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External hard drives

Started by Famous Mortimer, December 31, 2011, 01:52:14 PM

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Famous Mortimer

My old ones are starting to make sad noises, so it's about time to put them in a cupboard somewhere as a backup and get some fresh new ones.

I've seen these but some of the reviews aren't too friendly towards them - you have to format them as NTFS, which takes 10 hours apparently, blah blah blah. Anyone got any good words to say about some 2tb hard drives?

I accept the terms of the

They shouldn't take 10 hours. Just quick format them. A disk's a disk.

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: I accept the terms of the on December 31, 2011, 02:20:43 PM
They shouldn't take 10 hours. Just quick format them. A disk's a disk.
I thought that, because my 1tb drive only took about 10 minutes to format when I did it last. Anyway.

I ordered those, simply because I couldn't find any drive anywhere that didn't have at least a couple of negative reviews. The old hard drives, covered in stickers telling me what was on them, can now be retired and live out their lives at the Old Home For Technology You Don't Use Any More But Don't Want To Throw Away (aka Backup Meadows).

small_world

I've got a PC downstairs and a lap top upstairs.
I've got a wireless hub thing, and want to be able to save files and access them from both computers...
I've heard there's a network/wireless hard drive, but I can never remember what they're called, or what I'm looking for.
Does anyone know what I'm on about.



I accept the terms of the

You need to buy enough to hold whatever you want to store!

500GB is a bit low though. That was entry-level five years ago.

Only you can know how much you need. Apart from that, read as many reviews as possible to gauge reliability and noise, and you shouldn't go too far wrong.

Do you know how you're going to connect it to your network? Bear in mind that these won't all come with wireless cards. You'll probably end up buying something that plugs into your router with an Ethernet cable.

small_world

Yeah, I was just going to go with the ethernet cable. I've got spare space.
500 gig is enough for me, but that's because I only have 250 at the minute, I think if use more if I had more space.

biggytitbo

The 2.5inch 1tb samsungs available from ebuyer are awesome. They also need no external power supply. Yours for £60 quid, buy two.

Mildly Diverting

Linky please Biggy, 'cos I couldn't find one for less than ninety. I've already bought one, but would definitely get another for that price.

biggytitbo

This is it, http://www.ebuyer.com/272578-samsung-s2-1tb-ultraslim-portable-harddrive-usb-2-0-external-hx-mud10ea-g22


But as the review states, it appears to have gone up by 30 quid in the last few months, I bought 2 at 60 each a few months ago and they've been brilliant. I suppose they're still good at 85 but not as much so?

Jim Jarmusch

All the prices have gone up because of Thailand being flooded. They're the second highest producer of hard drives after China. I'm after a 500GB Western Digital Passports for Uni and could do with a new 2TB or 4TB Western Digital Studio to back up my iTunes library. They should hurry up and start pumping out that water so they can go back to work. Not a good time to be in the market for them.

HappyTree

Seagate Freeagents have always been very reliable for me. I have 2 old portable ones (brown and orange) and 2 large ones (brushed silver), none of which have ever failed.

Mildly Diverting

Quote from: biggytitbo on December 31, 2011, 07:03:45 PM
This is it, http://www.ebuyer.com/272578-samsung-s2-1tb-ultraslim-portable-harddrive-usb-2-0-external-hx-mud10ea-g22


But as the review states, it appears to have gone up by 30 quid in the last few months, I bought 2 at 60 each a few months ago and they've been brilliant. I suppose they're still good at 85 but not as much so?

Ah well. Still saves me a fiver. Cheers.

Jim Jarmusch

For the best hard drive deals go on http://www.hotukdeals.com/

I wish I had seen the post about 8GB USB Drives for £3.99 in Comet before I left the house today.

katzenjammer

Quote from: Famous Mortimer on December 31, 2011, 01:52:14 PM
My old ones are starting to make sad noises, so it's about time to put them in a cupboard somewhere as a backup and get some fresh new ones.


I somehow managed to miss the thread title and read this thinking you were talking about your parents

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: Jim Jarmusch on December 31, 2011, 07:10:16 PM
All the prices have gone up because of Thailand being flooded.

Those inconsiderate bastards.

