iPod / Laptop / External HD .

[iMan]

Hi all,

New owner of a 30GB iPod, I use a Dell laptop to rip & transfer. Due to the limitation of the lappy's HD (5 GB free), I delete the songs from the HD in order to save space, this is not ideal as if (god forbid) something went wrong with the iPod, I would have to rip my CD collection again (over 800). This plus the fact that I cannot use the playlist facility, I am now thinking of purchasing an external USB HD.

Any comment / recommendation will be greatly appreciated.

TIA

iMan

 

[Jacko]

Exactly my setup

I recommend an external hard drive to complement your laptop. I would look into getting one with either USB 2.0 or Firewire. to keep the transfer speeds up.

I currently have a 160GB external Firewire drive (also supports USB 2.0) which I run into a Firewire hub so I can also use my iPod.

Works fine.

Frankly it's a good idea to get an external so you can run regular backups of your entire laptop. You think it be incovenient to lose the tracks on the Pod? Try your entire laptop!

Good luck

jm

 

[iMan]

Thanks for your reply Jacko, sorry for my ignorance but what is a "Firewire Hub" and would it power the iPod when used with the laptop, I was thinking of a Firewire pcmcia card, could you explain if & why a hub is better please?

TIA

iMan

 

[RhinoBHS]

External USB 2.0 Or FireWire Case

get a usb 2.0 or FireWire external case.. i have one.. and i love it cost me like 60.00 and threw an old 10 gig in it.. works awesome since i can take my music to my friends house and stuff... Just a thought!

-Ryan

 

[ssper]

I had the same space problem. I have a 30 Gig IPod, but only 15 Gig free on my laptop. Then also, I have about 200 Gigs worth of music (from about 2000 CDs). I ripped all of the CDs, and made backup CDs of the MP3s (about 10 audio CDs fit on an MP3 data CD). I made a playlist for each of the MP3 data CDs. For awhile, I was rotating these data CDs on and off my IPod.

Then I broke down and got a 250 Gig Maxtor external USB hard drive, and it works great. I can store all my music in one place, and I can use the sync feature. However, I still keep backup CDs of my music.

Anyway, the bottom line is, if you have less that 30 Gigs worth of music, you don't necessarily need an external hard drive. You could back up your music on MP3 data CDs (I suggest making 2 backups; data CDs often go bad).

 

[Jacko]

but what is a "Firewire Hub" and would it power the iPod when used with the laptop, I was thinking of a Firewire pcmcia card, could you explain if & why a hub is better please?

I would suggest a Firewire Hub (a little box that connects to your existing Firewire port and has three, four or more ports to use) because most of them will power/charge the iPod when it's connected to it. As far as i know, USB cannot power/charge the iPod.

A PCMICIA card is an option, but most don't have an included power source (some have it available as a separate purchase).

Here's one possibility on the PCMCIA front...

Good luck.

 

[iMan]

Thanks Jacko, time to do some shopping

iMan