Cheapish Hard Drives

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by kelton, Oct 4, 2003.

  1. kelton

    kelton Nibble Poster

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    I currently have 3 desktop machines all networked - along with a wireless laptop.

    I really dont want to wipe the HDs on any of them - as I like the current setup. However, I do want to experiment with setting up a Win2k network - 2 clients and a server to start with. I would also like to play with RAID on the server.

    My idea is to buy a new smallish HD for each of the machines, maybe add an extra 1-2 for the server to play with raid.

    I was looking at dabs.com and can pick up a 30gig for £40 - thats still going to be £200. Not a major outlay, but still quite costly (although at the end of the experiment I will be able to put use to them... if it ever ends!).

    My only question is (unless someone comes up with a better solution!) Does anyone know anywhere that provides cheaper hard drives? Im not looking for anything special - I would pref 30 gig min for the server HDs but the 2 desktop ones can be lower.

    Thanks

    K.
     
  2. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    All of the places I know online for cheap hardware are based in the US so I don't know if they'd fit the bill. I know when I was in school, one of my instructors was the master of rescuing hardware. He's find private companies and government agencies that were literally throwing away older PCs and servers and offer to take them off their hands. Also, often people trying to get rid of their ancient hardware will advertise it in the paper. You could pick up a few old PCs for really cheap and use them for parts (like hard drives). It'll require a little research on your part and maybe some phone calls, but you'd be surprised what you could find out there with just a little looking. Good luck.

    Edit: I got to thinking after I posted this and realized I have a couple of small HDDs in a cabinet that I'll probably never use (I hate to just get rid of anything...never know when you might need it...wife thinks I'm a "packrat"...could be...). They're only about 3 gigs each but you're welcome to them. They'll run Windows 2000 Pro if that's what you're studying. Don't expect to load all the bells and whistles, though (Office XP and such)...but they'll do labs just fine. If you want them, just contact me via PM and give me your "snail mail" address and I'll send them to you. Let me know.
     
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  3. Sandy

    Sandy Ex-Member

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    Hi Kelton

    I use a mix of Ghost, VMware and disk caddies to help with the cost

    I can swap drives in and out of the PC with the caddies

    I can back up the disk in about 15 mins and totally screw up the config and restore to a known starting point over a coffee (study break)

    With VMware I can run 2 machines on the same drive eg a server and a client (now that is clever)

    HTH
     
  4. kelton

    kelton Nibble Poster

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    Having caddies would certainly help! But then still have to but that and the drives :(

    Ive tried VMWare and on my setup I struggle to run 1 station. 2 would be imporsible. while I love the idea of VMware, the cost of the software plus upgrade costs - when I have 3 real machines would be too high.

    My main desktop (which will be the one I change about the most) is easy to access - so swapping IDE cables not a big issue.

    I think I may go with the £40 drives and be done. Thanks for the suggestions.
     
  5. Sandy

    Sandy Ex-Member

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    I always use Beta VMWare as it is free (But I am Scots)
     
  6. kelton

    kelton Nibble Poster

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    Wooohooo, Im in Scotland as well!
     
  7. Jakamoko
    Honorary Member

    Jakamoko On the move again ...

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    SHHH Kelton !!!! Loads of us are - its the first stage in our cunning plan to take control, remember :P

    Woops, time to reach for the flame-proof suit again, I think - you got it to hand, Sandy ? :wink:
     
    Certifications: MCP, A+, Network+
    WIP: Clarity
  8. kelton

    kelton Nibble Poster

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    If anyones interested....

    I ended up never buying anything to do with new HDDs apart from the SATA drive for my new PC. ugh...

    I am however running VMWare Workstation 4 - 2 2k Pro and one 2k Server just now on the new machine :)

    Server has 256k mem, the pro machines have 64 and 128 allocated to them... still leaving me over 512Mb RAM for the main machine to run with :)

    Today and Yesterday I set up a domain, DHCP which passes all the info like DNS and Gateways, as well as a DNS server / Active Directory. A few tweaks and its looking up DNS for domain addresses and when it doesnt know it its forwarding the query to my ISP DNS servers :)

    Very Sweet. This way I can leave my Linux server (although its getting a new HDD - from my old box as well as the MoBo and CPU someday soon) and my desktop / laptop can just sit on the side never being changed!
     
  9. Jakamoko
    Honorary Member

    Jakamoko On the move again ...

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    You've been a busy chap, then, Kelton - I was wondering where you'd been :roll:

    Nice work ... :)
     
    Certifications: MCP, A+, Network+
    WIP: Clarity

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