Community Newsletter: Q&A: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data
- 8/8/08 10:24 AM
Backup External Drive
by Mike Hallock - 7/26/08 6:56 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I pondered over the same thing that you are doing. I decided on the Western Digital "The Book". 500GB external, so easy to install. This has been the easiest component that I have attached to my computer system, without a doubt.
Go for it!
Mike Hallock
External hard drive
by LSharken - 7/26/08 7:31 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am totally sold on Lacie as a reliable brand for external hard drives. I have three that I've purchased over the years. Two are firewire and USB compatible (one is 60GB and small/portable that I use when traveling to back up photos and data, and the other is 250GB and a bit larger, but portable), and I purchased a 500GB that is USB compatible and can also be portable, though I use it more for desktop and for backing up everything. Before buying my first external hard drive for back up, I had consulted a friend who handles all of the system maintenance for a large publishing company. He had loaned me a small and portable Lacie external hard drive that I could use to back up my entire system when my computer had some internal hard drive issues and needed to go back to the manufacturer. It was very easy to use and I was able to reload all of my data when my computer was returned with a new internal hard drive. I've since purchased the three I mentioned and have had no issues. They weren't cheap when I bought the first two, but the 500GB was only about $125 when I got it, and it seems like you can still get them for around $100. I've found them to be well worth the investment. Just make sure you format the new external drive using your computer's system software first, before you load your data, and things should work out well. Good luck and I hope this info helps!
Hard Drive Back-up
by TheresaJDIY - 7/26/08 7:46 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
We have both a Western Digital Book and 2 Seagates. No problem with either.
Theresa
External Hard Drive .. for backup and?
by GC1945 - 7/26/08 8:02 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I just recently made my choice for an external hard drive. I was interested in both performace and backup matters. My choice was a SimpleTech FP-UFE2/1TB Duo Pro 1TB External Hard Drive. I could paraphrase it's features, but to start I thought it simpler and cleaner to just "copy and paste" what was advertised about.
"SimpleTech® Duo Pro Drive™ by Fabrik®. Serious digital pros need only apply. Must be willing to receive massive performance, capacity and data protection on multiple levels. Choose RAID 0 for super-fast performance or RAID 1 for added data protection. With local backup and Fabrik Ultimate Backup™, you get the same two-level protection the pros use. So, no matter what happens to your drive-a spilled drink, a curious toddler, a theft or a natural disaster-you know your files are safe and secure online and off-site. Free 2GB online account, or for less than five dollars per month, upgrade to unlimited capacity that's fast, affordable and secure. A stackable design ensures a snug fit with Fabrik's Simple and Pro Drives, so you can add more storage without taking up more desk space."
So, what sold me on it .. other than what I thought was a cool less than $170 price tag? Well, I did want a lot of storage for backup as I already had over 1TB of a mixture of internal drives (500GB) and external USB drives (80GB, 320GB and 500GB). I do a lot of multimedia computing and saving; including audio (music and audio books), video (homemade pc-compilated videos, camcorder videos, music videos, TV episodes, miscellaneous media clips, such as on Youtube, Google and Yahoo, a goodly number of full-length movies, and, of course, the ever-growing photo/image library). I thought about using the Raid 1 feature which simultaneously backs up data saved on other drives, but I really don't have all that much that is personal mission critical. I chose to do continue to do such backups selectively. So, instead, I am using it as a Raid 0 drive for extra general storage. I prefer externals now for there ease of portability, and hey, in my opinion, 1TB is where it's at now, size-wise as well as price-wise. This baby has both eSATA and USB 2.0 capability; so a choice is available there too. And, it's designed to be stackable, so additional drives can be added on as needed (or wanted).
For me, this drive was just what the PC Doctor ordered.
External hard drives are great
by jstafford81 - 7/26/08 8:19 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello,
I have a external hard drive which I use for file transfer, music, and back up. The one that I have is only 80g but it is enough for what I need. My suggestion to you Ben, is if you have a lot of files and music and not concerned about price I would get a 1TB or more if you need it, external hard drive (they are not that expensive) but get one with a esata connection not usb because if you have to download a large file or many files esata will be faster and better by far. As for brand I don't know what to get, I have a western digital 80g that I have no problems with but it is your choice what you want. Check out some online electronic stores like newegg.com or tigerdirect.com they have a huge selection of external hard drives. Hope that helps you out.
