Reliable external hard drives with ESata interface

  • Thread starter Thread starter Edward Diener
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Edward Diener

I had previously bought two 1TB external hard drives a few years ago
from a company which, it appears, has since gone out of business called
Eagle Tech. Within a year one of the two hard drives died on me. I only
used the hard drives to back up data.

I am interested in buying another hard drive but reading reviews on New
Egg it seems external hard drives are very unreliable. I have almost
never had a failure of any internal hard drive after years and years of
use but it seems external ones are very poor. I want to buy an external
hard drive that will actually last, and it use is only to provide
occasional backups of drive partitions and data.

Are there any companies who make external hard drives which are
generally reliable ? I do not want to have to lose backup data again and
would be willing to pay more for reliability and a company that offers a
good product that is built to last. Even the manufacturers with
seemingly good reputations seem to sell real lemons for external drives.
 
Edward said:
I had previously bought two 1TB external hard drives a few years ago from a company which, it appears, has since gone
out of business called Eagle Tech. Within a year one of the two hard drives died on me. I only used the hard drives to
back up data.
Click to expand...
I am interested in buying another hard drive but reading reviews on New Egg it seems external hard drives are very
unreliable.
Click to expand...

Yes, most cases dont provide adequate cooling and its much too
easy to drop an external etc.
I have almost never had a failure of any internal hard drive after years and years of use but it seems external ones
are very poor. I want to buy an external hard drive that will actually last, and it use is only to provide occasional
backups of drive partitions and data.
Click to expand...
Are there any companies who make external hard drives which are generally reliable ?
Click to expand...

I personally use drive docking stations, but those do risk the drive more
if you arent careful with the bare drives. I havent ever lost any drives.
I do not want to have to lose backup data again and would be willing to pay more for reliability and a company that
offers a good product that is built to last.
Click to expand...

It makes more sense to backup onto two drives of different brands.
Even the manufacturers with seemingly good reputations seem to sell real lemons for external drives.
Click to expand...

Yes, but they do live a much harder life than internal drives.
 
I had previously bought two 1TB external hard drives a few years ago
from a company which, it appears, has since gone out of business called
Eagle Tech. Within a year one of the two hard drives died on me. I only
used the hard drives to back up data.

I am interested in buying another hard drive but reading reviews on New
Egg it seems external hard drives are very unreliable. I have almost
never had a failure of any internal hard drive after years and years of
use but it seems external ones are very poor. I want to buy an external
hard drive that will actually last, and it use is only to provide
occasional backups of drive partitions and data.

Are there any companies who make external hard drives which are
generally reliable ? I do not want to have to lose backup data again and
would be willing to pay more for reliability and a company that offers a
good product that is built to last. Even the manufacturers with
seemingly good reputations seem to sell real lemons for external drives.
Click to expand...

I've had good luck with Buffalo external drives both desktop and
portable. Because of the use of laptop 2.5" form factor drives, the
portable drives may be a bit more rugged. Also, I think it best to have
active cooling for a desktop external drive if it's going to be running
most of the time.
 
I had previously bought two 1TB external hard drives a few years ago
from a company which, it appears, has since gone out of business called
Eagle Tech. Within a year one of the two hard drives died on me. I only
used the hard drives to back up data.

I am interested in buying another hard drive but reading reviews on New
Egg it seems external hard drives are very unreliable. I have almost
never had a failure of any internal hard drive after years and years of
use but it seems external ones are very poor. I want to buy an external
hard drive that will actually last, and it use is only to provide
occasional backups of drive partitions and data.

Are there any companies who make external hard drives which are
generally reliable ? I do not want to have to lose backup data again and
would be willing to pay more for reliability and a company that offers a
good product that is built to last. Even the manufacturers with
seemingly good reputations seem to sell real lemons for external drives.
Click to expand...

As for esata, I have a hornettek enclosure that has active fan cooling
in which I installed a 2 TB hitachi drive and it seems to work fine so far.
 
Typically the best way to do external drives it put it together
yourself, by buying the hard drive and the case separately. The case is
the important part here, as you should generally get an actively cooled
case with a fan in it. If you don't get one of those, then a passively
cooled aluminum one is next best, but it must be completely enclosed
around the hard drive, with little plastic interfering.

Yousuf Khan
Click to expand...
Yup, in order for the passily cooled aluminum ones to work, the drive must
make full contact with the casing to act a a large heatsink.
 
