My desktop is having several problems. I'm not sure how old it is. It's an HP Pavillion a305w. I'm not totally sold on the idea of giving up on it, but the problems are increasing. I'm reluctant to put any more money into it, and there is no way I can afford a new computer whatsoever. Finances are a major issue for me. I have made arrangements to borrow a laptop from work for personal use. Unfortunately, I am not permitted to install the programs I use regularly onto it. I also cannot save most of my personal documents to it.
The two HDDs, floppy drive, zip drive, and dvd drives from my desktop are all functional. Is there a way to hook them up so that I can plug one cable into the laptop and use all the drives? I will be using the desktop's PSU to power the drives. Is there a way to use multiple drives with one USB/IDE adapter? Would I be better off using one or more hubs, and can I use multiple hubs if they are powered externally?
Or, if doing this through USB is an impossibility, how do I go about connecting them so that I can hook them up to the laptop via an Ethernet cable?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Using multiple external drives with a laptop
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Tibia
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Using multiple external drives with a laptop
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bicostp
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Multiple IDE/SATA to USB adapters is the only way to go. (Well, you could share the drives over the network, but that would defeat the purpouse... 
) Unfortunately you probably won't be able to run your software off the desktop hard drive, thanks to all the information they need in the Registry.
Looks like the Pavillion a305w came out in 2003. Have you tried backing everything up and reinstalling the OS with the recovery CDs?
If you want a new PC and are feeling a bit ambitious, you can get a barebones kit from Newegg or Tiger Direct cheaper than the price of a new PC, and re-use your existing hard drives, DVD drive, and accessories. (You might even be able to reuse the case and power supply, saving even more money, if your HP takes standard Micro ATX equipment. It should. it's not a Dell, after all.
) You can get a decent machine together for pocket change, especially if you don't want it for gaming.
For example:
Case, PSU, Motherboard, 2 GB RAM, 2.6 ghz Athlon: $150. Just add a CPU cooler ($15).
) Unfortunately you probably won't be able to run your software off the desktop hard drive, thanks to all the information they need in the Registry.Looks like the Pavillion a305w came out in 2003. Have you tried backing everything up and reinstalling the OS with the recovery CDs?
If you want a new PC and are feeling a bit ambitious, you can get a barebones kit from Newegg or Tiger Direct cheaper than the price of a new PC, and re-use your existing hard drives, DVD drive, and accessories. (You might even be able to reuse the case and power supply, saving even more money, if your HP takes standard Micro ATX equipment. It should. it's not a Dell, after all.
) You can get a decent machine together for pocket change, especially if you don't want it for gaming.For example:
Case, PSU, Motherboard, 2 GB RAM, 2.6 ghz Athlon: $150. Just add a CPU cooler ($15).
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Tibia
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The software is all fine. It's hardware issues that have me banging my head on the desk. I haven't been able to ever use microphones (even with four different sound cards), the stock USB ports are failing, and something else is dying rather noisily. I don't know if it's one of the fans or something else. I don't have anything to invest into this. I don't even have $30 to spend. Even that barebones setup is totally out of my reach.
If I were to use the laptop to reinstall the programs onto the external drives, would the registry files end up on the laptop so I could run the programs?
If I were to use the laptop to reinstall the programs onto the external drives, would the registry files end up on the laptop so I could run the programs?
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Yep.Tibia wrote:If I were to use the laptop to reinstall the programs onto the external drives, would the registry files end up on the laptop so I could run the programs?
I'd get a couple USB enclosures and a hub if needed. You probably won't need the other drives, but if you do, just swap the needed drive into an enclosure.
