external SATA hard drive?

The hard drive space is running low on my notebook.
I'm planning to buy an internal SATA hard drive then connected it externally through a SATA supported HD case. I know that pc need special PCI card to add SATA drive, I wonder this set up will work for my notebok? will it cause problem with the IDE HD on the notebook?

 

You would have to have the right connector. If it is an external drive, it is likely Firewire or USB 2.0. USB is likely on your laptop, Firewire not (unless you own a SONY). You can get a PCMCIA card to add Firewire functionality.

If you have USB on your laptop, it may be USB 1.1, not 2.0, check because the speed difference is excrutiating.

Firewire is is preferred in my opinion.

 

Welcome to MG. If you can afford it, I would suggest that buy the biggest 2.5" hard drive you can afford and swop it with your current drive. Make sure what is the limit that your BIOS and OS will accept before parting with $$$$. Copy the info from your old drive to your new drive by fitting it to an external case. Borrow one if nyou can to save money. You will need a converting power cable from the 2.5" drive to fit a 3.5" power cable but these are available. An external drive is a PITA, IMHO, on a laptop if you move it around at all. More clutter, more weight, external power supplies, etc. My $0.02 worth. Bazza

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This is true, after re-reading the original post, I realized he said notebook to begin with, I thought he wanted an external drive for more space for his desktop pc and also compatible with his notebook.

If the extra space is only needed on the notebook, replace the internal hard drive with something more. What do you have now?

 

My current 40gig is almost used up. I want to get a cheap permanent external storage for music, movies and such. I dont care about the clutter since I usually dont move my notebook.

There's a Seagate 200gig internal HD at compusa for $80. Plus about $30 for an external case, I'll be getting an 200gig external HD for about $110. It's the best deal I found so far. (it'll also be firewired. I hear it's a better performer than usb 2.0). This is the best deal I found so far, I hope the hardware is compatible.

 

One last thing, make sure your laptop model/specs/BIOS support Firewire, USB 2.0, or whatever you finally decide on. Best of luck, let us know how it goes and what you used to help us laptop users. Bazza