Purchasing Advice: External Hard Drive

your_ad_hereyour_ad_here
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hey guys,



I'm currently on the lookout for an external hard drive and figured that this would be the best place to get some good advice!



Just to give you an idea of what I need, I am starting university this upcoming fall and need a way to transfer/move all my files from my home computer to a notebook I am planning on purchasing before I start the semester. The two computers will never be along side each other so I don't have the option of setting up a network and transferring that way. Once I have transfered the files, I will use the hard drive to back up important work etc.



Whilst I appreciate that I could go onto amazon and pretty much point a finger and find a decent product, there were a few circumstances that made me seek advice. At present, I have all my my files (including all my aac/mp3 files for my ipod) on a desktop windows machine at home. Pretty soon, I plan to buy a new powerbook and use that through college. I know that for a powerbook, a firewire drive would be the best bet (because if I am correct they do not require a power source??) but I do not have firewire on my home computer. As such, I was unsure whether a usb2 or usb2&firewire hard drive would be the best option. Any opinions?



Also, if anyone is in a generous mood so to point me to specific hard drives, I'm not looking for a particularly large capacity drive (around 60GB, as the powerbook will have 80GB and that is plenty for my own needs), though a fast rpm would be preferred. However, if there is any reason why I should go for a bigger drive, I would appreciate your thoughts!



I don't think I have any more requirements. The main point is finding a drive best suited to the powerbook, but also allows me to get the initial files from my home computer first.



Thanks for all your advice in advance!



Edit: I forgot to point out... obviously there are power issues between the UK (where I live) and the US (where i will be studying), so that is a pretty big issue. Also, I am going to NYC next week so any compatible US models you can recommend would be great (I would in fact prefer to buy in US due to pricing differences ).
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    podmatepodmate Posts: 183member
    I've had very good luck with LaCie products.



    I also have an Archos MiniHD. It has firewire/usb/pcmcia (you might have to buy the usb or pcmcia cable). It is also easy to use cross platform. Best of all it that it is tiny. You can fit it in your shirt pocket. Its only downside is that it runs at 4200RPM.



    You can also buy a firewire/usb case and add your own HD to it. If you have a spare HD laying around this might be the cheapest way to go.
  • Reply 2 of 23
    homhom Posts: 1,098member
    One word: iPod!
  • Reply 3 of 23
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    Thanks for your replies.



    Segovius: I don't think being able to boot from the hard drive would be an issue for me. Once i've managed to transfer everything I will only be using it to back up all my files, so i'm going to have a look into those.



    Podmate: I had a look at the mini hd's and they're pretty expensive (because of the size I guess). As it's not something i'm looking to carry around with me it seems like a waste of money. Any other advantages to that model? I've only got a spare HD from my now defunct thinkpad, and I doubt they do cases for those.



    HOM: The ipod was the first thing I thought of! I do currently back up most of my files on it but I have one problem - I could only store all my music on it as unaccessible files (so i can transfer between the two computers) if I gave up the option to listen to it. If I end up not getting the powerbook for a while I don't think i could survive living in a new country in a cramped dorm without my music (I have no intention of dragging 100's of cd's over with me to compensate for this either!)...



    Thanks again for all your advice. Anyone else have any experience/wisdom to share?
  • Reply 4 of 23
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    use the iPod... keep the music so you can listen to it...

    then re-import all the music using a hack to get the music off the iPod onto the PB...
  • Reply 5 of 23
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    I'm partial to OWC.
  • Reply 6 of 23
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by your_ad_here

    [snip]



    Get a bootable drive, because one day, you'll need it. You might not think so now, but you will. For one reason or another, you'll need it. So just make sure you can boot from that drive.

    7200 RMP is a must. I (personally) prefer FireWire over USB.
  • Reply 7 of 23
    slackulaslackula Posts: 262member
    I've had a LaCie 160GB and a LaCie 200GB both for about a year with absolutely no problems at all.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Get an external enclosure and an internal drive. It's the most cost effective way to go. I just got a 160gig "external" drive for just under $100. It has firewire and USB2. Otherwise, get an iPod and just copy the files over (not through iTunes) and then import them on your powerbook. I know you won't be able to listen to the on the way over, but you wouldn't be able to listen to them with a norma external hd anyway.
  • Reply 9 of 23
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    Thanks for all your help guys.



