USB drive recommendation (ideally USB powered)

Uncwilly · 2014-03-09, 00:00

I have purchased a DVR that has a limited amount of internal storage. It will work with a USB external drive. Can anyone recommend a good external drive for a decent price? Ideally it would be USB powered and quiet.

kladner · 2014-03-09, 02:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

I have purchased a DVR that has a limited amount of internal storage. It will work with a USB external drive. Can anyone recommend a good external drive for a decent price? Ideally it would be USB powered and quiet.

Here is one possibility on a 1 TB unit-
http://store.westerndigital.com/stor...oryID.64062500

Note that in the WD external lines, you might want to avoid the Passport Ultra and Passport Slim. These include hardware encryption. I have seen many complaints on the forums about data lost due to a failed chip on the controller board. It is difficult, and/or expensive to recover from an encryption failure.

Here is a twice as large Seagate USB 3 powered for about the same price-
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expans...4331741&sr=1-4

Sorry for the Amazon referrals. I actually don't use them any more, but it's an easy place to look things up. I don't know about encryption on these. I would strongly advise against a unit with that feature.

Uncwilly · 2014-03-20, 00:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by kladner

Here is one possibility on a 1 TB unit-
Here is a twice as large Seagate USB 3 powered for about the same price-

Thanks for the info. I am buying the seagate 2TB unit.

petrw1 · 2014-03-21, 00:18

For those more in-the-know than I am:
What is the difference between:
- External Hard Drive
- Portable Hard Drive
Aren't they both by definition Portable AND External.
Portable tend to be more expensive on Newegg but also seem to be smaller.
Is that it? Or is there more that is relevant to the following?

My though it using it as an offsite backup device.
Store all the important data on it then...
Take it to the office...
Keep it in a drawer in the office (unplugged)...
About once a month bring it home to make a fresh backup of the files I care about...
Take it away again.

P.S. Follow up question: My last External Hard Drive died after about a year of use.
- Files I can't access
- Very non-responsive at times
- VERY VERY long running chkdsk (weeks...)
- Even SeaGate's own tools get errors and could NOT repair the disk.
- In the end I couldn't even reformat it.

I have one theory what doomed it...please offer your votes:

It is stored on the same shelf, and about 6 inches away from my sub-woofer and power supply for my speaker system.
Could the magnets in it be messing up the hard drive?
Thanks

kracker · 2014-03-21, 00:36

I'm not sure as well, but there are internal drives that can be used "externally", as in SATA to USB. (Popular with internal SSD's nowadays converted to USB3)

sdbardwick · 2014-03-21, 00:50

Generally:

Portable implies
1. USB [or other bus] powered (no external power brick)
2. Based on 2.5" laptop drives

External implies
1. Not necessarily bus powered - usually requires external power brick
2. Based on 3.5" desktop drives

Portable drives are generally more resistant to damage during transport, due to their use of laptop drives.

External drives really shouldn't be moved regularly without taking precautions to guard against impacts.

Re: External drive failure
Magnetic field from speakers/amp not strong enough to affect HDD (corner cases like massive old amps with huge transformers possibly excepted). The vibrations from the subwoofer could contribute to failure. Also, the bundled power bricks might produce crappy (noisy or out-of-spec voltage) power output.

petrw1 · 2014-03-21, 05:22

Thanks sdb.

LaurV · 2014-03-21, 06:08

Adding to what sdb said: the common sense is that the two classes are not included into each other. Portable is not necessary external (think hot-swap bays) and external is not necessary portable (beside of separate power supply): we have here a backup system which is half meter tall and it has about 40kg. It is essentially a battery of external harddisks, but I don't see myself wondering around with those things in my pocket...

CRGreathouse · 2014-03-21, 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdbardwick

Magnetic field from speakers/amp not strong enough to affect HDD (corner cases like massive old amps with huge transformers possibly excepted). The vibrations from the subwoofer could contribute to failure. Also, the bundled power bricks might produce crappy (noisy or out-of-spec voltage) power output.

I agree.

f1pokerspeed · 2014-03-21, 22:05

Have you tried SpinRite on the broken HDD?

cheesehead · 2014-03-22, 14:57

AIUI:

In general, a portable drive means it has its own outer housing/case.

