Recommended external HD for backup?

[Char Jackson]

My understanding is that because of floods in Thailand, hard drives
are becoming scarce. That would explain why Seagate is out of stick,
for instance.

I'm seeing the same thing. My hard drive of choice is a Samsung 2TB
model that used to cost $69.99. When things went sour in Thailand I
watched the price climb to 99, then 129, 139, 159, 199, 249, and
finally a peak of $269. It's currently at $219 so it's finally headed
back in the right direction.

<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245>

 

[Brian Matthews]

Not just similar, the same!


Advice in reviews is to delete the Memeo backup software and use the
drive as plug-and-play with Windows Backup or a decent third-party
backup.


When I click that link, it's $119.99, not $99.00 or $99.99. Do you
*really* see it for $99.00? I've heard Amazon sometimes gives
different prices to different people, but this would be the first
actual instance I've seen with my own eyes.


When mine arrived from Staples, it was USB3 and had a two-year, not
three-year warranty. I'm guessing that the specs changed and the Web
pages I looked at hadn't been updated. Since USB3 is downward
compatible to USB2, I'm not too concerned. The warranty is a
disappointment, but it's still better than the one-year warranty on
my present drive.

My understanding is that because of floods in Thailand, hard drives
are becoming scarce. That would explain why Seagate is out of stick,
for instance.

Yes, last night it was $99.99. But this morning there was a message in
my shopping basket that says;

"Important Message
Please note that the price of Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk v 2.0 2 TB
USB 3.0 External Hard Drive (STAC2000106) has increased from $99.99 to
$119.99 since you placed it in your Shopping Cart. Items in your cart
will always reflect the most recent price displayed on their product
detail pages."

 

[Percival P. Cassidy]

Yes, last night it was $99.99. But this morning there was a message in
my shopping basket that says;

"Important Message
Please note that the price of Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk v 2.0 2 TB
USB 3.0 External Hard Drive (STAC2000106) has increased from $99.99 to
$119.99 since you placed it in your Shopping Cart. Items in your cart
will always reflect the most recent price displayed on their product
detail pages."

That doesn't seem kosher: you should get it for the price shown at the
time you put it in your cart. What they are doing is the equivalent of a
vendor coming after you for a surcharge after you've paid for an item
and walked out of the store with it.

Perce

 

[Char Jackson]

That doesn't seem kosher: you should get it for the price shown at the
time you put it in your cart. What they are doing is the equivalent of a
vendor coming after you for a surcharge after you've paid for an item
and walked out of the store with it.

I disagree. You're under no obligation to buy, and you haven't paid,
until you actually check out. Putting an item into your cart shouldn't
be viewed as insurance against future price increases.

 

[choro]

I disagree. You're under no obligation to buy, and you haven't paid,
until you actually check out. Putting an item into your cart shouldn't
be viewed as insurance against future price increases.

Annoying for the buyer but perfectly logical, if you ask me.
-- choro

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

When I click that link, it's $119.99, not $99.00 or $99.99. Do you
*really* see it for $99.00? I've heard Amazon sometimes gives
different prices to different people, but this would be the first
actual instance I've seen with my own eyes.

Amazon prices vary even to the same person (me, for example).

I just bought a battery charger that was listed at $28 a few days prior,
but when I looked later, it was $20 and change, so I ordered it. I
wasn't looking for a price change, I was still thinking, but the new
price triggered my action.

Re the price change in the Cart controversy - when I have actually
ordered things, the price that shows up in my credit card account is the
price when I submit the order to Amazon. It works both ways, of course.
Later price changes, up or down, don't get propagated to the order once
it's been placed.

 

[Brian Matthews]

Amazon prices vary even to the same person (me, for example).

I just bought a battery charger that was listed at $28 a few days prior,
but when I looked later, it was $20 and change, so I ordered it. I
wasn't looking for a price change, I was still thinking, but the new
price triggered my action.

Re the price change in the Cart controversy - when I have actually
ordered things, the price that shows up in my credit card account is the
price when I submit the order to Amazon. It works both ways, of course.
Later price changes, up or down, don't get propagated to the order once
it's been placed.

