External HDD

I haven't heard of any problems with any makes but still went with a big name when I bought mine, a Seagate 250Gb. I back up as much data as possible every month then I'll ditch the oldest 'version'.

Tony

Bas,

Two options really.
3.5" disk drive will require mains power but have bigger capacities (now hitting 750Mb or more).
2.5" have a more limited capacity (120Mb last time I looked but probably more by now) but can be powered off of a couple of USB ports.
As a rough guide the faster it spins and the more cache it has the faster it will read/write data.
At the end of the day there are only a handful of companies actually making the disks and reliability is rarely a problem.
I have a 160Mb on a networked linux server that automatically backs up the pcs overnight. Fired that up a couple of days before my laptop disk failed! Also have a 2.5" 100Mb I use to shuffle video between the two pcs (doing the capture on one and the rendering on the other). Neither has ever given any bother and I honestly couldn't tell you what make they are.

Regards,

Willy.

Disk prices have tumbled in the last year or so. It goes without saying that if your data is critical (likely if it's personal photos & music)then you should think about 2 disks and use one as a backup of the other. One thing is guaranteed that sometime in the future a disk drive will break - it is a mechanical device. It's a game of percentages as to when it will fail. Disks do not like being turned off and on, it shortens their life. This is hard to avoid in normal domestic environments.

Any major manufacturer should be fine. 300GB disks seem to give the best GB/$.

Graham.

I use a Freecom Classic. Runs off the USB connection and backs up every hour automatically, then I unplug it and put it in my bag at the end of the day. Great reliable lightweight HDD. Couldn't ask for more.

If I can just offer my experience.

Do not get a cheap NAS drive (network attached storage) I was wooed by the idea of a harddrive being available on the network, there was even talk of accessing it from outside the home.

But they are slow, and I mean slow to boarding on insane. I started a copy of my itunes library to it one day of around 80gigs. That was going to take 14 hours, haha.

So don't get sucked in. I am sure NASes work higher up the price range but for 100 quid or so you can get say a Lacie Brick, which look cool and do a great job.

Bare in mind that no matter how quick the statements for the harddrive it will always be at the mercy of the USB interface. USB2 is quick, but the drive will not be as quick as an internal harddrive.

Thanks guys!

I just bought a LaCie 320 GB HDD. It cost me E 110 (UKP 75) which doesn't seem expensive. I just copied my ITunes library to it and it took about 12 minutes for 10 GB. Fine to me!

Regards, Bas

Just make sure in the advanced prefs of itunes you set the new location as the music folder otherwise it will just copy new imports into a new folder.

quote:

Do not get a cheap NAS drive (network attached storage) I was wooed by the idea of a harddrive being available on the network, there was even talk of accessing it from outside the home.

garyi did you have RAID5 enabled? (e.g. 3x500GB gives you 1000GB), this will significantly slow down your write speeds, as it has to "stripe" the data over the disks, however the read should be fast. If you want/need fast write then you will need mirroring (2x500GB gives you 500GB) or give up on protection from disk failure and get (2x500GB gives you 1000TB)

Got my place wired with Cat6, central patch panel etc. But still not bitten the bullet, ideally my media available anywhere, with central storage, but everything is so propritary (If I copied a DVD to central storage can any remote box play it - NO even if it is one I made myself!)

Can it handle WMV, QT and DIVX - no.

Everything is fractured - the hose is wired and waiting but the industry is so incompatible and the Price and/or DRM of some providers so restrictive I will not buy their content but but the CD/DVD instead. At least I can move that from one player to another and take it round to friends

All I can tell you is NAS was a really slow train wreck for me. The most frustrating experience I have had on a computer.

Barely usable for iTunes and these are not large files. It had USB interface as well so I was able to copy my library over that way otherwise something like 14 hours to copy 80 gigs.

All software which need to access the NAS also became a dog, iTunes was terrible and if it crashed then the library file was hosed so you had to start from scratch and drag the itunes music folder into a new iTunes, resulting in another hour or so wait whilst it updated.

Aperture and other photo apps simply could not use the NAS, I do not know if it was simple incompatibility or just terrible slowness. I had frequent drop outs and the NAS could not be in anyway used with Airport express.

As mentioned mine was the cheaper end of the market, a SONOS one.

I now have an old G4 powermac sat in the cupboard hardwired downstairs to the router and all is well in the world.

I use a couple of externals both are Maxtor. One is a One Touch 250gb and another which is a 320gb which I got from PC World just before Xmas in one of those online deals for £70.

You haven't listed it in what you are wanting a external for but I would ghost my main computer programmes just in case anything goes wrong

A point not yet made is that an external drive protects your files against theft. We all get very hung up on data loss due to equipment failure but few seem to consider more direct, and irremediable, types of loss.

I store my Lacie 250GB box in a small safe in a filing cabinet. I store it in the lowest drawer in the hope that a burglar would attempt to lever open the top drawer first thus actuating the interlocks on the lower drawers.

A question while I'm here. My Lacie sometimes is not recognised by XP. Once recognised, all is fine. No drivers are required for the Lacie, so the problem doesn't lie there. I feel the problem lies with XP and not with the HDD. Any ideas as to cause?

Fraser

A good alternative to the cheap NAS boxes is teh Linksys Nslu2. It's a palm sized Linux box that sits on your network and has 2 USB2 ports to connect disks. Set-up is via a browser and you can schedule automated back-ups from any other machine on the network. Can also mirror between two disks on the two ports. Haven't tried it for itunes or anything else real-time but it's excellent for back-ups (subject to Windoze networking crapping out ocassionally).


Regards,


Willy.