External Hard Drive Recommendations?

Egan · 04-14-12, 10:43 AM

I'm needing to get an external hard drive, mainly for backing up my music on. I'm looking at about 500 gig to 1Tb and would prefer if it's not physically not too large as I will hopefully be using it in conjunction with my lap top for DJing purposes so it has to be relatively mobile. I've never bought or even used an external hard drive before so I'm not sure what I should be looking for. Any ideas? I'd rather not spend a fortune on it but up to about £100 would be fine.

longam · 04-14-12, 02:52 PM

I highly recommend the Western Digital Passport. Compact and good transfer speeds. It comes with a backup software but I never tried it.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/external/portable/

CaptainHaplo · 04-14-12, 03:52 PM

I have to recommend AGAINST the passport. I have had 2 of the 1TB ones - and both have failed within 1 yr. Both have had bad sectors in the first 256 blocks - making the drive entirely unreadable by your PC.

I am currently looking for a different mobile solution as well - since I will not purchase another passport.

Am thinking hard about this one:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?Inv...B10-6CBK9-PB-R

Egan · 04-14-12, 05:24 PM

I had a WD internal when I built my current computer and it died within 8 months. It's a shame because I was looking at one of the Passport models. They look really good, and in almost every way they would be perfect but...once bitten twice shy. I'm going to have a lot of expensive WAVs in it and I can't afford another WD screw up. I really need about a dozen of them to feel totally safe....

... but one will have to do to start with.

That Clickfree looks nice. Similar to one I was looking at by someone called Buffalo. I'd never heard of that manufacturer before. Put me off a bit.

longam · 04-15-12, 04:23 PM

Externals tend to fail after long term use because of the way the are cased/enclosed.

If you want something for hard use, purchase an external HD case and put a SATA drive in it. Even it will fail with time but there easy to repair by swapping the drives. Some even come with cooling fans.

I'm using some iomega's prestige at work for server backup and they are holding up so far. But every other brand I've used has failed because of the constant use. Considering a NAS.

CaptainHaplo · 04-15-12, 05:19 PM

I have a goflex 2TB which is nothing more than a housing, a 2TB IDE drive and a USB to IDE adapter - power supply seperate. It hasn't given me any trouble and I like it alot. If it was more portable then I would like it even more......

Sailor Steve · 04-15-12, 05:22 PM

I had a WD Elements 1TB for more than a year. I gave it to a friend when I needed more space. I've had a WD My Book 2TB for several months now, and no problems so far. The odd part is that I just looked Amazon UK and I thought they were more expensive there until I looked on Amazon.com as well. I must have lucked into a sale or something because I paid a lot less than that when I got mine. Still, I'm happy with it.

04-14-12, 10:43 AM	#1
Egan Admiral Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 2,020 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	External Hard Drive Recommendations? I'm needing to get an external hard drive, mainly for backing up my music on. I'm looking at about 500 gig to 1Tb and would prefer if it's not physically not too large as I will hopefully be using it in conjunction with my lap top for DJing purposes so it has to be relatively mobile. I've never bought or even used an external hard drive before so I'm not sure what I should be looking for. Any ideas? I'd rather not spend a fortune on it but up to about £100 would be fine.

04-14-12, 03:52 PM	#3
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	I have to recommend AGAINST the passport. I have had 2 of the 1TB ones - and both have failed within 1 yr. Both have had bad sectors in the first 256 blocks - making the drive entirely unreadable by your PC. I am currently looking for a different mobile solution as well - since I will not purchase another passport. Am thinking hard about this one: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?Inv...B10-6CBK9-PB-R __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

04-14-12, 05:24 PM	#4
Egan Admiral Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 2,020 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	I had a WD internal when I built my current computer and it died within 8 months. It's a shame because I was looking at one of the Passport models. They look really good, and in almost every way they would be perfect but...once bitten twice shy. I'm going to have a lot of expensive WAVs in it and I can't afford another WD screw up. I really need about a dozen of them to feel totally safe....... but one will have to do to start with. That Clickfree looks nice. Similar to one I was looking at by someone called Buffalo. I'd never heard of that manufacturer before. Put me off a bit.

04-15-12, 05:19 PM	#6
CaptainHaplo Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,404 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	I have a goflex 2TB which is nothing more than a housing, a 2TB IDE drive and a USB to IDE adapter - power supply seperate. It hasn't given me any trouble and I like it alot. If it was more portable then I would like it even more...... __________________ Good Hunting! Captain Haplo

04-15-12, 05:22 PM	#7
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	I had a WD Elements 1TB for more than a year. I gave it to a friend when I needed more space. I've had a WD My Book 2TB for several months now, and no problems so far. The odd part is that I just looked Amazon UK and I thought they were more expensive there until I looked on Amazon.com as well. I must have lucked into a sale or something because I paid a lot less than that when I got mine. Still, I'm happy with it. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

04-14-12, 02:52 PM	#2
longam Admiral Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,014 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 0	I highly recommend the Western Digital Passport. Compact and good transfer speeds. It comes with a backup software but I never tried it. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/external/portable/

04-15-12, 04:23 PM	#5
longam Admiral Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,014 Downloads: 26 Uploads: 0	Externals tend to fail after long term use because of the way the are cased/enclosed. If you want something for hard use, purchase an external HD case and put a SATA drive in it. Even it will fail with time but there easy to repair by swapping the drives. Some even come with cooling fans. I'm using some iomega's prestige at work for server backup and they are holding up so far. But every other brand I've used has failed because of the constant use. Considering a NAS.