What's a good backup hard drive to get and where from?

Question

Hey everyone,

My brother's fiance told me about this place, so I thought I'd try it out. I feel embarassed that I'm a tech geek who doesn't have all his files backed up, except some code backed up on a small USB flash drive.

Can you guys offer advice for what kind of a hard drive I should look for? The only brands I've heard good things about are Seagate and Maxtor. What should I look for when buying one and what's just useless fluff? I'm thinking that a external USB 2.0 would be best.

Also, any site where I can get a good deal? Or should I just browse pricewatch, fatwallet, pricegrabber, and newegg? I'm looking to spend $100 or less. I'd like at least 40 GB so that I can use it for many years to come, but I don't think I'll need 100s of GB or anything like that; I'd rather spend the extra cash on speed and reliability.

If you guys use any free backup software (or cheap software that's really good), recommendations would be appreciated there.

Thanks,

Elton

Answer 1

Use the backup program that comes with Windows XP!
Ever one assumes that Windows XP Home doesn't have a backup program, it does! Look for a file called,"Valueadd", tic it and then tic on "MSFT" , tic on "NTBACKUP" to install the backup utility.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144386

Answer 2

Maxtor has the one touch program that works pretty good. I used to use them at work, to do quick backups before doing something stupid. I also like the aluminum casing and the exhaust fan that maxtor puts on their external drives. I don't know about the prices anymore, it's been around 3 years when we purchased a 250 gig for 300 bucks. Try www.outpost.com or www.newegg.com or www.mwave.com. These are the places I buy other stuff from. Hope this will help you.

P.S. - Even though your a tech, don't feel bad about asking questions. The more you ask, the more you'll learn.

Answer 3

get a 80 or 120 gig hardrive usb 2.0 external drive from best-buy is about 70 dollars its worth it. A IDE hard drive typically will overheat because of the temperature running inside the case. They can last between two and three years. Sometimes they break the septors blocks inside of the hard drive. Go with Maxtor if you want a good brand. Ghost it from the primary hard drive to the external hard drive. that would take 5 to 10 minutes depends on the system that you are running

Answer 4

Here are the only external hard drives available for less than $100: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2010150414+4027&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=414 I personally would go with Lacie or Western Digital, out of this bunch, unless you need 6 GB, then that Seagate looks sweet.