External hard drive info please

[googlemail2003]

I need to do regular backups of my entire hard drive. I plan to use
Norton Ghost.

It's too much of a pain to do it to DVDs so someone suggested I get a
USB external hard drive of about 60-80 GB.

Questions:

- I was looking at an Iomega drive. Are these any good?
- Will I be able to simply plug it into a USB port and go? I'm not
much of a hardware expert and don't want to have to do any installing.

Thanks

 

[Arno Wagner]

I need to do regular backups of my entire hard drive. I plan to use
Norton Ghost.

It's too much of a pain to do it to DVDs so someone suggested I get a
USB external hard drive of about 60-80 GB.

- I was looking at an Iomega drive. Are these any good?

I doubt it. In tha past Iomega allways had bad quality at not
too good prices.

- Will I be able to simply plug it into a USB port and go? I'm not
much of a hardware expert and don't want to have to do any installing.

You need to partition/format it (it is a HDD after all), but XP
(I assume you use) should prompt you for that when you plug it
in for the first time. You might need USB2.0 drivers for your
machine for full speed, if you have not already installed them.

Arno

 

[Anna]

I doubt it. In tha past Iomega allways had bad quality at not
too good prices.

You need to partition/format it (it is a HDD after all), but XP
(I assume you use) should prompt you for that when you plug it
in for the first time. You might need USB2.0 drivers for your
machine for full speed, if you have not already installed them.

Arno

If you're planning to use a disk imaging program such as Symantec's Norton
Ghost to "clone" the contents of your internal HD to a USB external HD you
will *not* have to partition/format the external HD. The disk cloning
process will take care of that automatically. On the other hand, if you were
to use your USBEHD as a backup repository for *selected* files/folders then
it would be necessary to partition/format the external HD. I take it your
interest is to (in effect) create a duplicate of your working HD
encompassing the entire contents of that drive, including the OS, all
programs and created data. A most wise decision on your part.

Our experience with IOMEGA products, including their line of USB external
HDs and USB enclosures, has been quite positive. It is true that they are a
bit pricey as compared with similar products but by & large they've
performed admirably in our experience.
Anna

 

[Arno Wagner]

If you're planning to use a disk imaging program such as Symantec's Norton
Ghost to "clone" the contents of your internal HD to a USB external HD you
will *not* have to partition/format the external HD. The disk cloning
process will take care of that automatically. On the other hand, if you were
to use your USBEHD as a backup repository for *selected* files/folders then
it would be necessary to partition/format the external HD. I take it your
interest is to (in effect) create a duplicate of your working HD
encompassing the entire contents of that drive, including the OS, all
programs and created data. A most wise decision on your part.

Correct. Although I think that a backup to image-file is preferrable,
since you can have more than one on a disk. That was the mode I assumed.

Our experience with IOMEGA products, including their line of USB
external HDs and USB enclosures, has been quite positive. It is true
that they are a bit pricey as compared with similar products but by
& large they've performed admirably in our experience.

Then they are better than their earlier products. Good to know.

Arno

 

[Rod Speed]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

I need to do regular backups of my entire
hard drive. I plan to use Norton Ghost.

Which version of Ghost ?

It's too much of a pain to do it to DVDs so someone suggested
I get a USB external hard drive of about 60-80 GB.

Yes, its a lot more convenient/viable.

Questions:

- I was looking at an Iomega drive. Are these any good?
- Will I be able to simply plug it into a USB port and go?

Depends on what OS you are using, and which version of Ghost.

The older versions of Ghost like 2003 can be a bit twitchy with
USB and even with XP, you need to have SP2 installed to get
USB2 support which is important for a decent speed.

 

[googlemail2003]

I will be using Ghost ver 10

(e-mail address removed) wrote


Which version of Ghost ?


Yes, its a lot more convenient/viable.



Depends on what OS you are using, and which version of Ghost.

The older versions of Ghost like 2003 can be a bit twitchy with
USB and even with XP, you need to have SP2 installed to get
USB2 support which is important for a decent speed.

 

[Rod Speed]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

I will be using Ghost ver 10

I think True Image 9 is a better product myself.

Main advantages over Ghost 10 is that the incremental
backups are done much more safely, you can do more
from the bootable CD, and its got a cleaner user interface.

Ghost 10 will do what you want tho.

 

[googlemail2003]

OK. So I'll be using Ghost 10. Back to the question of the hard
drive.

You said it depended on which version of Ghost I'd be using.

Can you recommend an external drive of at least 80GB for about $100? I
understand there is some issue with some of the drives getting too hot.

I was looking at the Omega 33214, 80GB.

Thanks for the help.

Jane

 

[googlemail2003]

OK. So I'll be using Ghost 10. Back to the question of the hard
drive.

