[phixgrrrl]

I want to get one for back up purposes. Am I safe getting any one or is there something I should look for that would make a difference?

[dan_mccartney]

I would say make your own. They are generally cheaper that way. Most cases will support 500GB - 1TB HDD. I would go with a Western Digital or Seagate HDD with a simple 3.5 inch external case that fits the HDD obviously.

If you don't want to take that route, you should look for the best speed for the price with the needed capacity. And I then would stick with Western Digital, Seagate, or Maxtor. I personally think they are the best.

[campijr]

I have used a Western Digital (WD) External USB My Book drive for a few months a like it. My unit is about $130 and can be connected with USB, Firewire or eSata. The capacity of my drive is 500GB. The drive also has a nice feature that powers down the unit when the pc is powered down or put to sleep. You can find this drive at newegg.com or just about any local Best Buy or Circuit City.

[phixgrrrl]

Thing is, the reviews I've read for most drives are bad...because even if the drive is marked good or excellent by the review, user ratings consist of horror stories. I haven't found one review where the user and the reviewer both liked the drive; either it's the drive failing, or the drive failing plus customer service charges them to get the data from the failed drive to the new one...etc.
But...basically, an external hd is just an internal one w/a big case around it?

[Rich-M]

Using an external drive will never be as stable as an extra internal drive, but the external drive has the advantage of being shut down and stored elsewhere for safety so take your choice. Personally I use extra internal drives with all but notebooks.

[raybro]

I went the route as suggested by dan_mccartney. I purchased a Venus external enclosure and WD 120GB HDD. I connects via USB and I've had no problems whatsoever using it with my Dell Inspiron 1501 Laptop. I made the drive bootable directly into Acronis True Image, so all I have to do is change the boot order in BIOS to go into Acronis. My backup images are also stored on the external drive. I've used it a number of times.

Raybro

[Smothers65]

100% hands down go with a Maxtor! I have owned Western digital, seageate, hitatchi, and others and the only one I will ever own again is a Maxtor. If at all possible DO NOT GO WITH WESTERN DIGITAL! They are the worst for success rates. I have, and have heard of people losing tons of data due to wd failure.

[Rich-M]

Originally Posted by Smothers65

100% hands down go with a Maxtor! I have owned Western digital, seageate, hitatchi, and others and the only one I will ever own again is a Maxtor. If at all possible DO NOT GO WITH WESTERN DIGITAL! They are the worst for success rates. I have, and have heard of people losing tons of data due to wd failure.

This is a first for me! I haven't seen a positive thing written about Maxtor in years. Personally if Maxtor were the only drive available I wouldn't build the pc. I have never had or seen as mkuch trouble with any drive maker in my life and don't know another tech who would recommend them external or internal.

[raybro]

The last two post exemplify the simple fact that people will always go with and support what they experience in any given endevor. I've owned and used both Maxtor and WD hard drives and have never had a problem with either. Call me lucky...

Raybro

[campijr]

My vote would also go to WD. I have never had an issue with a WD drive. I've had a pc with a Maxtor drive and it required replacement after some time.
I think there is one thing many novices find attractive about external hard drives. Many users are intimidated about opening the computer case and adding an internal hard drive. Purchase of a decent USB or Firewire external drive is more attractive to some because it's easy to connect and can be used on multiple computers in the same house. I'll admit there are some shortcomings to an external hard drive, but they are a decent value and perform well under most circumstances.

[dan_mccartney]

Originally Posted by Smothers65

100% hands down go with a Maxtor! I have owned Western digital, seageate, hitatchi, and others and the only one I will ever own again is a Maxtor. If at all possible DO NOT GO WITH WESTERN DIGITAL! They are the worst for success rates. I have, and have heard of people losing tons of data due to wd failure.

I have had this happen too with a WD. I bought a 160GB like 3 years ago and after a year and a half it fried on me. Lost a ton of data. I never did do anything with warranty or anything like I should have. But I say this because I still like WD. My wifes laptop had a Seagate in it. She had it for a year and that hard drive is no good any more. I did some research on that particular drive and it only has a life expectancy of about a year to a year and a half. I now have a Samsung, a few WD, Seagate, and a Maxtor HDD that I am using. All work great. No problems with any of them. I would say go with what you can get the best deal on and feel the most comfortable with. That is really what it comes down to.

[redposter]

Go with WD, they offer long warranty.

[raybro]

In the final analysis, Hard Drives are mechanical devices and therefore one of the most vulnerable component in a computer to failure. The logical and sensible thing to do with such a weak point is to have the ability to restore the infomation contained on the drive.

That is why I use Acronis True Image to create images of my Master drive. In the event of catastrophic failure of the primary master HDD, the drive content is completly restorable to the last backup image created and stored on the slave or external HDD. This should includes the OS, program applications and files along with whatever hidden partitions provided by your computer mfr that you desire to retain.

Certainly, there is always the remote possiblity of failure of both the primary master HDD and the primary slave HDD (or in the case of my laptop, the external enclosure with a WDE HDD inside)... But the simultanious failure of both is highly unlikely. One must play the odds to some degree. IMHO, Attempting to predict when or if a HDD will fail is an endevor in futility. This question requires a simple exercise in CYA.

Raybro

[idraw22]

Originally Posted by Rich-M

Using an external drive will never be as stable as an extra internal drive, but the external drive has the advantage of being shut down and stored elsewhere for safety so take your choice. Personally I use extra internal drives with all but notebooks.

You said you used internal drives on all but notebooks. What do you use on notebooks? Mine has no hd and I'm trying to find out whether I can run one from a thumb drive.

[Rich-M]

External drive.