I have no idea which are the most Reliable models?? It has to survive three kids and a rambunktious dog besides im a klotz. I want at least one terra bite capacity and I dont want to spend more than about $$$150. Whats brand and model is my Best bet???
need external hard drive
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your best bet is to just buy a 1TB SATA drive, and buy a SATA USB and/or Firewire drive enclosure, which will make the drive portable and easy to connect.
As for models, I prefer western digital and samsung.
as for drive enclosures, they're all made overseas, they're all generic and fragile looking, but since you live in Rohnert Park, goto Fry's Electronics and get this:
http://www.frys.com/product/5605331?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
the enclosure's work very well and I have several different brands, there's no one better than the other. the one I listed I like because it seems to absorb heat better.
I had one with a cooling fan on it, I think it's in a bin somewhere, but I haven't found them anymore at fry's, doesn't mean it isn't there tho.
As for models, I prefer western digital and samsung.
as for drive enclosures, they're all made overseas, they're all generic and fragile looking, but since you live in Rohnert Park, goto Fry's Electronics and get this:
http://www.frys.com/product/5605331?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
the enclosure's work very well and I have several different brands, there's no one better than the other. the one I listed I like because it seems to absorb heat better.
I had one with a cooling fan on it, I think it's in a bin somewhere, but I haven't found them anymore at fry's, doesn't mean it isn't there tho.
I have to assamble that??? I found a Toshiba - 1TB External USB 2.0/eSATA Portable Hard Drive - Black for $$109 on the Best Buy website. Is that not a good deal or good product????
I purchased a Western Digital Elements in July for storing my SQL database backups on. No problems so far and the current price has dropped $20 since I purchased mine. A 1 TB drive for less than $100 plus free shipping is a pretty good deal.
Amazon Product Page
Amazon Product Page
I would not hesitate to purchase and use a Toshiba hard drive.
There's not much assembly to buying a bare drive and your own enclosure. The advantage of a custom enclosure too, is that you aren't limited to the manufacturer's drive. Many of the companies decrease their warranty terms because of "external" status and bolt the enclosure shut.
I have not had any issues with Seagate in the past, but most of the brands nowadays are all the same.
That said, j&r has a 1tb lacie external drive for $99, free ship and you shouldn't have to pay tax unless you're in NY.
I have not had any issues with Seagate in the past, but most of the brands nowadays are all the same.
That said, j&r has a 1tb lacie external drive for $99, free ship and you shouldn't have to pay tax unless you're in NY.
A few months ago, I purchased a 1.5TB external Seagate drive for $129 at BestBuy. It's only got a USB 2.0 connection, but it has been reliable. I mostly use it to do automated backups of my computers and to store a redundant copy of my 100gig iTunes folder.
As far as brand names go, I'd stick to Seagate and Western Digital, though I suspect for home use any modern 1TB drive is probably of high enough quality that you can just shop based on price.
As far as brand names go, I'd stick to Seagate and Western Digital, though I suspect for home use any modern 1TB drive is probably of high enough quality that you can just shop based on price.
I would buy an enclosure and drive separately. You get a better warranty on the drive (Usually 3 years) and you don't have to send in the drive & enclosure should something happen under warranty to one of these pieces, as you would if you buy it already put together.
Plus you can change the drive out with something else later on if you need something bigger or the drive fails after the warranty. Saving you future costs.
Also you get to pick what brand of drive you are purchasing which can make a big difference in long term reliability.
My top picks are: Seagate (higher end models), Western Digital, Hitachi, Samsung (no particular order)
Stay away from MAXTOR at all costs. They used to be good, but lately I have seen nothing but problems from this brand.
Plus you can change the drive out with something else later on if you need something bigger or the drive fails after the warranty. Saving you future costs.
Also you get to pick what brand of drive you are purchasing which can make a big difference in long term reliability.
My top picks are: Seagate (higher end models), Western Digital, Hitachi, Samsung (no particular order)
Stay away from MAXTOR at all costs. They used to be good, but lately I have seen nothing but problems from this brand.
StevieC,
Maxtor merged with Seagate and they haven't used a Maxtor design since 2007/8 time frame.
Currently for anything 500 Seagate seems to be struggling and they finally fixed one of the biggest problem in their 7200.11 series reliability problem. I'll probably buy a WD if I want reliability for the moment, Samsung for a quite/low power, Hitachi/IBM for high performance and Seagate if it is a great deal.
Maxtor merged with Seagate and they haven't used a Maxtor design since 2007/8 time frame.
