Hey guys, Tiny here. Seeing as most of you have mad music collections on your computers, I'm guessing that a lot of you have some sort of alternate or backup storage. I am horribly unknowledgeable when it comes to computer accessories, and I never know what is best or what to look for. I guess the best idea would be an external harddrive, but does anyone have any suggestions as far as brands, reliability, compatibility, etc? If it helps, I am using a Dell PC, with Windows XP. Not sure what else would be important. Also, I seem to see a lot of them describing that they are USB 2.0 compatible or USB 1.1 compatible. What's the difference and how can I tell what I have? I am clueless. Sorry about being so computer-dumb... I promise I'm smart at other things!

take a look here. they keep a monthly tally of the best external hard drives theyve reviewed. pretty much all of them have either a firewire connection, which looks like this:

or a usb connection, which should work whether its version 1 or 2. i cant say how big you should go, but i was considering buying one in the 120-160gb range for my music. most will work on pretty much any operating system, although if youre going to use linux with it you might run into problems (but you really dont seem like the kind of guy who would want to use linux). any other questions?

I have a 160 GB Maxtor external hard drive with an option to connect via USB or Firewire. Firewire is faster. I encoded approximately 1500 CDs at 160 kbps and have used about 100 GB thus far. I think the music sounds good at that quality but some people prefer a higher encoding rate.

most mp3 players work just like an external hard drive, i have all my mp3s and a bunch of important files backed up on mine, and most of those connect via usb. it doesn't matter what type of usb connection you have on your computer--if you don't have 2.0 it will work just fine, but the transfers will be slower. usb 2.0 was introduced around 2001, so if you bought your computer after that it will probably have 2.0.
do you need your hard drive to be portable? because if thats not a concern, internal hard drives are much cheaper and work faster, and less likely to be damaged by flying objects, drunk roomates, etc. they're relatively easy to install, but if you're worried about that it would be pretty cheap at any computer shop. if you go this route, you'll have to figure out what type of connection your computer has for hard drives. most pcs have IDE connections, but this page looks like it has some tips on how to figure out what you have: http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/howto/interface_know.htm
as for brands, i've had very good luck with western digital and maxtor drives.
another option is to get a dvd burner, you can fit copious amounts of mp3s on one DVD (something like 4 gigs). the downside is having to swap out discs when you want to listen to certain songs and the fact that DVD-Rs are still pretty expensive, but just think of all the movie piracy you can perpetrate...
whatever type of drive you decide on, my broke ass recommends http://www.pricewatch.com, you can find some pretty great deals.
hope this helps...


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I own the LaCie 200GB External Hard Drive, Designed by F.A. Porsche. Transfers to and from are blazing, it's silent, smaller than a vhs tape, super light, slick as hell looking, and one of the better externals for the price [$169.00 for 200GB].

here it is...



check out www.pricegrabber.com for the best deals.

-Dalen

Dalen, I did see these when I was doing my initial checking out of externals, and thought that the amount of storage for the price was great in comparison to other brands...
Thanks for your input everyone!

I recently bough a 120GB Western Digital from Best Buy for $149.00; BUT it had a $50 rebate so I got 120GB for $99.00, no shipping, though I admit to "handling" the little booger in the truck on the way home.