Is a wireless hard drive right for me?
February 1, 2019 3:11 PM Subscribe
I just got a Dell XPS laptop and while it's great so far, the hard drive is a lot smaller than my old Thinkpad where I stored pretty much all of my digital life. I've looked into getting a wireless HD for backup/extra storage but after reading some reviews it seems like wireless HDs are still slow/unreliable/finicky unless they're super expensive. I'd like to have between 2-3 TB of external storage for under $200. Does a wireless HD make sense for me? Any specific suggestions?
I'll need to transfer work stuff between the external HD and laptop regularly but usually not very large files so speed isn't a huge issue. Most of the time that will be at home-- I don't anticipate needing to access the external HD remotely although that option would be a plus. I don't really need it to be small and portable either. It will just stay at home.
Most of the space is needed for music and photos (which I have backed up using Google services but would still like them stored on a device I own).
So would a wireless HD be a good fit for me? I don't like the idea of having to connect my laptop with a cord every few days just to transfer files. I'm also ambivalent about cloud storage for the common reasons (security, reliability, getting locked into an expensive plan because I'm too lazy to transfer my stuff elsewhere) but maybe someone can change my mind.
I thought I was moderately tech-savvy but I'm at a loss for what to do here. Any advice would be appreciated-- thanks!
I'll need to transfer work stuff between the external HD and laptop regularly but usually not very large files so speed isn't a huge issue. Most of the time that will be at home-- I don't anticipate needing to access the external HD remotely although that option would be a plus. I don't really need it to be small and portable either. It will just stay at home.
Most of the space is needed for music and photos (which I have backed up using Google services but would still like them stored on a device I own).
So would a wireless HD be a good fit for me? I don't like the idea of having to connect my laptop with a cord every few days just to transfer files. I'm also ambivalent about cloud storage for the common reasons (security, reliability, getting locked into an expensive plan because I'm too lazy to transfer my stuff elsewhere) but maybe someone can change my mind.
I thought I was moderately tech-savvy but I'm at a loss for what to do here. Any advice would be appreciated-- thanks!
A lot of modern routers have USB ports that allow you to add USB HDDs to your network. It's worth checking if your current router has this capability. If not, consider replacing/upgrading it with one that does, like this D-Link (Amazon Link).
posted by zinon at 3:29 PM on February 1, 2019
posted by zinon at 3:29 PM on February 1, 2019
The XPS has a bunch of USB3 ports (both USB-A style & USB-C style). Just get an external USB SSD and use that?
Or if you want remote access, buy a NAS - the synology ones have a good reputation - but that will be significantly more expensive.
posted by pharm at 6:47 AM on February 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
Or if you want remote access, buy a NAS - the synology ones have a good reputation - but that will be significantly more expensive.
posted by pharm at 6:47 AM on February 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by msbutah at 3:28 PM on February 1, 2019 [1 favorite]