Hey there pros. What is your recommendation for external hard drives? I know a lot of you probably build your own, but I'm talking about something I can use right out of the box.

Obviously performance is an issue, but reliability, and ease of use, are even more important to me.

Thanks PCHF!

Hello,
Well you could buy an internal HDD of your choice,I would go for SATA not IDE.

Then buy the case to connvert it to external.

This then ensures you have bought a good HDD.

You can buy a similar case like this 3.5" USB 2.0 SATA & IDE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE HDD CASE UK on eBay, also, Hard Disk Drive Cases, Laptop Accessories, Computing (end time 24-Mar-08 14:15:00 GMT)

Helloooo jelly bean,
Thanks for your response.

Is it very difficult to assemble my own external hard drive? And if I do, could you tell me your brand preference for a drive itself?

I am mechanically inclined, (I install ceramic and stone tile for a living) but this techie stuff scares the bejeebers outta me.

Hi Countryboy.
The case is easy.You undo 4 screws plug in 2 cables,one power and one sata.Put HDD in the case.Close the case up and redo screws.It is pritty much like installing an internal HDD.

Then plug in USB cable and power cable.

The cases usaly come with a driver disk install the driver or your HDD may have an driver disk.

Plug in USB connection to PC/Laptop and power cable.

Reboot PC then open my computer or disk management and format the external drive ready to use for storage.A warning will popup saying you will loose all data,just click ok and continue.

Found new hardware wizard should pick the HDD up.

Most of us go for Seagate,Maxtor and western digiatl HDDs.

Hmmmmm, almost sounds too easy.

Do you have a brand preference? Sorry, I don't mean to keep asking, I just want something good.

BTW, howd' you get a name like jelly bean? Just wondering, 'cause I like Jelly Belly beans, especially the buttered popcorn flavor, yum.

The case issue is not brand named,you do not need to go for an expensive make.Most of it is just a gimmick to get you to spend lots of cash.

I have the case I posted on link from Ebay.

The HDDs I would buy would be Seagate or Maxtor.Sata HDDs not IDE.Sata is faster data transfere.

Jelly Bean is my nickname,I am like a jumping bean I usaly cannot sit still for too long and I am hyperactive.

Miss Jelly Bean.