I leave Amazon items in my cart all the time while I research them.
There's usually 6 or 7 items in my cart at any give time. And I've
seen this price change many times. To be honest, it's usually a lower
price than when I placed it in my cart. This HDD is the highest I've
ever seen an item change price, either up or down.

As for this HDD that was OT? Newegg wants $159.99 for it. (according
to the price I saw yesterday) and the reviews for it were pretty bad.
I would probably go a more expensive route if it were a drive I was
planning on using daily. I would buy a quality enclosure and a bare
HDD separate. But for a drive to just use as an archive drive that
you'll only use a few times a month, it's still a good price at $120
or so.

I remember paying $200 for my first 2 GB HDD. And that was a good
price at the time. I still have it around here somewhere. Maybe
someday it will be a collector's item? : )

 

[blank]

IMHO, avoid Western Digital Passport. Looks lovely, but (on XP anyway)
forces to os to boot to it and so if disk left plugged in laptop won't
start.

 

[blank]

.....> I think every brand of drive has its fans and its detractors. All I
can

tell you is that all but one of my dead drives are Western Digital. I've
had only one Seagate drive fail, and that was after the 5-year warranty
had expired and after it had sat unused for several months.

Years ago in Sydney Autralia a whole pallet of 40 Mb (yes, it was that long
ago!) Seagate hard disks were dropped from a crane onto the wharf. They
were sent all round the country and of course immediately (or very soon)
failed, giving the brand a bad reputation, which was undeserved.

 

[Stan Brown]

That doesn't seem kosher: you should get it for the price shown at the
time you put it in your cart. What they are doing is the equivalent of a
vendor coming after you for a surcharge after you've paid for an item
and walked out of the store with it.

I don't read it that way.

When it's in your cart, it's just a wish-list item. Once you've
actually completed the order, *then* you have a contract and the
vendor can't change the price.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I leave Amazon items in my cart all the time while I research them.
There's usually 6 or 7 items in my cart at any give time.

That sounds like a job for the Wish List...

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

IMHO, avoid Western Digital Passport. Looks lovely, but (on XP anyway)
forces to os to boot to it and so if disk left plugged in laptop won't
start.

Interesting that I don't have that problem with those drives...

 

[Paul]

Interesting that I don't have that problem with those drives...

The WDC page lists models with and without certain "whizzy" features.

So it's possible another model doesn't do that.

It's yet another reason, to read the reviews before buying. You'd
be surprised how many traps the reviews can warn you of. Newegg
and Amazon have reviews, amongst other places.

Personally, I don't buy pre-built external drive products, because
it's just easier to find an empty enclosure and put my own drive in it.
The designs tend to be simpler, and you won't find ones with
"virtual CD" composite USB devices that way. And I bet I'm even
paying more, for the privilege.

Paul

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

The WDC page lists models with and without certain "whizzy" features.

So it's possible another model doesn't do that.

It's yet another reason, to read the reviews before buying. You'd
be surprised how many traps the reviews can warn you of. Newegg
and Amazon have reviews, amongst other places.

Personally, I don't buy pre-built external drive products, because
it's just easier to find an empty enclosure and put my own drive in it.
The designs tend to be simpler, and you won't find ones with
"virtual CD" composite USB devices that way. And I bet I'm even
paying more, for the privilege.

Paul

Thanks for the clarification about the various models.

OTOH, I guess I've been lucky - I've done OK on avoiding drive problems
(usually!) without spending much effort reading reviews.

 

[Bob I]

It wasn't just a pallet drop in AU ...
The ST251 was "just plain bad".

IIRC, the ST251 fiasco also damned near sunk the IBM AT (286) as well.
IBM shipped massive numbers of the new ATs with ST251s, and about 80% of
them crapped out within 6 months of firing them up.

One computer shop in Seattle built their front counter out of ST251s
hot-glued together as "brickwork".

And then there was the IBM "DeathStar" drives of recent renown.