external hard drive recommendations

prowla

Actually, swapping out a hard disk is a really easy operation; the disks are standard parts which the computer manufacturers buy in, most computers are designed to do it, and all of the connectors only fit one way.

scotty1971

prowla wrote: »

Actually, swapping out a hard disk is a really easy operation; the disks are standard parts which the computer manufacturers buy in, most computers are designed to do it, and all of the connectors only fit one way.

so if i just take the hard drives out,how would i view the pictures that are on them?

arriva

western digital are probably the best.

Strider590

Made one recently with an Icybox USB 3.0 enclosure and a 2.5" 1TB HDD, for a total of £53.

Because I know the quality of the parts that went into it, I feel more confident about trusting it with my data.

prowla

scotty1971 wrote: »

so if i just take the hard drives out,how would i view the pictures that are on them?

You have two options to get the drives connected up to your new machine: (i) if the new machine is a desktop model (ie. not a laptop) and has space and connections you can simply put them into it instead, (ii) buy an external USB caddy and put the drive in that (again, that's an easy job). The caddies can be had cheaply on ebay, and the job is easier than making a Lego or Meccano model.

scotty1971

prowla wrote: »

You have two options to get the drives connected up to your new machine: (i) if the new machine is a desktop model (ie. not a laptop) and has space and connections you can simply put them into it instead, (ii) buy an external USB caddy and put the drive in that (again, that's an easy job). The caddies can be had cheaply on ebay, and the job is easier than making a Lego or Meccano model.

thanks,will have a look on e-bay,so i take it you ust put the hard drive into the caddy then plug that into your lap top and view the pictures from there?

i see there is a 2.5 or 3.5 does depend on the size of the hard drive?

A.Penny.Saved

Hard drives come in different sizes, 3.5 being what is usually used in desktops but SSD's are also 2.5". That is why I mentioned the sizes in my previous post because some better docking stations such as Startech support both types and they can be used to read from many different types of drives such as 3.5, 2.5 and SSD's, setup a new SSD etc. 2.5" are the size usually used in laptops.

Be aware of eject mechanisms because some cheap ones do not come with those. I would recommend a docking station for what you intend doing but make sure that it supports both 2.5 & 3.5" drives.

It's a lot quicker and easier using a docking station than inserting the drive into a PC and connecting it up. The PC can remain on and the docking station just powered off, plug in the drive, power it on and plug it into the USB port and then access the drive. No need to mess around with screws and cables.

I've found the one I want for a fiver less @£66 delivered A single drive docking station would cost a lot less than that even for a high quality make. Many are utter carp, read some reviews on Amazon before you purchase!

marvin

scotty1971 wrote: »

thanks,will have a look on e-bay,so i take it you ust put the hard drive into the caddy then plug that into your lap top and view the pictures from there?

i see there is a 2.5 or 3.5 does depend on the size of the hard drive?

Yes as far as plugging it in is concerned and yes as far as the size of the hard drive.

You will also need to make sure it is the right caddy for your hard drive the differing types have different connections if it is a IDE / EIDE no point getting a caddy for a SATA.

I have caddied just about all my old hard drives and use them as external and portable storage.

As far as bought externals are concerned I have 3 a 1TB Buffalo a 3TB Seagate and a 2TB WD NAS. (NAS = Network Accessible Storage means you connect to it wireless and over the internet or mobile connection)

The oldest of them is the Buffalo which is around 6 years now but was replaced after about 6 weeks when the first one failed the replacement is still going strong sits behind my TV for watching downloaded stuff.

Next is the WD which is around 3 years now but it was replaced after 9 months or so because the other failed.

Leaving the 3TB Seagate which is around 2 years old and is used to store all the long-term back-up stuff.

Many things that matter are backed up twice on site on the WD and the Seagate I also back-up online.

I think with externals it is very much luck of the draw if yours works for ages or fails in a few weeks.