1TB Iomega Dead - Replacement options?

[marc1]

Hi,

It seems my external USB connected 1TB Iomega is dead (files missing, cannot access files that are visible, directory structure is intact though I can see it etc.). I use this TB drive for my weekly data backups and semi annual Ghosts. I am not in deep trouble (yet) as my system is functional and my data drive on my PC is fine. However I am at risk right now if my HD failed so I want to get this sorted out ASAP. I will have lost my Ghosts, irritating but not a big deal. I am not going to bother with the recovery techniques I have read about on the Internet, this post is not about that it is about what to replace this drive with.

I no longer trust the Iomega product so I won't be buying another one of these drives, what other external storage options would anyone recommend? i.e. Drobo? Any other recommendations? I am not ready to back up to the Cloud yet (comfort level issues) so that is not an option.

Thanks,

Marc

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: marc1
Any other recommendations?


Portable, or desktop?

 

[marc1]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: marc1
Any other recommendations?


Portable, or desktop?


No preference, I do not need portability per se. I am looking at this right now:

WD My Passport Ultra 1TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0 with Auto and Cloud Backup

Something like this is what I am thinking of.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: marc1
I am looking at this right now:

WD My Passport Ultra 1TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0 with Auto and Cloud Backup

That's what I bought a couple of weeks back, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Not really planning on using the cloud though.

 

[Ramblejam]

Forgot to ask before -- what sort of connectivity are you utilizing (USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Thunderbolt, etc.)?

 

[wkcars]

Sometimes it's not the drive but the external enclosure that fails. I've had 2 external drives that have gone bad, I opened it up, took the drives out, and put it in my desktop and the drives worked fine. You can try opening the enclosure and taking the drive out and put it in your desktop see if the drive itself is still good.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: wkcars
I've had 2 external drives that have gone bad, I opened it up, took the drives out, and put it in my desktop and the drives worked fine.

Not as easy to do on most currently made 2.5" portable drives. In order to save production cost, many of these drives have a USB-SATA bridge that's integrated into the drive, so you can't just grab one of these and plug them into your motherboard's SATA connector.

 

[wkcars]

Yeah the drives I took apart were full size external enclosures with 3.5" drive, so I don't know about the smaller portable drives with 2.5" drives.

If your backups are important, you might want to get a raid enclosure with mirrored drives.

 

[cutlassvillager]

If you're fairly tech savvy I'd look into buying the hard drive, then buying an enclosure separately. I've had much more reliable external drives doing this than buying the pre-paired externals. The warranty coverage is usually better as well.

If you know it is in fact the hard drive and not the controller that failed you could just put a new drive in your existing enclosure. I have done this with a few of my external drives. One was originally WD Firewire 400/USB 2.0 250GB drive (HD failed) that now has a 2TB WD Green drive in it performing flawlessly.

My Iomega external enclosure is one of the easiest I have to take apart. All it takes is 2 screws to get to the hard drive.

FYI These are mostly 3.5" drives... I have only taken apart a few 2.5" externals and these were made to be taken apart (bought as bare-bones enclosures and added the hard drive).

 

[marc1]

WD My Passport Ultra 1TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0 with Auto and Cloud Backup


Thanks all, I just went and bought this today. It was on sale ($68) and I am backed up as of now.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Cool. I found the 2TB version on sale for $89. Transfering data to it right now.

Did some speed tests earlier today... it reads and writes at about 115 MB/s, which is even faster than the 1TB Samsung portable drive I bought a few months back.