portable external hard drive?

Adam

ive been looking for a good portable external hard drive to carry with my laptop. however, i dont know what brand to buy.
i was considering Seagate for a while, because they got good reviews, but they were either 5 star reviews or 1 star reviews. (either they got it and it worked or they got it and it worked for a while then broke)

a friend of mine recommended LaCie, but the reviews on some of their drives are not very good.

also, my friend doesnt reccomend Western Digital.

if anyone could recommend a good PORTABLE external hard drive brand (or model with at least 500GB of space) it would be much appreciated. also, price is an issue. (id rather not shell out $150 on this).

thanks!!!

Answer
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?MfrId=454&CatId=136

check the list, Iomegas are pretty good externals. I would agree with your friend, do not buy the western digital. I had a friend who brought one and have had nothing but troubles with it. But then again, it is a chance, a risk when buying any hard drive. It may last for years, or at worst, months. no telling really with any brand.

I have a lacie external, but I dont make it portable, have had it for more then 5+ yrs and it still runs great.

What is the best portable 500gb external hard drive for HD video editing?

I have a Macbook Pro i7 and I need a portable harddrive that will keep up with my video editing so I don't drop any frames. I don't know if there is a big difference between a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro 500GB USB 2.0 7200 rpm vs LACIE Rugged 500GB 7200 RPM USB Firewire 800. Any ideas or suggestions?

Answer
Go Firewire. It will have at least twice the data throughput rate as the USB 2.0 drive. RPM has little effect on external drives, as the data interface (USB or Firewire) is almost always the limiting factor.

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Which of these 3 portable hard drives is best?

Player

I need to get a new portable hard drive and I found these all similarly priced. They all have similar ratings and reviews so I need an opinion on which is best. I need one that can run fast and reliably and is very easy to use, like plug and play.

1. Toshiba
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YBOU/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1374788631&sr=1-11&keywords=portable+hard+drive+usb

2. Western Digital
http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Portable-External-Storage-WDBKXH5000ABL-NESN/dp/B006Y5UPZU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

3. Seagate
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expansion-Portable-External-STBX500100/dp/B00834SJSK/ref=cm_rdp_product

Answer
Western Digital lasts long and it is one of the best in the world.

Toshiba makes good hard drives but they don't last long and you'll need to replace them soon.

Seagate is an okay hard drive but its a more down market version of the western digital.

I say go with the Western Digital.

External portable hard drive?

Mommy MiMi

I am working between two differ computers . One at home & one at work, I need the same files on both computers. I need to share Microsoft Office & my pictures between the two. I need to work on the same images & documents at home & work. Would an eternal portable hard drive work for me? It would be so convent to just keep the pics & documents on something else like the portable hard drive, but I am clueless. Thanks for any help.

Answer
hey mimi that would work if you want you can just load them off the harddrive that way.

as an alternative amazon.com has 5gigs of free cloudspace - meaning you can upload whatever files/documents you want online and have access to them anywhere.

i would personally prefer a portable hard drive/usb thumb drive for privacy reasons/not wanting my stuff on the net. :)

Furthermore if your work doesnt have microsoft office there is a free program set called "OpenOffice" that you can download and its the same as m$ office just FREE.

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Time Machine with Seagate GoFlex Ultra Portable external hard drive?

katiebee

Will the Seagate GoFlex Ultra Portable external hard drive work with the Time Machine function of a macbook and if so does it have to be the version for a mac or is the regular version just as good? Thanks for your help!

Answer
Short answer: Yes, it will work.

There are two parts to any "external drive":
-- The case.
-- The HDD inside the case.

All HDDs are exactly the same for external use. All that is important is that they have the type of connector that matches the case. New HDDs use SATA connector. In your situation, you already have the HDD inside the case, so this is academic info.

The case also doesn't care what type of computer you have, except that often a "Mac" drive has a case with Firewire connection as well as USB. You will be hard-pressed to find a PC with Firewire connection, because it is more expensive than USB, and PC folks tend to shun expensive hardware. All Macs except the MB Air have Firewire for much faster copying to the external drive.

Some companies know that many people think everything about a Mac is special, so they sell a "special" Mac version of a drive. Nothing is different except that it is pre-formatted for Mac OS use. If you buy a "non-Mac" drive, it is pre-formatted for Windows XP or later (NTFS format). That is easily changed to Mac format using Disk Utility > Erase tab.

