What's the best external USB disc reader and writer to get?

ohaya wrote:
> Rod Speed wrote:
>
>> Ant wrote:
>>
>>> On 10/1/2009 12:10 AM PT, Rod Speed typed:
>>>
>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Just curious. Can these drives only require USB cables for
>>>>>>>>>>> power and usage?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> no, probably not a good idea anyway due to the power strain.
>>>>>>>>>> they have a power pack and a usb connector
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Thanks. I borrowed a Lenovo portable DVD burner (doesn't read
>>>>>>>>> medias well though) and it only had a USB cable (no power AC
>>>>>>>>> cable). Very nice for portability, especially for a netbook!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> wow, I would be concerned about it pulling power from the
>>>>>>>> machine. I have a small hard drive which uses usb power but it
>>>>>>>> was designed that way. still not happy with it though. Even an
>>>>>>>> old usb hub I had which worked solely by usb power sucked
>>>>>>>> compared to using a powered one.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Why is pulling power bad?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Because the device stops working properly when it cant get the
>>>>>> power it needs.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Aren't most USB devices like that like mice, wireless network,
>>>>>>> etc.?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> They dont take enough to matter.
>>>>>
>>>>> Interesting and thanks (and everyone else who replied). I wasn't
>>>>> aware of drives using that much power. I thought by now, USB can
>>>>> handle well.
>>>>> Does USB3 fix these power issues?
>>>>
>>>> Doesnt fix them, but the detail has changed, particularly on max
>>>> power the device can take.
>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb3#USB_3.0
>>>
>>> Thanks again. I guess I will avoid using these portable USB external
>>> non-Flash drives, without power cables, then.
>>
>>
>> It does work pretty well with the 2.5" portable USD external hard
>> drives that have two USB cables. The extra one is just used for the
>> extra power.

> Sorry that this is just a little off-topic, but I have a question related to this that I've been curious about.

Dont forget what that did to the cat.

> I have a number of 2.5" USB2 drive enclosures. Most of have been for IDE drives, but I've gotten a couple of newer
> ones lately for 2.5" SATA drives more recently.

> As far as I can remember, in all cases, I've not had problems running
> with a single USB cable with the 2.5" IDE enclosures, but, in contrast, I've had problems running every one of the
> 2.5" SATA enclosures (=enclosures that take 2.5" SATA drives instead of 2.5"
> IDE drives) with just a single USB cable.

> I've been wondering, for awhile now: Have I just been unlucky with the 2.5" SATA enclosures (I've tried several)?

Maybe the SATA drives have been bigger, because they are newer.

> Or, is there something about the USB2-to-SATA interfaces, in general, that requires more power than the USB2-to-IDE
> interfaces?

Thats possible. You'd have to measure the current used with no drive installed.

Rod Speed wrote:
> ohaya wrote:
>
>>Rod Speed wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Ant wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>On 10/1/2009 12:10 AM PT, Rod Speed typed:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>Just curious. Can these drives only require USB cables for
>>>>>>>>>>>>power and usage?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>no, probably not a good idea anyway due to the power strain.
>>>>>>>>>>>they have a power pack and a usb connector
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Thanks. I borrowed a Lenovo portable DVD burner (doesn't read
>>>>>>>>>>medias well though) and it only had a USB cable (no power AC
>>>>>>>>>>cable). Very nice for portability, especially for a netbook!
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>wow, I would be concerned about it pulling power from the
>>>>>>>>>machine. I have a small hard drive which uses usb power but it
>>>>>>>>>was designed that way. still not happy with it though. Even an
>>>>>>>>>old usb hub I had which worked solely by usb power sucked
>>>>>>>>>compared to using a powered one.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Why is pulling power bad?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Because the device stops working properly when it cant get the
>>>>>>>power it needs.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Aren't most USB devices like that like mice, wireless network,
>>>>>>>>etc.?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>They dont take enough to matter.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Interesting and thanks (and everyone else who replied). I wasn't
>>>>>>aware of drives using that much power. I thought by now, USB can
>>>>>>handle well.
>>>>>>Does USB3 fix these power issues?
>>>>>
>>>>>Doesnt fix them, but the detail has changed, particularly on max
>>>>>power the device can take.
>>>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb3#USB_3.0
>>>>
>>>>Thanks again. I guess I will avoid using these portable USB external
>>>>non-Flash drives, without power cables, then.
>>>
>>>
>>>It does work pretty well with the 2.5" portable USD external hard
>>>drives that have two USB cables. The extra one is just used for the
>>>extra power.
>
>
>>Sorry that this is just a little off-topic, but I have a question related to this that I've been curious about.
>
>
> Dont forget what that did to the cat.
>
>
>>I have a number of 2.5" USB2 drive enclosures. Most of have been for IDE drives, but I've gotten a couple of newer
>>ones lately for 2.5" SATA drives more recently.
>
>
>>As far as I can remember, in all cases, I've not had problems running
>>with a single USB cable with the 2.5" IDE enclosures, but, in contrast, I've had problems running every one of the
>>2.5" SATA enclosures (=enclosures that take 2.5" SATA drives instead of 2.5"
>>IDE drives) with just a single USB cable.
>
>
>>I've been wondering, for awhile now: Have I just been unlucky with the 2.5" SATA enclosures (I've tried several)?
>
>
> Maybe the SATA drives have been bigger, because they are newer.
>
>
>>Or, is there something about the USB2-to-SATA interfaces, in general, that requires more power than the USB2-to-IDE
>>interfaces?
>
>
> Thats possible. You'd have to measure the current used with no drive installed.
>
>


