External Hard Drives...

[MinionZombie]

Okay, so I'm thinking again about getting another external HDD - either 750gb or 1tb. Everytime you see reviews of them it's either all excellent or all poor, or a collection of BOTH ends of the spectrum - so wtf am I supposed to believe?! Only ones that have made any impression are Seagate FreeAgent, and Western Digital, so basically, I need your thoughts and opinions. Which makes are best? Any personal horror stories with them? Any personal success stories with them?

[acealive1]

you cant go wrong with western digital. they're the most stable hard drives i've ever seen. mine has survived surges amongst other things

[AcesandEights]

So weird that you asked this, MZ, because I've been thinking of asking the same question on here the last few weeks, but just hadn't gotten around to it. I was even pricing externals today whole out, so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

[MinionZombie]

See this is the thing, I've heard good things about Western Digital, but then equally you hear horror stories of the USB leads f*cking up, or the drives clicking into death, or something like that and you never quite know what to make of it: 1) What did these people do to their drives, if anything, to eff them up? 2) Did they just get a dud one one from the factory - there are after all failure rates for everything, but they're within the vast minority usually. 3) Are the complainers more likely to post than the championers? A confusing business really. I've got both a Seagate and a Western Digital already, but am thinking of 'doing a Neil' and having a 'Helm's Deep drive' so-to-speak.

[Andy]

but am thinking of 'doing a Neil' and having a 'Helm's Deep drive' so-to-speak. were you going to get that in this country? oohhhhh hang on.. your talkin about hard drives? oh never mind..

[acealive1]

See this is the thing, I've heard good things about Western Digital, but then equally you hear horror stories of the USB leads f*cking up, or the drives clicking into death, or something like that and you never quite know what to make of it: 1) What did these people do to their drives, if anything, to eff them up? 2) Did they just get a dud one one from the factory - there are after all failure rates for everything, but they're within the vast minority usually. 3) Are the complainers more likely to post than the championers? A confusing business really. I've got both a Seagate and a Western Digital already, but am thinking of 'doing a Neil' and having a 'Helm's Deep drive' so-to-speak. honestly, if mine has survived surges and nothing is wrong with it, then the people who screwed their usb ports up most likely did something ur not supposed to do to it. like intentional harm. but when i got my hard drive (internal) it was only like $50 for an 80gig

[MinionZombie]

I was also reading some wank from somebody going on about theirs crashed totally and the company said "yeah we'll retrieve your data - for $800" ... is it just me or does that sound like retardation? Especially when there's such things as warranties ... and common sense.

[3pidemiC]

I've been working with external hdds for a handful of years now. The failure rate that I've seen is the same as normal hdds. External hard drives are never a fullproof way to backup data. External hdds can fail. But really it's all about luck. Just make sure that they stay somewhat cool and you don't drop them. I've been using one (custom made - purchase an enclosure and a internal hdd) and it's worked for almost two years without issue. As far a brands go I would stick to Western Digital or Seagate.

[lullubelle]

I got myself an Iomega, inexpensive, good quality and is compatible with all OS, pretty good

[EvilNed]

I also think custom made ones are the way to go if you want to get one that will stay around. I've had several, and internal Harddrives in custom encasing always last longer as they have less useless wiring going on.

[MinionZombie]

What's all this custom casing shenanegans?

[EvilNed]

Well, simply put. Its better to buy an internal harddrive, and then make a custom external harddrive by putting that in a simple external harddrive casing you buy seperately, without all the flashing lights and cool designs. Try finding one made from a simple, sturdy design.

[MaximusIncredulous]

Well, simply put. Its better to buy an internal harddrive, and then make a custom external harddrive by putting that in a simple external harddrive casing you buy seperately, without all the flashing lights and cool designs. Try finding one made from a simple, sturdy design. Do you have a brand/model recommendation? Wouldn't mind taking a look at these myself.

[acealive1]

Do you have a brand/model recommendation? Wouldn't mind taking a look at these myself. for the case or the hard drive??

[MaximusIncredulous]

for the case or the hard drive?? Case.