External Hard Drive Recommendations Needed

[zeekgarcia]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking around for the first time at external hard drives here in Thailand and I am wondering is one brand or model more reliable than the others because I will be using it to back up my computers and do not want to lose everything?

Thanks for your help and time!

[topt]

OP suggest you do a search as this subject comes up regularly -

here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/621214-what-is-wrong-with-western-digital/page-2?hl=%2Bhard+%2Bdrives#entry6154740 and here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/620662-external-hard-drive-help-needed/?hl=%2Bhard+%2Bdrives#entry6136163

for two of the most recent

For what it is worth my takeaway is that it seems to be pot luck for brand reliability. I have two WD Passports and so far no problems but others have had issues.

Multiple backups/drives seem to be the order of the day

[TexasRanger]

I have multiple Western Digital external drives, never hsd a problem, however, never put your eggs (or data) in one basket, any drive can fail at any time. Some colleagues have reported problems with the larger drives but my biggest is 1Tb.

[Chicog]

Just bought a Seagate USB 3.0 2TB, comes with a three yr warranty.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[JetsetBkk]

Western Digital 2.0 TB drives are now looking a bit dodgy. I know of 3 that have started to show bad "SMART" data. Also, WD used to give a 5 year warranty for these WD 'Green' drives, now it is down to 2. One of mine failed just after 2 years but fortunately was an old one with a 5 year warranty.

Having said that, if you keep the receipt and all the paperwork when you buy it, WD are quick to replace the faulty drive.

I am currently trying to get the local Samsung dealer in Phang Nga road Phuket to replace my failing 160 GB laptop drive that has a 5 year warranty. After my first visit I got the usual blank stare and "Cannot, take back to shop". But the shop I bought it at 3 years ago doesn't exist any more. This Samsung service centre was completely uninterested in dealing wit the faulty Samsung drive. I'm going back again this week. To be continued...

[Para]

Just bought a Seagate USB 3.0 2TB, comes with a three yr warranty. Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I bought one when they first came out and had to back it after a week too many delayed write errors. I am sure there were firmware issues with the first batch. As always.

[xen]

I have had seagates, WD and Buffalo Hard drives without any problems except the back-up software on the WD so i just do a manual backup. I have heard of more problems with auto back-up than harddrives failing.

[TexasRanger]

I'm always wary of large backups, I have seen it more than once where you are backing up large amounts of data and some of it doesn't go across but you see the folder and assume its all in there.

[Markaew]

I would suggest making your own. If you want a very reliable external drive this is the way to go. It cost a little more but you have a strong external drive.

You can go to Phantip Plaza and buy a external hard drive shell (single) that has USB and SATA2 connections. I haven't seen one offered else where. You can buy the multiple drive (raid) systems at Fortune City but they are really over priced and they don't include drives at anywhere from 8K to 10K. Then just buy a standard Western Digital hard drive and assemble. This way, you can get any size drive you want. Very easy to do and you have a very fast and reliable setup.

Granted it's a bit larger than the USB powered drives but it's much more reliable and faster. If you want potability, then maybe it's a bit too large for that. It doesn't have a slim profile. I have had one that has a WD 2 TB for over 3 years now and I keep movies and misc on it. It's perfect for me. I still can't fill it up yet and I use it quite often.

[Go4er]

I have two external Seagate USB Hard Drives (1 500GB & 1 1TB). Both of these are working fine for the last two years with no problems at all. Don't leave all you eggs in one basket as someone else has already mentioned. My important documents, files, etc. are also backed up onto 8GB DVD's as an additional storage media.

[tfc]

As things currently are I'd go for 2 individual 1TB drives over one 2TB drive just for extra safety. I've had drives die in the past and it was bloody annoying so I don't keep everything on one anymore.

[bluemoon58]

As you asking for advice, here's mine.

I have 2 Samsung 1TB and a Seagate 3TB and can honestly say I have never had a problem with any.