    I think i've settled on this model



    It's not the biggest drive but i think it covers all my needs. As much as i would have liked to have been able to use my ipod, the lack of size (with my music on it) plus the fact that its not the most reliable backup (as i'm more likely to lose that than a drive left at home) put me off.



    Just to expand upon my question, is amazon one of the cheapest places to buy these kind of things? I've had a lot of experience with them and have been pleased but was unsure if anyone knew if it could be bought cheaper elsewhere.



    Thanks!
  • Reply 10 of 23
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    I'll sell you my external hard drive, my iPod mini-for 400 dollars. (US)
  • Reply 11 of 23
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    torofile,



    posted before i saw your post. I already have an ipod but as mentioned don't really want to use that. The diy option sounds interesting. Is it fairly easy to set up? (As you can see i don't have much experience with these things).
  • Reply 12 of 23
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by your_ad_here

    Thanks for all your help guys.



    I think i've settled on this model



    It's not the biggest drive but i think it covers all my needs. As much as i would have liked to have been able to use my ipod, the lack of size (with my music on it) plus the fact that its not the most reliable backup (as i'm more likely to lose that than a drive left at home) put me off.



    Just to expand upon my question, is amazon one of the cheapest places to buy these kind of things? I've had a lot of experience with them and have been pleased but was unsure if anyone knew if it could be bought cheaper elsewhere.



    Thanks!



    Like I said, for that price you can get 160 GB



    http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_Pa...=FW&Template=1



    And to specifically answer your question at the end, either:



    froogle.google.com



    or google: [model name] comparison
  • Reply 13 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by your_ad_here

    torofile,



    posted before i saw your post. I already have an ipod but as mentioned don't really want to use that. The diy option sounds interesting. Is it fairly easy to set up? (As you can see i don't have much experience with these things).



    Oh, it's brain-dead easy. I got a macally firewire enclosure which got good reviews for about $60. My drive I got for an absolute STEAL so my cost was rather low. The macally I got had instructions and it took about 3 minutes to do. Piece of cake.
  • Reply 14 of 23
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    torifile's right. totally easy.



    But I have to ask: where did you get a decent 160 GB drive for under $40?



    The cheapest I see a WD Caviar for is ~$95 and combined with your case it ends up costing the same as the OWC Neptune.
  • Reply 15 of 23
    formerlurkerformerlurker Posts: 2,686member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by your_ad_here

    Thanks for all your help guys.



    I think i've settled on this model

    Thanks!



    Excellent choice! Amazon should have a good price.
  • Reply 16 of 23
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by FormerLurker

    Excellent choice! Amazon should have a good price.



    I'm going to have to strongly disagree. You can get 40 GB more and likely a better case for the same price at OWC.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    your_ad_hereyour_ad_here Posts: 112member
    Ok, i was pretty sure but now i'm undecided. Both torofile and giant have made good points. The OWC drives are a good price, but the LaCie drives seem popular (and sold by apple, not that that affects compatability) and i have read pretty good reviews. The diy option might be cheaper but i'll have to look around for a cheap enough internal drive to make it worthwhile. Decisions decisions...



    One further question to which i have been unable to answer myself (although i only looked briefly on the LaCie webiste) - does anyone know if the external drives use a multinational ac adaptor? As they are external and likely to be carried around i thought maybe but i am unsure. As i'm sure u can imagine, this is pretty important considering i need to use in both the UK and the US. Any advice greatfully recieved.



    Also, thanks again for everyone's input.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by giant

    torifile's right. totally easy.



    But I have to ask: where did you get a decent 160 GB drive for under $40?



    The cheapest I see a WD Caviar for is ~$95 and combined with your case it ends up costing the same as the OWC Neptune.



    Office Depot ran an ad with a coupon code that worked online. $80 off. Then the next week, they dropped the price of the HD $40. I got a 160gig drive for $30, no rebates. Admittedly, that was an unusual thing, but there are always good rebate deal around if you look hard enough.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by torifile

    Office Depot ran an ad with a coupon code that worked online. $80 off. Then the next week, they dropped the price of the HD $40. I got a 160gig drive for $30, no rebates. Admittedly, that was an unusual thing, but there are always good rebate deal around if you look hard enough.



    Nice.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    formerlurkerformerlurker Posts: 2,686member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by giant

    I'm going to have to strongly disagree. You can get 40 GB more and likely a better case for the same price at OWC.



    OWC is good also. LaCie's the best you can get though.



    I used to be big on the DIY method, but you get much better support and warranty buying a pre-assembled drive.
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