Originally posted by maxx9photo:
Hi all,
I'd like to know if anyone could tell me or anyone else who's interesting on built an external HD on step by step procedure. What we need (HD,case,etc) and also on pricewise is it save you $$ than buy a ready to use HD? thanks guys and hope it will be usefull for all of us here (greenies)!.
Ready-made external drives are getting cheaper and cheaper, now below $1 per GB if you keep your eye out for specials. By the same token, if you keep your eye out for bare HD specials, you can still save money. I've put together a 250 GB external drive for only $150.
Either way, the cheapest way to buy is to look for rebate specials at CompUSA or Best Buy. The next cheapest is probably newegg.com. An easy way to keep track of specials is at dealmac.com
If you want to roll your own, here's how:
1. Buy a 3.5" IDE/ATA hard drive from any one of the major manufacturers.
2. Buy an enclosure. I assume you have a Mac, in which case you'll want one with FireWire 400. For more money, you can also get combo drives with USB 2.0 (good to have if you ever need to use it with a PC) and FW 800 (if you're asking about it, you probably don't need it). As far as I can tell, one enclosure works pretty much as well as another, so if you want to save money, shop for price. newegg.com is as good a source as any. I own one of these - it works fine and looks better than most:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...109&depa=0
3. Open the enclosure. Some use screws, some use clips. Connect the power supply cable and IDE cable to the drive (it's pretty obvious which is which). Slide the front of the drive forward into the enclosure (make sure it's all the way forward) and then seat it (this can be a bit tricky with the really compact enclosures - there's not much clearance and the cables might have to be bent back a bit).
4. Put the top back on the enclosure, hook it up to your Mac with a FW cable, and plug the drive into the wall. When you power the drive up, you'll get a message saying that it's not recognized. Use Disk Utility to format it.
Don't be intimidated - all of this only takes a few minutes.
Top