You said it depended on which version of Ghost I'd be using.

Can you recommend an external drive of at least 80GB for about $100? I
understand there is some issue with some of the drives getting too hot.

I was looking at the Iomega 33214, 80GB. Specs are at:

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Iomega_Desktop_80GB_Hard_Drive_Silver_Series/33214/ps/498006

Thanks for the help.

Jane

 

[Anna]

OK. So I'll be using Ghost 10. Back to the question of the hard
drive.

You said it depended on which version of Ghost I'd be using.

Can you recommend an external drive of at least 80GB for about $100? I
understand there is some issue with some of the drives getting too hot.

I was looking at the Iomega 33214, 80GB. Specs are at:

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Iomega_Desktop_80GB_Hard_Drive_Silver_Series/33214/ps/498006

Thanks for the help.

Jane

Jane:
That IOMEGA external HD should be fine. We've worked with other IOMEGA
external HDs in that series and they performed just fine.

BTW, I note PROADVANTAGE - see
http://www.provantage.com/iomega-33214~7IOMS066.htm - sells that unit for
$94.79 (don't know the shipping cost). We've dealt with that company many
times and found them very reliable. While the 80 GB may be sufficient for
your needs, you might want to consider the 160 GB model for only $20 more.
Anna

 

[googlemail2003]

Thanks Anna but I just bought a Seagate 160GB drive from Circuit City
for $69 ($60 rebate). It got some very good customer reviews and
sounded like a great deal.

Hope it works out.

Jane

 

[Rod Speed]

OK. So I'll be using Ghost 10.
Back to the question of the hard drive.

You said it depended on which version of Ghost I'd be using.

I just meant that the earlier versions of ghost like the original
version of 2003 can have problems seeing USB drives.

Can you recommend an external drive of at least 80GB for about $100?

Fraid not.

I understand there is some issue with some of the drives getting too hot.
Yep.

I was looking at the Omega 33214, 80GB.

Fraid I dont know anything specific about it, even
how well it does on the temperature question.

I'd personally use a eSATA drive instead of a USB drive,
mainly so I can monitor the temperature, you cant easily with
USB drives. But using eSATA would almost certainly involve
extra hardware added to the PC itself, which isnt something
you say you can do, so you cant go that route yourself.

If I had to go the USB route I'd assemble the external drive
myself, basically so I get the 3/5 year warranty that way.
The ready to go external drives normally have a 1 year
warranty. But that is also something you say is beyond you.

 

[max]

Then they are better than their earlier products. Good to know.

I've also had good luck with a few Iomega network drives over the last
year or so. Not a big sample, but they've been reliable and
bulletproof, running 24-7 as a network backup archive and an MP3
server.

I also have a Seagate 250MB external that's been going fine for 4-5
months now, and a Maxtor One-touch 160GB that's been running for
several years. I understand newer Maxtors have heat problems, and
I've quit buying them, but this one's been good.

max

 

[max]

Thanks Anna but I just bought a Seagate 160GB drive from Circuit City
for $69 ($60 rebate). It got some very good customer reviews and
sounded like a great deal.

You'll be glad you got the bigger drive, I believe. Backup storage
can never be too big, IME.

max

 

[willbill]

(e-mail address removed) wrote:

I just meant that the earlier versions of ghost like the original
version of 2003 can have problems seeing USB drives.


Fraid not.

nothing wrong with using an internal HD

current 7200rpm 300GB HD go for ~$100. 5 yr
warranty too.

but probably not if i ever told them how i use them

i put the rear end on the edge of the case,
and the front end on a .75"x.75"x6" piece
of wood (to keep the drive fairly flat,
and less likely of the rear slipping off
of the open edge of the case; it's a bit
less than an inch drop of the rear end
to the desktop, but still...)

Yep.

when it's proped up like i do, it's easy
to put a small fan on it. i've run
it for an hour+ like that and it's barely
warm to the touch

to change the subject a small bit, your
mention of Acronis True Image (in past
threads got me to buy 8.0 and 9.0 (i never
got around to using 8), and especially in
this thread) of the CD having *boot*
capability is what got me off my ass

not bad.

doesn't see raid 1 right, but it didn't
screw anything up

interesting in comparison to the DOS Ghost 2003
that i've been using for the last few years

fwiw, the acid test is to swap in the clone HD
(into the computer) to make sure that it really
did work; my 1st try came up short (Win XP Pro
SP2 wouldn't take my password on a normal boot,
nor on a safe boot)

not worth wasting more time on it, so i plugged
in the original HD (now in the slave position)
and went the other way and this time it worked.
i used "as is" the 2nd time (as opposed to an
auto resize to the target disk (both source
and target are 250GB))

anyway, thank you the info

btw, i moved 32.1 total GB of data (both fat32)
and NTFS) in 15.5 min with A.TrueImage 9.0

that's just over 2.0GB/min, with recent 7200rpm
IDE HDs, both on the primary cable (as master
and slave). i leave the primary slave position
with i normally run the computer

the DOS Ghost 2003 was similar, doing it in 16.0 min
(same data, same HD's)

any comments by you of your data transfer rates?

and what about transfer rates with USB 2.0?
(i'd think that they are a lot slower)

bill

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed wrote

nothing wrong with using an internal HD

There is in her situation where she isnt
capable of fiddling with the hardware.

