Recommended External HD??

I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan to
purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD that
has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I plan
to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.

Sam wrote:
> I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
> with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
> replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan to
> purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD that
> has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I plan
> to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.
>
>
>

I would be inclined to get a 2.5 inch USB external hard drive for
back up purposes, because they are powered by the USB connection
and don't need a power block to be plugged in to use them. They
are also more compact and lighter than the 3.5 inch drives. The
downside is that they don't hold as much as 3.5 inch drives.

Another thing to consider is getting a SATA capable drive, if your
computer has an external SATA port (as mine does). Much faster
backups that way.

I recently bought a 2 TB Samsung drive (internal, not external).
In my readings it seemed to me that they were having difficulties
with Western Digital presently. These problems with hard drives go
in cycles, one maker one year and another the next year. I'm avoid
Western Digital drives right now.

I highly recommend the free program Paragon Backup and Recovery
10.1 for mirror-image backups of the entire boot drive. It works
with Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

-Al-

On Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:21:38 -0600, "Sam" <scams@Remove This att.net>
wrote:

>I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
>with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
>replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan to
>purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD that
>has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I plan
>to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.
>
>
I have two Thermaltake Max 4 with Western Digital 640 gig drives (sata).
Software is TrueImage.


KenW

Sam wrote:

> I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
> with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
> replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan to
> purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD that
> has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I plan
> to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.

I use an Iomega Prestige 320 GB USB2 portable hard drive.
I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 with XP SP3 installed. It appears to work
OK with that, but I purchased it primarily to back up my wife's Win7
laptop.
I've used it with the Microsoft backup utility to make an image of the Win7
drive on the laptop, and I've also used it with Acronis True Image to make
a disk image of my Win7 installation on a Dell Inspiron 530 desktop.

--
John Aldred

Sam wrote:
> I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200
> computer with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed
> today!!). This replacement external HD will also be used with the
> new computer I plan to purchase in the very near future. I would like
> to have an external HD that has an internal fan and without any
> backup software installed since I plan to use the Windows 7 image
> backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.

Not as pretty as an external chassis and no fan but I now use a Thermotake
BlacX SATA USB docking station, commonly called a Toaster drive due to it's
appearance. No worries about overheating but keep static discharge in mind
when swapping or handling the drives. Mine has a power switch should I want
to leave a drive in it while it's powered down and not needed.

It lets me purchase and use any bare SATA drive up to 2TB be it 3.5 or 2.5
inch through any USB port. This way I can drop in a drive, make a backup
and take it off site or store one in my car trunk in an old foam lined
aluminum camera case. I use TrueCrypt to encrypt all my external drives so
I'm not worried about the data if one is stolen. Nice being able to swap
drives with out having to open up the case or purchase more external cases
just for backups.

On 2/27/10, Sam posted:
> I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
> with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
> replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan to
> purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD that
> has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I plan
> to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.

I think the only really valid recommendation is that you don't use the
same brand you had - for psychological reasons :-)

Actually, I agree with pretty much everything the other posters said,
but not necessarily the ones who post later :-)

Like Al Smith and for the same reasons, I use a portable USB drive for
my more frequent backups. Like GlowingBlueMist, I use a docking station
and bare 3.5" drives for my more occasional backups. The portables tend
to be slower than 3.5" drives, but since the USB bus is slower still,
no problem.

OTOH, on the laptop, I use a 2.5" bare drive for docking, so I could
just drop it in if the built-in one fails.

I would do the same for the desktop, but it's an all-in-one, so it
would entail major disassembly. However, the warranty is over, so maybe
that's OK now :-)

My software is Macrium Reflect (paid edition) for images and Casper for
clones (belt and suspenders). Both have advantages and both have
disadvantages, but I can live with them OK.

--
Gene Bloch 650.366.4267 lettersatblochg.com

"Sam" <scams@Remove This att.net> wrote in message
news:hmc5qq$18m$...
> I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
> with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
> replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan to
> purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD that
> has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I plan
> to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.
>
>
>

I like Maxtor, but almost anything will do.
I stay away from Western Digital.

--
Andrew

Many thanks for all of your replies and information!! Sam

Andrew wrote:
>
>
> "Sam" <scams@Remove This att.net> wrote in message
> news:hmc5qq$18m$...
>> I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
>> with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
>> replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan to
>> purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD
>> that
>> has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I
>> plan
>> to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.
>>
>>
>>
>
> I like Maxtor, but almost anything will do.
> I stay away from Western Digital.
>
Why please.
I have an un-opened 1TB drive right now.
I can return it.

"LouB" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Andrew wrote:
>>
>>
>> "Sam" <scams@Remove This att.net> wrote in message
>> news:hmc5qq$18m$...
>>> I am in need of an external HD to use with my current Dell 8200 computer
>>> with windows XP Pro (SP3) (my current external HD failed today!!). This
>>> replacement external HD will also be used with the new computer I plan
>>> to
>>> purchase in the very near future. I would like to have an external HD
>>> that
>>> has an internal fan and without any backup software installed since I
>>> plan
>>> to use the Windows 7 image backup program. Thanks for any help, Sam.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I like Maxtor, but almost anything will do.
>> I stay away from Western Digital.
>>
> Why please.
> I have an un-opened 1TB drive right now.
> I can return it.

Well this is my experience, others have had good experiences with them I
assume.
I had 3 fail (all 500gb) in a period of about 2 months.

A couple years ago they had the WD My Book 500GB drives on sale at Costco
for something like $70.00 each.
I bought three. 2 were used as backup drives and 1 of them was used as
media for a media center DVR.
I noticed they all got hot, I mean really hot, but thought nothing of it.
Eventually they all failed.

Since then I have bought Maxtor USB drives with internal fans.
Now granted, the Media Center DVR was probably not the best choice of use
cases for a cheap HD, but I have had the $99.00 Maxtor doing it for more
than a year.
Like I said, it's personal experience, maybe I got a bad lot, or maybe the
WD My Book was a lousy product. I still don't know, but I don't buy WD
anymore.

--
Andrew