portable/desktop hard drives -recommendations

[yashin]

I have a couple of portable hard drives - one 20GB device i use for work, the other a 60GB i use to backup itunes and my main work. Both are nearly full.

I am thinking of getting a desktop hard drive, maybe 250GB.  The price is dropping fast and this can now be bought for like 60-70 UK pounds.  I really just want a good back-up for all my work.  My files are getting a bit big now for 20-60GB drives.  I don't really want to do anything more complicated than store information.

Am looking at the WD mybook 250GB device.  Lots of reviews on amazon, some have had lots of problems with it crashing/not working all together after a short time. On the whole the reviews are good.

Anyone got a WD mybook?  Had problems? Would you recommend a different drive?

My 60GB drive is WD and is excellent.  Very reliable and solid.

If anyone can also assist in explaining what firewire is?  I have windows XP.

[Mozart]

Firewire is like usb for macs. I want to buy a new hard drive since my old one is down. 300gb for 70 dollars, thats soo cheap! Quite a dilemma, the replacement wire for my 200 gb (actually 189) is 40 dollars, but it has 150 gb of music on it. A much bigger and faster new hd is only 70 dollars...When I have the money I'll probably buy a new one.


Ahhh you gotta love mexico, sounds like some kids are exploding m80s outside. Either that or Im in the middle of a war zone.

[tjguitar]

I have the MyBook and the same problems everyone lese had..but I unplugged it plugged it into a different computer, that comp recognized it and then my computer started recognizing it again *shrug* Weird stuff. I wouldn't trust it for anything more than a backup.

[yashin]

The shops here in Asia are full of the WD mybook.  Maybe they are shipping all their cr*p to these IT malls to get rid of them.

I will have a look around today.  What brands should i avoid?  What are the better ones you know about?

I always thought that WD were reliable until i read the reviews on amazon.

[Mozart]

Can you post a link to the one your talking about?

[yashin]

Something like this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Premium-External-Firewire/dp/B000F6SGB4/ref=sr_1_2/202-0897174-2305436?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185683417&sr=8-2

or,

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WDG1U2500-Essential-Drive/dp/B000EVOOO8/ref=sr_1_12/002-7758620-8784017?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185683535&sr=8-12

[Mark]

Assuming WD stands for 'Western Digital', you shouldn't go far wrong. These, along with HDDs from Seagate and even Maxtor are generally pretty reliable.

[Choo Choo]

I use quite a few Seagate external drives, and some Maxtor, and have never had a problem.  Access via USB 2.0 is pretty fast.  The only issue you may find is if you power on the external drives before or at the same time as the PC, and its boot sequence is set to boot from USB drives before the internal hard drive, you may find it comes up with an error message saying the OS is missing - which can be a bit alarming the first time it happens - but you just change the boot sequence or else power the externals on afterwards.

[Tancata]

I got a 320GB WB MyBook about 2 months ago and I haven't had any problems yet. It's nice and quiet.

About Firewire - use it if you have the option, it is usually a little faster than USB2 in real-world performance because it puts less load on your processor during data transfer. It's not a Mac-specific thing. OTOH, USB is going to be more compatible. You can get plenty of drives (including some of the MyBook models) which have both interfaces.

[Lethevich]

I had a Western Digital HD fail after just two months before - I've had no issues with Seagates (around 5 and counting with another external in the post atm).

[SonicMan46]

I have a couple of portable hard drives - one 20GB device i use for work, the other a 60GB i use to backup itunes and my main work. Both are nearly full......................

Anyone got a WD mybook?  Had problems? Would you recommend a different drive?

My 60GB drive is WD and is excellent.  Very reliable and solid.

If anyone can also assist in explaining what firewire is?  I have windows XP.

External HDs are made by a small number of manufacturers, e.g. Seagate 'bought out' Maxtor not too long ago; I own two older Maxtor 'One-Touch' 80 GB drives and a newer Seagate 120 GB HD - these seem to be working well for me (but I don't really check them that often - probably should!); the 'One-Touch' function requires proprietary software, but these drives are pretty much PnP, and other 'backup' software can be used - Second Copy is the program that I use (shareware & recently awards) - cheap & easy - automatically backs up 'My Documents' folder on a daily basis on several of my computers.

Concerning FireWire - this is Apple's 'trade' name for the IEEE 1394 serial bus standard (i.Link is another moniker) - the older version could transfer data up to 400 Mbps; there is a newer standard (1394b) that has transfer rates to 800 Mbps; of course, your computer has to be up to date w/ the right connectors to work w/ FireWire; internal PCI adapters can be installed, if needed, assuming the computer is compatible w/ this standard.

Personally, I use USB 2.0 for my serial connections - speeds up to 480 Mbps which is plenty fast for simple data transfers; however, if you need to handle 'super high speed' needs (video streaming, etc.) then the faster IEEE 1394b option may be a way to go.  Good luck!

[Steve]

I had a pretty bad experience with a WD 320GB hard-drive awhile back. After only a month's use, it completely failed. Their customer service is abominable.