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I really need to get an external hard drive for backup purposes. I've never used one before though and I have a Mac at home which I really don't know much about either. Can I get one that just plugs in via USB and drag and drop? I don't really care if it's fast, I just want to get a really cheap one too. I've been looking at Newegg but I just don't know enough about it and I'd appreciate some advice. Thanks.
Just get one of those 500G passport drives. They are cheap and fast and super easy to use.
You just plug it in, tell time machine that it is a backup drive, and let it take care of the rest.
This is the exact drive I use for backups:
Newegg.com - Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBAAA5000ABK-NESN
I use the same setup but with a 320GB drive and I only give Time Machine something like 160GB.Quote:
Originally Posted by brianhos
At home I have a Cavalry external for my laptop, but I recently bought a cheap 1TB Seagate expansion/backup drive for our home PC.
At work, my dad has an external for his Mac, but I don't remember what brand it is. I do remember that it is at least 3-4 years old. He uses it everyday, as that's the drive his Mac does it's automatic backups to.
I think most hard drives would work just fine with PCs and Macs, but the more popular Seagates or Western Digitals might be a better bet with compatibility?
Another thing to note. Certain external drives (like one of the Seagate ones I bought) are simply USB powered. You plug it in, and you're good to go. And then you have others that require you to plug into a wall outlet.
I have an external portable hard drive but you can get desktop models as well which are cheaper. I really like mine as it's shock proof and 500 GB. It's "Transcend" brand and I recommend it highly.Quote:
Originally Posted by BryceC
I have had poor luck with the Iomega hard drives. Western Digital seem to work better for me.
If you have a desktop computer you may want to look at something like this along with an internal hard drive.
Newegg.com - StarTech 2.5in SATA External Hard Drive Enclosure w/ 3.5/5.25 Front Drive Bay
I use this a lot. It is nice to be able to put it into the computer and not have to worry about having it connected by cables. It can then also be used the same as an external drive with other computers like a laptop.
Actually, I think the brand of external my dad uses with his Mac (as I mentioned in a post above) maybe an Iomega drive. He's used it for a few years now, and hasn't had any issues with it as a backup drive.Quote:
Originally Posted by isucyclone05
But then again, he could be one of the lucky ones, I guess...
You may also want to consider an online backup service. They are nice in that they usually provide more frequent backups, because eventually one usually gets complacent about plugging in the removable hard drive. It also has the advantage of being in a different physical location, so the same disaster (e.g. fire) won't destroy both the original and the backup. The big downsides are price and the ability to recover files quickly.
1.5 TB for $89.99 w/ free shipping:
Amazon.com: Western Digital WD Elements 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0015HBK-NESN: Electronics
Yes they're plug and play and drag and drop. Piece of cake. I've always had good luck with Western Digital products.Quote:
Originally Posted by BryceC
Indeed, stick with Western Digital. I've had good luck with mine and my trusted IT guy at work endorses them too.Quote:
Originally Posted by ruxCYtable
I'd go with the WD Black. I've had some Blue's die.
What ever you do don't drop the thing. I've heard horror stories that include three horrible things: term papers, best buy, and spending lots of money.
I'd be careful with these too...the remote idea is great. I was looking into this myself, and read others horror stories...in particular they may change their terms of service and some of your files may no longer get backed up, in particular video files, due to their size.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyle