External Hard Drive

Western Digital 1.5 or 2 terabyte greens should do the trick.

Low heat and quiet, if you want something faster get the black version.

Interesting article about how green those Western Digitals really are:
http://lifehacker.com/#!5749345

That said, I would go with something FAST. I'm not sure what's on the market now, but there's all sorts of cool technology coming out: USB 3.0, light peak/thunderbolt. And not only that, but also a fast drive speed, they're listed in rpm. (note: you'll still be limited by the speed of the drive you're currently using)

If you're like me, you probably hate sitting there waiting for your data to transfer back and forth. I have two older model 1TB each Western Digital drives, and it's seriously the amount of time it takes to transfer data that consistently holds me back from constantly backing up my data.

Get a firewire drive if you have a firewire port on your computer, or a usb 3.0.

I'd suggest the laCie Rugged, they are extremely durable drives and are fast. Again, make sure you get one with firewire if you have it.

fuck, you also want to make sure your drive spins at 7200 rpms. 5400 is just too slow

You need two, so that you have two copies of everything for when one dies (note: "when", not "if" one dies).

If 1TB can cut it then get a small USB powered one (Toshiba StorE Art 3 was the cheapest when I was looking into it 6 months ago) plus one you can hook up directly to your TV (Lacie LaCinema HD is nice). Get a good backup routine and backup every 2-4 weeks. Keep them in different rooms or different houses.

You need two, so that you have two copies of everything for when one dies (note: "when", not "if" one dies).

i had a western digital 500 gb, it died out after 5 months. lost all my movies and music

this is what i have. has firewire 800, 400 and usb 2.0. no power source needed. its tight!

7200 if you need to access files very quickly, my main media drive is a 5400 and i doesn't effect playback in anyway. 7200 internal. 5400 external to save money

i hate to the guy, but if you search bar it there are a ton of threads about them. It seems like the general consensus on them from the threads though usually points to WD. I recent picked up a 500gb at walmart for like 60$

You don't need a 7200 rpm external drive. USB isn't fast enough to take advantage of it any way. Right now the best deal is the 2tb Western Digital external drive for ~$100.

Quoted for emphasis!

If you just buy one, to avoid future disappointment and regret, don't even use it.

Requote for EXTRA emphasis...I now have 3 externals...back up of back ups...the key to everything

so ive been reading into RAID drives, but im a wee bit confused. if i have say, a 2 tb external hard drive, and i tell it to run RAID 1, then does my data get copied to two 1 tb drives? so if one fails, i still have the second backup?

and is having a RAID capable hard drive a suitable replacement for me buying 2 hard drives?

also, could i buy 2 seperate hard drives, plug them in at the same time, and, using RAID 1 array or whatever, copy my shit to both at the same time?

is this even possible on a mac?



i did google, i really did, i just need some straight forward answers

G Tech if you've got the cash for them http://g-technology.com/ ; http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=G-Technology&N=4291436140

Yeah you could but it's a bit tricky and those 2TB boxes cost a lot. I recommend what I said above: one USB powered 1TB drive and one media 1TB dribve you can hook to your TV. Get some decent backup software (I use ChronoSync but Cabon Copy Cloner is good too) and set up some backup routines you can stick to. Backup your laptop's disk to the USB powered one then mirror the USB one to the media one. It'll take twice as long but no big deal.

i have a few questions

my external took 41 hours to transfer my 48GB of clips from filming over to the external. i dont have a firewire or usb3.0 should i get one installed and buy a new drive? will this make my data transfer over faster?

also, how do you back up your computer? i just copy and paste all of my music and videos or whatever over. but im constantly getting new media that i would like to save, but its a pain going through the computer one by one and copying them. i have heard on ns that you shouldent use the back up programs that come with the hardrive you buy. is this true?

I don't understand why people are recommending expensive hard drives and RAID drives, this kid just wants a large storage device, he doesn't need to back it up constantly and have the most epic drive.


Like people have said, get a WD 2tb for like 100-120 bucks.

g drive mini...portable 500gb...metal durable.

hahahh.... black version


i have a seagate and it does the job.
im a little nervous on its durability though

well yeah i just need a big storage spAce, but if i can get like 2 1tb drives and use RAID, then my shit will be twice as backed up. idk i might just be in over my head with this, ill probably just get a tb wd or some shit

Honestly, i dont think your need RAID unless you're a professional and loosing your shit would threaten your job.

word, my reaction when i read about it was OOOOH SHINY but yeah i think im just gonna cop a huge hard drive of some kind

especially if this is just for movies and tv shows that you could easily get back again, theres really not much point in backing it up for what it would cost.

Firstly, the black line of hdd's isn't that loud, but still decent for boot drives. and as for the greens, they still save power. No matter how little it is, they're doing what they said they would, and damn are they ever quiet.

As for people wanting to access files quickly, get an ssd (at least 120gb) and keep you most recent project on that, along with a backup of it on whatever else you want. I've got a 60 gig I have my boot partition on and whatever i'm working on, booting in twenty seconds and being ready to go in easy less than a minute after liftoff is a dream compared to ANY hdd.

And as for those people keeping two copies of things, I really really hope you've gotten it set up in a raid 1 at least. (making a raid 5 home server in a couple weeks). Copying things over three drives is way too much work compared to setting it up and just leaving it.

@bnorris raid is kind of confusing to start out with, and since you're on a mac you can't really put two more drives inside (depending on the mac), an external setup of drives is really your only option.

ANY harddrive can be put into a raid configuration, there's no such thing as a 'raid only' hdd.

And @ the raid 1 question, yes you could, that's exactly what a raid 1 configuration does. As for whether or not it's possible on a mac, good question.

And Raid should really only be used for things you would never want to lose.

For me that includes mass amounts of photos, footage, and honestly anything that isn't a program.... seeing as my boot drive is only 60 gigs...

as for seagate, I cheaped out and bought two for my brothers raid setup on his computer, and they were DOA. Which lead to two weeks of hassle trying to get it to boot. Don't cheap out on drives, unless you're making a raid 5 server.

Remember, RAID = Redundant Array of Inexpensive Discs

/hddessay

Keeping two identical backups without RAID is easy, it's just an extra step in your backup routine. Once you set stuff up the first time it's just a case of clicking it and waiting while it does its thing. Just let it do its thing while you're cooking dinner or something like that.

lacie rikiki 1TB, its USB 3.0 so if your laptop/pc is as well, you can transfer files super fast + it takes power from the usb so no need for ac adapters + its about the size of a wallet and finished in an aluminium casing ....