Solved: external hard drive advice

24_bauer_24 · 07-25-2008

hi guys

I am wanting to purchase an external hard drive to backup my photo and home movie collection (around 70GB) as well as my music collection (around 50GB), note that these backups will be from 2 laptops (1 XP, 1 Vista) and 2 PC's (1 XP, 1 Vista). I was wanting a 500GB model as i will be backing up monthly so will want to have space to be able to do so. I have narrowed my choice to what i feel are the best 2 options (feel free to make recommendations) which are:

Western Digital My Book Essential 500GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive
Freecom Classic 500GB 3.5" External USB2.0 Hard Drive / Black

i was wondering if anyone had any experience with either of these 2 hard drives or these brands and could tell me in terms of reliability which one is best (as i don't want to have to be replacing it in 6 months time!) i have read about reliablility problems with both of these drives (but they appear to be a small minority of cases).

Any help will be appriciated
cheers
tom

(btw if you are suggesting another hard drive, i am in the UK and that i have a budget of around £70 ($150)

Gandalf · 07-25-2008

I have two external Western Digital drives myself and have experienced not problems (knock on wood).
I can also recommend owning a Flash drive. It's a lot easier than carrying a R+W CD in your pocket.

Jelly Bean · 07-25-2008

I prefere:

Seagate Free Agent 500GB Hard Disk Drive - Tesco.Direct

24_bauer_24 · 07-25-2008

thanks guy's i already have a 2GB flash drive which i use for for transporting files between school and my desktop PC (unfortunately our school doesnt have a VLE built in to it's admin software that can be implemented into its website infastructure, so we cant access files from home over the internet so i use the flash drive as an alternative as well as for other things such as taking photos up to my parents house)

I had a feeling the WD drives would come out top, i will also look into the seagate drives though Jelley Bean.

Jelly Bean · 07-25-2008

You are welcome.

07-25-2008	#1
24_bauer_24 Bronze Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chesterfield, England Posts: 42	external hard drive advice hi guys I am wanting to purchase an external hard drive to backup my photo and home movie collection (around 70GB) as well as my music collection (around 50GB), note that these backups will be from 2 laptops (1 XP, 1 Vista) and 2 PC's (1 XP, 1 Vista). I was wanting a 500GB model as i will be backing up monthly so will want to have space to be able to do so. I have narrowed my choice to what i feel are the best 2 options (feel free to make recommendations) which are: Western Digital My Book Essential 500GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive Freecom Classic 500GB 3.5" External USB2.0 Hard Drive / Black i was wondering if anyone had any experience with either of these 2 hard drives or these brands and could tell me in terms of reliability which one is best (as i don't want to have to be replacing it in 6 months time!) i have read about reliablility problems with both of these drives (but they appear to be a small minority of cases). Any help will be appriciated cheers tom (btw if you are suggesting another hard drive, i am in the UK and that i have a budget of around £70 ($150)

07-25-2008	#2
Gandalf Elite Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: California, USA Posts: 4,408 PC Experience: PC Guru	Re: external hard drive advice I have two external Western Digital drives myself and have experienced not problems (knock on wood). I can also recommend owning a Flash drive. It's a lot easier than carrying a R+W CD in your pocket. __________________ Klaatu Barada Nikto < Pre-Work ><CPUID>< SFC >< AV Scan >< BSOD >< Belarc ><How-To Geek> Join the PC Help Forum WCG Team and fight cancer with us! Last edited by Gandalf; 07-25-2008 at 06:13 PM.

07-25-2008	#3
Jelly Bean Stoooooopid Girl. Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Swansea Posts: 12,803 PC Experience: None.	Re: external hard drive advice I prefere: Seagate Free Agent 500GB Hard Disk Drive - Tesco.Direct __________________ Rwy'n ceisio fy ngorau.

07-25-2008	#4
24_bauer_24 Bronze Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chesterfield, England Posts: 42	Re: external hard drive advice thanks guy's i already have a 2GB flash drive which i use for for transporting files between school and my desktop PC (unfortunately our school doesnt have a VLE built in to it's admin software that can be implemented into its website infastructure, so we cant access files from home over the internet so i use the flash drive as an alternative as well as for other things such as taking photos up to my parents house) I had a feeling the WD drives would come out top, i will also look into the seagate drives though Jelley Bean.

07-25-2008	#5
Jelly Bean Stoooooopid Girl. Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Swansea Posts: 12,803 PC Experience: None.	Re: external hard drive advice You are welcome. __________________ Rwy'n ceisio fy ngorau.

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