EHD Shopping - What's Good?

[Melissa]

11.1 GB left on my laptop! YIKES! I'm going shopping for my first ever EHD. I am looking for one that is 1 TB in size. I have heard that RAID drives are best. I am basically looking for one that will go with my laptop (I NEVER use our desktop for scrapping, photos or storage). There are so many options. It's a little overwhelming! The one I am looking at (isn't RAID), is this one:
Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme Desktop Drive, 1TB 7200 RPM USB 2.0/eSATA/FireWire (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10575417)

Any opinions about what I should get? I'm going to order soon. I'm afraid to buy and download kits, for fear that I'm going to get that horrid error message that says, "You've downloaded too much!" LOL TIA for your help!

[Raphne]

Ooooh, I just had a REALLY bad experience with seagate customer support and will NEVER buy a seagate drive again (this was our 4th seagate drive, I think, between dh and I). Any company can have a bad device, but when a fresh out of the package drive won't work, and contacting customer support is a major ordeal, it's a problem. Forget about phone support. Just won't happen. I say this after 2 30 min sessions listening to voices tell me the next available operator will be with me asap, in the middle of the afternoon on different weekdays. And phone support is only available until 6pm central time, although to be fair there are some weekend hours too. You can fill out a form on their website requesting support, and despite an intitial automated response assuring you your question will be answered within 24 hours, in my experience it took over TWO WEEKS to get an email back. . . telling me to call tech support. I did have better luck with on-line chat; the wait there was only 5 to 15 min (I used it twice). The first time they told me I had to go buy a special cable to make the drive work with my laptop (because it is powered by the computer, sometimes laptops, particularly macs, dont have enough power through their usb ports and so you need a y cable to plug it in to two usb ports-- something to think about if you have other devices to plug in to). After spending another $20 on the cable, and STILL having the device not work, I "chatted" with them again. This time they told me the device must be faulty and I needed to send it to them so they would send a replacement. I get to pay postage. . . but they will pay to send me the replacement. Generous of them, dont you think?

I'd have just returned it to the store except it was a Christmas gift and by the time I got all this sorted out the reciept was long gone and the packaging long since discarded. My bad, I suppose, for doing that!

[HeatherH]

Whatever you do, don't buy Western Digital!! They stink!:annoyed: I have 2 EHD's. One WD and the other is a Seagate and I've had no problems with the Seagate. The WD on the other hand, gives me errors all the time! I recently had to have the store reset some of the links to my purchases because I couldn't get them from the WD drive.:annoyed:

[idtwinmom]

OK - RAID is not a brand, it's a protocol that allows your data to be copied to multiple hard drives in one box. They are used by networks for storing large amounts of data that is business critical. A RAID setup is the best, because it is the least likely to loose data in the case of a hard drive failure because if one drive dies there are still others that have the data on them A 1 TB RAID would not give you 1TB of storage, it would be divided by the number of drives (usually at least 3) that the system is writing to.

As for a brand that seems to be the most stable and least likely to fail: IOMEGA or LaCie. My husband is a Network engineer and he purchased an IOMEGA portable for me for Christmas (but it's only 250 GBs). Western Digital is at the bottom of the list with Seagate barely above that. Since you are looking for something to use with a laptop you might want to go portable. My husband is totally for LaCie based on his research. The 1 TB is a reasonable price, but it is not portable. In this case - do you have a wireless network? Hook it into the wireless so that it can be accessed from anywhere in the house and you are not constantly moving it around! Also, if you can place it up high (out of reach of pets and kids) it is less likely to get bumped and dumped on the floor!

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to PM me!

[debilou]

I agree with what was said above... don't go with Western Digital... terrible customer service... and all I hear from my friends is PROBLEMS.

I don't have a RAID drive... but IOMEGA... and love it... and their customer service is wonderful... and it works great on a laptop (no EXTRA power cord needed when I'm plugged in).... Western Digital sometimes requires it..

And, I moved over to a mac... and yippee yahoo, the Iomega... downloaded it's drivers.. and it worked fine for me on the mac...

just a great EHD....

[debilou]

I wish I had a TB... just 550 GB for me..

and, another one for offsite... at 250 GB....

[JenniferG]

I have a Buffalo EHD. It's great thus far. It's small and barely noticable on my desk. It's portable, too. It came with 2 different usb connections, although I'm not sure what the second one is for so I haven't used it... But it will work right into my laptop, but I purchased a USB hub anyway because I already have SO much plugged into my laptop, it was needed! And the usb hub came with an independent power source, so what I plug in doesn't suck up power from my laptop. It's great. I've had the EHD since December with no issues.

