The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Portable Hard Drives?
Overlord
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I need a portable hard drive for my Film Production class this term at uni, and was wondering what brands people would recommend? My last portable hard drive failed awhile back, and I wouldn't mind getting some opinions.
If you want to recommend specific ones I need it to have 1 TB of space and be able to run at 7200 RPM.
If you want to recommend specific ones I need it to have 1 TB of space and be able to run at 7200 RPM.
Overlord on
0
Posts
Not really. They're easily obtainable for under $100. Hell, here's a 2gb external from Western Digital for $119.
Tada.
That drive is not USB powered.
Neither is that one!
Looks to me like you're going to need to use an AC adapter for that size/price.
I was typing about the passport drives that don't need external power, but those seem to have dropped in price a lot too, now that I look.
I could get one of these. I'm just iffy cause some of the reviews say it crapped out on them. But it seems every portable HD has that in its reviews at least once
In a Uni environment, how often do you honestly think you're going to be away from a power outlet?
Some percentage of drives are going to fail no matter what you do, and backup is your only friend there. You can minimize the likelihood of data loss/corruption on a portable drive by making sure not to bump/move the drive while it's on and definitely not while it's spinning (being read/written), also when you power it off make sure to wait til it's spun down before moving it (particularly any twisting movements).
Personally I've had about half of my drive enclosures fail, but none of my SATA/IDE<->USB adapters have and I'm not sure why. Several times I've had an enclosure fail, but once I cracked it and removed the drive and hooked it up I was able to get my data off it.
They're probably ALL pretty unlikely to brick...
I mean, people might SAY Western Digital is twice as reliable as no-name brand 5. That might only mean that 99.5% of WD drives make it 3 years while 99% of no-name brand make it 5 years.
Either way, you're screwed if you're in the small percent that gets a bricked drive!
I have a iomega ego right now. It supports USB 2.0, Firewire 400 and 800, and is powered over which ever you use. I got it for around 100, but it's only 500GB. I think they're available with more space, but I think they get pricey.
Also you need to have this stuff backed up in at least two places. For my photo work and while I was in school I had all of my files on my iMac, then I had an external drive dedicated to Time Machine then I had a portable drive for bringing to school. Everything was always on all three drives as soon as possible. I know a few people who had drives crash in school and it meant months of work down the drain for some of them - final projects lost, the whole bit. One kid spent $2,000 having his drive restored because he lost a semester's worth of work on it.
Every Western Digital that I've ever bought is still going strong.
I've had a similar experience. My roommate is a film studant, and bought a seagate drive, and had to buy another one within a week.
The Seagate I have from 2005 is still working fine. However, the one from 2008 didn't last a month and the one from 2009 barely made it home before it died. Most of my friends have had similar experiences.
I've actually dropped my WD from a short distance a few times.
Not while spinning or anything though.
Still works.
Edit: 7200.11 actually refers to the drive model, not sure which firmwares are affected.