Edward Diener said:
I had previously bought two 1TB external hard drives a few years ago
from a company which, it appears, has since gone out of business called
Eagle Tech. Within a year one of the two hard drives died on me. I only
used the hard drives to back up data.
Click to expand...
I am interested in buying another hard drive but reading reviews on New
Egg it seems external hard drives are very unreliable. I have almost
never had a failure of any internal hard drive after years and years of
use but it seems external ones are very poor. I want to buy an external
hard drive that will actually last, and it use is only to provide
occasional backups of drive partitions and data.
Click to expand...
Are there any companies who make external hard drives which are
generally reliable ?
Click to expand...

Harddrives are generally unreliable when not treated well.
The main difference between iternal and external drives today is
mistreatement by the user, such as bumping/moving while on.
There are instances of shoddy power supplies, but they typically
do not kill the drive and can be fixed by a new power supply.
I do not want to have to lose backup data again and
would be willing to pay more for reliability and a company that offers a
good product that is built to last.
Click to expand...

There are none. The solution to this is to have more than one backup
copy. Common sysadmin wisdom is that you need 3 independent backups
in addition to the original.
Even the manufacturers with
seemingly good reputations seem to sell real lemons for external drives.
Click to expand...

I dobt that today. It used to be that external drives were cooled badly
and did die early ceabause fo that. With the current generartion
of drives the only reason I can see for external drives to be less
reliable than internal ones is mistreatment by the user.

Personally, I use a number of WD elements that all have not
have any problems. And they cost about as much as the bare drive
inside.

Arno
 
I am interested in buying another hard drive but reading reviews on New
Egg it seems external hard drives are very unreliable.
Click to expand...

Is this similarly true of external hard drives by manufacturers whose
internal hard drives have a long record of reliability?
 
Typically the best way to do external drives it put it together
yourself, by buying the hard drive and the case separately. The case is
the important part here, as you should generally get an actively cooled
case with a fan in it.
Click to expand...

What does "actively cooled case" mean ? If I go to New Egg to search for
a external enclosures I do not see anything which says that an enclosure
is "actively cooled" or not.
If you don't get one of those, then a passively
cooled aluminum one is next best, but it must be completely enclosed
around the hard drive, with little plastic interfering.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.
 
Yes, most cases dont provide adequate cooling and its much too
easy to drop an external etc.



I personally use drive docking stations, but those do risk the drive more
if you arent careful with the bare drives. I havent ever lost any drives.
Click to expand...

Bare drives in a docking station really seem dangerous in exposing the
drive to the outside. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.
It makes more sense to backup onto two drives of different brands.
Click to expand...

I am aware enough to do more than one backup to different drives.
Yes, but they do live a much harder life than internal drives.
Click to expand...

Possibly, but once one sets down an external hard drive in s stable
place they shoudl not get much more wear and tear.

I think the advice given by others to buy the enclosure and the hard
drive separately is very good and I will follow that for all external
drives.
 
I've had good luck with Buffalo external drives both desktop and
portable. Because of the use of laptop 2.5" form factor drives, the
portable drives may be a bit more rugged.
Click to expand...

So you are saying 2.5" external drives are better than 3.5" drives for
reliability ?
Also, I think it best to have
active cooling for a desktop external drive if it's going to be running
most of the time.
Click to expand...

When I look for enclosures ( say on New Egg ) I see the choice of a fan
but I never see anything which says "active cooling". What is it ?
 
In message <[email protected]> Edward Diener
So you are saying 2.5" external drives are better than 3.5" drives for
reliability ?
Click to expand...

This does seem to be the case, yes.
When I look for enclosures ( say on New Egg ) I see the choice of a fan
but I never see anything which says "active cooling". What is it ?
Click to expand...

Fans are active cooling. Active means something moves or uses power to
cool. Passive typically means using a heatsink or convection currents
to cool.
 
So you are saying 2.5" external drives are better than 3.5" drives for reliability ?
Click to expand...

Yes, they dont need as much cooling and are more shock
resistant too because they are intended for use in laptops.
When I look for enclosures ( say on New Egg ) I see the choice of a
fan but I never see anything which says "active cooling". What is it ?
Click to expand...

Just a fan.
 
DevilsPGD wrote
Dangerous in what sense?
Click to expand...

That you wouldnt want to have little kids around when using it etc. Or cats.

No big deal when its not in the docking station, I just put them back in
the original camshell thing they came in. But certainly you cant leave
them lying around like you can with a drive in an external housing.
 
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