[Fedora] USB harddisks: reliable?

[Ashley M. Kirchner]

Colin Brace wrote:
> This and some weirdness I was having with another USB drive earlier
> this fall have me wondering whether this interface is really robust
> enough for continual use. (I have used up the four internal SATA
> interfaces in my box which is why I am using an USB drive.)
    My two suggestions are:

    a) Is this a USB powered drive, or a self-powered one?  On other 
words, does it pull power from the computer or does it have it's own 
power adapter?  If it pulls from the USB bus, the computer might not be 
providing enough power.  You may consider something that's 
self-powered.  This is also valid if it's connected to a USB hub that 
pulls power from the system bus.  You want a hub that's self-powered.  
Now, if everything is self-powered and you're still having problems, 
then something else is happening and it's hard to point a finger at any 
one particular thing.

    b) If you've maxed out the SATA ports on your board, you can always 
get a SATA card with additional ports and continue to add more drives, 
either internal or external.