I don't know where Buffalo is on the list. I did some research about the company and the product before I purchased it. Seagate does suck! My hard drive for my desktop is a Seagate and it's having issues. Eventually I'm going to be able to wash the drive and turn it into an EHD with the external enclosure I bought for it....a whole different story, though.

[Melissa]

Raphne, HeatherH, Lisa, debilou and JenniferG,

Thank you all so much for your advice! This is what I have concluded from reading your replies:

WD and Seagate: BAD.
LaCie or IOMEGA: GOOD.

I saw this one, LaCie, earlier, but was deterred by it's rating of only 3.5 stars:
LaCie 301199U Big Disk Extreme+ 1 TB Firewire800/Firewire400/USB 2.0 with RAID External Hard Drive (http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-301199U-Firewire800-Firewire400-External/dp/B000T9B46G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1235787060&sr=8-1)
and this one, but it's a little more than I'd hoped to spend:
LaCie 301350U 1TB 2big Quadra 2-Disk RAID Hard Drive (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=external+hard+drive+raid+1tb&x=0&y=0)


Thanks for your advice and opinions. I hope I can make a decision on which one to buy before Monday! I'm always so on-the-fence about these type of purchases!

[JenniferG]

Well, it's an important decision, right?! No need to rush into one...well, not completely rush anyway! LOL!

[Kathleen]

When it comes time to buy my next EHD (and it really is a question of when, not if, because eventually they fill up or they die), I will likely buy a G-Tech drive (http://www.g-technology.com/products/products.cfm?interest=all). They have lots of options - ultra portable, to ultra big. Lots of very solid reviews.

And I will preach for a moment here ... your data (photos and your digital stash) need to be in AT LEAST two places. And the best scenario is a automatic back-up routine that automatically runs and backs up your data (mine runs twice a week) that requires no manual intervention.

Since you are on a laptop, this probably means you need two hard drives. One that is always attached, and one that you plug in periodically and do a manual back-up to. Alternatively, if you are networked together to your desktop, and it has space on it, you could back-up to that computer. Personally, I wouldn't do it wireless as it would take FOREVER. Just like I wouldn't have my every day scrap set-up going from a laptop, wireless to another computer where everything is located. You will get so frustrated with the time it takes to get papers, photos and elements into Photoshop, or at least that is my experience.

[idtwinmom]

A wireless backup may take a little longer, and yes I agree you don't want your working files that way, but wireless can have it's advantages.

One thing I forgot to mention (well wasn't sure it would be in the price/size range you are interested in) would be any of the new Solid State hard drives. Currently they are a lot smaller, but their lifespan will be a lot longer! With no moving parts, there are a lot of positives!

[Melissa]

Ok, now that you all have mentioned having more than one place to back up...

My phone company, Frontier, offers Peace of Mind Protection. For as little as $4.99 a month, I can have unlimited backup. For $12.99, I can get tech support with it, as well as a few other options. Not really that expensive. So, here's what I'm thinking:

I could get a EHD without RAID, since I am working on a limited budget, and then also get the Peace of Mind Protection, so that I will have all my files backed up to two different places, with one being outside my home.

So all this still leaves me with one question. What EHD should I get that is under $200?

[idtwinmom]

OK, that is a real limited budget! You are not going to get a 1 TB EHD for that kind of price. I would be shocked if you could get a reliable 500 GB for that! But the best suggestion would be go to CDW.com, do a search with your criteria and see what you get!

[Melissa]

OK, that is a real limited budget! You are not going to get a 1 TB EHD for that kind of price. I would be shocked if you could get a reliable 500 GB for that! But the best suggestion would be go to CDW.com, do a search with your criteria and see what you get!


Here is one for under $200:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10099072

But I know NOTHING about Maxtor!

[Melissa]

And here is an IOMEGA for under $200:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10073731&findingMethod=rr

[Melissa]

Last one, I promise! :D

A LaCie:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9729731

[Kathleen]

The Frontier Peace of Mind option sounds like a good one. Make sure to verify that their service works with an external hard drive as well (since that is where your data will be). Many of the online backups only work with internal hard drives. I checked their website, and they don't specify internal/external, but I would definitely check. Also, the base price I see is $7.99/month, which is almost $100/year, which goes a long way to that second hard drive. But there is also something to be said for having your files backed up off site and done automatically and immediately.