Time Machine needs a drive volume ("volume" means a partition that is formatted) with "Mac OS Extended" format. That's the only requirement.... other than enough room on it for the backup files.

why does seagate portable hard drive always format?

Broncofan2

sometimes while im using it, it stops working and tells me it needs to be formated. has anyone had this problem. i always end up losing my files to this crap

mine is a 250gb go freeagent seagate hd

Answer
Hi Jack,

You need to check 2 things. This could be due to a loose USB connection, so try to connect to different ports on your comp.

The 2nd reason could be bad sectors on your drive. Check for the same by going to the properties of the drive, Click Tools Tab; then run the Check now. Do a complete scan so that it also fixes an existing bad sectors.

Format your drive after that.

Good Luck.

Wireless..:)

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Mac Portable Hard Drive Help?

h8thecause

I recently bought a SimpleTech portable hard drive. Its a 160gb if that matters. I am working on trying to backup my music by dragging and dropping it on there, but when I plug it in and try to drag, it does not allow me. When I view the info for the portable hard drive, the sharing and permissions says: "I can only read". How would I fix this?

Answer
Check whether the hard disk has "Write Lock". If it is so make sure it is not write locked.

Make sure that the Hard Drive is not formatted as NTFS. Mac does not support writing data to a NTFS volume. Just right click the mounted volume in Finder and select "Get Info". In the Info window check for the "Format:". In case the format is NTFS, it shows "Windows NT Filesystem". [ http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/attachments/maccar/40138d1172094097-using-external-hd-between-mac-pc-picture-1.png ].
If it is so, your Mac will not allow you to write data to that volume.

There are 2 solutions :
1. Make Mac write data to NTFS volume : Install 3rd party NTFS support for Mac. Softwares like "Paragon NTFS" [ http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/ ] allows you to write data to NTFS volume.
2. Reformat the hard disk to Mac Compatible format : This will require you to erase the entire data present in the disk. You can use Disk Utility to reformat the hard disk. If you are not sharing it with Windows PC, you can format it with format as "HFS+" (referred as "Mac OS Extended" in disk utility). In case you intend to share it with Windows "Fat32" will be the format I would recommend. Remember Fat32 does not support files larger than 4GB.

I would recommend the second solution.

External Hard Drive - easy to use, mac compatible, not too pricey?

Northerly

I'm looking for an external hard drive for my 13" White Macbook(bought January 2008) that's maybe around $100 dollars or less, and is relatively easy to use.

I'd put mainly music, videos, photos, and art files/psds that I want to keep, but don't use very often. I don't think I need that much memory(maybe 100-200 GB? Depends on pricing), but I'd like to see a few options with my specifications.

Thank you!
I meant a specific product that I can try - not whether external HDs in general are like what I mentioned.

Answer
1) all hard drives work with a mac. you just need to format it when you get it. (very easy to do)

2) here are a bunch of options for you. there are 320GB hard drives that get there power through the USB port they plug into which are great options as they are really portable. you can also get a 500GB but it needs to be plugged into an outlet. i would personally recommend the 320GB. seagate and western digital are my two favorite brands.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=414&Description=&Type=&N=2010150414+1035907839&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=100

EDIT:

I gave you a bunch of products that would work for you and meet your requirements. Of the ones I gave you, I would recommend this one the most.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136227

or if you have a silver mac, you might like this one. same price. the other difference between this and the other is the color of the case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148341

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Are USB powered external hard drives reliable?

grfisgd

I always used AC powered external hard drives without much any fails. I want to purchase a portable version 2.5" drive but its powered USB only. Its 2TB and the content will be fairly important to me. Are they reliable /good investment? I'm looking at a My Passport 2TB portable USB for about $120. Any advice?

Answer
I have never had a problem with an external USB-powered drive. The largest I have had was 750gb so far so I can't speak about TB+ drives. I don't know that I would be comfortable with something greater than 1TB as the data is so densely packed which means that all the teeny tiny magnetic specks on the disk are that much smaller. You might google your dirve and see what the alleged MTBF (mean time between failures) is.

What are things you need to know about a Portable Hard Drive?

Kayla ~

Does it just plug & go like a normal USB Thumb Drive? Do I have to back up everything on my computer or can I pick what I want to put on the drive? I just want to put some pictures & music on there so it's not on all my laptop desktop. It's not for business use or anything.

Answer
It works almost like a thumb drive but consider that is much more fragile than a solid state media.

On a portable HD you actually carry a laptop hard drive on a case. Depending on the speed and capacity it will have energy needs. USB 2.0 has a certain capacity as far as power goes, so some USB hard drives will require two USB ports to work properly, one for data and the other for extra juice.

Consider this when buying one. They are mostly pretty sturdy, I have dropped mine and has survived fine, but don't consider it as a main media back up since due to its size and the fact that is mobile, it will be more fragile than a regular external back up HD.

I keep a complete back up of important files in an external iOmega HD (powered, 2TB) and carry around a 500 GB Maxtor, but I had to buy a powered hub because it kept on shorting my USB ports when I connected all my other peripherals (mouse, Keyboard, etc. etc.)

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Portable Hard Drive recognition?

Q. I recently reinstalled Vista onto my computer, but before doing so, I compilled all of my files onto a portable hard drive. Now that I have it reinstalled, I cannot get the computer to recognize the portable drive as a hard drive.

It recognizes that something is plugged in, and will classify it as a generic USB Mass Storage Device, however, I cannot view the drive under explorer, and it wont show up as a drive. I have tested it on other computers, and the drive is working fine. I have tried several ports, I have tried to download specific drivers, but non seem to exist (SimpleTech Inc.). I have tried booting with it pluged in, but it wont boot, because my computer see's it as a hard drive.

Does anyone know of anything I can do to make it work? It worked once with Vista without any software, so why doesn't it work now?
I have already tried it in another computer and there is no problem, and I have alread tried the "add hardware" but it is already found. I tried uninstalling the drivers, but it did the same thing again once it found the drive again.

Answer
That may happen if it has assigned the drive a letter that has been assigned to other DVD-ROM drives or HDD.

If you want to confirm, follow the steps below:

1) Go to Control Panel
2) Double click on "Administrative Tools"
3) Double click on "Computer Management"
4) Expand "Storage"
5) Click on "Disk Management"
6) Check if you can detect your external HDD inside the list.
If it is inside, go to step 7. If not, try to restart your PC and boot up while your external HDD is plugged in. After that, repeat step 1-6. If even not detected after reboot, please check your manufacturer for Vista Driver.
7) Right-click on your external drive and click "Change Drive Letters and Path"
8) Click on "Change"
9) Choose any drive letter that has not been assigned. If you are not sure, check My Computer and don't choose any letter that has been assigned.
10) Click "OK" twice.

After that, check My Computer and you should be able to see your hard drive.

Hope that helps =)

How to Transfer All information to Portable hard drive.?

Jeff A

I have a 250GB external hard drive. How would I transfer all of my stuff to that so I could clear up space onto my external hard drive? What Do I need to Keep on this computer such as security stuff etc? After I transfer do I just delete the stuff from my computer after it's on the external hard drive?

10 points to best answer.
Thank you.

Answer
Only transfer files that are not part of any program. Data files and files that you created like. Excel workbooks (xls) Word (.doc) Powerpoint (ppt). Also mp3 music files.

Any programs you no longer use or want, uninstall them, they may leave empty folders after uninstall, these you delete.

When you have decided what files you want to move then select them and copy to external drive. Don't delete the originals yet Turn off your pc after the transfer copy. Wait a few seconds turn on the PC then check the external drive for your files. If they seem to be all there, you can now delete the originals.

But Wait! There's more!

If you have Ultra Important Personal files that would make you die if ever you lost them, then also burn them to a Cd or Dvd data disk. The originals can be deleted.

You will have to dfrag the Hard Drive if you deleted more than 10 gb.

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Need fast portable hard drive?

mauiwahine

What is the best, easy, light, and fast to use. I know there are WD, iomega, and more. But I want to know the Best type with high speeds that last longer and won't fail.

Answer
The black Friday can get you going with many brands on sale. Any type of portable HD will get you going. Both of Iomega and WD are fine, and you can consider Simple-Tech, too.

Help! Question about External vs Portable hard drive?

Its Me

I'm about to go to Staples and I desperately need the Anwers! community's help! I'm pretty knowledgable about software and internet stuff, but I'm totally dumb when it comes to hardware, so I need you to help me pick the best item for my needs. Here's my situation.

My computer: Dell Optiplex 755 PC with 74.4 GB harddrive and Windows XP.

I don't have (and don't want) a lap top, so the only way to move files from place to place is with a flash drive (I have a 16GB). I live half the year in one state and then the other half of the year in another state. I have a monitor at both places, so I have to take my harddrive tower back and forth with me. I also have my computer cram packed with photos and video (I'm a photographer/videographer) and though I back up everything on discs, I HATE having to go through all of those discs to find anything. I want to be able to keep a copy of all of that stuff on my computer for easy access, and to able to easily transport it all.

SO..... there are three things on sale at Staples that I believe might help and I need you guys to choose the BEST one for me (these are the only options so please don't recommend "better" things):


IOMEGA PRESTIGE 1TB External Hard Drive
[This has a very sleek and small casing - easy to move]

SEAGATE GOFLEX 500GB Portable Hard Drive

IOMEGA EGO 320GB Portable Hard Drive

Prices are irrellivant to me.

So, I know the 1TB is great, but it is an external hard drive... vs. the PORTABLE 500GB and 320GB hard drives. Is it better for me to have a portable or external?

OK... and second question.... do I just plug these in to my main hard drive tower with a USB or something? I mean, maybe the issue over external vs. portable is irrellivant if they are both easy-plug-in by USB because the external unit is easily portable. But I don't know about these things. Does the external unit have to internally wired into my main harddrive?

I'm so confused I do not know what to do..... and we are leaving in 25 minutes to go to Staples so it's now or never.


THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!
Just to reinterate...
I have a DESK TOP - not a LAP TOP.

Answer
The portable is just smaller in size, with less capacity.

The external is often used for people with desktops whose computers don't really move. You can use them with laptops though.

Both accomplish the same thing though. And yes you attach them via USB.


That said, my vote is for the Seagate 500gb Portable HDD based on what I know of Seagate and its reputation.

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Will moving my files to an external hard drive make my computer faster?

LugiaMaste

I have about 1 gb left on my hard drive, and my computer is getting real slow, so im wondering, will moving my files to an external hard drive make it faster?

and if i do move my files to an external hard drive, will retrieving the files be a slow process? because if i do move my files then that hard drive will be full instead.

also, im not using a usb as an external hard drive..

Answer
Windows in general likes a fair bit of space on a hard drive for "Swap Files" Full hard drives slow the system down dramatically. Moving data to an external hard drive will help (Assuming here you cannot add an additional internal Hard drive)

So, move as much data as you can, pictures, music, documents to a hard drive AND delete any programs you do not use as well


As a rule I seldom let any hard drive get more than 1/2 full and I always have at least one back up drive

Why does my external hard drive make noise?

M H

My external hard drive is making a noise, kind of like a CD is spinning a occasionally rubbing against something. My computer still recognizes the hard drive, but is this the first sign of the end? Is there something I can do to fix this problem or is it normal?

Answer
There's probably something coming apart or lose small
screws. If it is still under guaranteed, I suggest you to return
it.

Most companies offer a 1 year guarantee, I believe.

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What is the difference between an external hard drive and a portable hard drive?

external portable hard drive difference between image

quothe_the

I need a hard drive to save all my downloads for iTunes on so that I don't use up the computer space. I found an 500gb external hard drive for about 80$, and 160gb portable hard drive for about 110$. What's the difference between an external and portable, because it sounds like the same concept to me.

Answer
they are the exact same but some people don't know the right word
but portable hard drives are pocket sizes kinda like a flash drive but a bit bigger and external hard drive is more of an at home one you plug into the wall. id go with the external 500gb for 80 rather than 160 for 110 500 is allot more and more useful my opinion.

What is the difference between... a portable hard drive from an external hard drive?

Marcus

What is the difference between... a portable hard drive from an external hard drive?

do they function differently or just the same?

explain more about the two.

Answer
Actually, external hard drives are portable. In that sense, there is no difference (if a drive is external, it is portable). I use mine to backup critical data on multiple pc's before upgrades.

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How to format a hard drive to work with Mac + PC?

portable hard drives mac and pc compatible image

Elliott

I have a Lacie Starck 500GB Portable Hard Drive. Unfortunately it is only compatible with Mac, but I do a lot of crossing over between Windows and OSX.
Can somebody please help me to format the device so it can be used on windows too?
This would be of great help!
Thanks.

Answer
FAT32

can I share a portable hard drive between my mac AND pc?

witt8199

I've been looking at some 320 gb external hard drives for my extensive photo files and as a back up for my documents. I have a Mac Pro laptop, and a PC desk top and need to share the portable hd files between them. Is that possible?

Answer
Yes. Ensure your drive is formatted correctly or purchased those drive with the Mac OSX and Windows compatible logo. See the link below for more info about the different formats.

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What's a good program that tests your computer hardware to tell you everything is working fine?

portable hard drives pc world image

christoph

For example a program that tells you that your hard drive is bad, or that your dvd-rom is bad. Is there any good tools out there?

Answer
My choice for this is Everest, it is a good choice to use....

EVEREST Home Edition is a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. It offers the world's most accurate system information and diagnostics capabilities, including online features, memory benchmarks, hardware monitoring, and low-level hardware information.

New features:
- Advanced hardware monitor with OSD panel and cooling fans monitoring
- Real-time alerting for hot-plug devices
- Portable Computer page to display mobile PC related information
- Bluetooth PAN support
- File Scanner filtering
- User benchmark results manager
- Sharpness test (Monitor Diagnostics)


**** And it's FREE, go get it....

Is there a world of warcraft portable edition?

Joe

Like a version that is smaller than the real file, as it is huge. I want to put it on an 8gb flash drive, but it won't fit. I want to do this so i can play it without having it take up nearly all of the small hard drive on my laptop.

Answer
Something my dad does is he has a external hard drive you can just connect to your pc. You can get them small im sure and when you install warcraft just set the file location to the external hard drive :D.

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Where can I get a cheap 1TB Portable Hard Drive [UK]?

portable hard drives currys image

Ryan

Where can i get a cheap 1TB HD in the UK, don't want to pay too much and needs to be portable.
i knew about these sites, just wondering if anyone could recommend any HD's they have bought themselves and where from.

Answer
Just go through the usual sites and find the best deal, ebyuer, ccl, novatech, aria, amazon, comet, currys etc

will this be able to connect to my computer?

tysunder

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/verbatim-external-portable-hard-drive-1-tb-caribbean-blue-10388060-pdt.html?intcmpid=display~RR~Computing%20Accessories~10388060
it says usb 3.0 when i have usb 2.0 ports , so how will connect it to my usb 2.0 ports

Answer
Yes. USB 3 is backward-compatible with USB 2. This means you can connect a USB 3 device with a USB 2 computer or the other way around. It would simply be a bit faster if it was connected to a USB 3 port.

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What's the difference b/w portable & external hard drives?

portable hard drive big w image

Peachez_10

I'm trying 2 figure out what's the difference b/w an external hard drive and a portable hard drive... And if there's no difference, why are each of them listed under 2 categories...?

Answer
Some external hard drives are too big to be portable and they are not advertised as such. "Portable" is kind of an ambiguous term. A lot of things are small enough to be portable, but they are not easily portable. My external hard drive is small enough to be portable, but it requires an A/C adapter, so wherever I go, if I want to take it with me, I need to use it where there is an A/C power source. This is not practical if I am somewhere where my laptop can run off its own batteries and there is no other source of power, like on a bus, car, train, public place or airplane that doesn't have an A/C power outlet. Plus, I would have to pack a bulky A/C adapter and power cord in addition to the USB cord that connects it to the PC. A truly portable hard drive is one that is small enough to carry and is powered by the USB jack on the computer. Unfortunately, the manufacturers of supposedly "portable" external hard drives don't care about how easy it is to transport and use their products, they just want you to buy them and use them. If they can get you to buy them by saying they are portable, even though it is a pain to do so, then they make a sale.

What are some good all around movie's to send to my bro in Iraq?

Nickname

My brother is in Iraq now and he said last time he went on there down time they would just watch movies on their laptops. His birthday is coming up in about a month and I was going to download a bunch of movies (like 100) and put them on a portable hard drive and send them to him. Any ideas on popular movies? Any kind really... (I mean everyone likes those pixar movies too right)

Answer
Supertroopers
Transformers (Megan Fox, duh)
American Psycho
300
S.W.A.T.
The Departed
The Bourne Trilogy
Old School
Die Hard (There's 4 of em)
The Longest Yard
Happy Gilmore
Billy Madison
Shoot 'em Up (biggest Man movie ever made)
Lucky # Slevin
Disturbia
Grandma's Boy
Pineapple Express
Wanted
28 Days later
Cloverfield
I am Legend
Dodgeball
Office Space
Knocked Up
Gladiator
Saving Private Ryan

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