External Hard Drive Help

I personally don't like the WD/Max/Seagate ready-made backup drives. They have a somewhat sketchy reputation, and they seem to fail more often than regular hard drives (I'm thinking a lot of that has to do with the default software they're set up with).

Also, they're all built so that you can't take the drive out and run separate software to recover your data. (Well you can, but you void all warranties if you crack open the enclosure).

So I always opt for a stand alone aluminum enclosure (w/fan) and a really good SATA drive. That way I can turn a couple screws and swap out drives anytime I want...with no warranty problems.

As for USB2 or Firewire... I just bought an enclosure from Newegg that has connections for both (less than $30). I haven't tested which transfers data faster though.

I share this opinion and add: get a samsung, they're reliable and got best test results...

IM using the WD notebooks. and they are ok.

you are reading too many new egg reviews, never had a seagate die on us yet, then again we dont leave em on 24/7 either, as they are not made for this

Loading a 500GB drive with USB2 or Firewire is going to take all day.

If you have eSATA ports, I highly recommend using them. If you want an external enclosure, I'd recommend something like the:

Thermaltake Max 4
Antec MX-1

With those two you have eSATA for speed, and USB if the guy you're sending to only has that.

Personally, I like to use mobile racks. I have stacks of HDDs here and I can just hot-swap them in as needed: Kingwin KF1000-BK

For the drives themselves, I like Western Digital, although Seagate has better warranties.

Good luck!

I use Seagate and WD and no problems so far (knock on wood). Both quality products.

I am using seagate and lacie lacie is fw800 blazing fast hooked up to the macbookpro