Disk A GoGo (Toshiba 5.0GB PCMCIA Hard Drive)

Member Name: grahamt

Product:	Toshiba 5.0GB PCMCIA Hard Drive
Date:	12/12/05 (395 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very portable, decent capacity to backup important data.

Disadvantages: No longer manufactured. Usually only laptop compatible.

Mobile data storage is all the rage these days. I suppose it was the MP3 player that first highlighted the ability to take significant amounts of information with you wherever you go. However, this was just audio information, music to you and me. Then people realised, why was it limited to just music? Correct, it's just computer data and that can be anything, not just music.

Mind you, none of this is new. Carrying data around on floppy disks has been possible since the early 80s although the 5 1/4 inch versions were a bit big to go in your pocket and folding them destroyed the disk! 3 1/2 inch versions have now died completely (haven't they? When was the last time you used one?). You can't even get a laptop with a drive for one now. Anyway, the amount of space data takes up has far exceeded tha capacity of a floppy disk.

Which is, I suppose, the problem. How much space is enough? Which format is best?

These two question really go hand-in-hand. USB Memory Sticks are the most popular by far and many double as MP3 players, like my Sumvision one. However, they are still quite limited in capacity. They use static memory chips, no moving parts, which makes them quite durable. Mine is 1Gig and that very quickly gets used up. Higher capacities cost a lot more as well. I've seen them advertised at up to 4Gig but at silly prices.

About 6 years ago I saw an advert for a PCMCIA Hard Drive of 1GIG capacity. The PCMCIA slot for these is often found on Laptops but no to often on desktops and mini-towers. I use Laptops exclusively so this was a good solution for me. Mostly I wanted it as a backup for my data, that I could physically remove from the machine as additional protection. This device was made by Calluna in Scotland (now gone bust so don't go looking for them) and cost over £300. However, as a guaruntee to the safety of important information it was worth the price.

1Gig soon became not nearly enough. Also, the Calluna was a Type III PCMCIA device, which means it is double height. PCMCIA slots used to be 2 x Type II (Single height) or 1 X Type III. With the decreasing size of laptops, Type III slots are disappearing. If a machine has a PCMCIA slot at all it tends to be 1 X Type II only these days.

So, I needed a bigger device and Type II format. I found it in the Toshiba 5Gig PCMCIA Hard Drive. I paid, once again, just over £300 but for 5 times the capacity.

I have been using it now for over 3 years and time and again it's saved my life. When data has gone missing, for a variety of rasons, I have often been able to plug in my trusty PCMCIA and recover otherwise lost data. This is especially true following virus infections. Being off of the computer it doesn't get hit. You just solve the virus problem and reload the data. Bingo!

When you plug it into the PCMCIA slot the computer immediately recognises it as a removable hard drive and allocates it a new drive letter. From that point onwards you access it just the same as any other drive. Just remember that before removing it (on most rcent versions of Windows) you should click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the System Tray (it looks like a PCMCIA card with a green arrow above it), click on the Hardware Device in the list (make sure you pick the right one) and then click "Stop". Windows will either tell you it's safe to remove or tell you it's currently busy and to try again later. The reason you do this is that Windows doesn't always write data to disk right away and taking out the drive before the data has all been written away can cause problems.

The device comes in a small hard plastic case with built-in rubber supports that protect it against damage if knocked or dropped. Remember though, it is an electro-mechanical device and so it does have moving parts. You should always treat it with care although it does seem reasonably robust. I have never had a problem with it.

This device is now no longer manufactured by Toshiba but there do still seem to be outlets for it. I saw it advertised on Amazon at £130. A bit of a drop in price since I bought mine but then I've had over 3 year's use out of mine so I can't complain.

Summary: A decent amount of data storage for important data in a portable format

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