WD My Passport- how much storage space do I need?

Chick

Am in the process of deciding which one to buy- 500GB, 750GB or 1TB?

I know it depends on my needs, but I am not very computer savvy...I am looking to back up all my photos, music library (iTunes) and also other documents- Word, Excel, PDF.

It's really for personal use at home...am I best to buy 500GB?
In terms of money saving this seems to be the best option or is it worth buying as much space as possible...?

How long do external hard drives tend to survive? sorry I realise this is like asking about a piece of string...:o

Thanks in advance for any help/advice

bengalknights

Generally i always go based on cost per GB

But its down to you on how much you want to spend, Drives tend to last couple years if used constant longer if only being used for backup etc

Chick

Ok thanks for that, I guess it makes sense to check the £ per GB and compare. Just wondered if anyone had any specific experiences e.g. not having bought enough storage space etc.

I am planning to use it just for backup and not to be taken out & about etc.

Thanks

googler

Select the folders and/or files that you want to put on the drive.

Right-click the selected folders/files and click Properties. You will get a dialog box that tells you the total size of a folder, or the size of a file, or a group of both, depending on what you've selected.

If the total for all your files and folders is anywhere near 500Gb, you need a drive of larger than that size to allow for future growth.

Figment

At least 1.5-2.0 x the size of the HDD in your laptop.

robmar0se

My backup folders amount to 60gb so even with a good backup program I get away with a 320gb backup drive, I do store a lot of pictures/music (which use a lot of space), but I don't have videos/films/games stored which are the heaviest users of hdd space.

All hdd's are sold with a mean time to fail, they are mechanical devices.. It is a case of when rather than if. Sometimes they can go on for years, sometimes only months, as you say it is like a piece of string.

Just a tip, but what I do is buy the hdd separate from the enclosure, as most Hdds are sold with a 3 year warranty from date of manufacture eg WD. You only get a year in many external Hdd combo (enclosure with hdd). You can then change the hdd when you want, or even rotate the hdd's if you want extra copies etc

zaax

2tb. HD videos are very big, 2gb at least for an 1 1/2 hour movie

bluesnake

The general IT rule is bigger (and faster) is better.

Everything breaks. You really want 2 copies of everything on separate media.

There are two types of usb external disk (2.5 and 3.5). the 2.5 disk run off power from the usb port and the 3.5 needs a power brick. The 3.5 are often faster, probably more reliable so may have longer warranties, and come in lager capacities.

For a difference of £30-ish, I would by warranty and quality rather than cheapness, as it is just not worth the hassle when things go wrong.

Why go for a large drive? well you get great free backup programs like:
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm/
You an store virtual disks on it - if you are a techie.

You get 4tb disk for around £180

As they saying goes "you can always shorten a long rope ...."

andy2004

Personally I would stay well clear of Western Digital, I've bought 1 of their drives and so far they have been replaced twice.
Original drive lasted 8 months, replacement 14months, touch wood this 3rd drive will last longer.
I would stick with Seagate who now owns samsung and get a samsung drive.

As for storage space I would stick to 2tb, they are easy to self build,
requirements, 1 external inclosure, and 1 sata hdd of your choice.
I have 3 novatech enclosures, screwless, and no "powerbrick", the plug itself contains the power convertor, and work a dream, £8 when i bought mine, each with a 2tb samsung hdd inside.
took me longer to get over to novatech and buy them than it did to put them together.

agrinnall

Given that the OP is by their own admission not very computer savvy I think we can forget about any self build options.

If your current files take up say 250GB I would recommed buying two 500GB drives and backing up alternately to each of them. Get some decent backup software so that you can do incremental backups rather than all data every time - I use Acronis TrueImage, there was a thread on here recently discussing the pros and cons of various options.

The other thing I would suggest is to consider buying ruggedised drives to give you at least some extra physical protection, I did this after dropping a hard drive and losing everything on it. I have an older drive from StoreJet and this one from LaCie http://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?id=10564

andy2004

dont really have to be computer savvy, the enclosure comes with instructions including pictures.
ok its not as easy as taking it out of the box and plugging 2 cables in, 3.5in drive or 2.5in 1 usb cable.
but at least you'll know what hdd is inside the case.
2nd by buying the hdd seperate you get a 3-5year warranty on the drive instead of 1-2 year on the external hdd depending on manufacturer.

the enclosure i have 3 off £8
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-external/harddriveenclosures/usb2.0external3.5enclosure.html

2tb drive. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-internal/sataover1tb/hd204uist200dl004.html the same as i got £83.99
total price. £92

same shop price for a 2tb external. £99.98
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-external/desktopusb3.0/nov-p332tb.html

saving £7