which external hard drive?

kate1976

I've been looking for a new external hard drive as my freecom one is very nearly dead after being used daily for 2 years!!

Not being a 'techie' I thought I'd ask your expert advice, I've found several using http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPP-hard_drives-external_hard_drive-5___10_gb-2053_pc~S-213
but I don't know which one will be best, any recommendations? It does have to be external so I can just plug in and go!

Thanks in advance for any help!

pealy

Just a few notes, there are few significant differentiating factors when it comes to external HD's.

1. make sure the interface is correct for you. Are you USB or Firewire? I don't know anything about Firewire but if you're USB then make sure it's compatible. If your PC is USB2 then go for one which supports it, if your PC is USB1.1 make sure the disk is compatible with this older standard.

2. Go for a brand you trust

3. Some are noisier than others, if this is important to you then see if you can find info about the sound levels.

scotty

If you transport the drive a lot, I would suggest the Freecom Toughdrive. It is a 2.5" drive so it easily fits in a pocket, it takes its power from the USB connection so you will not normally need an external power supply and it is very rugged.

Only downside is that it is not the cheapest drive available.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/97996

kate1976

Thank you for your replies, I'm a USB user, don't know about USB2 though, I have a USB hub thingy on the PC so I don't know what category of USB that comes under! I also would want the hard drive to be able to plug into my son's acer laptop so that's another thing to think about!

Scotty, thank you for that link, I'll certainly consider that one as like I said I want it for my son's laptop so that one would be ideal for travelling!!

Thanks again.