I have a USB Verbatim one that I got for about £40, it's only about 320GB but I just use it for keeping non-program stuff like films and music.

small_world

So, I'm going to buy one of those NAS machines. Pretty good.
But I'm looking to also get something to play music.

Now, I've got all of my tunes on my PC and Laptop, and these will all be moved across on to the NAS thingy once that's up and running.
But I have this dream, it's of me going in to the house of an evening. Walking in to the kitchen and turning on 'the music machine', this will then play songs around the house.
Is there a way of doing this?
I'm guessing wireless speakers connected to my main PC would be the easiest way (but what happens if my girlfriend wants to take a bath and listen to music while I watch some porn? I don't think that would sit well.... ).

But I have this dream, and it all works through wall mounted screens....

So yeah, a music thingy that'll play music wirelessly, a WiFi HiFi if you will.

Is that such a thing?

Santa's Boyfriend

Quote from: Jim Jarmusch on December 31, 2011, 07:10:16 PM
All the prices have gone up because of Thailand being flooded.

I was going to point this out, as I had asked for a new hard drive for Christmas and was told if I wanted one I'd have to wait until March.  Apparently the prices will come down pretty soon as the flood waters have been sorted out for a month or so now.  It's not that the factories have been devastated or anything, it was just a bit tricky to make and export the things while the flooding was going on, so things should be back to normal in a month or two.

Small Man Big Horse

I got one of these - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Essential-External-Hard-Drive/dp/B0047VOGOO/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1325459680&sr=1-2 - for Christmas, though it was only £96 when I ordered it three weeks ago. But I'm very impressed with it so far, transfer speeds seem decent enough, and it couldn't be simpler to use.

The Plaque Goblin


buntyman

That's dearer than they were about 3 months ago. I've seen plenty going for around the 50-60 quid range more recently but I'm waiting for cheaper.
These look better and have the benefit of being portable, faster and you get a free case.

madhair60


NoSleep

Quote from: buntyman on February 01, 2012, 03:55:25 PM
That's dearer than they were about 3 months ago. I've seen plenty going for around the 50-60 quid range more recently but I'm waiting for cheaper.

Yeh... I snapped a couple of 1TB external drives for less than £50 (edit: actually £41) each "before the floods". The same items have risen £30-40 since.

Famous Mortimer

I got the 2TB ones for £92.99 each, and they're lovely. Quiet as you like, and aesthetically quite pleasant too.

Big Jack McBastard

The prices for HDs seem to have shot up in the last half year or so[nb]Apparently something related to a mass of flooding in Thailand knackering several producers Edit:(Ah this has been covered)[/nb], I picked up a Seagate 2Tb (internal HD) last year around June and it cost 40 something quid on Amazon, I went and had another look near the back end of December with the idea that I might get another and they'd put £45 on the price, went back 13 says later and it'd gone up by another £20!

My brother did get a 2tb external drive at crimbo and it came to just under a hundred quid, yay for my outstanding sense of timing is all I can say.

Neomod

PC World were selling the 2TB Seagate's for under £100 this time last year when I got mine. Has worked like a dream so far.

NoSleep

Quote from: Big Jack McBastard on February 01, 2012, 04:34:31 PM
The prices for HDs seem to have shot up in the last half year or so[nb]Apparently something related to a mass of lesbians who were defended by Michael Winner from Richard Littlejohn Edit:(Ah this has been covered)[/nb], I picked up a Seagate 2Tb (internal HD) last year around June and it cost 40 something quid on Amazon, I went and had another look near the back end of December with the idea that I might get another and they'd put £45 on the price, went back 13 says later and it'd gone up by another £20!

Fixed

Big Jack McBastard

Quote from: Big Jack McBastard on February 01, 2012, 04:34:31 PM
yay for my outstanding sense of timing is all I can say.

Oh and 'Boo! to flooding' as well... I suppose, just so I don't sound utterly black of heart, lacking in empathy and perspective, mercantile/decadent and self fellating.


Big Jack McBastard

Maybe you could get a discount if payed in:

Wellies
Mops
Sponges
Charmin (or other paper towels/kitchen roll, preferably the ones with a high absorbency to thickness ratio that trannies favour)