External Hard Drive Recommendations

  • Thread starter Thread starter Katy
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Katy

Hi... can anyone recommend a reliable external hard drive for backups of
important files, approx. 100-120gb size that has had good results for
connectivity and backup? We have a USB 2.0 connection and a Firewire and
hope to keep the cost under $125 is possible. We'd like to just move a copy
of certain files or folders to this external drive vs. a complete backup
which would take a much larger drive.

Could anyone help us find this? or point us in any direction of a more
information to help us? My friend has mucho music files through Cool Edit
and copying them to cd shortens the file name using Nero, which requires
retyping;
it's much easier to put an exact copy on an external drive versus using
Nero to copy the files to a cd according to their file name limitations.

We also have a QuartroPro spreadsheet to copy that lists all the songs but
that isn't usually a problem keeping a copy of.

Can anyone help us find something affordable and reliable? TIA..........
 
Katy said:
Hi... can anyone recommend a reliable external hard drive for backups of
important files, approx. 100-120gb size that has had good results for
connectivity and backup? We have a USB 2.0 connection and a Firewire and
hope to keep the cost under $125 is possible. We'd like to just move a
copy
of certain files or folders to this external drive vs. a complete backup
which would take a much larger drive.

Could anyone help us find this? or point us in any direction of a more
information to help us? My friend has mucho music files through Cool Edit
and copying them to cd shortens the file name using Nero, which requires
retyping;
it's much easier to put an exact copy on an external drive versus using
Nero to copy the files to a cd according to their file name limitations.

We also have a QuartroPro spreadsheet to copy that lists all the songs but
that isn't usually a problem keeping a copy of.

Can anyone help us find something affordable and reliable? TIA..........
Click to expand...

any external drive USB or Firewire (do a Google or Ebay search), make sure
it's a fan case, then get Acronis and do a full back up to it, then carry
out incremental backups once or twice a week. Simple and all your system is
backed up.
 
Katy said:
Hi... can anyone recommend a reliable external hard drive for backups of
important files, approx. 100-120gb size that has had good results for
connectivity and backup? We have a USB 2.0 connection and a Firewire and
hope to keep the cost under $125 is possible. We'd like to just move a
copy
of certain files or folders to this external drive vs. a complete backup
which would take a much larger drive.

Could anyone help us find this? or point us in any direction of a more
information to help us? My friend has mucho music files through Cool Edit
and copying them to cd shortens the file name using Nero, which requires
retyping;
it's much easier to put an exact copy on an external drive versus using
Nero to copy the files to a cd according to their file name limitations.

We also have a QuartroPro spreadsheet to copy that lists all the songs but
that isn't usually a problem keeping a copy of.

Can anyone help us find something affordable and reliable? TIA..........
Click to expand...
Buy an `ICY BOX`, and the hard drive of your choice (Seagate ?). The
enclosure has USB and Firewire connections, it`s own power supply, and
doesn`t need a fan. It`s ICY.
best wishes ..OJ
 
Thanks for the reply........... why is it necessary that it has a fan case?
I found 3 different models at Walmart: Western Digital, Seagate and LaCie
and none provide the fan feature and that's curious if it is necessary to
have. I have searched and found some 'with' the fan case and I'm wondering,
is the fan necessary for more heat-generating backups and what would those
be?
Since the drive is outside the machine, wouldn't that allow for
easier cooling just being outside the case in a cool room? I am very
curious why the fan would be necessary and then why don't all external
drives come with it?
Thanks for any help in this, it is all learning experience and it
would be better if we understood the need now than after we buy one without
a fan case (they are a lot more expensive). katy
 
Thanks for the reply........... why is it necessary that it has a fan case?
Click to expand...

Modern drives run somewhat hot - keeping them cooler
improves lifespan.
I found 3 different models at Walmart: Western Digital, Seagate and LaCie
and none provide the fan feature and that's curious if it is necessary to
have. I have searched and found some 'with' the fan case and I'm wondering,
is the fan necessary for more heat-generating backups and what would those
be?
Click to expand...

It's a matter of it being turned on, not the backup. It
gets hot regardless of whether you're reading or writing to
it or not. However, if you left it turned off, turned it on
and did a backup in only a few minutes then turned it off
again, you are removing the need for a fan by never allowing
it to heat up much.

I'm not familar with all the new external box models, but
online searches should find something and it would probably
be at same or better price that at Wall-Mart.






Since the drive is outside the machine, wouldn't that allow for
easier cooling just being outside the case in a cool room?
Click to expand...

No, just the opposite. Drive bays are typically in the
front of a case when cool intake air is drawn in, later
expelled by the rear exhaust fans. It is a passive cooling
method using actively pulled air. In the enclosure, it's
more like an oven with a few slits, but again it depends on
the runtime and hot hot the ambient temp is, in addition to
how well those "few slits" are optimized to promote passive
airflow. Even so, great passive airflow is never as good as
the slowest and smallest of fans.
I am very
curious why the fan would be necessary and then why don't all external
drives come with it?
Click to expand...

Because a fan costs 50 cents, even $1. A drive may run fine
for the warranty term, but most people don't want their
drive to fail until it's old and technologically eclipsed.

Thanks for any help in this, it is all learning experience and it
would be better if we understood the need now than after we buy one without
a fan case (they are a lot more expensive). katy
Click to expand...

Note also that when using Nero, you may have the ability to
use longer filenames if you choose a different filesystem.
Google http://www.google.com/search?q=Nero+long+filenames
 
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