As someone has already said, "don't put all your eggs in one basket". I have backed up to both my Seagate and one of the Samsung's.

[NoshowJones]

OP suggest you do a search as this subject comes up regularly -

here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/621214-what-is-wrong-with-western-digital/page-2?hl=%2Bhard+%2Bdrives#entry6154740 and here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/620662-external-hard-drive-help-needed/?hl=%2Bhard+%2Bdrives#entry6136163

for two of the most recent

For what it is worth my takeaway is that it seems to be pot luck for brand reliability. I have two WD Passports and so far no problems but others have had issues.

Multiple backups/drives seem to be the order of the day

I have a Toshiba ex ternal hard drive and it is excellent, cost around 1.800 Baht

[Sheist]

Buffalo or WD external 2gb at Tesco Lotus on Sukhumvit. About 3000 baht. A great bargain. I have 2 Buffalos and one WD.

When I bought some at Power Buy last year, they were much higher.

[Sheist]

CORRECTION. I mean 2 TERABYTES.

[howsthat]

As has been said above, dont put all your eggs in to one basket. You cant go wrong with either Western Digital (WD) or Seagate, both companies make there disks in Thailand and both have a good reputation.

However all disks are mechanical and can break down. Both companies offer at least a 3 year warranty, some disks you will give 5 years. I work in IT and get through disks at the rate of 2 or 3 a year. I have never had any difficulty in replacing disks with either company. Both allow you to register on the Internet and boht will allow you to send back to them. If you purchase from a local vendor you will usually have to send back through them. I would recommend purchasing through an online store like www.invadeit.com, the site is in English and Thai, they customer service is amazing, I usually get replies within 30 mins of sending my mail.
You can look at the disks on line and compare.

I personally like WD. May be a better way to buy the disk, is to get the basic disk and then purchase a case for it. If you do this then make sure that you get the WD Red Series, these are designed for NAS and other sorts of back up. They will last longer, run cooler (important in Thailand).

If you want to get a external disk all in one solution then you need to decide if you want just a single disk, risky if it fails then you loose everything, or 2 disks that you can mirror, so that if one dies you still have a surviving disk.

Single disk would be WD MY book Essentials (2 TB), 3,590 Baht from InvadeIT.

Dual disk (Using RAID) also 2 Gb ie 2 x 2 Tb drives that are mirrored. WD My book Studio 7,990 Baht from InvadeIT.

If you can only afford 1 disk they you could use cloud storage, to automatically sync a directory on your PC with cloud storage, generally you can get 5 Gb free. If you need more then you pay.. Google Drives is probably the cheapest.

Have fun.

[poanoi]

Ok @howsthat, looks good, but i cant check if i can pay to a bank account or not,

and i have to since i have no credit card,

So: can i pay to a bank account at a bank ?

[esbkk]

INTEL SSD with a Thermaltake BLACX 5G

Edited April 9, 2013 by esbkk

[avander]

I have 3 externals. 2 WD essential usb 2.0 1tb and 1 Buffalo usb 3.0 3tb. All working now but the Buffalo failed after 1 week. The replacement has been fine. I would caution against putting a usb 3 expansion card into a usb 2.0 system. I had some initial driver problems which were fixed with an upgrade from vista to win 8. After all that I would suggest strongly you go for a NAS setup (Network Attached Storage) which seems to be the way its all going for external storage these days.

[SurfRider]

.
Does anyone know of a source for Hybrid hard-drives in Thailand? I checked with InvadeIT - they said Seagate formerly sold one but had pulled it from the market in Thailand.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

"An SSD can read and write data many times faster than the best mechanical hard drive. On the downside, flash memory is many times more expensive than the innards of a typical hard drive, so manufacturers have limited their SSD capacities to hit reasonable price points: A 128GB SSD costs about US$130, and for that same price tag, you can buy a 3.5-inch desktop hard drive that delivers 2TB of storage, or a 2.5-inch laptop drive that provides 1TB of storage."

