Some questions before purchasing a new HDD!

Hi,

I am new to usb external portable drives. I want to know something. Suggestions, recommendations and advices are most heartily welcome.

If I buy a 1 TB HDD( not into SDD right now, just too expensive) can I use it to both backup my data/drives of internal disk and use it as my extended usage drive(like if my internal drives are nearly full I would use the external disk for my new files)?
I want to use the HDD for two of my pcs. Could I do that or do I need to have two separate disks for each pc?
We usually partition our internal disk when buying a new pc. Do I need to partition the external disk for better performance or whatever? If so how many?
Do I need to format the disk before using it?
Which brand and model of usb external portable 1 TB HDD do you guys recommend?

Best Wishes,
ams963

 

If I was setting up more than one machine, I would use one drive per computer. If you're only dealing with one external hard drive (What you can afford), then by all means...use it for both. A 1tb hard drive should be more than enough, unless of course you have tons and tons (Gb's) of software and music (Legal..Hope so ).

As for partitioning goes, that is entirely up to you. It depends on what your needs are, or how organized you want to be.

As for formatting, I would. If I want to use my drive or drives for an entirely different purpose, then yes it's good practice to format the drive. I recommend it. Yet again though, use your best judgement...it's up to you.

This is what I use for my external, Highly recommended.
http://www.amazon.com/LaCie-Rugged-...FXMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339396782&sr=8-1

It is pretty expensive, but it's 2Tb of space. I have had a good experience with mine, but keep in mind there is always bad reviews on any product you're looking up (Can't satisfy all).

 

Yes, you can go ahead and use the drive to backup your PC files and at the same time as an external drive. No problem there.

Don't bother partitioning it, it won't make a difference IMO. You can defrag it every once in a while but since it will not be in constant use i guess the performance impact is negligible. But it's still your choice.

I recommend you the truly portable drives (The ones that do not require an external power source), most of the big ones (3.5") need some kind of external power source and that sucks, just imagine yourself looking for a power source every time you need to plug the HDD, its a PITA.
Most the small ones do not require an external power source.

Personally i own a 1TB WD My Passport Essentials and it's been great. I can't really talk about reliability since i've owned it only 3 months and maybe plugged it like 10 times only. But i've a friend that is kinda careless with his personal stuff and he has a 250GB WD My Passport from 4 - 5 years ago and it's still going strong.

I would say that any major brand would do fine, but i like to purchase external storage branded by the same manufacturer of the HDD.

 

IronMan,

Does your computer have USB3 capability? Or eSATA?

 

@R and @Noob thx a lot my friends.

 

Two old pcs have USB2 only and the new pc has USB3. I do not want to spend money on separate HDDs nor would I need that much space. I wanna use a 1TB HDD for all the 3 pcs(1 netbook, 2 notebooks). Yes the 2 notebooks has eSATA.

 

My WD HDD is USB 3.0 and backwards compatible with USB 2.0, although it does not takes advantage of the USB 3.0 due to the HDD being the bottleneck, it was almost the same price as the USB 2.0 so i just got the USB 3.0 one.

 

I'm jealous I want a USB3.0 HDD or at least a USB3.0 enclosure. I only have an eSATA enclosure.

 

I recently purchased a 750GB WD MyPassport Essentials, and I am happy and impressed.
Although, during initial setup, I opted for password protection and within minutes (after a software update and firmware upgrade) my new password would not work. This was really BS, as I had set it up in KeePass and also copied the password into notepad for quick reference during setup. WD's unable to help you with "forgotten" passwords, so I had to format and lose my initial backup and start over. The WD tech support guy more or less admitted that there are frequent problems with password/encryption, and pretty much advised me to stay away from that.
Other than that, so far, I am very pleased with it. Great price and I am so amazed with its size... looks like a deck of playing cards.

 

Which brand, model and storage do you use adult?

 

You guys seem to use wd my passport essentials series. Is wd good? How about wd elements or wd my book studio series? Or how about seagate?

 

My personal experience with HDs over the years has been that WD is the way to go.
I am sure you have heard that with HDs, it's not a matter of IF they will fail, it's a matter of WHEN. With that in mind (and I concur with the adage, by the way), I have had two Seagates fail on me and never had a WD go bad. However, if you really start reading the reviews on all the sites like Newegg or Amazon, you'll soon discover that there are as many people complaining about WDs as there are people complaining about Seagates. So what you are doing... asking your pals here at Wilders... is a pretty smart way to go.

 

Of course. Why would I make a decision based on reviews on sites like Newegg or Amazon? I just read the specifications at those sites and the prices. Whether it's good or bad I always ask you guys. I know my friends here would never let me down.

And thanks for sharing your experience with WD and Seagate.

Actually I do not shop online. I intend on buying from a retail outlet. Those shops also seem to give more importance in selling WD HDDs. But the one particular I always get my things from have advised me on buying a WD my book studio series HDD.

So what do you think? Should I go for a 1TB wd my book studio series, wd my passport essentials series or a wd elements series?

 

Have you weighed the convenience of being able to attach it to your network?

 

Nope. I do not have a network. I take one notebook to the office, the other one I use at home and the netbook when I travel. So no network.

 

You want portable HDD or just an external HDD?

 

A portable external HDD. No need for the sarcasm. I'm a newbie more like a fresh baby in this matter.

 

Don't remember the brand of enclosure, because its put away at the moment. The HDD is the enclosure is a WD 2TB Caviar Green

 

Well i'm not sure if im using the terms properly or what but personally i view these 2 as different things.
Let me explain.


1. These are HUGE
2. Requires external power source
3. Not really that portable
4. Imagine yourself taking thise big thing everywhere and everytime you need it you have to look for a power outlet
5. They are often a bit faster than their smaller counterparts
**This is what i call an External HDD, it's just made to sit there behind your desktop/laptop as a backup drive or a network drive.


1. Really small and compact
2. You can even carry it in your pocket
3. Light
4. Does not need an external power source, it is powered directly from the USB port
5. A bit slower than the big ones but a lot more convenient. Smaller, lighter, less cables (Only USB)
**This is what i see as a truly portable drive, small, light and only 1 cable needed.

 

Ah I see. Okay got it. I want the truly portable hdd then.

 

Hahahaha, then just shop around for one. Depending where you live you can get em for a bargain.

Here where i live they sell the WD 1TB for around $169.99 (Dollars) + Taxes.
But i ordered it online and got it for $109.99 with free shipping.

 

Yeah I'll buy one pretty soon. I got no credit/debit cards or paypal account. I only got cash So I got to get it from my near retail outlet.

 

The savings resulting from online purchasing is often enormous.
You might consider having a friend purchase online for you, then reimburse him.

 

Um....what about shipping and warranty? I doubt I would get warranty from a shop sitting thousands of miles from my home. I would have to send the hdd back to them thousands of miles away in case some thing went wrong even if they did offer warranty. And shipping cost would probably cover up for the discount. I also have to pay the friend who would purchase online the amount of the fee the credit card charges for the purchase which I think depends on the amount of money spent.

I'm better off buying from the retail shop. Thx for the kind advice though.

 

A great many online purchases include free shipping. And you left out taxes. Unless the online store is located in the state in which you reside, there is no sales tax. No tax/no shipping. Pretty sweet.
Warranties are always by the manufacturer, whether you buy from a retail shop or an online store. A local shop might give you 30 days in which you can return defective merchandise to them, but then beyond that, it's between you and the manufacturer. Return shipping is on you, as is always the case, unless the online store provides you with a RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization), which many of them do, for defective products.

My credit card company pays me to use their card, in the form of rebates. There is no fee as you have suggested. And if you have cash, as you have indicated, then you are in a position to pay your monthly bill in full each month, thus incurring no financing charges.

In my opinion, it's almost ALWAYS better to make a purchase using a credit card. You can use the card company's dispute resolution service if there is a problem, wherein they will withhold payment and try to go to bat for you to get the issue fixed. Believe it or not, credit card companies often offer free extended warranties on your purchases. With my company, when you charge the cost of a covered product with your card, they will extend the terms of the original manufacturer's warranty for a period of time equal to the duration of the original manufacturer's warranty, up to one additional year on warranties of five years or less. When your covered product's manufacturer's warranty expires, the card company's extended warranty takes effect.

I don't know your age, but young people often discover that having no credit cards can actually work against them if/when they go to get a loan to purchase a home. It is always wise to establish credit, then always make your payments on time and don't go nuts opening too many accounts. A person can get into financial trouble if they are not able to control their spending, but when used properly, a credit card becomes a definite asset.
Good luck.