External Hardrives. Reccomendations Please.

[DirkGently]

I have been pondering the pros and cons of an exteranl hardrive, but I don't know which way to jump.

The price and ease of hardrives in slim metal cases that I have seen in Pantip plaza make them seem to fit the bill, but I have been told they over heat.

I don't really know what the larger boxes with fans do. I only really want it to store photos for long periods of time. I know that cds should be viewed as a tempory storage media.

What do you suggest?

Now go easy on me. No techno-jargon as much of it will pass me by.

Thanks for any effort you make.

[eek]

I have a great little slim one called gigasave noontec. 2.5 HDD. http://dma.net.au/index.php?action=display...ct&pid=4654 (cant remember the exact price but around 3-4k baht i think)

I use it just as a back up to my laptop. (I also generally have everything compressed in a rar file then put onto the external drive just to keep it tidy and save space)

Basically you just plug it in, file pops up, open and drag and drop what you want to upload or download to/from it. Can also just view the files in the same with the same programmes you use on your computer.

Simple.

As for overheating..im a little confused. I guess if you were keeping it plugged in, then yes, would get very hot over time and could corrupt the drive. If you are using it only as storage and viewing etc (as you suggest) then you dont need to worry about that.

If you do want to keep it plugged in for long lengths of time (hours) then one with a fan option would probably be the way to go (but i have no personal experience of those).

If anything i have mentioned is confusing or need more info, ask and ill clarify/elaborate.

[rambling]

Depending on your specific requirements such as: storage space, portability, price, utilities (backup?) I would look at those large boxes with fans ;-) They're probably NAS (Network-attached storage) solutions, for e.g. from Buffalo or Western Digital. They come in many sizes and features (wireless connection, media streaming, P2P servers etc.) so it really depends on your needs. Run a google search on NAS or go to cnet.com to check them out.

Another option if you just want to store photos is using something like Picasa Web or Flickr. On Flickr for example you get unlimited space and bandwidth for $25 a year and you can store original size pics. Google's Picasa gives 1GB for free and then tiered pricing. In terms of backup those online solutions are probably safer and more cost effective than storing on your own drive.

I have been pondering the pros and cons of an exteranl hardrive, but I don't know which way to jump.

The price and ease of hardrives in slim metal cases that I have seen in Pantip plaza make them seem to fit the bill, but I have been told they over heat.

I don't really know what the larger boxes with fans do. I only really want it to store photos for long periods of time. I know that cds should be viewed as a tempory storage media.

What do you suggest?

Now go easy on me. No techno-jargon as much of it will pass me by.

Thanks for any effort you make.

[eek]

btw..you of course dont need to go with that make and model.

There are so many great ones to choose from.

First work out how much space you need (if unsure how to do that then let me know and ill help) then find a model that covers that and then some within your budget.

edit: or what rambling says XD

Edited June 24, 2007 by eek

[DirkGently]

Thanks EEK! I think you have answered my question. I only intend to plug it in and save files (photos, valuable songs and important videos).

As for overheating. I don't own one yet. The threat of overheating was mentioned to me by people who have differnt models.

The 2.5hdd you own. Is that the size of the disk? Are there different pros and cons for differnt sizes?

Thanks for your timly response.

[Guest Reimar]

If you want to store mainly photos and if you want to move the photos at same time from memory cards (used in Cameras) I suggest to buy an DigiMate III + with internal Cardreader (Multi) and Battery and an 2.5" HDD up to 160 GB.

The advantage of this one is that you can also copy the photos directly from a memoryard to the Hard disk without the need of an computer! If you on traveling and ake a lot photos, you can easy transfer the [photos from a memory card at any time. The internal Battery last for quite a long time without charging.

Connected to an computer you can switch on and of just as you need the drive. So overheat isn't a problem.

I use this drive already for a long time without any problems.

[eek]

Dirk, reimars option sounds pretty good if you are on the move.

As for your question the size of my drive is 40gb which is ample for my needs. My laptop holds 60gb. I like this drive because it is so small (about the size of a wallet) and stores a lot.

If you need to work out the size you will need then go to your photo album and right click on the main folder. go to properties and click. you will see how much gb is used (if you already know that..ignore me ) you can always compress the files for more space too.

The benifit of having a bigger drive is that you can store more info, smaller less. This also reflects the cost. So important to work out your needs first so you are not paying too much for a big drive or wasting your money on a cheaper drive that doesnt store all you need. Once you work out what you need, round it up a bit, to give you extra storage space for future use.

[Guest Reimar]

Not only if you on the move!

For me it's an advantage that I can switch on and of as I need without to disconnect the drive. At same time the Battery is charged automatically over the USB connection. One more advantage is that you need only 1 USB connection because the battery spin-up the drive even if the used USB port has not power enough!

I use the DigiMate with 120 GB but the max. is 160 GB while you can use the size as you want! Sure it's also a question of costings!!

The DigiMate III+ case cost about Baht 1,300.00 incl. power Supply for 100-230V, rechargeable Battery and USB Cable. The HDD is depend on the capacity.

[rambling]

Sounds like an on-the-go solution to me too. But it doesn't mean you can't use it in a more stationary fashion

Another kind of on-the-go solution is using an HDD based iPod, I store quite a bit on my 80Gb iPod since my music only takes up about 30Gb. There are also fancy card reader solutions that integrate with the iPod like this one specifically for transferring photos.

If you want to store mainly photos and if you want to move the photos at same time from memory cards (used in Cameras) I suggest to buy an DigiMate III + with internal Cardreader (Multi) and Battery and an 2.5" HDD up to 160 GB.

The advantage of this one is that you can also copy the photos directly from a memoryard to the Hard disk without the need of an computer! If you on traveling and ake a lot photos, you can easy transfer the [photos from a memory card at any time. The internal Battery last for quite a long time without charging.

Connected to an computer you can switch on and of just as you need the drive. So overheat isn't a problem.

I use this drive already for a long time without any problems.

[MisterMan]

HI All,

Went through a similar situation and this is what I learned.

1. That the small cute slim ones in a nice coloured metal case with sony on the outside were not necessarily a sony hard drive on the inside.

2. I bought a Samsung hard drive and tried to save money putting in the case myself so I bought a super cheap case for like 200 baht.

3. the hard drive broke 2x. It was underwarrenty and so a shop here in Phuket sent it to somewhere to be replaced, 2x WITHOUT recovering any of the date. I chocked it up to bad karma for all the stuff on there downloaded from Bit torrent. anyways....

It was the case that was breaking something on the harddrive.

3. I bought a more expensive case, for 500 baht and no problems. The new case is Tsunami.

4. I was quite pleased though that Samsung replaced it free, although I had t pay 500 baht handling to the computer shop, it seemed well worth the hassle-free transaction.

When you buy the hard drive they can install it in the case so you can see whats inside although doing it ourself is remarkablly easy.

I have 80 gig and think that its great as i can put anything and everything on there. The stuff im not sure about, music and high res photos........ I dont have to worry about storage space and it is not that much more for 80 over 60.

I found a Free Program for Syncing and Backing up and recognizing new files from the PC and only copying new ones or even updated ones. OR syncing. ITs SO EASY to use and quick......

http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware

[hanumanix]

I've been using a 500 GB Maxtor OneTouch III for about a year now. (http://www.maxtorsolutions.com/en/catalog/OTIII_Triple/)

Only real complaint is the blinking blue LED. (I'm guessing it's an LED) It pretty much lights up my whole #@(*()@ room at night, even when my computer is sleeping. That being said I don't really use it that "hard." i.e. I generally turn it off when I'm not using my computer. I've always heard/read/imagined western digital makes a good HD. Also just read (wikipedia.org) that many come with a 3 year warranty.

[rambling]

Btw, if you're considering a USB connecting drive vs. a network attached one then it's not a big deal these days since you can also get a router with fileserver at a later point in time and attach your existing drives to it. The new Apple Airport Extreme (with 802.11n - the new high speed standard) has a built-in file server for example. I would recommend going for a big NAS mainly if you need RAID arrays and other built-in server services like streaming media, p2p etc.

[autonomous_unit]

Yes, I'm not sure if I can speak slowly enough to please Dirk but it's worth considering what you are trying to do...

You mentioned not seeing CD as permanent storage for photos. You also should not consider a single hard drive to be permanent storage! You may get away with it for years, but you also may be one of the unlucky ones who has a drive failure after a few months. As was mentioned above, even if the warranty gets you a replacement drive, you've probably lost some (or all) of the data on the failed drive.

The easy solution here is RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks). If a disk fails, it should give you time to get a replacement and copy your data over again before the other disk also has a chance to fail. Note, this is not a replacement for real backups to CD/DVD or tape, because it only helps with disk failure. It doesn't help you if you issue the wrong commands to the computer, or if the computer or some program crashes and corrupts the data on the filesystem.

You can do the super cheap manual effort: buy TWO of the USB drives and make sure you keep regularly copying your photos onto both disks. The disadvantage is that you have to be diligent or you might forget to copy the data frequently enough, so it stops being redundant!

Better yet, you can buy one of those RAID-capable storage boxes like the Buffalo NAS which has two (or more) drives in it. The advantage of this kind of product is that it looks like one drive to your computer, and automatically copies the data to both disks whenever you use it. In either case, if a disk fails, it should give you time to get a replacement and copy your data over again before the other disk also has a chance to fail.

If you do buy a NAS box, it is essential that you choose one with the redundant RAID modes such as RAID1 (mirroring) or RAID5 (parity protection) and that you actually enable this mode. If you choose the non-redundant striping mode (also known as "just a bunch of disks" or JBOD), it gives you more space but it is actually more risky than operating one drive, because you lose your data if ANY disk fails. With the redundant mode, you lose your data only if TWO drives fail at the same time.

[rambling]

Well if we're going into proper DR solutions then we should also mention the merits of having an additional off-site backup against thieves, fire, hardware failure (RAID fail as well) and user error.

Actually this is where online storage like Google Picasa, Flickr and even Box.net shine, they take care of all this backup / RAID / DR / Capacity planning / Privacy etc. The main disadvantages are speed and the need to have an internet connection to access those files.

Yes, I'm not sure if I can speak slowly enough to please Dirk but it's worth considering what you are trying to do...

You mentioned not seeing CD as permanent storage for photos. You also should not consider a single hard drive to be permanent storage! You may get away with it for years, but you also may be one of the unlucky ones who has a drive failure after a few months. As was mentioned above, even if the warranty gets you a replacement drive, you've probably lost some (or all) of the data on the failed drive.

The easy solution here is RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks). If a disk fails, it should give you time to get a replacement and copy your data over again before the other disk also has a chance to fail. Note, this is not a replacement for real backups to CD/DVD or tape, because it only helps with disk failure. It doesn't help you if you issue the wrong commands to the computer, or if the computer or some program crashes and corrupts the data on the filesystem.

You can do the super cheap manual effort: buy TWO of the USB drives and make sure you keep regularly copying your photos onto both disks. The disadvantage is that you have to be diligent or you might forget to copy the data frequently enough, so it stops being redundant!

Better yet, you can buy one of those RAID-capable storage boxes like the Buffalo NAS which has two (or more) drives in it. The advantage of this kind of product is that it looks like one drive to your computer, and automatically copies the data to both disks whenever you use it. In either case, if a disk fails, it should give you time to get a replacement and copy your data over again before the other disk also has a chance to fail.

If you do buy a NAS box, it is essential that you choose one with the redundant RAID modes such as RAID1 (mirroring) or RAID5 (parity protection) and that you actually enable this mode. If you choose the non-redundant striping mode (also known as "just a bunch of disks" or JBOD), it gives you more space but it is actually more risky than operating one drive, because you lose your data if ANY disk fails. With the redundant mode, you lose your data only if TWO drives fail at the same time.