External hard drives to backup data
by sis61 - 7/26/08 9:17 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've had an external harddrive for years.
LaCie is my choice. Easy to hook-up and use.
Never a problem.
External Hard Drive for Back Up and Music/Photos
by perstare - 7/26/08 10:08 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have limited knowledge on this, but maybe I could point you in the right direction. Perhaps other people could comment on my remarks to give you a well-rounded answer.
1. I have had very serious problems with Maxtor and Western Digital. For my own use, I would only buy Seagate. Not a prejudice... a bias based on personal experience.
2. Vendors? I like Amazon because of their speed and return policy. NewEgg is my second choice. ZipZoomFly also.
3. 300 GB can be quickly filled especially if you want back up and music/photos on the same HD. Furthermore, in my own experience, I believe that the issue of HEAT becomes more and more important as the capacity of the HD increases. Therefore, consider several HDs for your needs. One for backup, one for music/photos. (You did mention that the "reliability and durability" were your primary concerns.)
4. Speaking of "reliability and durability," you might consider buying internal HDs and also buying external cases for them. In the event of a failure of a pre-packaged, self-contained external HD, the case can't be easily opened to determine if the problem is on the drive itself or on the circuit board outside the drive but inside the case. I read recently about one poor guy who lost all his data but the problem was not on the drive... it was on the circuit board outside the drive but inside the case. (Obviously, he had to open the case to determine that.) He was given an ultimatum: "Pay $1400 for data recovery! The warranty expired the minute you opened the case. " He lost the data.
5. Having external HDs, accessed through USB, will slow your data transfer down. That might not matter, from a practical standpoint. Who has ideas on that?
6. Another drawback: You'd have to remember to manually turn off such USB external drives if they have their own power supplies.
7. I am sure that there are many people who can recommend (or critcize) the many back up programs available. I use Norton Ghost but I don't think I will stay with it. (For that matter, I have two Maxtor pre-built externals, 300 gb each, and I think I will get rid of them. They work fine but I don't have confidence in Maxtor.
I hope this helps you.
Mike B
Network Storage
by pburkeiii - 7/26/08 11:29 AM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would recommend network storage device. This is because a normal drive will get moved around a lot if you are using a laptop, not to mention you can use it for more than one computer. Network storage devices connect to your home network via an Ethernet port on your wireless router, or network hub. If this is your only computer and you do not want to put out more money for one of these devices, your can get a higher-end device that connects to your computer via firewire. This gives you a faster connection. Lastly, make sure the drive is plugged into a surge protector, otherwise the drive is pointless.
External hard drives
by rangerover3 - 7/26/08 12:02 PM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Ben,
I have a Seagate that I was using with my old PC. I now use it with my new Mac, although it isn't set up to do everything with Mac, unfortunately. Something you might want to watch out for is the number of USB ports an external hard drive takes up. When I initially read about the features on the Seagate box, I was thrilled to read that it didn't require an adaptor plug - who needs another thing to plug in? What it didn't say is that to compensate, it requires TWO USB ports to operate. This wouldn't be so bad if you could plug the cables into a hub thereby using using only one of those precious USB ports on your computer for the hub, but the Seagate must be DIRECTLY connected to your computer - it won't work through a hub. Thought this piece of information might be helpful. Good luck!
Hard Drive Backup
by taffyvic - 7/26/08 12:33 PM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have scanned all my family photographs (Pre-digital camera), around 6 to 7 thousand of them. I stored them on cd and dvd disks.
When I went back to view them I found that some of the photographs were corrupted, fortunately I had the presence of mind to made a back up back up!.
This problem I am told was probably the disks which can deteriorate with time.
The solution for me was to purchase two 500GB external hard drives.
Both made by Maxtor and purchased for £125 for the first one and £75 for the second, purchased a year later.
The idea was that if the first one fails then I have a backup drive and can replace the faulty one.
I catalogue my photograhs by month/year so connecting both and copying from computer hard drive to external is fairly quick.
I am told that there is software out there that enables you to back up your hardrive and it does a comparison and only updates files that have changed. I so far have not needed to use this so have not looked into it.
With 2 500 Gb external hard drives I have storage space equivalent to 212 dvds which equates to around £260 for 22 boxes of 10 dvd's - so cost wise it is about the same. Storage wise 212 dvd's! But most important is the reliability of the storage and prevention of loss of valued photographs.
