Recommendations for external hard drive

C

CalvertNewbie

Guest
My Mom asked for an external hard drive for Christmas. She has a new Gateway computer with Vista, only used for personal use. She's had issues in the past with computers crashing and personal info being "lost" so she wants to prevent that from happening again.

I know nothing about them and she's no expert either. I'm hoping you guys can give me some recommendations on what to buy for the best price. She saw one on QVC for about $130. I quickly looked online at Best Buy and saw some in that price range as well. Is that a reasonable price?
 
M

Mousebaby

Guest
CalvertNewbie said:
My Mom asked for an external hard drive for Christmas. She has a new Gateway computer with Vista, only used for personal use. She's had issues in the past with computers crashing and personal info being "lost" so she wants to prevent that from happening again.

I know nothing about them and she's no expert either. I'm hoping you guys can give me some recommendations on what to buy for the best price. She saw one on QVC for about $130. I quickly looked online at Best Buy and saw some in that price range as well. Is that a reasonable price?
Click to expand...

Seagate Free Agent with firewire connection, fast and awesome!!!!
 
dustin

dustin

UAIOE
How much does she intend to backup? Hard-drive sizes vary greatly. More space = more $$$

I'd go with any brand name. Or you can buy the chassis/box and install your own hard drives. It ends up being close to the same price if you build one.

Also, plug and play is always a good thing. The less drivers to install the better.
 
Kerad

Kerad

New Member
I've had a Western Digital MyBook (firewire/USB 2) for years now. Never had a problem with it.
 
D

donmagicyourmom

New Member
get a maxtor one touch. it comes with software to do automatic backups as frequently as you want and restoring it is a breeze. My 500gb was $130 about 18 months ago so it'll prolly be around $100 now
 
GWguy

GWguy

*
donmagicyourmom said:
get a maxtor one touch. it comes with software to do automatic backups as frequently as you want and restoring it is a breeze. My 500gb was $130 about 18 months ago so it'll prolly be around $100 now
Click to expand...

I've had a lot of issues with the Restrospect Express software that comes bundled. The Maxtor drives are fine, I just use different software for backups.

All but one of my external drives is LaCie. I've had no issues with them at all. I usually buy one of their refurb units at a substantially lower cost, 90 or 180 day warranty.
 
D

donmagicyourmom

New Member
now i've been using my Apple Time Capsule. Its a wireless N router with a 1tb drive built in so i can back up my macbook pro without wires. I think it works with windows but its pricey (around $500)
 
itsbob

itsbob

I bowl overhand
I have a Dragon, 2.5 external HD.

Small, compact, easy to travel with. Can fit in the inside pocket of a suit jacket..

ZERO issues in the last two years that I've owned it.
 
C

CalvertNewbie

Guest
donmagicyourmom said:
get a maxtor one touch. it comes with software to do automatic backups as frequently as you want and restoring it is a breeze. My 500gb was $130 about 18 months ago so it'll prolly be around $100 now
Click to expand...

This sounds nice and simple. For my Mom, the easier to use the better. Her words were, "for dummies is best." :lol:

We'd like to keep it under $150 if possible. She probably won't have a tremendous amount to backup. Thanks everyone, for your recommendations so far.
 
M

Mousebaby

Guest
CalvertNewbie said:
This sounds nice and simple. For my Mom, the easier to use the better. Her words were, "for dummies is best." :lol:

We'd like to keep it under $150 if possible. She probably won't have a tremendous amount to backup. Thanks everyone, for your recommendations so far.
Click to expand...

check amazon!
 
H

hockeynutmd

New Member
CalvertNewbie said:
My Mom asked for an external hard drive for Christmas. She has a new Gateway computer with Vista, only used for personal use. She's had issues in the past with computers crashing and personal info being "lost" so she wants to prevent that from happening again.

I know nothing about them and she's no expert either. I'm hoping you guys can give me some recommendations on what to buy for the best price. She saw one on QVC for about $130. I quickly looked online at Best Buy and saw some in that price range as well. Is that a reasonable price?
Click to expand...

Here's a good buy:

Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive WDME3200TN (Midnight Black)
Other products by Western Digital

393 Reviews
5 star: (234)
4 star: (110)
3 star: (15)
2 star: (6)
1 star: (28)

See all 393 customer reviews...


(393 customer reviews) | More about this product

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List Price: $147.99
Price: $99.99
You Save: $48.00 (32%)

What Is Subscribe & Save?

When you order through Subscribe & Save, you'll automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select at a discount on our everyday price. Plus, all subscription orders ship free. We'll charge your credit card for each order only when the item is shipped, and you may cancel at any time.

To start a subscription for this product, choose a quantity and delivery schedule, then click "Subscribe now!" You'll be asked to provide a shipping address, credit card, and billing address. Once the order is placed, your first shipment will be processed and your subscription activated.

More on our Subscribe & Save program

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by TigerDirect.

WD My Passport Essential Portable 320GB Hard Drive - WDME3200TN - Compare Prices and Buy at PriceGrabber
 
S

sk8enscars

New Member
Western Digital is CRAP. The USB, firewire and power cord interface are cheap and break unexpectedly. Mine gave out after a year and a half and there was nothing I could do about it. Lost years and years of digital pictures. I bought a 160GB Iomega. It runs purely off of USB so you never need to plug it into the wall.
 
GWguy

GWguy

*
sk8enscars said:
Western Digital is CRAP. The USB, firewire and power cord interface are cheap and break unexpectedly. Mine gave out after a year and a half and there was nothing I could do about it. Lost years and years of digital pictures. I bought a 160GB Iomega. It runs purely off of USB so you never need to plug it into the wall.
Click to expand...

You couldn't take the drive out and put it in a different case, or use a USB adapter to recover the pics?
 
R

RadioPatrol

Guest
Seagate 750Gb in a roll your own case purchased for $25 bucks ... USB 2


I just bought a bare OEM 1 Terabyte - that is 1000 Gb for 94 bucks for my new system ...
 
M

Mousebaby

Guest
If you go with the firewire it tends to load what you want to copy over a helluva lot faster than usb 2.0 does. I know this from experience. I would not trade my Seagate for any amount of money in the world! ( well maybe if it was like a million dollars or something, then I could just get another. :lmao:)
 
G1G4

G1G4

Find em Hot, Leave em Wet
I've got a Seagate. I'm with Mousebaby, wouldn't trade it for anything. Best part is it's just plug and play.
 
Jigglepuff

Jigglepuff

Chin Jiggla!
I have a WD pasport 250GB USB. Stupid simple to use. 100 bucks at best buy (much cheaper online).

Since hard drives seem to eventually fail at some point in time.....it might be worth your while to get Acronus True Image (50 bucks) or Norton Ghost to back up your HD image onto some DVD's. Fairly quick. I hate HD failures (it sucks bad when you loos projects).
 
C

CalvertNewbie

Guest
Thanks again everyone. My brother & I have to make a decision this weekend because we'll be ordering it online (just like 90% of the other shopping I've done this year). This is the last gift I have to get and I'm all done with XMAS shopping! :yahoo:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top