Idjut proof external hard drive...
 

Any recomendations for an idjut proof backup external HD? My 8 YO laptop is approaching EOL and I'd like to keep a mirror.

two of them
belt and suspenders style

they are cheap enough if you want totally idiot proof at about 100 each

or join drop box or other free on line data storage

or get a DVD burner and copy to DVDs

all three should be totally idiot proof

I have a couple of 500GB western digital ones I bought four years ago for close to $175 each. They have been fine. The new stuff eclipses these relics.

These days most external drives come with some sort of automated back up solution built in.

As a first line of defense I prefer a physical hard drive to DVD's or online solutions.

I'd look for a mirrored solution, it will have 2 hard drives that will contain the same data. Redundancy in case one drive fails. $200-300. Quick, unattended back ups.

That does not help if your place burns down so determine what you absolutely can not afford to lose and back that up to an online solution.

DVD's take a while to burn and the shelf life is suspect so I don't bother with them anymore.

You can get a 3TB USB external HD now for < $200.

That's what I use.

I don't like my files being backed up "UP THERE SOMEWHERE" where who knows who can look at them.

win 7 & the mac both have built in backup

but I dunno if a typical external HDD would have a fast enuff Xfer rate for you to mirror

Due to the flooding in Thailand last October, all hard drives are in short supply. In fact, not many let in stores and what is left has doubled and tripled in price. Not a good time to be buying hard drives.

Fry's the other night.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...12182510_n.jpg

Mirror with a two drive setup, not one drive with two partitions.

i love the Seagate Free Agent drives. very nice

I found some that you do have "up there"...

Fry's usually has specials on USB externals.

I have a NAS 2TB that backs everything up, then a 2 TB USB drive that backs the NAS up. Neither one of them cost more than $200 but then that was a year ago.

Advert out today at Fry's shows a 1 TB NAS system for $98 here: Fry's Electronics | Computers tablets notebooks accessories Second row from the bottom in the center.

Other option is to buy a "external hard drive enclosure" and plop an old 500 gig or 1 tb hard drive inside that you have sitting around. It would not have any backup software on it but you could prolly get it up and running for under $40 or so.

I bought an external drive "case" for an old 500 gig drive that I removed from a machine with a dead mother board. IIRC I paid around $25 for the whole deal including shipping. Windows 7 has a decent backup feature included.

Let me know if you are not buying one of the 1 tb USB drives. I might have an extra 500 or 750 gig drive sitting around that we could dicker over...

+ 1

They are slim and robust enough to throw in/out of your laptop bag as well.

If you want something purty to sit on your desk (but not very portable), check out the Porsche-Design LaCie drives.

Joe they have the ad, but not the drives. If you click through, it shows that it's "not available" for shipping and can only be picked up in store. Chances of the store having any in stock are very slim.:) There are virtually no hard drives available right now. :)