I have had no corruptions in the two years I have
Hard drive backup
by Fatboy71 - 7/26/08 2:21 PM In reply to: Hard Drive Backup by taffyvicI agree backing up to CD/DVD is a bad idea as they are not the most stable of media to store data.
When I was new to computer's I backed up some pictures to CD, a couple of years later I was unable to access the disk.
Now I get the pictures I want to keep printed and I also have them stored on FLICKR, I have not had any problems since.
Backups
by kknudson - 7/26/08 2:22 PM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First I am against the On-Line backups. Great concept, but I can't get over the trust and security issue's.
That said get 2, or 3, external USB or Firewire drives. Now a days a 500 gig will be 100 bucks +/-. Choose your favorite brand, I like the MyBooks. Don't use price as your #1 criteria, this is your data you are dealing with.
A fireproof safe big enough to hold one of the drives.
Finally some form of backup program, I prefer a program that does Drive Imaging too. Acronis is my choice, I have used it for several years with one minor issue and that was solved via their message board. There are many others, do a little research, most have free trials.
Come up with a backup plan, define how much data you are willing to lose. Real time 100% coverage is nice, but can be pricier and more complex.
You can do full weekly and daily differentials.
Maybe a daily to different directories, or ....
I do a Full every day, then to another directory a Weekly full, and again to another directory a Monthly Full. Now I can go back to yesterday, Sunday or the first of the month. I can have some data loss, but within my parameters. Note I have other things going that further protect me.
Why an Imaging program ?
In the case of Acronis, if anything happens to my computer I can restore a drive in 30 minutes and I am up and running somewhat.
I also snapshot the C: Drive after a full XP build, and again once all my programs are installed. I can now restore to at least a base XP image if I need to quickly.
Why 2 or 3 drives, and a safe ?
Once a Week, Month ... swap the current drive for the one in the fire proof safe. The small safe's won't help if you have a major disaster, but should cover all but the worst. If you have 3 try and keep one off site, someplace you go to regularly that you can trust to keep it secure.
Another idea that I strongly recommend this.
Seperate the Drive (or use 2 physicals) C: - OS and E: - Data. This can also affect your backup plan, now most of your data is isolated to one drive.
Finally TRY IT, do a restore of a file, or a drive. In fact do several. This way if you ever have to use the backup you know how, and you know it works. If you haven't tested your backups, you don't have a backup !
You also mentioned that you listen to a lot of MP3s and was worried about affecting the drive life span. With todays drives I wouldn't worry, if it's gonna die it's gonna die, not much you can do EXCEPT Have a backup !
Fireproof safe
by james.gales - 8/2/08 1:25 AM In reply to: Backups by kknudsonIf you don't have a fireproof safe for your backup, my missus sticks the zip in the boot of the car, it is unlikely that the two will catch fire. OK someone could steal the car (we live on a small island) but you could always password protect the storage.
External Hard Drive backup & restore (& buying advice)
by bobbloch - 12/22/08 9:03 AM In reply to: Backups by kknudsonYour very thorough response of July 26,2008 includes a description of "Why an imaging pgm" but i'm confused abt the second & third sentences which state that you "snapshot C: after a full XP build & again after all pgms are installed. Also restore to at least a BASE XP IMAGE". This confusion may result from my never having reloaded an OS from backup. All my install activity has been using original MS disks.
Is a C: drive with only XP restored called a "base XP image" ? If so, what is it used for without apps installed ?
Thanx.
Bob
Palm Bay, FL
500 or 750?
by CMN240967 - 7/26/08 3:11 PM In reply to: External hard-drive buying advice and backing up data by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hello, I was looking through the new argos book and noticed a 500GB Maxtor External harddrive (Click here!) for £59.99 or a 750GB Maxtor (Click here!) for £89.99 - Both have a 3 yr guarantee, technical support and are quiet but I also think they are very good for the money and from a good trusted manufacturer. Picture here.
I dont actualy have one of them because I already have a external but with those two if you click on the special offers link on the page, scroll down and tick the box for the USB Flash Drive you also get that free with each one. Also I have all my files backed up on it and if my computers turned on so is it, and Ive had it for about a year now and always play music from it and have had no problems so far.
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