New External Hard drive!

[Carbohydrate]

I read that a whole bunch of you use external hard drives for photo storage on-the-go. So I got one today! It's gorgeous! :D Sleek and shiny! I got 120GB in for photo storage during an upcoming trip.

I wanted to be familiar with it before I take it out and mess up everything… thing is…the bridge that I got won’t recognize it.

I can copy files to and from my computer no problem…but when I plug my memory card into it…nothing.

Is my problem something so blatantly obvious that it wouldn’t be in the little manual?:confused:

Thanks!!

[SYS]

Well, what's the brand?

[Carbohydrate]

Here's a link to the one I got:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=261

I was under the impression that you can just plug it in, and it should know what to do from there.

[toyguru]

I have the same drive and it is auto recognized by all my PC and Mac machines. What OS are you running and are you trying to put it through a USB hub?

[johnnybfan]

It sounds to me like you are trying to plug your card (reader?) into the HD. If that's what you're doing it won't work that way. These are designed to work with a PC or Mac. Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding what you're saying.

[Carbohydrate]

I'm using Windows XP, and the hard drive works just fine with the computer.

My goal was to get a device that wouldn't require the use of a computer, since I'm not going to be home (and I don't have a working laptop).

Along with this hard drive, I bought a bridge that should allow me to from CF to HDD with no computer or additional power source.

I'll take a photo of all of it, since I don't think I'm very good at explaining this :S

[the.good.life]

is this what you plan on doing?

http://www.datoptic.com/cgi-bin/web.cgi?product=NDAS01-11&detail=yes

[Carbohydrate]

Here's a speedy respresentation of what I was hoping to do.


When I turn the bridge on, it blinks to indicate that it recognizes the CF card, but it doesn't light up or show that it has recognized the HDD.

[BradT0517]

Well it sounds like what you want is an Epson P-3000 or P-5000 here is a link (http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductCategory.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=-8175)

[Carbohydrate]

That would definately get the job done.....:o ......wish I was wealthy!

Being a student, with only a part-time job, I decided upon a bit of a cheaper solution to start out with....

It's nice having the big screen to make sure that everything is there and working before you format the CF cards.

From what I can tell, an iPod video with the adapter would work just as well, (right??)and is available with more storage and a more bearable price tag.

(I'm still in dept from the 20D and the trip:cry: )

[BradT0517]

Yes an iPod and an adapter work perfectly fine. My friend used it on his 20D while we were in Alaska. For a while I wouldn't work but it started up later.

[Carbohydrate]

Since I don't travel very much, I think the ipod would work best since after my trip I'll still be able to use it for my fancy music and podcasts!

How exciting. And practical!

Brad, do you know why the iPod wasn't working at first? I don't know if I can handle another piece of bipolar technology.

[Carbohydrate]

sorry....shouldn't say that it's bipolar! -Unpredicatable-

[BradT0517]

Not sure why I don't think even he knew why it wasn't working.

[Carbohydrate]

Strange!

Well, I know what I'm doing after school tomorrow! I really hope it works out....

(but, OH, the decisions! Black or white?!)

[BradT0517]

Strange!

Well, I know what I'm doing after school tomorrow! I really hope it works out....

(but, OH, the decisions! Black or white?!)

Personally I like the Black more.

[Carbohydrate]

:lol: Thanks a ton for your input.

[BradT0517]

:lol: Thanks a ton for your input.
Your Welcome

[gef]

I was looking at getting an iPod at one point for backing up my CF card on the road, but there are a lot of post suggesting the iPod is a bad choice for this. Mostly that is is very very slow and that the iPod battery dies before it can back up a gig..

The one thing I didn't seen in your photo of the HD setup is the power cord. It was plugged in right? Probably a silly question but you never know, I've done some pretty silly things in my time..... =_)

[neil_r]

Yes an iPod and an adapter work perfectly fine. My friend used it on his 20D while we were in Alaska. For a while I wouldn't work but it started up later.

You may want to read this thread before you commit (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=253966)

[Jon]

Here's a speedy respresentation of what I was hoping to do.


When I turn the bridge on, it blinks to indicate that it recognizes the CF card, but it doesn't light up or show that it has recognized the HDD.
I suspect the bridge doesn't have enough power to run the HDD. Does the drive support an external power supply?

[xlr8ed]

I suspect the bridge doesn't have enough power to run the HDD.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Since the drive he linked to is USB powered, I would recommend a power adaptor from Radio Shack or some such place.

[DavidEB]

I have an older version of >>>this<<< (http://www.xs-drive.com/xsdrive2xl/) -- cheap, simple, easily portable, gets the job done.

[Carbohydrate]

Hm...

well this really throws a twist on everything.

I suppose recharging an iPod isn't a huge deal, but if it takes ages just to transfer 1GB, then I'll likely get frustrated and end up smashing it.

As for the little hard drive I have, it only has the one little USB port that I attached directly to the bridge, so I don't know how I would be able to supply it with any additional power. It just has three AAA batteries.

[Jon]

Does the bridge device accept an external power adapter?

[Carbohydrate]

the bridge just has the two USB port things, the batteries, a 'copy' button and a 'root vs. disk' switch.

Apart from that, it's just a couple of LED lights, and a reset button.

[SunTsu]

I've got that same hard drive and it's definitely bus powered and does not accept an external power supply since there is no jack. Theoretically, this should work, but it's a bit messy:
- Buy a USB hub that comes with an external power adapter
- Plug the USB hub power in
- Plug the hard drive into the hub
- Plug the hub to the adapter thing

This way, the powered USB hub should provide power to your external hard drive.

[Jcrompton]

I agree if you were going to spend that kind of money you might as well by a small laptop. It would have better display resolution, easily have an 80 GB drive and could have PS or whatever you used installed to modify pics on the road. They may be bigger but much more versatile.

[Aeronaut]

I've recently purchased a Jobo GIGA One 40GB HDD which works well. OK, it doesn't have a screen as per the Epson P-2000 etc but it does work. It cost £99.00 here in UK so no doubt cheaper in Canada.

I downloaded a card a couple of times as a test first which worked OK so now I have the confidence to copy the card to the drive then delete the card for re-use.

John
North Wales

[SuzyView]

I got the WD 160 gb drive that looks just like the one described for $130 about 2 months ago. It does not have an external power source, it is powered by the USB connection. John's suggestion of the Jobo is a good one. I've heard good things about it. If you don't need or want to spend $399 for a P-2000,3000,5000, then you probably want a portable card reader that can also be used as an external hard drive.

I have a laptop that has a card reader and I use my WD external drive when I am working on my photos. I download the whole CF card onto the drive for future editing and printing when I take my laptop with me. If I don't take it, I use my Epson P-2000, which is a lot slower to download, but does the job. I have a few CF cards so one can be downloading, the other is in the camera. When the time comes and I want to edit the pictures in the P-2000, I download the whole album into the external hard drive through the laptop or desktop. It is a procedure that works for me.

[KC Jr 54]

I love Western Digital. WIth that being said though, i have read a lot of mixed reviews with their 160gb passports. Just throwing a wrench into your deciding, but considering it may 'disappear' your photos.....

[SuzyView]

Don't say that! Mine's been great!

[KC Jr 54]

LOL Thats why i said mixed. It is about 50/50. Basically if you get it and it doesnt mess up the first couple of days you are golden, and if it does, well then you know...