Hi,

It doesn't seem like it's due to drive size. For example, I have two
320GB 2.5" drives, one IDE and one SATA. I tried the IDE in several
enclosures, all with no problem on one USB cable. With the SATA, I
tried 3 (I think) different enclosures (luckily, we have a local
Microcenter that I drive past everyday, so I could go back and get a
different one), and none of them would work with just the single USB
cable.

I have some "thick", presumably heavier gauge USB cables, and it
wouldn't work with just those either. Also, out of curiousity, I think
that I checked the drive mfr sites, and, unfortunately, the drive specs
for power were kind of vague/not precise.

Oh well, another "mystery of life" ...

Thanks, Rod,
Jim

ohaya wrote:
> Rod Speed wrote:
>> ohaya wrote:
>>
>>> Rod Speed wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Ant wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> On 10/1/2009 12:10 AM PT, Rod Speed typed:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Just curious. Can these drives only require USB cables for
>>>>>>>>>>>>> power and usage?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> no, probably not a good idea anyway due to the power
>>>>>>>>>>>> strain. they have a power pack and a usb connector
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks. I borrowed a Lenovo portable DVD burner (doesn't
>>>>>>>>>>> read medias well though) and it only had a USB cable (no
>>>>>>>>>>> power AC cable). Very nice for portability, especially for
>>>>>>>>>>> a netbook!
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> wow, I would be concerned about it pulling power from the
>>>>>>>>>> machine. I have a small hard drive which uses usb power but
>>>>>>>>>> it was designed that way. still not happy with it though.
>>>>>>>>>> Even an old usb hub I had which worked solely by usb power
>>>>>>>>>> sucked compared to using a powered one.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Why is pulling power bad?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Because the device stops working properly when it cant get the
>>>>>>>> power it needs.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Aren't most USB devices like that like mice, wireless network,
>>>>>>>>> etc.?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> They dont take enough to matter.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Interesting and thanks (and everyone else who replied). I wasn't
>>>>>>> aware of drives using that much power. I thought by now, USB can
>>>>>>> handle well.
>>>>>>> Does USB3 fix these power issues?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Doesnt fix them, but the detail has changed, particularly on max
>>>>>> power the device can take.
>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb3#USB_3.0
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks again. I guess I will avoid using these portable USB
>>>>> external non-Flash drives, without power cables, then.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It does work pretty well with the 2.5" portable USD external hard
>>>> drives that have two USB cables. The extra one is just used for the
>>>> extra power.
>>
>>
>>> Sorry that this is just a little off-topic, but I have a question
>>> related to this that I've been curious about.
>>
>>
>> Dont forget what that did to the cat.
>>
>>
>>> I have a number of 2.5" USB2 drive enclosures. Most of have been
>>> for IDE drives, but I've gotten a couple of newer ones lately for
>>> 2.5" SATA drives more recently.
>>
>>
>>> As far as I can remember, in all cases, I've not had problems
>>> running with a single USB cable with the 2.5" IDE enclosures, but, in
>>> contrast, I've had problems running every one of the 2.5" SATA enclosures (=enclosures that take 2.5" SATA drives
>>> instead of 2.5" IDE drives) with just a single USB cable.
>>
>>
>>> I've been wondering, for awhile now: Have I just been unlucky with
>>> the 2.5" SATA enclosures (I've tried several)?
>>
>>
>> Maybe the SATA drives have been bigger, because they are newer.
>>
>>
>>> Or, is there something about the USB2-to-SATA interfaces, in
>>> general, that requires more power than the USB2-to-IDE interfaces?
>>
>>
>> Thats possible. You'd have to measure the current used with no drive
>> installed.
>
>
> Hi,
>
> It doesn't seem like it's due to drive size. For example, I have two
> 320GB 2.5" drives, one IDE and one SATA. I tried the IDE in several
> enclosures, all with no problem on one USB cable. With the SATA, I
> tried 3 (I think) different enclosures (luckily, we have a local
> Microcenter that I drive past everyday, so I could go back and get a
> different one), and none of them would work with just the single USB
> cable.
>
> I have some "thick", presumably heavier gauge USB cables, and it
> wouldn't work with just those either. Also, out of curiousity, I
> think that I checked the drive mfr sites, and, unfortunately, the
> drive specs for power were kind of vague/not precise.

I guess its possible that the electronics in the box does
take significantly more power with the sata versions.

Dont have any handy to measure.

> Oh well, another "mystery of life" ...