What's the best external external USB HDD to get? And safe to connect to an UPS?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ANTant
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ANTant

It is mainly for archiving big videos, big graphics, music, backups, etc.
What's the best external USB HDD to get? I have used Maxtor USB HDD at
work. It is nice, but it gets hot! I am worried about getting one at home
in my room where it can get over 85 degrees(F) during heat waves
especially during the summer.

Also, is it safe to hook the HDD to an UPS in case power goes out? If not,
then what happens if power goes out, the external HDD loses power, and I
am using that HDD? Will my computer freeze/crash? I know writing would
cause data losses.

Thank you in advance. :)
--
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It is mainly for archiving big videos, big graphics, music, backups, etc.

Backup - fine, archiving - never.
What's the best external USB HDD to get? I have used Maxtor USB HDD at
work. It is nice, but it gets hot! I am worried about getting one at home
in my room where it can get over 85 degrees(F) during heat waves
especially during the summer.
Click to expand...

Stick a temperature probe to it. If external case temp goes above 120F turn
it off to cool it down.
Also, is it safe to hook the HDD to an UPS in case power goes out?
Click to expand...

Why would it be unsafe?
If not,
then what happens if power goes out, the external HDD loses power, and I
am using that HDD? Will my computer freeze/crash? I know writing would
cause data losses.
Click to expand...

Data corruption during write. Freeze, not likely, unless you put vital OS
files on it.
 
It is mainly for archiving big videos, big graphics, music, backups, etc.
What's the best external USB HDD to get? I have used Maxtor USB HDD at
work. It is nice, but it gets hot! I am worried about getting one at home
in my room where it can get over 85 degrees(F) during heat waves
especially during the summer.

Also, is it safe to hook the HDD to an UPS in case power goes out? If not,
then what happens if power goes out, the external HDD loses power, and I
am using that HDD? Will my computer freeze/crash? I know writing would
cause data losses.

Thank you in advance. :)
--
"Is this stuff any good for ants?" "No, it kills them." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )
Click to expand...

No need to pay a higher price for a ready-to-go external USB drive. Pick up
one of the low-priced ATA 100 or higher EIDE drives (Seagate or Samsung) and
stick it in a USB enclosure. Cost: about $100 for 200 or so gigs. I use an
Apricorn enclosure with a 200 gig WD drive (that developed a high-pitched
whine a week after install but otherwise seems OK). Works great. I use
Acronis Trueimage already, so software was already to go.


FYI, you will not get the speed of an internal drive on a USB drive, even
USB 2.0. It takes about 4 times as long to backup to my external USB drive
than my internal backup drive (I backup two PCs to the USB drive once a week
and store it offsite). So if speed is a concern, you may want to look at
alternatives.
 
It is mainly for archiving big videos, big graphics, music, backups, etc.
What's the best external USB HDD to get? I have used Maxtor USB HDD at
work. It is nice, but it gets hot! I am worried about getting one at home
in my room where it can get over 85 degrees(F) during heat waves
especially during the summer.

Also, is it safe to hook the HDD to an UPS in case power goes out? If not,
then what happens if power goes out, the external HDD loses power, and I
am using that HDD? Will my computer freeze/crash? I know writing would
cause data losses.

Thank you in advance. :)
--
"Is this stuff any good for ants?" "No, it kills them." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )
Click to expand...

No need to pay a higher price for a ready-to-go external USB drive. Pick up
one of the low-priced ATA 100 or higher EIDE drives (Seagate or Samsung) and
stick it in a USB enclosure. Cost: about $100 for 200 or so gigs. I use an
Apricorn enclosure with a 200 gig WD drive (that developed a high-pitched
whine a week after install but otherwise seems OK). Works great. I use
Acronis Trueimage already, so software was already to go.


FYI, you will not get the speed of an internal drive on a USB drive, even
USB 2.0. It takes about 4 times as long to backup to my external USB drive
than my internal backup drive (I backup two PCs to the USB drive once a week
and store it offsite). So if speed is a concern, you may want to look at
alternatives.
 
No need to pay a higher price for a ready-to-go external USB drive. Pick up
one of the low-priced ATA 100 or higher EIDE drives (Seagate or Samsung) and
stick it in a USB enclosure. Cost: about $100 for 200 or so gigs. I use an
Apricorn enclosure with a 200 gig WD drive (that developed a high-pitched
whine a week after install but otherwise seems OK). Works great. I use
Acronis Trueimage already, so software was already to go.
Click to expand...

Will I be able to use it on other computers like Macs? Are they compatible? I
was thinking external USB HDDs won't have this problem.

FYI, you will not get the speed of an internal drive on a USB drive, even
USB 2.0. It takes about 4 times as long to backup to my external USB drive
than my internal backup drive (I backup two PCs to the USB drive once a week
and store it offsite). So if speed is a concern, you may want to look at
alternatives.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is why I am not using it as a main drive. Just for storage. :)
I wonder if I can record videos (HDTV) to it.
--
"Is this stuff any good for ants?" "No, it kills them." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )
 
Will I be able to use it on other computers like Macs? Are they
compatible? I was thinking external USB HDDs won't have this problem.



Yeah, that is why I am not using it as a main drive. Just for
storage. :)
Click to expand...
I wonder if I can record videos (HDTV) to it.
Click to expand...

Yes you can, but since external drives arent as reliable,
you're taking more of a risk that you will lose some.
 
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