USB External Hard drive

Anyone got any recommendations for one of these? I already have a Seagate 1TB one, but I wondered if there was anything better. The problem with mine is that it has no On/Off switch so it is worked by plugging it in and removing the plug when I have finished Backing up etc. I would prefer a switch off before unplugging.
TIA.

 

My main 1TB one doesn't have a switch either but it's set up to backup my main folders 'on the fly' and do a full system backup once a week so it's more or less in constant use.

 

Mine is the same but goes off with pc but the power pack is permanently plugged in, as I cant get to the plugs easily which is not good.

 

Fair enough, but which new one should I be looking for?

 

In my experience of selling these at Staples for four years I would recommend, SanDisk, Western Digital or Seagate. I would avoid Iomega like the plague, Verbatim and LaCie aren't anything to shout about.

Going on what customers returned the most it would be Iomega and Verbatim, this would be bacause they are the most popular because they are the cheapest because they are the worse made. It's a vicious circle.

Hope this helps.

You could look at Solid State Drives if you're got the cash, vastly superior.

 

Thanks.
From what I read, the ones powered through the USB port do not have as much capacity as those with their own power supply. Is that right?

 

It's not something I've ever heard of and I can't see how the supply of power to the device would affect the amount of capacity in it.

 

The ones that are powered from the usb use the board power supply, this will place a load on the internal power supply. The external ones place no load.

 

A word of caution. The USB standard defines maximum current, which is very, very low. Like signal level stuff (measured in milliamps). Many USB controllers ignore the restriction and allow much more current (and therefore power, power W = current I x voltage V) to flow, but you can't count on this.

A USB port that conforms strictly to the standard is no way going to power a hard disk on its own, but like I said, lots of USB ports deliver more power than the standard defines.

 

I cannot find the article I was reading, but the USB powered drives only had a 2.5 inch disc and the powered ones could have a 3.5. Thus the amount of Data storage could be greater.
At least that is what I understood by it.

 

clueless 1. The ol ohms law creeping in there I used to build valve radios many years ago they were great fun ..long, medium and (short wave I'm wandering off.
I have 2 external hard drives both external powered... the power supplies are a bit of a pain. As you said the newer USB output may well be above the minimum required by the newer external HD ..a grey area.

 

I can highly recommend the one I have. My geek son who is head of a computer company bought it for me. He's very picky about what gets purchased and researches everything before buying.

Its a Sumodisk 320gb. Plugs into the USB but has a seperate power supply and on/off button. I have it divided into several partitions and use it for back up of different user accounts on two machines.

 

Ever since I had an external hard drive die within days of my laptop failing I now use 2 external hard drives. I also backup each laptop onto the other.