I got 2 notebooks side by side;

would it be possible for them to share a common external USB hard drive ? meaning 2 cables from the harddisk and each cable goes to respective notebooks ?

No, not as you describe.

You could network the two machines (if they're not already) plug the USB into one machine and share the drive over the network.

If its just for backup purposes you would not want it connected 24/7 anyways so why not partition it and plug it into each machine and do a backup onto each partition.

If its just for backup purposes you would not want it connected 24/7 anyways so why not partition it and plug it into each machine and do a backup onto each partition.

That would be my approach.

No need to spin a drive if it is not needed.

You cannot share USB between 2 PC's. Get a crossover LAN cable, plug the USB into one PC and share the drive, that's the best you can achieve in this scenario.

http://en.wikipedia....crossover_cable

PhiPhi

Edited January 2, 201115 yr by PhiPhi

Buy a router that supports a drive through USB and share it over lan or wifi.

Apple has a couple of products that will do this and work with windows if that is what you are using.

Or just buy a NAS drive from many of the manufacturers that make them.

Edited January 3, 201115 yr by negreanu

It is indeed possible, I have one of these "devices" myself, and it does exactly what the OP asks for: http://www.invadeit.co.th/product/computer-accessories/good-trend/ss2320-usb-2-to-2-share-switch-station-p004115/

I just set up a USB HDD as a shared network drive for backing up the data of all company computers.

I cannot find anything about PASSWORDS to protect the data from being restored on the computer the USB HDD is connected to. Any advise? I'm using win7 Ultimate and Professional.

<br />It is indeed possible, I have one of these "devices" myself, and it does exactly what the OP asks for: <a href='http://www.invadeit.co.th/product/computer-accessories/good-trend/ss2320-usb-2-to-2-share-switch-station-p004115/' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://www.invadeit....tation-p004115/</a><br />

<br /><br /><br />

thanks

will check it out

It is indeed possible, I have one of these "devices" myself, and it does exactly what the OP asks for: http://www.invadeit....tation-p004115/

From what I see it's just a switch. Better to unmount and unplug the external disk from the A computer and plug in to the other one B computer. Save 800 bahts.

I don't believe both computer can share the same external hard drive at the same time through an USB connection.

It is indeed possible, I have one of these "devices" myself, and it does exactly what the OP asks for: http://www.invadeit.co.th/product/computer-accessories/good-trend/ss2320-usb-2-to-2-share-switch-station-p004115/

What if something goes wrong and both computers write to the same part of the drive at the same time? I don't know, I'd check out some online reviews first before trusting this with my backups. Don't get me wrong, this could work, if done correctly, but what if something goes wrong. USB was never made for this.

What if something goes wrong and both computers write to the same part of the drive at the same time?

That would be a PEBKAC error.

I just set up a USB HDD as a shared network drive for backing up the data of all company computers.

I cannot find anything about PASSWORDS to protect the data from being restored on the computer the USB HDD is connected to. Any advise? I'm using win7 Ultimate and Professional.

Windows 7 has excellent access rights management. No need to deal with passwords.

Store the backups in separate folders on the USB HDD.

Restrict permissions to each folder to the computer and user that is responsible for accessing that backup folder.

Read this link for more info:

http://www.blogsdna.com/2159/how-to-take-ownership-grant-permissions-to-access-files-folder-in-windows-7.htm

Keep in mind that this is not 100% foolproof.

Whomever gains ownership can change the permissions.

If you want a more secure situation:

Some backup application allows you to assign passwords to be able to restore data.

If not, use something like TrueCrypt to create encrypted file/volumes which could be mounted using unique passwords.

You have a multitude of choices, it's up to you.