktop search.
posted by greenknightwatch on Aug 16, 2008 - 9 answers

Can you tell me if this is a good harddrive and a good deal? Or even better, how would you go about finding out if its good? Thanks. From dealnews: Seagate 1TB Serial ATA 3.0Gbps Internal Hard Drive + $8 s&h ZipZoomfly.com cut its price on the Seagate 1TB Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive, model no. ST31000340AS, to $149.99. With about $8 for shipping, that's a $10 drop since last week and the lowest total price we've seen for this drive. This drive features a 32MB cache (more than most) and runs at 7200 rpm.
posted by irie1972 on Jul 30, 2008 - 8 answers

My fantastically unstable IBM T42 (which is on it's 3rd, soon to be 4th, life) died a little while ago, no longer booting into Ubuntu. However, it loves to boot into Windows. How do I nuke both? [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Jul 11, 2008 - 8 answers

Halp! Need advice on a storage solution for a man with media! [more inside]
posted by AsRuinsAreToRome on Jun 12, 2008 - 5 answers

My external hard-drive's on the fritz. What can I do to make sure I get all my data off it before it goes? [more inside]
posted by djgh on Jun 3, 2008 - 5 answers

SATA I or II? Hopefully very simple question about hard drives [more inside]
posted by jonathanbell on May 20, 2008 - 6 answers

What's the best backup solution for (Ubuntu) Linux? I need a backup as complete as possible of a home directory of ~10+ GB, nightly, etc. I have two large external USB 2.0 drives for the purpose... [more inside]
posted by tmcw on May 18, 2008 - 11 answers

Highly technical hard drive filter: My hard drive failed. Came home, and PC was sitting at the "where's my hard drive" BIOS screen, to my great horror. [more inside]
posted by gjc on Apr 27, 2008 - 9 answers

What kind of external hard drive should I buy? [more inside]
posted by missjamielynn on Apr 20, 2008 - 27 answers

I went to a community college and the computers they had were able to reimage them self each time you rebooted the computer. You could trash the whole OS and render it useless but when you turned it off and back on it was in an OOB state. Where can I find something like this? It would be perfect for work.
posted by KI6ILS on Apr 9, 2008 - 8 answers

Why can I see the file structure of an external Hard Drive, but not be able to read or copy any of the actual files? A friend of mine's computer crashed on him recently. He was able to boot up, but when the system tried to start Windows, he got a message saying that a certain necessary file was missing. He gave me the Hard Drive in an attempt to pull his important files off of it so he could reformat the drive and start anew. It is an SATA 3.5" drive for a desktop computer. I have attached it to my Windows XP SP2 laptop via a USB 2.0 to SATA cable. My computer recognizes the two partitions on the drive and mounts them accordingly. I can see the files on the drive. However, when I try to read or copy a file from the drive, I get a "Cannot Find the Specified File." error. What do I do?
posted by soy_renfield on Apr 7, 2008 - 10 answers

I think I'm finally switching to Ubuntu on my main machine. I have two 160GB external drives, currently both with NTFS, currently mirrored (by software, not a RAID). With what and how should I format/use these guys? [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Mar 14, 2008 - 8 answers

Ahhh! My Mac crapped out! Can anyone recommend a good data recovery company that is dependable but won't charge me an arm and a leg to retrieve my files? I really hope so. I have a lot of photos and files that I would be SO distraught over losing. MY MORALE IS IN YOUR HANDS!!! [more inside]
posted by lukeklein on Feb 7, 2008 - 13 answers

How long will it take to do a 7 pass US DoD 5220 Compliant data wipe on a 120 GB Hard Drive? [more inside]
posted by meta.mark on Feb 6, 2008 - 7 answers

Old Computer Filter: I was cleaning out a few boxes the other day from my closet and found my ST-251-1 MFM drive that I had in my first IBM based PC. It had a whopping 40MB. Even though I know it may not boot up after all this time, I still can't help but wonder if it will and would love a chance to see a snapshot of what I was doing computer-wise in 1986. Does anyone in the Hivemind know if there is an adapter/card/whatever to plug an old MFM drive into IDE or USB?
posted by damiano99 on Feb 1, 2008 - 13 answers

NoIWillNotFixYourComputerFilter: I've got a 500 gig that won't show up in Windows XP. Help! [more inside]
posted by Lockeownzj00 on Jan 29, 2008 - 7 answers

short history: I started to get blue screens on my outdated laptop so I decided to just buy a new one. My new laptop came, I installed a fresh version of xp, rebooted, and plugged my old external in. I got the "Installing drivers for you new hardware" bubble in the task bar then after opening the external drive none of my files were there, but there was the four following: clean (Windows nt command script) install (folder ) windows (folder.. with a windows installation I didn't do!) $$ rename (text document) 230 gigs gone :( The only thing I can think of is the initial blue screens on my OLD laptop were caused by a virus that had infected my external drive? This had all my school notes, notes on books I've read, photos, backups of my old laptops partitions, all that kind of stuff from the past 3 years. I'm feeling kinda, sick, pissed off, and am wondering what the crap could have happened? Any help on this one would be VERY appreciated.
posted by debu on Jan 11, 2008 - 17 answers

I have an external hard drive on my Christmas list. I'd like to make the shopping easy on them by giving specific choices. I've done some searching (here and via Gooooogle) but I need that extra oomph from the genius that is the hive mind. [more inside]
posted by Epsilon-minus semi moron on Dec 9, 2007 - 12 answers