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2012223/hybrid-hard-drives-how-they-work-and-why-they-matter.html
.

[Naroge]

In addition to external HDDs you might consider on-line BU as an extra precaution. Although nothing in this world is 100% safe, this is as safe as it can get. It also has the advantage of being off-site, so even if you house burns down (where you probably keep your PC AND external HDDS) you are safe. I use this for my most important files and for files that change continuously, as the risk if forgetting to BU is minimal.

[phuketrichard]

go with sea gate as it has the international warranty

I partition my drive on my computer and one drive is back u for important docs

than have 2 other externals that back up photos, docs and other stuff like installation disks for software

as others said dont just have one back up

Edited April 9, 2013 by phuketrichard

[howsthat]

Ok @howsthat, looks good, but i cant check if i can pay to a bank account or not,

and i have to since i have no credit card,

So: can i pay to a bank account at a bank ?

Yes no problem, you can pay to Kasikorn, BKK and SCB Bank. Send an email to ts at invadeit.co.th. I use at in place of the @ sign so that the poor chap does not get flooded with Spam. His name is Thomas. Tell him I sent you.

Edited April 9, 2013 by tomat

[Rinrada]

Got a 500 GB WD Passport about 2 years ago downstairs at Seacon Sq for around 1900Bt..and no problems.

[jampola]

I've had a 4 disk raid0/1 setup under linux on an old rack server for hourly database backups from another backup server. Been using the same 4 1TB 7200rpm Seagate Barracuda's for over 4 years now and the smart data doesn't indicate any errors on any of drives yet. Drives are pretty much constantly being written to also.

If you're backing up, stay away from SSD's... they still have limited writes and if it's only for backup, you're not going to benefit much from speed since it's only the seek time that makes SSD's faster, not so much continuous writes (still faster but not as noticeable)

If you only need a single drive connected via USB, stick with the Seagate Barracuda's or the WD Red's and buy a decent USB drive caddy. That way you can buy the drive with the best warranty.

[spidermike007]

Just bought a Seagate USB 3.0 2TB, comes with a three yr warranty.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Yes, the Seagate units are far superior to the WD. There is a reason the WD drives are everywhere. Quality seems to be poor, they are slower, are not as flexible with macs, and are an inferior choice. Pay slightly more for better quality.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[comserve]

Don't bother about backing up your whole computer, just buy a few 16GB genuine Kingston USB sticks. You should be able to backup your personal data on these. Anything else should be able to be re-created should the worst happen.

[howsthat]

As has been said above, dont put all your eggs in to one basket. You cant go wrong with either Western Digital (WD) or Seagate, both companies make there disks in Thailand and both have a good reputation.

However all disks are mechanical and can break down. Both companies offer at least a 3 year warranty, some disks you will give 5 years. I work in IT and get through disks at the rate of 2 or 3 a year. I have never had any difficulty in replacing disks with either company. Both allow you to register on the Internet and boht will allow you to send back to them. If you purchase from a local vendor you will usually have to send back through them. I would recommend purchasing through an online store like www.invadeit.com, the site is in English and Thai, they customer service is amazing, I usually get replies within 30 mins of sending my mail.

You can look at the disks on line and compare.

I personally like WD. May be a better way to buy the disk, is to get the basic disk and then purchase a case for it. If you do this then make sure that you get the WD Red Series, these are designed for NAS and other sorts of back up. They will last longer, run cooler (important in Thailand).

If you want to get a external disk all in one solution then you need to decide if you want just a single disk, risky if it fails then you loose everything, or 2 disks that you can mirror, so that if one dies you still have a surviving disk.

Single disk would be WD MY book Essentials (2 TB), 3,590 Baht from InvadeIT.

Dual disk (Using RAID) also 2 Gb ie 2 x 2 Tb drives that are mirrored. WD My book Studio 7,990 Baht from InvadeIT.