And its safer outside the case too, less chance of a
power supply failure killing all the drives in the case.

I personally just do it to drives over
the lan instead of to an external box.

current 7200rpm 300GB HD go for ~$100. 5 yr warranty too.

Sure, its certainly the cheapest route, tho an external
case doesnt add much to the cost of a drive that size.

but probably not if i ever told them how i use them

i put the rear end on the edge of the case,
and the front end on a .75"x.75"x6" piece
of wood (to keep the drive fairly flat,
and less likely of the rear slipping off
of the open edge of the case; it's a bit
less than an inch drop of the rear end
to the desktop, but still...)

I think you should be publicly flogged if you
hadnt enjoyed that so much the last time.

when it's proped up like i do, it's easy
to put a small fan on it. i've run
it for an hour+ like that and it's barely
warm to the touch

I dont like fans myself, too noisy.

I prefer to put the drives in a case with enough
drive bays so that you can have a spare bay
between each drive. Much quieter.

to change the subject a small bit, your
mention of Acronis True Image (in past
threads got me to buy 8.0 and 9.0 (i never
got around to using 8), and especially in
this thread) of the CD having *boot*
capability is what got me off my ass

not bad.

doesn't see raid 1 right, but it didn't screw anything up

I dont use raid so I havent tried it with that.

The installed TI should see the
raid fine tho since its using it via Win.

interesting in comparison to the DOS Ghost 2003
that i've been using for the last few years

Yeah, its become a real dinosaur now, particularly with
access to drives over the lan for the images, no incremental
images, no selective file backup, just images or nothing.

fwiw, the acid test is to swap in the clone HD
(into the computer) to make sure that it really
did work; my 1st try came up short (Win XP Pro
SP2 wouldn't take my password on a normal boot,
nor on a safe boot)

Works fine here.

not worth wasting more time on it, so i plugged
in the original HD (now in the slave position)
and went the other way and this time it worked.
i used "as is" the 2nd time (as opposed to an
auto resize to the target disk (both source
and target are 250GB))

anyway, thank you the info

No probs.

btw, i moved 32.1 total GB of data (both fat32)
and NTFS) in 15.5 min with A.TrueImage 9.0

Yeah, its pretty decent speed wise.

that's just over 2.0GB/min, with recent 7200rpm
IDE HDs, both on the primary cable (as master
and slave). i leave the primary slave position
with i normally run the computer

the DOS Ghost 2003 was similar, doing it in 16.0 min (same data, same HD's)

any comments by you of your data transfer rates?

Mine dont mean much, I mostly do that stuff in the
test machine/pvr and its always been not that great
due to the motherboard chipset.

and what about transfer rates with USB 2.0?
(i'd think that they are a lot slower)

Dunno, havent bothered to measure it carefully.
Mainly because I'm not that keen on USB2 external
drives because I cant monitor the temperatures of those.

 

[John Turco]

I doubt it. In tha past Iomega allways had bad quality at not
too good prices.


You need to partition/format it (it is a HDD after all), but XP
(I assume you use) should prompt you for that when you plug it
in for the first time. You might need USB2.0 drivers for your
machine for full speed, if you have not already installed them.

Arno

Hello, Arno:

In reality, "full-speed" shouldn't be confused with "high-speed,"
where the actual USB 2.0 specification is concerned. Crucial Technology
<http://www.crucial.com> explains this distinction, here:

Crucial Technology - Understanding USB
http://www.crucial.com/library/understanding_usb.asp

A quote, from the above-mentioned Web page:

"USB refers only to the 12Mbps and the 1.5Mbps portions of the USB
2.0 specification. These portions, often referred to as full- and
low-speed respectively, or USB 1.1 and USB 1.0 respectively, should
today be referred to simply as 'USB.' USB is compatible with the USB
2.0 specification, meaning it works with USB and Hi-Speed USB systems,
cables, devices and peripherals, not that it runs at those higher
speeds."

Sloppy terminology has no place, in a technical newsgroup!


Cordially,
John Turco <[email protected]>