Need a recommendation for an External HD

[WildViper]

I am looking for a recommendation for a good external HD. I have had my own eclosure and my own drive before, but everytime I went to transfer large amounts of data...XP crashed the HD..messed up the MBR.

That has happened 3 times now with 3 different enclosures and drives.

So now I just want to buy a ready to go HD.

Also, the drives I am looking at are most of the time only USB 2.0 and doesn't have firewire. For video/music transfers and playbacks, will firewire work better? The regular firewire, not the newer faster one.

Appreciate your help.

 

[aznbomber]

I believe that if you are trying to decide between Firewire 400 / USB 2.0. I would personally go with USB 2.0 since on paper it should be faster. Firewire 400 is rated at 400mbps while USB 2.0 is rated at 480mbps. Also, there are more PC's with USB 2.0 and not Firewire meaning that it will be more portable for you in the future.

If you don't mind my asking, which three enclosures did you use ? I am curious as to why they would be causing you so much trouble.

 

[WildViper]

Thanx for that.

I have read that on paper USB is faster, but in reality firewire seems to be able to sustain the speed longer. I am not sure if that is accurate.

I am going to be capturing video in DV format and then editing it on this drive. Perhaps I should get an internal fast drive for this work and then transfer data out to external for back up. hmmmm...food for thought...

as for enclosures, I do not remember the exact brands, but from newegg, these are the ones that it looked like:

HD 1
HD 2

can't find the 3rd one.

Once again, the above enclosures links are just for the looks. The actual brands, I can';t remember. And I was always using Firewire connections.

 

[montag451]

Well, USB would be better in that 99% of computers have USB ports - so good for transferabilityness.
Firewire if you prefer Macs.

 

[Googer]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: WildViper
Thanx for that.

I have read that on paper USB is faster, but in reality firewire seems to be able to sustain the speed longer. I am not sure if that is accurate.

I am going to be capturing video in DV format and then editing it on this drive. Perhaps I should get an internal fast drive for this work and then transfer data out to external for back up. hmmmm...food for thought...

as for enclosures, I do not remember the exact brands, but from newegg, these are the ones that it looked like:

HD 1
HD 2

can't find the 3rd one.

Once again, the above enclosures links are just for the looks. The actual brands, I can';t remember. And I was always using Firewire connections.</end quote></div>

Correct, firewire has higher throughput. 1394b or Firewire 800 will allow higher transfer speeds and is reverse compatable (via plug adapter) with 1394a/Firewire400. A drive that I would consider is the Seagate Free Agent PRO. it has USB, 1394, and eSATA all in one. The only thing it is missing is a Gigabit connection. If you want 1394b for direct camera to drive transfers, then look at a Western Digital Mybook. The mybook world edition is probably the best bet for a laptop user or music lover since it has a Gigabit connection allowing any device attached to the network to access it's files with or with out wires. If you have a desktop or wish to take the drive with you or do diagnostic work, then I recomend the Free Agent pro because of it's eSATA port. The esata port will allow you to make it bootable in the even of drive failure. And the Free Agent's USB/1394 will allow you to carry it and plug it in to any PC.

http://www.costco.com/Common/S...-Top_search&lang=en-US
http://www.costco.com/Common/S...-Top_search&lang=en-US

EDIT: Only the 750GB Free Agent Pro has eSATA.

 

[RebateMonger]

They are comparable. I've used both. The biggest problem is that many PCs don't have Firewire ports, so you have to add cards. FW is far from universal in this world.

If you have special circumstances - you are using Macintoshes a lot or do a lot of video work, then consider Firewire. Otherwise, I'd stick with USB.

As noted above, the BEST option (for speed and versatility) is SATA. But you'll almost assuredly have to add SATA controller cards to most of your PCs. I've had MUCH higher reliability with external SATA housings than with USB housings. Any time you put additional circuitry between the computer and the hard drive (i.e. the IDE to USB converter circuit), you add additional complication and reduce reliability.

 

[WildViper]

Ok thanx.

The reason I am ok with firewire is cause all my computers have firewires. I make sure when I buy a computer, that it comes with firewire.

Esata would be nice, but I would have to buy a card for my desktop. Laptops don't come with that connections do they?

I want to make sure that I buy a good external hd that doesn't crash like the others have for me. It is wierd how they all crashed exactly when I initiated big transfers.

So out of Seagate/Western/Maxtor/Hitachi ...is the best brand Seagate since it gives 5 years warranty? Is that an indication of their quality of work?

THanx

 

[Old Hippie]

is the best brand Seagate since it gives 5 years warranty?

I like 'um because of the warranty.

One often overlooked fact, is the chipset used in these external cases. Here is a comparison of those. Try to find an external case that incorporates the better sets.

 

[thorin]

There are lots of external drives (and enclosures) out that do both USB2 and FW. Why not go with that solution. Not to mention that you can get them with LAN jacks and eSATA connections as well.

eSATA & USB:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...o=1785959&Sku=V13-3252

USB & FW:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...o=1495717&Sku=T13-1048

USB & LAN:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...pNo=1779382&CatId=2785

You get the idea....

 

[mather]

I would recommend you get a eSATA enclosure WITH a fan and an internal HDD. I think a fan is necessary for the long term health of the HDD. Without any air movement, you may end up cooking the HDD. I don't like many of the "ready to go" external HDD from the various manufacturers.

 

[MichaelD]

What is often overlooked or failed to be realized with external hard drives is that they are not meant to be run 24/7...though many people do. That's where heat problems come in. An external HD with a fan is better than one without; assuming you'll run that HD for a few hours at a time.

Putting any electronic component in a sealed box with no airlflow is never a good idea. For example; put your TV in an airtight box and run it...see how long it lasts.

I have two external HDs; both USB2.0. One has a standard 3.5" desktop drive and a fan. The other has a latptop drive and no fan.

I dont' run either of them for any longer than necessary to backup my files to them and shut them down. I've had the big enclosure for 2+ years now and it runs perfectly. The laptop one is very new...gets warm after just a few minutes. It's supposed to get warm. I put my files on it and shut it off.

If your motherboard has an E-SATA connection, I'd get a drive with that connection. If not, USB2.0 is universal these days. My two cents.

 

[WildViper]

I love the idea of external enclosures and such...as mentioned before, I have had 3 of them. However, I always get the HD messed up when I try to transfer large amounts of data.

Delayed Write Errors from XP Pro. I also do not use them for long time...probably a couple of hours at a time...but the write errors mess up the HD and thus I am thinking Seagate and Maxtor may have better chipsets/software to avoid that???

Am I wrong in that thinking>?

 

[MichaelD]

The odds of three different external HDs getting data corruption are slim to none; the culprit is either the data being corrupted to begin with or your computer/USB ports.

Some things to check/consider:

Do you have a USB hub that you connect the drive to?
Do you have a large number of USB devices plugged in?
Is your system properly loaded to begin with? I.E. motherboard/chipset drivers?
Do you have any problems shown in Device Manager?

 

[Synomenon]

Get an enclosure that has both firewire and USB. Mapower is a good brand. Sturdy enclosures and they use Oxford chips in their bridges.