Which external HDD?

[dogancan]

Hi,

I am planning to but an external HDD to store many precious files, including my daughters photos. So I need a reliable and high-capacity device. Reliability is the issue here (if somehow I loose those photos, my wife would definitely kill me). Just looked around a bit and saw SEAGATE FreeAgent XTreme 1TB which seems ok to me.

Do you know this model, or have you ever used it?
Can you offer any other models?

thx!

[BoredStiff]

At the risk if highjacking this topic, but why save files to a HDD instead of burning them to a CD or DVD?
(Btw, I can't help you in regard to your question.)

[dogancan]

most importantly, it takes a lot time to write on DVDs. Also their store is a problem by itself. One black box is better than 200 DVDs some of which can be broken or corrupted...

[BoredStiff]

ORIGINAL: dogancan

most importantly, it takes a lot time to write on DVDs. Also their store is a problem by itself. One black box is better than 200 DVDs some of which can be broken or corrupted...

Timewise, I can burn everything on my computer worth archiving on 2 DVD's, which takes about 15-20 minutes. I do this once at the end of every year.
Of course, I keep everything organized in the first place, so it's just a matter of burning 3-4 folders on my desktop in their entirety.
A HDD is a mechanical device (right?), so aren't you concerned about the possibility of it failing? What happens if you drop it on the floor?

[Nomad]

I do both. I have a Western Digital 500 GB USB hard disk. It isn't fast, but it has been reliable and I can store a lot on it. I also put files on DVDs. I find it a lot easier to get to files on the external HD rather than try and find the DVD.

[Neilster]

Is that Val Dogancan? My Mum has all your albums [:D]

If your daughter is aged 16-25 you can store her photos on my computer [:'(]

Cheers, Neilster

[Bodhi]

ORIGINAL: Neilster

Is that Val Dogancan? My Mum has all your albums [:D]

Should that be Val Doonigan? [&:]

My mum likes him as well. [8|]

[Neilster]

Well, I had to use the dude's actual tag. I just hoped people would make the hilarious connection [;)]

Congratulations, you did [:)]

Cheers, Neilster

[Prince of Eckmühl]

ORIGINAL: dogancan

most importantly, it takes a lot time to write on DVDs. Also their store is a problem by itself. One black box is better than 200 DVDs some of which can be broken or corrupted...

I've read tech articles which indicate that burned DVD and CD media will eventually fail. The material containing the data will decompose and it'll all be lost. I do believe that "archival-quality" discs are in the works, but I'm unsure as to whether or not you can buy them.

On the other hand, HDD fail also, particularly external drives. Their saving grace is that they are very easy to use and inexpensive, so I'd strongly advise anyone employing this type of storage to buy two. Then backup your data to both, and keep one of them off-site (in case of calamity).

PoE (aka ivanmoe)

[BoredStiff]

ORIGINAL: Prince of Eckmühl

I've read tech articles which indicate that burned DVD and CD media will eventually fail. The material containing the data will decompose and it'll all be lost. I do believe that "archival-quality" discs are in the works, but I'm unsure as to whether or not you can buy them.

We've all read those articles, but here's the thing: Firstly, I started burning CD's several years ago and have yet to have any go bad. Secondly, by the time they would/might go bad, there will be other, more reliable, media available to transfer the data to. In fact, I've already done so by transferring several older CD's onto one DVD.

[Prince of Eckmühl]

ORIGINAL: BoredStiff
We've all read those articles, but here's the thing: Firstly, I started burning CD's several years ago and have yet to have any go bad.

Me neither, but I have had burns fail.

Secondly, by the time they would/might go bad, there will be other, more reliable, media available to transfer the data to. In fact, I've already done so by transferring several older CD's onto one DVD.

That's cool, it's just a lot faster and cheaper to back it up to a HDD.

PoE (aka ivanmoe)

[SlickWilhelm]

Of course, you could always have the pictures developed and then put them in a myriad of photo albums like they did back in the day.

[dogancan]

anywayi thx for the answers, and no I am of course not that guy... [:)]

[BoredStiff]

ORIGINAL: dogancan

anywayi thx for the answers, and no I am of course not that guy... [:)]

I really didn't mean to hijack your thread. A couple of weeks ago, when I transfered my 401K money into an IRA, the lady banker mentioned that she had recently lost several years worth of digital pics, when her computer went haywire, and that she had gotten a HDD to keep this from happening again. That's when I started wondering why people would go the HDD route instead of burning DVD's.

Anyway, your original question was:

Just looked around a bit and saw SEAGATE FreeAgent XTreme 1TB which seems ok to me.

Do you know this model, or have you ever used it?
Can you offer any other models?