Need an external hard-drive - which one?
 

Folks,

Have to get an external hard-drive to back up my ailing laptop.

Any recommendations - it would need to be at least 80Gb to hold what is already on the laptop, so am thinking at least 160Gb.

Any speed/connection/format specifics to look out for?

Presume that they can all be plugged in via USB - is this usually fast enough or is there a minimum transfer speed needed?

Cheers for your suggestions.

If you have it on your machine, a Firewire/USB 2.0 combo is a good one to go for. While you are at it, don't waste the effort with an 80GB unit. You will even fill a 250/300/400GB unit given time and the costs are disproportionate. the bigger the drive, the cheaper the Gigabyte cost.


Conan

PS search through this page and the one after - there is a thread there discussing Ext Hard Drives.

NG708

Quite like the Maxtor range myself.

Thanks. Although I have firewire, I've never used it. Also, would it tend to be on new machines as well, or is it becoming redundant in favour of USB?

The Lacie range of Hard Drives are reliable and are available in USB, Firewire and even Triple Interface USB 2.0, Firewire 400 & 800, which might be a consideration if you intend to change your laptop in the future. They also do a range of bus-powered mobile Hard Drives which need no external power adaptor, which may be a consideration for laptop users. Lacie drives are also "plug and play" for Windows 2000, XP and Mac, avoiding any driver frustration.

AppleMacster