Hey guys, I have to make some backups of some important files i have in my PC (a jurassic AMD3200). I'll probably get a new one soon. Anyway, i thought about DVD-R, but there's always someone saying their DVD-Rs stopped working after a few months. I came across this portable USB Hard Drive, from Western Digital. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=317 Not only it connects through USB, but it also powered by it. Anyone have this, and know if it's any good? I'm basicly gonna use it for backups, meaning it won't be used that much, just to get files when (if) i need it. My brother suggested me a SATA HD + External USB case, but the price will be exactly the same and it won't be as portable as i wanted it to be. (meaning i can carry it and connect to any pc, if i need it).
A notebook hard drive and external enclosure will work just as well and the enclosure I'm using doesn't need an external power supply (although it can use one). It would also be the same size, depending on what enclosure you'd use. You'd save a little bit of money if you went with the hard drive and an enclosure, but you would probably be better off just buying what you've already posted if you want the most convenient option. The few times I've used my enclosure it seems to work great, although I'm mainly saving it for my Eee PC so it hasn't seen much use yet.
One thing to be wary of is that some notebooks wont't have enough juice to drive a 2.5" USB hard drive. I have an enclosure and it has a USB lead with 2 connectors so it can draw enough juice for certain drives and it refuses to work with an NEC notebook at all (unless I plug an extention in and run the lead to the other USB port on the other side of the machine) and a Sony Vaio notebook when running off batteries. Apart from that enclosures are cheap and you can get low density hard drives very very cheap. Got several 20GB drives for 500Yen each and they are hot swappable which is nice (but remember to set them for this and not for speed).
I have an "Icy Box" plus the old hard disk from my laptop from when I updraded. Works fine without any extra power on my macbook, and all desktops I've tried
Saw costco had these units, so i picked up the 160gig version (half the price, 80 bucks) and im quite surprised by it. It works very well....very light and small....like smaller than a ds lite small.... I like 'em, serves very well for my apps and documents! Edit: i should add..it works perfectly with both my EeePC, and my other 3 "normal" laptops
Have no quips, and seeing as external hard drives are fairly robust and will likely outlive the lifespan of the hard drive in your computer they are a very viable backup medium. As for constructing your own - I see no point when companies sell them so cheap. I built one myself and it both: a) didn't save me a substantial amount of money b) didn't protect the hard drive well enough for me to trust it.
I have just the same one. Works great for me, as long as you dont keep it connected too much...of course, the case maybe isnt the best. But if you dont plan to use it after having throwed it out of the window it will be fine. At least its for me :lol:
