Which External Hard Drive should I buy/Do you suggest?

Status
Not open for further replies.

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Here is a thread with my own research into which drive to get.
You really can start with the 2nd post. Have listed most of the externals available. If I don't have 'em listed there, they fall into a category of manufacturers that are packaging someone else's drive into their enclosure and then for the most part do not even supply the info of whose or what drive is in the package.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2004
Messages
130
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
New Jersey USA
Your Mac's Specs
G5 DP 1.8 160 Super Drive 17 " Display
La Cie External

Today I went to copy a file to my external La Cie 250 and it said it was full. I cleaned out all files. I rebooted and when I get info it said that I had 107.3 gb free. I ran Disk Warrior to rebuild and it said the same after I rebooted again. I opened the drive and there are no files but only 107 gb free.
 

eric


Retired Staff
Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Messages
8,704
Reaction score
447
Points
83
Location
twin cities, mn, usa
is it partitioned?

did you empty the trash when the drive was connected?

if you want it completely clean, maybe you should just reformat it.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2004
Messages
130
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
New Jersey USA
Your Mac's Specs
G5 DP 1.8 160 Super Drive 17 " Display
I had to reformat. I needed to have the space immediately. I now have 233gb.
 
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
1,454
Reaction score
66
Points
48
Location
Suffolk, UK
Your Mac's Specs
MBP - 2.66Ghz Core 2 duo, 4GB Ram, 320GB HDD, Geforce 9400m + 9600M GT (256mb)
A thing i often forget (and many other users) is to empty the trash with the drive connected.

Whilst the drive is connected if you delete folders and files it just marks them ready to be deleted by the trash. If you dont empty the trash it'll just take up the space anyway.

~~ TS ~~
 
OP
Q

quackbook

Guest
looking for an external HD

I am looking for an external HD that is super reliable (i've had bad luck with HDs in the past all in all). Circa 100 GB. Preferable fast. USB or Firewire.

Thanks for the help.
 
Joined
Jan 26, 2007
Messages
218
Reaction score
16
Points
18
Location
Waihi Beach, New Zealand
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 15" 2.6Ghz | 200GB 7200 | 4GB Ram | 32GB iPod Touch 2G
I just bought a MyBook Pro edition 500GB external, very happy with the first week of use. It took a while to transfer a folder structure of photography worth about 150GB from an old USB2 160GB iomega drive to the new MyBook running FW 800. But now that everything is transferred and setup the new drive is great, it powers down automatically when not in use or when you put the mac to sleep, and runs very quiet, I'm also very happy with the speed upgrade I'm experiencing using FW 800, recommended.
 
Joined
Jul 21, 2006
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Outerspace
Your Mac's Specs
15" Macbook Pro/2.66 Ghz/4GB RAM/320GB HD/NVIDIA GeForce 9400 and NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
Comments on the Lacie Rugged HD

Looking to buy the 100GB 7200rpm Lacie Rugged All Terrain External Hard Drive. Anyone have any good or bad reviews of this drive..?? I have seen some bad reviews and some good - but I think thats the case with most products...
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 3, 2007
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi - I do graphics and I have 5 hard drives, ebook, maxtor, lacie, the list goes on. I just purchased a G-force drive -- apple store -- based on the reviews of it....They were right on. The drive is true plug and play with no problems. I would absolutely recommend it. The lacie firewire drive hangs up my computer (constantly) and the ebook does not mount reliably. The other ones have misc. annoyances. The G-Force is so far the best!
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2007
Messages
118
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Location
Cheshire
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 2.2GHz, White 80GB iPod 5th Generation
I like Western Digital. Had mine for a while now and it's constantly on and not given me ANY problems what so ever =]
 
Joined
Nov 18, 2006
Messages
4,934
Reaction score
207
Points
63
Location
Anytown, USA
Your Mac's Specs
27" iMac 2.7GHz Core i5, iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, 4th gen Apple TV
You can make your own for the cost of the harddrive plus $40 to cover the cost of an external case. You can get a lot more versatility and can save about 50% by doing it yourself. Here are some instructions that show how easy it is.
http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/201/42/

Honestly, I don't see where this is coming from! I was looking to buy an External HD. I went to Newegg.com where you usually find the cheapest prices. A Western Digital internal 250GB is $60, an enclosure is $14, (the cheapest available 250GB drive and enclosure on their site), but a Western Digital external 250GB drive is only $74!! Where's the savings???

Maybe if you go with Firewire or there's some savings. IDK, I haven't researched and it seems price for externals goes way up when Firewire is involved. If someone can show me how I could save 50% please do.

I ended up getting a 500GB WD MyBook for $129 ($10 off) b/c I like the design, but could have gotten a WD with a different design for $119!
 
Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
262
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
1.83 MBP
I'd rather have firewire with my external simply b/c you can boot from it. However, I've heard that's not neccessary with intel macs. Still, internal hdd by seagate w/ a 5yr warranty and an enclosure is a lot better than a pre-built one with a one year warranty in my eyes.
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
170
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Bay Area, CA
Your Mac's Specs
Late 2015 5K iMac 4ghz 32gb 4gb Graphics - Late 2011 17" MacBook Pro 2.4ghz quad i7 16gb ram
Who makes the best. I've heard really bad things about LaCie.
I have a Lacie rugged drive fo my laptop and i love it. Never had proplems with it at all because it a real HD running firewire 800. Just make sure it has firewire connections.
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
170
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Bay Area, CA
Your Mac's Specs
Late 2015 5K iMac 4ghz 32gb 4gb Graphics - Late 2011 17" MacBook Pro 2.4ghz quad i7 16gb ram
I have a 80gb one, i really should have got the bigger one. But i had it for about 4 months and i love it, never lost any files on it. I put this concert that i was editing since i bought it till now and its still their. I wish the guy would hurry up so i could burn it and del it but its still there with no problems. One time during rendering video onto the drive it got disconnected and fell. I thought the file would be corrupted but the drive shut off before it could be damages. So by far i think the Lace drive is a very good choice.
 
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
222
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook/13.3"/2.16GHz Intel C2D/1GB RAM/120GB HD/Ipod 20 Gig
My g/f and I both have Lacie's and have had some problems....her file folders will randomly have changed names and I have files in my garbage that WILL NOT delete....

You can find good deals on externals at www.dealnews.com 500 gigs for about $110 on a good day.
 
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
37
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Chicagoland
Your Mac's Specs
White Macbook 2.16ghz
External backup HD for new MacBook :: Recommendations?

Just bought a new MacBook (2.16ghz/1GB Ram) about 2 months ago and want to get a backup HD as soon as possible (I'm not one to tempt fate...) I've read mixed things about LaCie; terrible things about Seagate and Western Digital. I'm looking in the 250-350gb range/$300 max. This is my first post here after posting on Consumer Reports forums. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
13,172
Reaction score
348
Points
83
Location
Cleveland, Ohio
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro | LED Cinema Display | iPhone 4 | iPad 2
I've always used LaCie drives and have loved them. They work perfectly.

There was one series, the Porsche series, that was horrid, but other than that LaCie is very solid.
 
Joined
Nov 18, 2006
Messages
4,934
Reaction score
207
Points
63
Location
Anytown, USA
Your Mac's Specs
27" iMac 2.7GHz Core i5, iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, 4th gen Apple TV
I don't know what bad things you've heard about Seagate and WD, but they are pretty much the biggest names in hard drives: something you don't accomplish by making junk. I have 2 MyBooks (made by WD) and my old desktop had one of each and is still going strong after 4 years.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top