Currently for anything 500 Seagate seems to be struggling and they finally fixed one of the biggest problem in their 7200.11 series reliability problem. I'll probably buy a WD if I want reliability for the moment, Samsung for a quite/low power, Hitachi/IBM for high performance and Seagate if it is a great deal.
I think the Western Digital drives are excellent. This is 4th and latest acquisition from a few days ago:
$69 Canadian on sale.
$69 Canadian on sale.
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
StevieC,
Maxtor merged with Seagate and they haven't used a Maxtor design since 2007/8 time frame.
Currently for anything 500 Seagate seems to be struggling and they finally fixed one of the biggest problem in their 7200.11 series reliability problem. I'll probably buy a WD if I want reliability for the moment, Samsung for a quite/low power, Hitachi/IBM for high performance and Seagate if it is a great deal.
Yes I know they did but Maxtor is turning out junk as far as I have seen and used at friends/family requests.
StevieC,
Maxtor merged with Seagate and they haven't used a Maxtor design since 2007/8 time frame.
Currently for anything 500 Seagate seems to be struggling and they finally fixed one of the biggest problem in their 7200.11 series reliability problem. I'll probably buy a WD if I want reliability for the moment, Samsung for a quite/low power, Hitachi/IBM for high performance and Seagate if it is a great deal.
Yes I know they did but Maxtor is turning out junk as far as I have seen and used at friends/family requests.
Yesterday I recieved the Western Digitel My Book Home Editon I terrabite externel Hard Drive that I ordered last week. I had totally forgotten about that order untill UPS showed up!! I installed two softwares that came with the drive the Drive Manager and the Anywhere Backup Mac but the Manuel is very skimpie and doesnt explain much at all!! I have a few questions and I hope some of the computer specailists can help me!!!
The Manuel says My Book automatically powers on an off with the computer. Even though I am not using My Book its making a humming noise I suppose the disc is spinning all the time. Wont it where out quickly? I can turn of My Book by draging the My Book icon from the desktop into the trash. Then when the power led is steady I am allowed to push the on/of button on My Book to turn of My Book. But: the led never is steady but flashes slowly after ejecting My Book!! A fleshing power led indicates standby mode. It seems to work fine though if I turn of My Book while the power led is slowly blinking.
Supposedly My Book has a Capacity Gauge that shows how much memmory remains. The manual says nowhere where to find the capacity gauge!! Their's a little WD icon that is in my toolbar and when I click on it says WD My Book Firewire Uses Space 2%. Is that the Capacity Gauge?
I am totaly clueless about another Clickable icon in the toolbar it look like a black round ball with a green glowing eyeslit?? There are a number of options that are not explained in the manuel at all. Please tell me what these options do and when I need them!!!
stop background services
retore files
disable notifications
purge deleted files
pause all backups
open memeo backup
It also says in the product descriptoin that My Book can automatically back up but it's not explained in the Manuel how to do that!!
The Manuel says My Book automatically powers on an off with the computer. Even though I am not using My Book its making a humming noise I suppose the disc is spinning all the time. Wont it where out quickly? I can turn of My Book by draging the My Book icon from the desktop into the trash. Then when the power led is steady I am allowed to push the on/of button on My Book to turn of My Book. But: the led never is steady but flashes slowly after ejecting My Book!! A fleshing power led indicates standby mode. It seems to work fine though if I turn of My Book while the power led is slowly blinking.
Supposedly My Book has a Capacity Gauge that shows how much memmory remains. The manual says nowhere where to find the capacity gauge!! Their's a little WD icon that is in my toolbar and when I click on it says WD My Book Firewire Uses Space 2%. Is that the Capacity Gauge?
I am totaly clueless about another Clickable icon in the toolbar it look like a black round ball with a green glowing eyeslit?? There are a number of options that are not explained in the manuel at all. Please tell me what these options do and when I need them!!!
stop background services
retore files
disable notifications
purge deleted files
pause all backups
open memeo backup
It also says in the product descriptoin that My Book can automatically back up but it's not explained in the Manuel how to do that!!
Leave the drive connected - Hard drive wear occurs at startup and shutdown, so leaving the drive spinning is the best thing for it.
I do not really need to use the externel Hard drive every day!! I back up once a week thats when I want to use it. Is it really better to have the hard drive run all the time compared to running it only once a week?? Also my computer shuts down during the night and the extarnel drive does the same thing. It wakes up together with the Computer.
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
Leave the drive connected - Hard drive wear occurs at startup and shutdown, so leaving the drive spinning is the best thing for it.
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
Leave the drive connected - Hard drive wear occurs at startup and shutdown, so leaving the drive spinning is the best thing for it.
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