Hi,

I'm rapidly approaching the point where I need an external hard disk drive.

My computer (laptop) has no USB2 port, I was wondering

1) Can I buy some device to enable USB2 (PC card etc) ? I asked in a computer store and was told that it is possible but they are rubbish, does anybody have any experiences ?

2) Do I actually need one at all ?

Thanks in advance.

yes you can get a pcmcia card for usb expansion. goole popped this one out http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nisis-PCMCIA-USB-2...d/dp/B00027YIJK

you could also get a nas enclosure instead of a usb drive see this as an example www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/NetworkStorage/SC101.aspx

I prefer the NAS route as it is more flexible.

Have used bothe USB and NIC PCMCIA cards, no real difference in performance.

Do you really need one - only you can answer that.

yes you can get a pcmcia card for usb expansion

most USB 2 devices will fall back to USB 1 and most notebooks have USB 1 and this may be good enough

also using a USB 2 pcmcia card will not deliver USB 2 performance - the speed is limited by the speed of the pcmcia bus - faster than USB 1 but not as fast as USB 2, hopw much you notice the difference depends on the type of usage

bkkguy

i have 2 200 gig drives i brought with me from australia,

i bought a modest PC and rather than install my drives i bought external caddies, whilst this option is fine i have found i tend to drink too much and forget to turn the external off and in the morning i wake up to discover the caddy is hot enough to cook a greasy hangover breaky,

mmmmmmmm eggs and bacon with hash browns mmmmmmmm .

i bought external caddies, whilst this option is fine i have found i tend to drink too much and forget to turn the external off and in the morning i wake up to discover the caddy is hot enough to cook a greasy hangover breaky,

the"tsunami" external cases I have come with a fan (and tasteful blue light) and thus deny me the delights of a cooked breakfast!

bkkguy