# Using External Harddrive Enclosure



## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

I need to run the harddrive utilities to verify which Tivo harddrive is bad. My good PC is actually a laptop (I do have a regular PC, but it's a 486 lol). 

I can't think of any, but I want to doublecheck: Should there be any issue with putting the DirecTivo HDD in an external enclosure and running the disk utilties?


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## funtoupgrade (Mar 15, 2005)

The disk utilities usually need to run under DOS which will not recognize USB devices. Your 486 will do the drive test fine.


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

Time to dust off the 486! (I knew that 10 year old eMachine was good for something!)


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

The disk utilites run under Linux, which typically supports USB drives, and I think the recent ones for TiVo upgrading do.


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

What if my 486 is running XP instead of Linux?


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Unplug the existing drive from the PC and boot from the DOS floppy or CD created by the setup for the drive manufacturer's diagnostic. That's all you need


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## Virt (Jun 3, 2002)

anonymuse said:


> What if my 486 is running XP instead of Linux?


There is no way a real 486 is running XP, period. As well, no 486 has USB. No 486 BIOS would even be able to see a hard drive as large as today's drives. Lastly, eMachines never made a 486 based computer - they started producing computers back in November 1998 - a little over 8 years ago.

Double check what you actually have, and ask your question again.

Better yet, what brand of hard drive is it? Some drive manufacturers now have Windows diagnostic programs and suport USB drives as well.

If the drive is a Quantum, Maxtor, or a Seagate, SeaTools will definitely do the job and will also support Windows and USB - so yes you would be able to use the laptop and the external enclosure. Seatools will also work with many other drives as well.

_"SeaTools for Windows
SeaTools for Windows has replaced SeaTools Online and PowerMax. SeaTools for Windows is a comprehensive, easy-to-use diagnostic tool that helps you quickly determine the condition of the disc drive in your external hard drive, desktop or notebook computer. It includes several tests that will examine the physical media on your Seagate or Maxtor disc drive and any other non-Seagate disc drive.

SeaTools for Windows tests USB, 1394, ATA (PATA/IDE), SATA and SCSI drives. It install onto your system. SeaTools for Windows is completely data safe."_

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/


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## anonymuse (Nov 27, 2005)

Thanks for the info.

Just an FYI--my emachine is a eTower 400i--close to 10 years old.

CPU: Intel® Celeron® 400MHz (w/128KB L2 Cache) PPGA CPU 
Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 98 
Memory: 32MB SyncDRAM (up to 256MB) 
Hard Drive: 4.3GB HDD (Ultra DMA EIDE) 
Optical Drive: 32x Max. CD-ROM Drive 
Video: ATI Rage IIc 3D AGP with 4MB SDRAM 
Audio: Crystal CS4280 3D PCI Audio 
Network: Internet Ready 
Modem: 56K ITU V.90 PCI Fax/Modem 
Peripherals: PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse, Stereo Speakers 
Ports/Other: 2 USB Ports (1 is on Front), Audio In & Out / Game Port on Front, 1 Serial / 1 Parallel 
Expansion Slots: 3 Expansion Slots

http://emachines.com/support/produc...sktops&subcat=eTower Series&model=eTower_400i

And, yes, with 256MB RAM, it runs with XP home to fill in as a backup for email and Word in an emergency.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

That should run diagnsotics fine. 

I have sucessfully did at least drive upgrades/copies with a PI-233-MMX Micron system, which I otherwise ran Win95 or Puppy Linux on.


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