As for what is the best drive for you ... since it will be your main resource and connected to your laptop, portability (size, and probably getting power via USB, not an external plug) is a key factor. Personally, I think any of the name brands mentioned above are going to give you about the same performance. Almost everyone has had a bad experience, either with a drive dying or poor customer support, that is going to flavor their review. If you see a couple drives that fit your requirements, look at the RPM speeds too, the higher the better.

I thought this was a good write up - you can read the whole article, but here is a direct link to the section about portable hard drives, which is what I think you will end up with: Portable Hard Drives (http://www.consumersearch.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives).

[Muma]

I've just gone to nextag and found these lisintgs

For LaCie
http://www.nextag.com/lacie-external-hard-drive/compare-html
For IOMEGA
http://www.nextag.com/IOMEGA-external-hard-drive/search-html

it seems you can get quite a high [even 1TB] volume EHD for under $200

[idtwinmom]

OK, you got me there! I would lean to the IOMEGA as a more reliable drive. But one thing to consider with both of those drives - I know the Maxtor's physical size is "huge"! How big is the IOMEGA? Maxtor may have connectivity issues (seems to be real sensitive to movement - this is direct experience by my DH)! Also look for an HP (Hewlette Packard)! They apparently have some new drives!

One other thing I will say: as soon as you go "cheap" you go poorer quality even with better name brands.

[Melissa]

The Frontier Peace of Mind option sounds like a good one. Make sure to verify that their service works with an external hard drive as well (since that is where your data will be). Many of the online backups only work with internal hard drives. I checked their website, and they don't specify internal/external, but I would definitely check. Also, the base price I see is $7.99/month, which is almost $100/year, which goes a long way to that second hard drive. But there is also something to be said for having your files backed up off site and done automatically and immediately.

As for what is the best drive for you ... since it will be your main resource and connected to your laptop, portability (size, and probably getting power via USB, not an external plug) is a key factor. Personally, I think any of the name brands mentioned above are going to give you about the same performance. Almost everyone has had a bad experience, either with a drive dying or poor customer support, that is going to flavor their review. If you see a couple drives that fit your requirements, look at the RPM speeds too, the higher the better.

I thought this was a good write up - you can read the whole article, but here is a direct link to the section about portable hard drives, which is what I think you will end up with: Portable Hard Drives (http://www.consumersearch.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives).


Thanks Kathleen! I know I can be a pain when it comes to my research of these type of things.

When I logged into my account at Frontier, it showed their special pricing, so maybe that's why I didn't see the $7.99.

Perhaps that is why I have a hard time deciding: I listen to ALL reviews, and if there is just one bad one, I keep looking. I know I'm not going to find a product that has 100% good reviews, 100% of the time. Maybe I'm setting my expectations too high.

Thanks for the link to the article. I'll sit up tonight and read it (I'm a night owl). :)

As far as RPM's go, is an RPM of 7200 good or is there more?

For someone known as a tech geek to her family and friends, I sure feel like a tech dummy! :lol:

[Kathleen]

So, the Maxtor drive is big.If I were in your shoes (or your pants, sitting in your chair with your laptop, and a hard drive), I wouldn't want one that bulky. The LaCie is also big. I have an iOmega - I call it my flask drive. It used to be my travel drive, but then it got too small (mine is a 120GB), so it is kind of a back-up of a back-up drive if I need to dump some stuff on it.

I wish there was a perfect answer, but you are going to have to make some trade-off decisions :think:

[Muma]

I also read in a review that ReBit is a good make but can't find the review atm ... thought I had bookmarked it ... but nope.

[Kathleen]

I know what you mean about researching things to death - I actually think it is a disease. But not that bad of one to have!

7200 is a good speed.

[idtwinmom]

OK, those are all cheaper because of the size and type of drive. They will be larger, less able to be moved because they are not "portable" drives! I was, however, quite shocked to see the LaCie among them! If that is you budget, I would lean heavily toward the LaCie! And then add the backup from the phone company for sure! Remember, these drives are all designed to sit on a desk, not be moved around!

[Melissa]

Ok, this one is portable. I'm leaning towards this one.

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/74/27/09/34/0074270934267_215X215.jpg

Is this the one you have Kathleen? It looks like a flask! :lol:

[Muma]

And don't forget 1 bad review means nothing ..... 20 bad reviews has more meaning.
Just because 1 person didn't get on with it doesn't mean its a bad product.

