How to Piggyback Hard Drives

The majority of external hard drives include more than one computer output for attaching to a computer. Multiple external hard drives can be linked together, also know as being “piggybacked,” so that they can all be used on the computer. Each of the external hard drives must have at least two of the same type of computer port connections built in so that they can piggyback one to the other. No additional software is needed as the computer's operating system will automatically recognize and access the external hard drives that have been piggybacked to one another.

Things You'll Need

• USB cable
• Firewire cable

Instructions

1. Place an external hard drive that is formatted for the computer's operating system next to the computer. Plug one end of a USB cable or a Firewire cable into a USB or Firewire port on the back of the external hard drive. Plug the other end into the computer's USB or Firewire port.

2. Plug the power cord into the power port on the back of the USB or Firewire external hard drive. Plug the power cord into an AC outlet for power (for example, a wall socket).

3. Place a second USB or Firewire external hard drive that is formatted for the computer's operating system next to the first one. Plug the power cord into the power port on the back of the second USB or Firewire external hard drive. Plug the power cord into an AC outlet for power (for example, a wall socket).

4. Plug one end of a USB or Firewire cable into a USB or Firewire port on the back of the second external hard drive. Plug the other end of the USB or Firewire cable into a free USB or Firewire port on the back of the first external hard drive.

5. Turn on the second USB or Firewire external hard drive. Turn on the first USB or Firewire external hard drive. Turn on the computer to use the two external hard drives that have been piggybacked to each other.

Tips & Warnings

• Firewire external hard drives can be connected or disconnected while the computer is on, unlike a USB external hard drive.

References

• Jake Ludington's Digital Lifestyle: How to Locate a PC Firewire Port
• Zolved: A Brief History of USB (And A Look At The Future)

Resources

• consumersearch: External Hard Drives--Reviews
• faculty.iu-bremen: The History Of IEEE 1394