Need advice on external hard drive

Islander · #1 27th November 2011, 05:25 AM

About time I installed a reliable backup device for my Mac's Time Machine, rather than depending on my 4G flash drives. Any suggestions? I'm flying blind here, and if I don't want an 80-mile RT, I'm relying on Wal-Mart. I know...the downside of living on the Frontier.

Anyway, your advice will be most welcome, since you are all way smarter than me in this technology thing.

Tuckerfan · #2 27th November 2011, 06:17 AM

You should be able to get a 1 TB external drive for roughly $100 at Wallyworld which is probably plenty for your needs. Anymore, the Wallyworld's around here only carry one brand of external drive, so its not likely you'll have much variety to choose from, outside of size.

Revs · #3 27th November 2011, 08:26 AM

I picked up a 1 TB external drive from Walmart a couple of years ago. So far it still works great even after dropping it a few times and the casing has fallen apart.

*Fenris* · #4 27th November 2011, 11:11 AM

I can't recommend Seagate brand highly enough. I've had tremendous luck with them, they're fairly inexpensive and (for me at least) reliable as hell.

The one word of caution I'd give for any external HDD is this: if it's gonna fail, it's gonna fail right out of the box. So hook it up at once and start transferring stuff to it. If it makes loud clicking noises or starts getting hot to the touch*, take it back and swap it out.

*The last one I bought did that--the case was actually too hot to touch!

Islander · #5 27th November 2011, 11:20 AM

I assume that last one wasn't a Seagate, right?

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. Will explore Mall-Wart tomorrow when the loony crowds have hopefully abated.

Zeener Diode · #6 27th November 2011, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Islander

I assume that last one wasn't a Seagate, right?

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. Will explore Mall-Wart tomorrow when the loony crowds have hopefully abated.

If you can wait longer, I'd go after the holidays. You'll encounter fewer people and possibly better bargains.

Islander · #7 27th November 2011, 12:12 PM

Your logic, Sir, is impeccable.

Except for one thing: what if there aren't any left? With the economy the way it is, a lot of places are practicing "just in time" inventory control.

Tuckerfan · #8 27th November 2011, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Islander

Your logic, Sir, is impeccable.

Except for one thing: what if there aren't any left? With the economy the way it is, a lot of places are practicing "just in time" inventory control.

There's also been issues of price gouging as many harddrive factories are shutdown due to flooding in Thailand. The problem might resolve itself come January, then again, it might not. Its not like a harddrive purchase is a major investment where a price fluctuation of a few percent yields a significant savings.

Pirate · #9 27th November 2011, 02:01 PM

I'd check WalMart online 1st. You can see what they have in your store. They also have online specials. They can ship to the store or your home.

u wan buy dvd? · #10 27th November 2011, 07:11 PM

Can't order online, say, WD terrabyte of most glorious storage?

I doubt there is anything comparable on Walmart.com for $80

Jaglavak · #11 27th November 2011, 09:43 PM

I like that HD that u wan buy hd linked to because of the power connector. I've owned maybe half a dozen different brands of USB hard drives, and the ones with the 7 pin round power connection are only good for a hundred or so uses and then they start to crap out. The drive itself is OK but you still need to buy another chassis for it.

I have a WD Elements terabyte drive and I really like it. Good solid troublefree, with rubberized pads on both ends. Also, I second the Seagate recommendation.

Islander · #12 28th November 2011, 03:05 AM

Hmm. New questions arise.

u wan buy hd's $80 dealio is $130 this morning. Designed for pc but can be reformatted for Mac.
Maybe I should have said that my device needs to be compatible with Mac's Time Machine. Newegg does have such an item but it got VERY poor reviews.

Now where does that leave me? Besides confused?

*Fenris* · #13 28th November 2011, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Islander

I assume that last one wasn't a Seagate, right?

It actually was, but it's the first Seagate I've ever seen do that.

Also, all the HDD prices have taken a crazy-huge leap UP in the last few days. I purchased a 3Tb Seagate at Best By last week for $129. I went to get one for a friend and they're all about $225 now (even at Amazon, WalMart, etc.)

I'd wait a few weeks unless it's urgent.

Solfy · #14 28th November 2011, 05:19 AM

I recommend avoiding anything by LaCie. Mom had one for her, one for Brother, and one for me. They all suck on toast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenris

The one word of caution I'd give for any external HDD is this: if it's gonna fail, it's gonna fail right out of the box. So hook it up at once and start transferring stuff to it. If it makes loud clicking noises or starts getting hot to the touch*, take it back and swap it out.

Ours didn't fail right out of the box. They all ran for a while and then decided they no longer wished to communicate with the computer on a reliable basis. Or turn on/off. Getting them serviced was an absolute nightmare. (Mom sent hers to LaCie more than once; one time it was returned without the actual drive in the case.

I gave up on mine.)

Scuba Ben · #15 28th November 2011, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u wan buy dvd?

Can't order online, say, WD terrabyte of most glorious storage?

That is purty.

since we don't have a "computernerd" emoticon

u wan buy dvd? · #16 28th November 2011, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba Ben

Quote:

Originally Posted by u wan buy dvd?

Can't order online, say, WD terrabyte of most glorious storage?

That is purty.

since we don't have a "computernerd" emoticon

it really was $80 last night. Fuck.

tunaman · #17 28th November 2011, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Islander

Maybe I should have said that my device needs to be compatible with Mac's Time Machine. Newegg does have such an item but it got VERY poor reviews.

Isn't a hard drive just a hard drive? Can't you just mount it and reformat it to whatever FS you choose? Or does Time Machine require something special (MacOS, requiring something special? NO WAY!)

[ducks and runs]

hatesfreedom · #18 28th November 2011, 08:12 AM

i believe, and i'm not taking the time to be sure, that you are correct

a harddrive is indeed just a hard drive

unless its a SSD drive

then its too expensive for you peasants

Islander · #19 28th November 2011, 08:29 AM

Er...yes, it really was $80 last night. Shoulda grabbed it.

And yes, a little research = any hd will work with Time Machine.

So...what's a SSD drive ?

(It's a wasted day when you don't learn anything new).

Scuba Ben · #20 28th November 2011, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Islander

So...what's a SSD drive ?

Solid state drive drive. There's no spinning platter or moving read/write head. They're very compact and very expensive relative to normal platter drives.

Lord Blackmore · #21 28th November 2011, 09:05 AM

SSD is a solid state disk. It's kinda like a big, really fast, flash drive. They're a lot faster than a regular platter based hard drive, but with that comes a typically higher dollars per gigabyte of space. Only people who need or want the peformance of an SSD should buy one.

For time machine, any drive will work. Even a portable drive like this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Portable.html

I use a small seagate goflex 1tb USB 2 drive for time machine on my mac.

Islander · #22 28th November 2011, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Blackmore

For time machine, any drive will work. Even a portable drive like this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Portable.html

Grabbed it. Even W-M couldn't do any better. Thank you! Done shopping!

(For once I know I'm gonna get something I really want/need for Xmas).

Thanks for your help, everyone!