Most USB 2.0 external hard drives are simply plug and play. I suggest that as a beginner, you avoid those models that come with pre-installed software of any kind.

In my opinion, an external with its own power supply is best. That way usb difficulties do not prevent it powering up, and it is a simple matter to use it on different computers.

I have found that external hard drives with additional features such as smart card readers are recognized by XP as 2 different bits of hardware. For such drives, I find it best to plug in the unit unpowered and wait for XP to 'find' and 'install' it, and then turn it on and let the process run again.

The first time you attach your hard drive, allow "Autoplay" to run and follow the "wizard" to the end where you should mark "Take no action."

My most recent external is a Seagate Free Agent, which has proven to be no problem at all. Although it has an independent power supply, the unit turns on and off with USB connection, so I allow it to be on full time with my computer. Since it has an internal fan, I do not worry about overheating.

After installing your new external, remember that it is necessary to move things to the new hard drive. I keep all my photos, movies, videos, music, and documents on the external. It also contains a regularly backed-up copy of "My Documents." C:\ contains only Windows and my installed programs, all of which have set-up files also saved on the external.

Good luck, and I'm sure that you will find computing so much better with an external hard drive as part of your system.

Neurons that fire together, wire together. (Posted with Opera)

What I've learned the hard way

Written in response to: Adding External Hard Drive (Barnum: Friday, March 28, 2008 at 5:49 pm) There are presently no replies to this message.

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