Where to buy external hard drive?

[joe2812]

I'm after another ext hard drive, about 100 gig in size at a reasonable price.

Has anyone used any online sites to buy this sorta stuff that they can recommend in the UK?

[aeroBits]

I normally buy this sort of stuff from dabs.co.uk

[Conan the Librarian]

I have bought two external drives, one USB 2.0 (160GB) and one Firewire/USB 2.0 (300GB) Both are very good, all things considered. Do think about a larger drive than 100GB though, as the price differential isn't great and you can never get anough storage. What is adequate today, will be a bit on the small size tomorrow, depite your best efforts.

Units by major manufacturers might give you extra piece of mind, but usually include decent backup software for the few extra quid in cost. They still tend to be preformatted in FAT32 for compatibility with earlier machines, but I prefer the NTFS format, which is used with Win2K and XP.

Just as a horrible wake up, data can be lost, so I use mine as a backup rather than just an archive and therefore have separate copies on different hard drives. I sleep better that way.

Conan

[Paris Dakar]

joe2812,

I've just checked out Amazon.co.uk as I'm after an external drive too. I often buy from 'Ebuyer' but I can't access their website due to the set-up on my 'works' server.

[BOFH]

PC World have a Web special on Toshiba 320s for 115 GBP.

Most cost effective is a spotter's market (that is, computer fair - most of the attendees have spots). USB2 external case for 18 quid and then choose your drive at leisure - 80 GBP for a 250GB. 17 GBP extra buys a lot.

I should point out that I have no connexion with PC World and I find that they generally suck - but a name-brand drive should give some peace of mind.

As Conan says, 100 is Neolithic now and the extra space can/will always be used.
BOFH

[joe2812]

Many thanks for the pointers and suggestions. Have made an order for a larger size drive and should be here within 3 - 5 days :}

Thanks again!

[Mzee]

Just a thought Joe, consider a good quality large (250Gb say) internal HDD around £70 (Seagate/Maxtor) and bung it in a caddy (£25) which will work fine through USB2 or Firewire and is small and is gently portable and much cheaper - close to £200 for similar quality and size external drive.
In the future some time you can always bung it in the PC!

[AaronBaird]

I always use newegg. Big selection, good prices.

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=414

[Final 3 Greens]

Mzee

Good point - I've made two of these external drives recently and they are great value for money.

The 'engineering' required is limited to two push connectors and 4-6 screws, depending on the type of caddy.

Maplin.co.uk is a good source.

[BDiONU]

EBuyer has LaCie 300728EK 250GB 7200rpm External USB 2.0 Hard Drive Design by F.A Porsche for £84.85
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=2395850947&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=62833

Alternatively if you want summat small and very Gucci get this CiBox 2.2Gb USB2.0 Mini Hard Drive which measures just 5cm x 5cm x 1cm, weighs just 26g and costs just £29.99p including Free SuperSaver delivery from Amazon.Co.UK.

Features: Works with any PC that's plug and play compatible via a USB port, Smallest hard disk in the World, Very compact design, Aluminium casing, 2.2GB capacity allowing you up to store 635 MP3 songs or 3 DivX movies, Ultra fast USB 2.0 interface: Very easy to use, fast transfer rate, No external power or battery needed, Comes with pouch and USB cable.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007P5FKS/202-9345851-0627014

BD

[SyllogismCheck]

I can't see that 2.2GB drive being much of a seller. Simple fact being that you can bung 2GB of extra capacity (if you can call such a tiny amount 'capacity') in the form of a memory card into the slot provided on most laptops now anyway. Size - virtually nothing, decreasing to absolutely nothing when installed.

[computer dad]

I usually buy from ebuyer or dabs as well but they are getting slow.

try tofftech, the link to harddrives is


http://www.tofftech.co.uk/go/hard_disks.html