Recommendations for external hard drives on sale?

[Darrell KSR]

Need one or six.

1tb or many.

Multiple possibilities here, so open to any. Would also appreciate if there are any specific brands to avoid.

[PedroDaGr8]

Need one or six.

1tb or many.

Multiple possibilities here, so open to any. Would also appreciate if there are any specific brands to avoid.

First off, what are you trying to do with these. That alone will decide the route you head.

[Darrell KSR]

First off, what are you trying to do with these. That alone will decide the route you head.
Either backup purposes for multiple computers or photo storage and video storage for soccer games and plays.

[PedroDaGr8]

If all of the computers are at one place, I would look into the upgradeable NAS devices like QNAP or Synology. They tend to work very very well, be reasonably user friendly and more importantly are upgradeable to help make them more future proof. That being said, pre-populated with drives, they tend to be a bit pricey. Kind of a pay a bit more now, to save a lot of money down the road.

If the computers are NOT all at one place, then stick to drives from companies like Western Digital or Seagate. Avoid the very cheap off-brands, they tend to be very low quality and low performance.

[kingcat]

I'm considering an external drive for my DAW and recording software Something affordable, but extremely stable

[PedroDaGr8]

I'm considering an external drive for my DAW and recording software Something affordable, but extremely stable

Size needed? Price Range? How stable? Everyone defines things differently. For example, for some extremely stable means drives that seldom die. For others, extremely stable is going to indicate a RAID array, such that if one drive fails you can replace the drive without a loss of data and very little to no downtime.

[dan_bgblue]

2nd vote for Western Digital and Seagate. I have had a 500 Gb Western Digital passport for about 4 years and it is still going strong


http://dealnews.com/c472/Computers/Storage/Hard-Drives/External-Hard-Drives/

[BigBluePappy]

WD 1TB, at least 6 years old and so far bulletproof...

[CitizenBBN]

A vote for Synology NAS here., Have one, they're awesome. I don't use mine nearly enough for all it does.

[Darrell KSR]

Those NAS things look cool. I'll have to look into that a little more.

For present use, I'll take a look at Western Digital or Seagate for a portable drive.

[CitizenBBN]

The NAS may be overkill, but they're very cool.

[Darrell KSR]

Picked up a couple of 1tb Passports that fit the temporary need.

Intrigued by the NAS things. Probably down the road.

[KeithKSR]

We are going to google classroom in our district and they will be eliminating the server our current virtual drives are located on over the summer. They recommend we get an external drive for our files.

Are there any good deal on Western Digital or Seagate 1 TB or bigger drives right now?

[Darrell KSR]

We are going to google classroom in our district and they will be eliminating the server our current virtual drives are located on over the summer. They recommend we get an external drive for our files.

Are there any good deal on Western Digital or Seagate 1 TB or bigger drives right now?
Keith, I don't know if these are good buys, but I found the Western Digital 1TB one for $53, Walmart online price, pick up in store. May be able to beat that price, but I was mostly seeing it for $59.99. Link below.

Western Digital Elements 1TB Portable External Hard Drive, Black

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Western-Digital-Elements-1TB-Portable-External-Hard-Drive-Black/50619111

WAIT--Better Price, but not sure how long this sale will last.

Same 1TB external hard drive, but for $39.99 at Best Buy.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-elements-1tb-external-usb-3-0-portable-hard-drive/5195200.p?skuId=5195200&productCategoryId=

[Darrell KSR]

Just ordered the Best Buy ones. Think that's a good deal now.

[kingcat]

1 TB should do it I would think. Likely only two DAW's (2gb's or so), 8 or ten multitracked project audio files and a few dozen plug-ins.

Stable to me is a drive that is durable (may transport it for live performance eventually), and likely to last a good long while...all the while considering we only want to pay 100 bucks or so. :)

We're not real hip on such things. I thought a hard drive was a stiff clutch or a good day on the tee until I found out why we needed one.

[CitizenBBN]

Hard drives and gun safes: always get 2 or 3 times as much as you think you need. Also true with both is that it's usually pretty cheap to step up to a bigger one.

[CitizenBBN]

Also, I don't like seagate as much, but i tend to look at drives from the standpoint of RAID servers, and they stress drives pretty good. I have a 5 drive RAID server and it had stock Seagates in it and I've had to replace them all, but Seagate does make RAID rated drives too and these werent'. I Put in WD Reds and they are doing great.

For a portable drive that shouldn't matter, they don't run fast enough or long enough to wear them out, but I can't help but still prefer WD drives.

For a NAS you definitely want server rated drives. WD Red is a good choice, but there are others.

[PedroDaGr8]

1 TB should do it I would think. Likely only two DAW's (2gb's or so), 8 or ten multitracked project audio files and a few dozen plug-ins.

Stable to me is a drive that is durable (may transport it for live performance eventually), and likely to last a good long while...all the while considering we only want to pay 100 bucks or so. :)

We're not real hip on such things. I thought a hard drive was a stiff clutch or a good day on the tee until I found out why we needed one.

Honestly, if you are going to be taking it for live performances and such, I would AVOID most USB harddrives. They are great for a single backup and occasionally being moved. They are HORRIBLE for being taken everywhere and getting bumped around. They use traditional platter drives and in general, their longevity is not great (to say the least) in rougher environments.

Instead, I would recommend picking up a 250GB or 500GB SSD drive from a reputable company (Samsung, Toshiba, Intel, etc.) and a USB enclosure. Throw the SSD in the USB enclosure, plug it into your computer and format the drive. Done. You now have USB SSD that can actually handle the rigors of what you plan to throw at it. It might stretch your budget a tad but you will be much happier in the long run.

Also, always remember, no matter how reliable the drive is YOU NEED BACKUPS! If you value the files, NEVER have only one copy of them. The more valuable the files, the more stringent you need to be on how you back them up.

[kingcat]

Honestly, if you are going to be taking it for live performances and such, I would AVOID most USB harddrives. They are great for a single backup and occasionally being moved. They are HORRIBLE for being taken everywhere and getting bumped around. They use traditional platter drives and in general, their longevity is not great (to say the least) in rougher environments.

Instead, I would recommend picking up a 250GB or 500GB SSD drive from a reputable company (Samsung, Toshiba, Intel, etc.) and a USB enclosure. Throw the SSD in the USB enclosure, plug it into your computer and format the drive. Done. You now have USB SSD that can actually handle the rigors of what you plan to throw at it. It might stretch your budget a tad but you will be much happier in the long run.

Also, always remember, no matter how reliable the drive is YOU NEED BACKUPS! If you value the files, NEVER have only one copy of them. The more valuable the files, the more stringent you need to be on how you back them up.

Thanks. I'll take all that into consideration. First, some better reference monitors are needed

[Darrell KSR]

Would a 256 gigabyte flash drive be a fairly reliable choice? I just left Costco and they have that for 40 bucks.

[Darrell KSR]

Here it is. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170508/bc790be619e8e2cfd04d5883be37a120.jpg

[CitizenBBN]

Think this thread got inadvertently locked. Back open.

[PedroDaGr8]

Would a 256 gigabyte flash drive be a fairly reliable choice? I just left Costco and they have that for 40 bucks.

More reliable than a spinning platter drive in rough situations? Without a doubt! That being said, longevity wise, they are far inferior to an ssd in a USB enclosure. That being said, for the price, you really can't beat it. Just remember, as I said, always have MORE THAN ONE copy of your files.

[PedroDaGr8]

Samsung Solid State portable drives on-sale: https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/289280

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk