External Hard Drive

[Hom3r]

I've got a couple of WD Passport HDD both are 320 GB, no problems with them I use one for DVDs that I rip to them and play on my netbook.

[v0id]

I have both the 1TB LaCie mentioned in the first post and a 1 TB WD Elements bought from Amazon a few months ago (the WD was on sale for £45).
Both are smashing little quiet units, but the Lacie seems to transfer files smoother and quicker, and also has the added bonus of a HDD activity light on the front, whereas the WD has just a tiny white LED at the back.

Strangley though, the WD from Amazon UK came with a 3 pin adapter on a 2 pin plug, which I found weird :/

All of my external hard drives are 'Medion' brand, sold by ALDI. The advantage to me is that my Medion computer has a dedicated 'bay' which provides power ESATA & USB connectors for the drives, however they also work 'standalone' using an external power supply & either an ESATA or USB lead.

I've had a 500GB unit for 3 years, a 750GB unit for 2 years and 2 1TB units for around a year - all have performed 100% (Although the 500GB unit gets a little warm ...)

- the down side is that they are sold on a 'when they are gone, they're gone' basis, rather than being a stocked item.

In my opinion, even if anyone doesn't have a Medion computer with the dedicated connection bay, they are worth looking at for use with any computer with an ESATA connector, as not many external drives provide this interface & it is so much faster than USB, (Until USB 3 is standard, anyway)

[danielf]

Originally Posted by MadGamer

I had seen a WD on amazon, for £57. 1TB, so will go for that

Don't be a plank like me. I had one of those and put it on a chair next to me whilst transferring files. I got up, caught one of the wires on my foot, and the drive fell on the floor. Dead as a Dodo. Be careful where you put it. A two foot dop can kill a hard drive...

[alferret]

Originally Posted by MadGamer

Anyone got any opinions on Hitatchi or Western Digital Elements drives? are they reliable?

I have a 1tb Hitachi plugged into my media centre. Powers up & down when its switched on\off so there is no need to manually do it. It does what it says on the tin, its quiet & stores data

When that one is full I will add another Hitachi drive, think I paid £56 for it from tesco about a year ago.

[MadGamer]

So its either

WD
LaCie
Hitatchi

narrows it down cos I can just concentrate on 3 makes, but I night take a looki into LaCie as ive heard very good things about them

[raging bull]

The downside of Lacie is power supplies, like pricey to replace and not lasting long.
(Replacement power supply like 30 pounds inc 10 pounds postage, must be joking.)
So 24 months after purchase, bought new enclosure inc powersupply 15 pounds.
Brian

[MadGamer]

Bought this Western Digital Elements 1TB USB 2.0: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ef=oss_product

[slowcoach]

I have been using one of these docking stations for a few months LINK
I'm using it via the E-SATA connection but it can be used via USB2.
Comes with all cables PS etc. and when connected via USB it also becomes a 3 Port USB Hub together with a power take-off.
I see that they have a USB3 version in stock now.

[Delta Whiskey]

Originally Posted by slowcoach

I have been using one of these docking stations for a few months LINK
I'm using it via the E-SATA connection but it can be used via USB2.
Comes with all cables PS etc. and when connected via USB it also becomes a 3 Port USB Hub together with a power take-off.
I see that they have a USB3 version in stock now.

I do this too. I have a set of 1Tb and 2Tb drives that I use to make off site backups via an add in e-sata card to the sata dock. The dock sits on top of the computer and is a constant reminder to me that I should back up.

[Angel_LAN]

Western Digital external hard drives are the best, reliable and non expensive.