External hard drives

May 12, 2004 7:42 PM

External hard drives.

Stuff like this is scary, so I've decided to buy a external hard drive for backup (as well as extra storage space). I'm running WinXP, have both USB2 and (four-pin) Firewire available, and want want a model that will stand vertically on my desk and hold 120GB. I have ~$150 to spend.

Firstly, I'm curious whether anyone has any experience with this SimpleTech model, which I'm currently leaning towards, or or with any of its competitors? I'm also considering these two models.

Secondly, how does power management work with external hard drives? Are they smart enough to sleep/awake when the computer does? Do they need to be manually turned on/off? Is it dangerous to have them always on (even when the computer is turned off)?

Thirdly, I have a few more general questions:

• Are fanless enclosures (such as these) significantly less reliable? Most models seem to be fanless these days.
• If my main drive fails and is replaced, and I restore from the backup drive (using the utility that comes with WinXP) - I assume I will get back exactly what I had when I last backed-up - Windows with all its settings/customization, my programs, my documents, etc. Or do some programs/files/settings not backup well (perhaps due to copy-protection)?

posted by kickingtheground to computers & internet (14 comments total)

I can't answer all of your questions, but I have a Sybex USB2 enclosure with fan and a 160 GB Seagate drive, and so far it's been working great. It cost me about $100 all in all. I leave it on all the time. Once it's warmed up, the fan is quiet and doesn't bother me.

I've had good experiences with Norton Ghost, which takes a complete snapshot of a drive that you can reinstall in an emergency. (It also screwed me up once because it doesn't care about partitions--it reinstalls to the entire drive, and I wiped out a lot of data. But that was my mistake.)
posted by muckster at 7:57 PM on May 12, 2004

I've been using a QPS Que 60gig firewire drive for a while and have had no problems. I leave it on all the time, and i've tucked it away under the desk and don't hear a thing. Mine is plugged in separately and doesn't draw power from my mac--it came with a black brick plug. There's a 1-2sec lag when i first click on it to view the directory, but it's very speedy otherwise.
posted by amberglow at 8:03 PM on May 12, 2004

That LaCie one you linked to is a model used occasionally at the helpdesk I work at; it's not used a ton but when we have fired it up for various reasons it's worked just fine. For what it's worth. Very solid design, too.
posted by cyrusdogstar at 8:21 PM on May 12, 2004

I've been giving some thought to a hot swappable firewire enclosure that uses cheap, IDE drives - the idea being that I could back up my data and store it somewhere other than my apartment. Using a couple two three drives, it'd be easy to ensure that I've always got a backup copy of my work both here at home, and another somewhere else (my parents house, perhaps). Any ideas?

It sounds like overkill, I know, but I've often thought that the only irreplaceable thing I own is the data on my computer. Better safe than sorry, I figure.
posted by aladfar at 8:34 PM on May 12, 2004

I've actually been wondering something similar...but I have a laptop. I've got a FireWire port, but is there such a thing, say, as an external hard drive with WiFi access? Something that my computer would "see" whenever I'm in my home network and treat just like another hard drive?
posted by Vidiot at 9:21 PM on May 12, 2004

Vidiot - There should be one by ASUS this month.
posted by kickingtheground at 9:29 PM on May 12, 2004

Were I backing up data I would 1 of 2 things (both if it is uber important)
1) get a good (temp regulated, externally powered, power regulated) enclosure and a good drive
2) Use Norton Ghost and CDs, DVDs, a 3rd HDD, or a tape backup, image the primary partition (or data partition if you're set up that way) and then store the media in a cool, dark, optical- or magnetic-media friendly environment.

It depends on how concerned you are about perserving your data. For example, Norton Ghost and ten CD-Rs saved my ass about a year ago. On my desktop right now I have a 10gb laptop drive in a fanless USB 2.0 enclosure. It contains all my pictures, audio files, and e-books in various formats. I want to minimzie any risk of losing my backups, so they're all on seperate disks.
posted by Grod at 2:29 AM on May 13, 2004

This seems like an idea solution: DK-9U2F. With an extra "docking sled" it'd be easy to keep one backup off site, and another on the desktop, and then swap them back and forth every once in a while.

Has anyone had any experience with this product or something similar?
posted by aladfar at 7:28 AM on May 13, 2004

I have a similar question, actually: after years with a noisy, dual-hard drive desktop system, I'm loving my quiet, beautiful PowerBook. I need an external drive, but I don't want to add significantly to the volume level in my apartment. Anyone have a suggestion for a particularly quiet (but nonetheless reliable) external drive? Speed is less important to me than volume, and I'd be willing to pay a bit more (or accept less storage space) for a quiet drive. Firewire interface preferred.
posted by Acetylene at 8:51 AM on May 13, 2004

Vidiot -- I'm in the same boat. Buffalo makes a networkable 120GB hard drive that I'm considering standing up next to my wireless router, and connecting via cable. I've had pretty good luck with Buffalo's routers.
posted by coelecanth at 10:04 AM on May 13, 2004

I second the LaCie suggestion. I've used their external HDs, their CD and DVD burners -- they make good, reliable stuff
posted by matteo at 10:31 AM on May 13, 2004

I've had one of these with an 80-gig Seagate drive inside, and it works pretty well, as far as I can tell. After I get the rebate on the Seagate drive, the total cost should run about $90.

If you have a choice, and there's no significant price difference, you should go with FireWire because it tends to have faster transfer rates than USB 2.0.
posted by oaf at 10:35 AM on May 13, 2004

And I have to third the LaCie suggestion. Nice, solid aluminum case; can stand it vertically or lay it flat; and packs a significant chunk of storage into a small space. Only negative is that it is a bit noisy when parking/unparking the drive heads and spooling up; once running it's really not any more/less noisy than any other hard drive
posted by nathan_teske at 10:50 AM on May 13, 2004

Especially if you're using it as a backup drive, put the hard disk under the desk or otherwise out of sight. That way, if someone breaks in and steals your computer, you're far more likely to still have the backup -- what thief is going to spend time rummaging around under the desk for a hard disk he doesn't know is there and is worth far less than the computer? As a bonus, the drive will be much harder to hear with a good amount of mass between you and it, and remember, it's cooler down there on the floor anyway.
posted by kindall at 12:35 PM on May 13, 2004