If you can only afford 1 disk they you could use cloud storage, to automatically sync a directory on your PC with cloud storage, generally you can get 5 Gb free. If you need more then you pay.. Google Drives is probably the cheapest.

Have fun.

Its just been pointed out to me that the actual website is www.invadeit.co.th not .com, sorry.

[S0S]

Possibly the best value for money and quite reliable is the Western Digital MyBook 2TB external USB3 (includes USB2) drive.

This one needs external power and is a little bulky for moving around. Also it should not be left on in a warm room for extended periods.

This is perfect for making a backup for storage.

More convenient and also reliable is the Western Digital 500GB Passport. It is smaller and takes its power from the USB port - ensure your USB port is with enough power though. Most modern laptops and desktops now provide enough power for this.

Prices at Phantip are quite reasonable but do walk and ask at at least 10 shops before buying. Price variation is sometimes over 10%, with the best deals on shops on the 2nd & 3rd floor in the less visible areas.

For ensuring a manual backup is the same as the original - try using the free WinMerge software.

For making an exact (compressed) copy of your full hard drive including the Operating System, try using the free Macrium Reflect

Edited April 9, 2013 by S0S

[avander]

I know this thread started with what drives are the most reliable but the answer is none so.....

Backup Strategy

As has been said it is not a case of if but when your drives fail no matter the quality. To that end whatever you decide make sure you have at least two reasonably current backups on different drives. If you are really retentive you could go for 3!

Consider if you need to and if so then how often you should backup your operating system (OS) and application software? If you don't change configuration of the OS or load or change applications regularly you may be OK with just one irregular copy of your Operating System (say monthly) and more regular backups of other data and documents to save a lot of time.

The strategy below covers it for me as I have worked in IT all my life and tend to play around with my PC in terms of the OS, applications and their configuration in addition to having all the household documents and reasonably sized multimedia librarys.

On-Site backups Apps and Requirements

I have been using a corporate style backup program called ShadowProtect^tm from a company called Storagecraft^tm for a few years now and found it very good. Before you ask, I have used it for restores on occasion but have been lucky not to ever have to do a bare metal recovery of everything.

For solutions like ShadowProect^tmyou need to be pretty computer savvy to work your way around the application and the best way to configure and use it.

Whatever app you use make sure to "RTFM" (read the manual/help thoroughly) for restore requirements such as a "bare metal" restore (where a new PC had to be acquired) or OS corruption etc as you may need to have the backup application or a part thereof, available on a bootable CD should you ever need to restore everything. If it is a simple case of getting back a lost folder or similar you can probably easily use your backup application to manage that or if you don't change a lot on your system then an "undelete" application may be useful too.

Frequency of Backup

Up to you depending on volatility of your data and applications but I do weekly backups to my 3tb drive. These consist of one full backup every month followed by an incrementals every week. Incremental backup only backups up what has changed and saves time and space. Traditionally problematic in my case this is managed very well by the ShadowProtect^tm application.

I keep two full sets of backup on that drive (ie 2 monthly backup sets). Then once a month I do a separate full backup to a different drive. I schedule the backups overnight on Saturdays and leave my system on those days it is scheduled. I don't like to leave my system running so I have set ShadowProtect^tm to shut my PC down when backup completes.

Off-Site and/or Cloud Backup

While I don't do one, the idea of keeping one off-site copy is also a good strategy and a relatively easy solution would be to do at least one full backup every month then disconnect that drive and leave it with a good friend.

I don't have the faith or bandwidth/time to do a cloud backup even of my important data and documents etc. I do however, use Google Drive^tm but not as a backup solution.

Oh, and by the way, you should consider NAS if you want to make your data and possibly even your applications available over a network.

For corporates it's pretty much the standard and many home users are starting to set up Network Attached Storage these days as I said in my early post.

It's an important topic so I hope the above is useful and not to much overkill.

Good Luck!

Edited April 9, 2013 by avander