Re: one external HD with multiple computers
- From: "Anna" <myname@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:04:43 -0500
>
>
> "Anna" <myname@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:u6kzerZFGHA.1028@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>> "Spoon2001" <invalid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:uqVnsZZFGHA.344@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Great replies, thanks very much.
>>>
>>> I think it would be great if we take one external SATA drive on
>>> different machines. Security - when not using the computer we could
>>> detach the drive and lock it away. (On the other hand, it would also be
>>> easy for someone to snatch your drive from your computer. Convenience -
>>> have your data accessible no matter where you are.
>>>
>>> Licensing is a bugaboo. Currently the license is tied to the computer -
>>> move it to a different computer, and XP detects it and requires a new
>>> activation. Maybe a license to use the OS copy could be tied to the
>>> USER, so that he could use the same OS copy on any machine - that copy
>>> would be used on one computer at a time!
>>>
>>> I wouldn't want to buy a Firewire or USB drive now, with eSATA arriving.
>>> I looked over at Fry's the other day - tons of Firewire/USB external
>>> drives. The only external SATA drive available was one made by Acomdata.
>>> Of course there should also be kits to put an internal SATA drive into
>>> an external enclosure.
>>
>>
>> Re your last comment...
>>
>> Note that one would not need a type of enclosure for the external SATA HD
>> similar to that of a USB/Firewire external HD. As I previously mentioned,
>> an external SATA HD is, for all practical purposes, treated identically
>> as an *internal* HD by the system. That's the beauty of a external SATA
>> HD. As such, it will ordinarily be powered by the computer's power
>> supply, rather than an external PS as is needed by a USB/Firewire device.
>> While I'm not recommending this setup, you could just as easily plop the
>> drive in a cigar box or even place the bare drive on your computer desk
>> adjacent to your computer should that be convenient. In our case, since
>> we generally work with removable HDs in their mobile racks, we've been
>> using the removable tray/caddy used in these devices to contain the
>> external SATA HD.
>> Anna
"Mike Hall (MS-MVP)" <mikehalll@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uiMRgAaFGHA.3176@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Anna
>
> A SATA drive needs as much protection as any other drive, and would indeed
> require a cooled enclosure..
>
> While it may be ok to have a SATA port on the outside of the computer
> case, I can't see a SATA power outlet appearing any time soon.. there
> would be too much chance of the external drive screwing up the computer's
> own PS.. power would, therefore, have to come via a power brick..
>
> Seems to me that this idea is becoming messy.. cables, external power
> supplies, the problem of an OS not booting because of changes in base
> hardware, certainly re. Windows..
> --
> Mike Hall
> MVP - Windows Shell/User
Mike:
It's really not terribly "messy". Actually (from a physical point of view)
there's very little difference between a SATA HD residing outside the
computer's case vs. a USB/Firewire external hard drive. In the case of the
USB/Firewire device a separate power supply is needed; in the case of the
SATA drive the computer's PS supplies the power. With respect to the latter,
there's really no appreciable difference between the computer's PS supplying
power to that device or any other computer component. The sole difference is
that the power cable running from the external SATA drive to the computer's
PS connector would be (partially) outside the case. Is this really so
different from the PS situation involving a USB/Firewire EHD?
We've been working with the ASUS P5WD2 motherboard which contains a eSATA
port (again, "e" for "external") which, of course, provides signal cable
support for the SATA HD. Unfortunately, ASUS did not provide an external
power connector adjacent to the eSATA port, necessitating running the power
cable from the drive directly to one of the PS connectors. It's an omission
that puzzles us and I would make book that future motherboards containing
the eSATA port *will* also include an external SATA power connector.
I'm at a loss to understand your comment that "there would be too much
chance of the external drive screwing up the computer's own PS.. power
would, therefore, have to come via a power brick.". As I mentioned above,
supplying power to the external SATA drive from the computer's PS is no
different than the PS supplying power to any other powered component in the
computer.
We've been working with the above-noted ASUS motherboard and various
external SATA HDs over the past three months or so. Aside from the minor
inconvenience of snaking a power cable from the drive to the computer's PS
connector, we've found no downside to using this hardware arrangement.
Indeed, in our view, it is far, far superior to using a USB/Firewire
external HD for the reasons I've previously mentioned, to wit...
1. The significantly superior performance of a SATA HD compared to a
USB/Firewire EHD.
2. The fact that a user can now have a *bootable* XP operating system on an
external HD since the system treats this "external" SATA HD as an internal
one.
3. The external SATA HD is (in most cases) "hot-pluggable".
As to enclosures for the external SATA HD - it is unnecessary that any
elaborate enclosure be used since no built-in PS is necessary, nor any
internal "conversion" system is necessary since there's a *direct* signal
(data) cable connection between the drive and the computer's SATA connector.
Since we've been testing out a number of SATA HDs in this configuration, we
frequently use a bare drive sans enclosure without any problems, although
obviously we would *not* recommend this for the average user. As I've
previously mentioned, since we generally work with removable HDs in their
mobile racks, we've been using the removable tray/caddy used in these
devices to contain the external SATA HD. We have encountered no heat-related
problems running these devices 8 - 16 hrs. daily.
BTW, there's another device we came across that users may be interested in
to connect an external SATA HD. It's called the SATAPOWPLAT1, manufactured
or distributed by StarTech. It's available from http://www.cwol.com for
about $19 (incl shipping) - at least the last time I looked. buy.com shows
it for much cheaper, but it's never in stock. I assume the device is also
available from other online vendors. Based on our limited experience with
this device, it seems to work just fine.
This device is simply attached to the I/O bracket on the computer case's
backplane. It comes with two external connectors - the SATA signal/data
connector and the 15-pin SATA power connector. Internally (the other side of
its slot plate) is, of course, the SATA data connector and the normal 4-pin
Molex power plug. So it's a simple matter to connect the device to one of
the
power leads of your PS. Why ASUS didn't use the same simple
(power)configuration with its eSATA connector is beyond me. Note that the
SATA data connector on this SATAPOWPLAT1 device is a standard SATA data
connector; it is not an eSATA connector.
As I've previously indicated, the advantages of an external SATA HD over
other storage devices are so substantial that I foresee the not-too-distant
day when it will be the device of choice for most users. I know we have
purchased our last USB/Firewire external hard drive.
Anna
.
- References:
- one external HD with multiple computers
- From: Spoon2001
- Re: one external HD with multiple computers
- From: Spoon2001
- Re: one external HD with multiple computers
- From: Anna
- Re: one external HD with multiple computers
- From: Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)
- one external HD with multiple computers
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