[debilou]

Have you checked the ratings on

www.cnet.com

I really not only value their ratings... but look at "what the customer reviews say"...

I get some really good opinions there on electronics...

that I would never have seen anywhere else...

Like there were I found some HORRIBLE info on Western Digital... about having to have an extra power cord... that they just forget to tell you about...

[Kathleen]

Ok, this one is portable. I'm leaning towards this one.

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/74/27/09/34/0074270934267_215X215.jpg

Is this the one you have Kathleen? It looks like a flask! :lol:

Sorry, I went to bed last night!

It is very similar to what I have. I have a smaller version (truly "portable" and smaller capacity) In this photo I have the little red one (.75" x 3.5" x 5.25"), you are looking at the bigger blue one (8.1L x 5 W x 1.65 H), .

http://a972.g.akamai.net/7/972/8034/01874412182434/go.iomega.com/img/iom/promo_us/HDD_hero2.jpg

When I look at iOmega's web site at the 1TB eGo Desktop Hard Drive (http://go.iomega.com/section?SID=fa5062a81a78721dee742d8dc4f7762f695:47 60&secid=40039) it shows it comes with a power source, which I would assume you will need.

Could you maybe go with a 500GB portable drive, and store maybe photos on the laptop, scrap stuff on the portable (or the other way around)?

I guess I am stuck on the portability factor, and am putting my preference on you. So it comes down to how portable do you want to be, and how concerned are you about having to have two power sources (one for the laptop, one for the EHD) connected to your laptop.

[debilou]

I have the one that the top one...

[Raphne]

I have to agree with you on the portability issue, Kathleen, but then I do my scrapping on my laptop and I take it all kinds of places. If you leave it in one place most of the time, it probably isn't much of an issue. So your "style" really matters.

I also have to agree with you about one bad review-- or even 20, if the other 500 are positive. I think you have to actually read what the person has to say and decide if their experience is relevant. Customer service matters a lot to me, thus my bad review of seagate at the beginning of the thread lol. I guess I'm spoiled by my experiences with Apple ;). I also feel that no matter how good the company, a bad device is going to pop up once in a while, and how they respond to that is really important.

[mom2bsa]

I have two external hard drives. Both are from Fabrik and are branded SimpleTech. I got them from Best Buy and have been happy with them. Knock on wood here....I've not a bit of trouble with them.

[Melissa]

Ok, I made my decision. And I am keeping in mind, if I am not happy with it, I have 30 days to send it back, soooo....

I bought, based on CNET's review, the Seagate FreeAgent Go, 500GB. I know I don't NEED 1TB right now, as I am only approaching filling the max of 250GB at this point. It was cited on CNET as their favorite portable EHD and Editor's Choice. But if it doesn't operate to my expectations, I WILL send it back. I am the queen of returns! LOL

Thank you everyone for your advice, opinions and guidance! It certainly helped when I was lost in a sea of EHD's! :)

[Kathleen]

Glad you made a decision! A little tip ... when you get it put a couple pieces of velcro on it, as well as on the top (back of the screen) on your laptop so you can keep it attached. Several times while I have been "tethered" I've gotten up to move and almost had everything go crashing to the floor!

[Melissa]

Glad you made a decision! A little tip ... when you get it put a couple pieces of velcro on it, as well as on the top (back of the screen) on your laptop so you can keep it attached. Several times while I have been "tethered" I've gotten up to move and almost had everything go crashing to the floor!

Thanks Kathleen! I've done that before with my camera hooked to my laptop by USB. That was a scary moment, for my camera! :yikes: I'll definitely give it a whirl!

[HeatherL]

I have 2 Seagate FreeAgent Go 500GB. I have been very happy with them and have had no issues. They do sit on a desk attached to my Desktop computer and have very little chance of being knocked over. I contacted Seagate twice in December about another product for my Mac. They were helpful. Good luck with yours.

[Melissa]

I'm a Free Agent!!! :D

I got my Free Agent Go 500GB today! So far, so good. If I wanted to be nit picky, I would say that I wish I had held out for a EHD with 7200 RPM's. This has a little over 5000, so it doesn't accept what I am moving as fast as my liking, but it's definitely something I can learn to live with.

I am still moving things over to my new EHD, and so far I have freed up over 40GB. That's prime real estate! :lol:

So Spring is coming, and that means Spring Cleaning. But for my computer! I can't stand a cluttered computer. I am so happy to have my EHD now. :)

Thanks again to everyone who helped me. :)