First time using a external HD,I got a few questions.

cracker2

cracker2

Member
Feel kind of silly asking,but just want to be safe.
I got this combo today for $40.Case had some scratches,but HD is brand new.I believe it was preformated,cause it showed automaticly in computer section.
Case: http://www.rocketfishproducts.com/products/computers/RF-HD3035.html

HD: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ODE=CNETFEED&cm_mmc_o=2mHCjC2WHaCjCVqHCjCdwwp

Should I install drivers for both before I do anything else?
All I got was PSU & the connecters.

Would saving programs,music etc from 2+ OS mess anything up?
I just ran it in my vista.Didn't put anything on it still.I have 2 other computers on xp.

If I decided to install a OS on it,would I just have to get a jumper and set it to master,& set the internal HD for slave?
Im not planing on it anytime soon,but was curious.
I think thats it.
 
Sounds like a good deal for $40.

You shouldn't need any drivers, just plug it in. If drivers are needed, they will be installed automatically.

You don't want to install any programs to the external drive unless you plan to leave it plugged in permanently. Music and data are fine though.

If you installed an OS on it and wanted to boot from it, you would not need to change any jumpers. You would need to make sure your system supported booting from USB then you would change the boot order in your BIOS to boot from USB.
 
strollin said:
You don't want to install any programs to the external drive unless you plan to leave it plugged in permanently. Music and data are fine though.
Click to expand...

Would it be ok,long as I didn't try to open the installed program(s) in a different computer?
Could I save installers,and label the program to the computer it was currently running through for install?
 
Should I worry about it seting upright(check the company link in my 1st post to see),instead of flat/level like normal?I have it on as lil as possible because I worry it puts more stress on the drive.I didn't want to make another thread just to ask this so I just posted here.
 
cracker2 said:
Would it be ok,long as I didn't try to open the installed program(s) in a different computer?
Could I save installers,and label the program to the computer it was currently running through for install?
Click to expand...
The problem is that if you install a program to the external drive, parts of it get written to the external drive but other parts get written to your boot drive so you wouldn't be able to run those programs on another system. If you attempted to open a program that was installed on the external drive and the external drive was disconnected then you would get an error message. Some programs install stuff that runs all the time in the background, if the external drive wasn't connected you would get error messages "can't find such and such" during boot.
 
Just be sure that it has proper support for standing upright. Yours looks like it does, but I wouldn't trust my flimsy FreeAgent stand.
 
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