External Hard Drives

13 years ago

I'm considering a new external hard drive for storing back-ups. There are all sizes and makes to choose from.

I'd like to get the benefit of this forum's users experience with various models, sizes, etc.

I've about filled a Seagate 170 GB which has presented no problems. But, I have no hard and fast preferences on makes nor size.

Locally, I have Wal-mart and Best Buy in the area. However, I usually buy from NewEgg or Tiger Direct.

Tell me what's worked for you.

Thanks in advance.

Tom

Comments (8)

genes
13 years ago
What kind of computer do you have???Make and model??
Hard to make a recommendation unless we know if it is a new/older laptop/desktop
zep516
13 years ago
Any hard drive is prone to failure. I have a Maxtor 160GB. It's worked fine, but I Know it could fail with in the next 5 minutes. Some users use 3 backups for files that can't be replaced easily (Personal files). An external drive, a CD, and perhaps an online storage site.
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I ran into something this weekend when working on a friends laptop that resulted from her removing an external hard drive with out properly using the safely remove icon, she told me she only did it 2 or 3 times normally she did use the icon. And once I looked up the error on google I found many many others that had the same thing happen to them and all of them also had an external hard drive they would attach, from all the info and reading I did that was the cause. What happens is you start to get an invalid drive error message, the one she was getting was invalid drive G:\, any time I tried to go to add remove programs I got that error so could not remove out dated programs, any time I tried to install things it gave that same error, so there was no way to try to update or clean out anything. Could not install or remove due to that error. After researching I found a way to go to the command prompt and type in a substitute code and that would let me remove or install programs however upon reboot it was right back, meaning anytime she needs to add or remove she will need to do that command prompt code first, and when I looked in My Computer it showed a G: drive it was an exact copy of the C: drive it was a ghost said it had the exact same volume etc. I tried every thing I found online to try to get it to go away including some registry edits but on hers the registry items were not changed so I could not edit it. So if you do use an external hard drive and you see that you can not safely remove I HIGHLY recommend just wait till you can shut down if that is how you have to do it because you really do not want to have to deal with that ghost drive mess. for those interested the exact error was Error 1327 Invalid Drive G:\ and to make matters worse on her pc everywhere it showed the G: drive it was grayed so there was no way to change that drive letter itself back to C. Really strange but by the google search not very rare.
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Typically the slightly fancier (read expensive) external hard drives come with more comprehensive software. That's not to say, you couldn't back-up manually, use Window's back-up software, or find some freeware that will accomplish the same thing. I would suggest sticking to drives made by Western Digital or Seagate. They seem to have the best track record for reliability. A second, off-site, backup plan is a better plan. While an external drive will be helpful in case of a hardware it won't help in the of something like a fire. There are online options or you could, depending on the size of your back-up, burn DVDs and put them in a safety deposit box or send them to a trusted relative or friend.
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bob414
13 years ago
I have a Seagate FreeAgent which works well for me.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
13 years ago
I have Seagate Free Agent Pro, like the warranty on it and they make pretty good external hard drives, but when I was making my decision I did a ton of reading on the review sites where actual users gave their opinions, that is what steered me away from a Western Digital My Book I was looking at, too many bad reviews.

Now when getting my most recent internal hard drive I went with the Western Digital black caviar because that drive had excellent reviews.
mike_kaiser_gw
13 years ago
Personally I'd stick with a Western Digital or Seagate drive because they seem to be the most reliable (although any drive can fail). The more expensive versions typically come with more comprehensive software, allowing you more ways to back up your data. Although there is plenty of free software out there as well if you are not happy with whatever the manufacturer includes.

Remember that for really important data you want multiple back-ups and most importantly not all in the same location. Heaven forbid your house burns down or a natural disaster strikes you want important stuff in another location. You can give it to a trusted friend or relative or use one of the online services (or perhaps both).
urlee
13 years ago
I bought a Verbatim Insight 500GB I like but soon after, I saw a Seagate which uses the USB 3.0 which loads a lot faster than the 2.0 which I now have the port for.(sigh)

Here is a link that might be useful: Interesting
joe_mn
13 years ago
ever consider putting a bigger drive in your machine? add a 2nd or replace your current drive. a higher rpm drive might even make the machine run faster.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
13 years ago
for anyone looking for a great price on an external drive I just spotted this deal at buy.com.
Fantom G-Force GF1000EU32 1 TB - Hard Drive
"Fantom Drives G-Force eSATA\USB 2.0 Hard Drives offer the most affordable storage solution for USB and eSATA enabled PCs and Macs. The USB 2.0 interface is capable of up to 60MB\sec transfer rates while the eSATA interface is capable of up to 150MB/sec transfer rates. This products features sturdy aluminum casing to provide maximum durability, fan-free design for silent operation, and could be placed horizontally or stand vertically to allow maximum deskspace. From increasing storage space to providing a safe and flexible data backup solution, Fantom Drives G-Force eSATA\USB 2.0 Hard Drives are ideal for home and business users alike."

a 1 TB hard drive for $59.99 and free shipping
that is a decent deal and the customer reviews are good. Nice that it offers both usb and eSATA.
I buy from buy.com often and have never had any issues with them and I know they do have a coupon code for first time buyers, so googling for buy.com codes should bring that up.

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External Hard Drives

Comments (8)

genes

zep516

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bob414

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

mike_kaiser_gw

urlee

joe_mn

ravencajun Zone 8b TX

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