No Free Disc Space Left

Myron1

Baseband Member
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I have used-up all my free disc space on my PC. I have tried a Disc Clean-up but to no avail. There is nothing more for me to delete as I store thousands of photos on the HD. Here is my question: I see small portable hard drives available for under $100. If I purchase a unit and attach using the USB port, would that solve my problem? My PC is an Acer. Are all portable HDs compatible or must I buy a HD from Acer? I would hate to buy a unit only to learn that it is not compatible. Thanks.
 
Pretty much all HHD's are compatible with windows or what ever USB external HHD you use.

Hard drives are getting cheaper every year, and they come in all sizes so you won't have any problem finding one on Newegg or if you prefer to buy one from your local Bestbuy or Walmart.

If your not too constrict on cash, i would purchase a 1tb drive so you can store other stuff onto it such as your music collection & movies.
 
Thanks for commenting. So I gather that any portable HD will work. I just plug into the USB Port and how will my PC know it's connected? Will it know automatically? Would this end those irritating messages I keep getting when I attempt to transfer my photos into my hard drive that there is not enough free disc space remaining? Finally, does the portable HD also have a rotating, spinning disc or is it solid state? Just wondering.
 
It works just like a USB thumb drive. The computer will find it all by itself.

You will have to move photos from your hard drive to the external hard drive and then make sure you select the external hard drive when importing new photos.

It will have a spinning dics. It's just a regular hard drive, inside an external enclosure. The enclosure is just an adapter to go from IDE/SATA to USB and a way to provide power to the drive.
 
Great. I will try it. Why do they keep this such a secret? I have been computing for 12 years and never knew there was an easy way to increase disc space. My friends always told me that I had to delete stuff in order to make more room for adding free space.
 
I didn't know it was a secret. Newegg advertises external drives all the time on their site.

Either way, you will still have to move files/folders to the external drive. It's also a good idea to store files on your internal drive, and then use the external drive as a backup.
 
Never knew that I could increase free disc space by plugging-in a portable hard drive. Will any external portable hard drive work or must it be from the same manufacturer? Do you merely plug into the USB port on my laptop? Do they all come with the connector cable or must that be purchased separately? After connecting, how do I tell my PC to use the external HD? This is all new to me. Thanks.
 
Yes, the harddrive just plugs into your USB port and it will install automatically. And yes, the harddrive will come with the cables needed to use it.

No, you don't have to use the same manufacture. Any external HHD will work on your laptop.
 
Thanks for your response. It seems that the manufacturers of PCs don't want us to know that we can purchase an external HD. I am sadly not computer savvy, being a senior, so I am still in awe of computers. I wish I could increase the memory of my iPhone by adding an external component but Apple allows for no such thing; can't even use Java or Firefox.
 
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