Portable drive for backups?

[Pghpooh]

HI
Would you use a portable drive like this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-my-p...lack/7869174.p?id=1219685573384&skuId=7869174 for backing up a drive?
Price looks good.

 

[UsandThem]

Yes. As long as your back-up is under 1 TB in size, it would work perfectly.

 

[LTC8K6]

It's $59 at Amazon, so that's the normal price for it.

$88 for 2TB.

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Passport-Ultra-Portable-External/dp/B00W8XXRPM/ref=zg_bs_595048_1

 

[Pghpooh]

Hi
Thanks for the info.
Backup is under 1 tb.
Why BestBuy? BestBuy is a 5 minute drive for me and,,, they match Amazon and New Egg prices.

 

[Elixer]

Just remember, this drive uses encryption, so, in the event the controller fails, you are SOL.
You CAN'T move this drive to your desktop to try and salvage anything. It won't work.

This is why I can't recommend any drive that uses encryption via the controller.

"Safeguard your data"? Hardly.
To clarify this a bit, if they allowed you to actually set a password, instead of you having 0 control over what it uses to encrypt the data, then, this is garbage.
Nope, you can't swap the drive into another unit of the same type, that won't work either.
A professional recovery service most likely can't recover the data either.
So, if the controller fails on the case, but the HD is still perfectly fine, you lose any and all chance of getting back your data.
How is this safeguarding your data, when you can't even get access to your data?

A much better deal is, find an enclosure you like, pick up a laptop HD from BestBuy (or whatever) and use that.

 

[Pghpooh]

Just remember, this drive uses encryption, so, in the event the controller fails, you are SOL.
You CAN'T move this drive to your desktop to try and salvage anything. It won't work.

This is why I can't recommend any drive that uses encryption via the controller.

"Safeguard your data"? Hardly.
To clarify this a bit, if they allowed you to actually set a password, instead of you having 0 control over what it uses to encrypt the data, then, this is garbage.
Nope, you can't swap the drive into another unit of the same type, that won't work either.
A professional recovery service most likely can't recover the data either.
So, if the controller fails on the case, but the HD is still perfectly fine, you lose any and all chance of getting back your data.
How is this safeguarding your data, when you can't even get access to your data?

A much better deal is, find an enclosure you like, pick up a laptop HD from BestBuy (or whatever) and use that.

Hmmm,,, glad I came back to look again.
Many years ago I bought a few hdd enclosures made by Vantec then added the drives. I totally forgot about them. I think my kids borrowed" them and never returned them! LOL
Gonna shop around for new usb 3 enclosures and larger drives.
Thanks

 

[UsandThem]

I never heard about that issue until Elixer mentioned it here. I use an enclosure and SSD for my back-ups, but I always looked at units like the WD as a simple to use device for the masses. It's a shame they designed it that way with the controller.

 

[Auric]

Data on WD 3.5" externals is likewise dependent upon the enclosure, and 2.5" have integrated USB adapters so cannot even be shucked for internal use. So other portables like Seagate/Samsung are generally preferred (but best to confirm by specific model). Internals generally cost more but of course retain their warranty used either way.