Some external drives don't include their own case, which must be provided separately. (Why would a manufacturer market it that way? Rack-mount)

The above applies to drives that need more than USB current, but for USB drives "portable"/"external" might have a different connotation.

2014-03-09, 00:00	#1
Uncwilly 6809 > 6502 """"""""""""""""""" Aug 2003 101×103 Posts 97×101 Posts	USB drive recommendation (ideally USB powered) I have purchased a DVR that has a limited amount of internal storage. It will work with a USB external drive. Can anyone recommend a good external drive for a decent price? Ideally it would be USB powered and quiet.

2014-03-21, 00:18	#4
petrw1 1976 Toyota Corona years forever! "Wayne" Nov 2006 Saskatchewan, Canada 2×2,341 Posts	Portable vs External For those more in-the-know than I am: What is the difference between: - External Hard Drive - Portable Hard Drive Aren't they both by definition Portable AND External. Portable tend to be more expensive on Newegg but also seem to be smaller. Is that it? Or is there more that is relevant to the following? My though it using it as an offsite backup device. Store all the important data on it then... Take it to the office... Keep it in a drawer in the office (unplugged)... About once a month bring it home to make a fresh backup of the files I care about... Take it away again. P.S. Follow up question: My last External Hard Drive died after about a year of use. - Files I can't access - Very non-responsive at times - VERY VERY long running chkdsk (weeks...) - Even SeaGate's own tools get errors and could NOT repair the disk. - In the end I couldn't even reformat it. I have one theory what doomed it...please offer your votes: It is stored on the same shelf, and about 6 inches away from my sub-woofer and power supply for my speaker system. Could the magnets in it be messing up the hard drive? Thanks Last fiddled with by petrw1 on 2014-03-21 at 00:22 Reason: P.S....

2014-03-22, 14:57	#11
cheesehead "Richard B. Woods" Aug 2002 Wisconsin USA 2²·3·641 Posts	AIUI: In general, a portable drive means it has its own outer housing/case. Some external drives don't include their own case, which must be provided separately. (Why would a manufacturer market it that way? Rack-mount) The above applies to drives that need more than USB current, but for USB drives "portable"/"external" might have a different connotation. Last fiddled with by cheesehead on 2014-03-22 at 15:01

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2014-03-21, 00:36	#5
kracker "Mr. Meeseeks" Jan 2012 California, USA 100001111000₂ Posts	I'm not sure as well, but there are internal drives that can be used "externally", as in SATA to USB. (Popular with internal SSD's nowadays converted to USB3)

2014-03-21, 00:50	#6
sdbardwick Aug 2002 North San Diego County 5×137 Posts	Generally: Portable implies 1. USB [or other bus] powered (no external power brick) 2. Based on 2.5" laptop drives External implies 1. Not necessarily bus powered - usually requires external power brick 2. Based on 3.5" desktop drives Portable drives are generally more resistant to damage during transport, due to their use of laptop drives. External drives really shouldn't be moved regularly without taking precautions to guard against impacts. Re: External drive failure Magnetic field from speakers/amp not strong enough to affect HDD (corner cases like massive old amps with huge transformers possibly excepted). The vibrations from the subwoofer could contribute to failure. Also, the bundled power bricks might produce crappy (noisy or out-of-spec voltage) power output.

2014-03-21, 05:22	#7
petrw1 1976 Toyota Corona years forever! "Wayne" Nov 2006 Saskatchewan, Canada 11112₈ Posts	Thanks sdb.

2014-03-21, 06:08	#8
LaurV Romulan Interpreter Jun 2011 Thailand 25A5₁₆ Posts	Adding to what sdb said: the common sense is that the two classes are not included into each other. Portable is not necessary external (think hot-swap bays) and external is not necessary portable (beside of separate power supply): we have here a backup system which is half meter tall and it has about 40kg. It is essentially a battery of external harddisks, but I don't see myself wondering around with those things in my pocket...

2014-03-21, 22:05	#10
f1pokerspeed Jun 2012 2×53 Posts	Have you tried SpinRite on the broken HDD?