Best brand for an external hard drive?

[jokerthief]

I need more space so I am thinking about getting an external HD to act like a second HD. I will be using it as regularly as I do my primary drive. My number one priority is that the drive doesn't crash. I've been browsing new egg and most have at least one person who have had their's crash on them. So what is the most reliable brand(s) for an external HD?

Also is it a good idea to use an external HD a lot, instead of just a back up device? I do have a slot open to get an internal HD but I thought that it would be more convenient to have an external. I'm going to put a lot of valuable data on it, so I want to be fanatically safe.

[BiggieFats]

Get an internal. I feel that you should only use an external for back up only and not on a regular basis.

[BiPolar_Nut]

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My number one priority is that the drive doesn't crash. I've been browsing new egg and most have at least one person who have had their's crash on them. So what is the most reliable brand(s) for an external HD?

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Luck of the draw. If you're not running a redundant RAID array (RAID 5, RAID-1, RAID-10) you will eventually lose data. Modern hard drives suck. Period.

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Also is it a good idea to use an external HD a lot, instead of just a back up device?

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Makes no defference...they're the EXACT same drives you'll find available as internal drives....and leaving them run 24/7 may be easier on them as most of the current drain is on spinning up the spindles. External drives are nothing more than internal drives in enclosures w/ separate power suppilies..they're still PATA or SATA drives in almost every case.

You could spend 5x the price and go SCSI, but I've killed a bunch of SCSI drives as well. Best bet is to implement RAID or just back everything up and count on a drive failure.

My $0.02

If you're anal about backing up....1 extra drive isn't enough. Go w/ a RAID array, tape backup AND back up to CD/DVD/offsite backup service provider.

You WILL lose data on hd's. Personally, anything I have that I want to keep I store on 3 computers + CD or DVD....and I still lose data sometimes. The more important the data is to you, the more copies you should make of the data (and preferably on different media).

[TheMetetron]

Get another internal and run a RAID setup so you don't lose much, if any data, when your HD eventually dies. If your data is really important to you that is the only way to do it. I don't value most things that much, but if you do its a good setup.

I use 2 external 250 GB drives for pretty much everything that isn't a program running on my computer. All files (music, video, pictures, documents, games) are on the externals... the important files like my vacation photos are on both as well as DVD.

Like someone said externals are just internals in a case. One of my externals is my last computer's internal hard drive that I just popped into an external enclosure. $30 and my drive didn't go to waste. You can always do this with an internal if you buy one and decide you want it to be external later.

[Grunch]

I've always been partial to Seagate & WD drives. I bought this 2.5" hard drive and this enclosure and I'm pretty happy with them both. The drive goes to & from work in a messenger bag on my bike sometimes several times a week -- no issues so far, and the enclosure does a good job powering the drive via USB on pretty much any machine.

[goldtoes]

I have used about every brand of Hard Drive and Seagate, IMO, has been the best to me.

[Freakin]

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redundant RAID array

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speaking of redundant.... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[BiPolar_Nut]

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redundant RAID array

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speaking of redundant.... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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hey...that was quality material straight from the department of redundancy department!