External HDD recomendations

[Redzedfour]

I suppose it depends if you would use the features:

http://www.qnap.com/single_page.php?sn=147&lang=en-uk

Thanks for the advice but it does look like a big old unit and most of the features I won't use as I don't need to access data remotely I just need it to store photos and the like

a few people have mentioned Western Digital HDD so I will have a look to see what PC World have got,many thanks for the advice guys

 

[Brasseye]

Make sure its usb 3 as you will want it later even if you dont have it now.

A blue usb plug will indicate this.

 

[Anonymous]

I suppose it depends if you would use the features:

http://www.qnap.com/single_page.php?sn=147&lang=en-uk

Thanks for the advice but it does look like a big old unit and most of the features I won't use as I don't need to access data remotely I just need it to store photos and the like

a few people have mentioned Western Digital HDD so I will have a look to see what PC World have got,many thanks for the advice guys

This is the one I got http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/data-storage/hard-drives/portable-external-hard-drives/wd-my-passport-portable-hard-drive-1tb-silver-18893021-pdt.html

They do it in different colours as well!!!! Don't know what the included software is like cos I formatted it straight away!

If your gonna be storing photo's etc on it, then please ensure you also have them backed up somewhere else (i.e. a copy of the photo's on the hard drive of your pc or laptop etc) as photos cant be replaced etc, and as with anything, they can go wrong.

 

[DrNick]

Time capsule gave up at the weekend - the internal disk (western digital) just gave up. All data lost. and £250 for a new one

 

[kaya]

Depending on what has happened to the disk you may still be able to recover some of the data (if it is important).

There are plenty of companies out there who offer the service.

 

[DrNick]

Disk wont spin. Ive broken into the old time capsule and removed the disk so that if i do ever need the data then i can try and get it at the time.

Having removed the dead drive the time capsule now boots and acts like a airport extreme so might as well keep it as a network extender.

 

[Anonymous]

And that's the problem with a single backup. I thought the time capsules used server grade hdd....although what that means I don't know, and no mechanical device is foolproof.

Had a hdd die once, spent hours looking for a fix and found a new firmware version for it. Could you see if it works in a pc/mac (i know its dead and wont spin up, but the pc might still recognise it) and check for an update?

 

[TrickyDicky]

Times like that when you wish you had a NAS with mirrored disks :-( can't you just put a new HDD in the time capsule? A quick google search will probably tell if that's possible (or if they are apple specific - iMac drives for example have apple specific firmware - buggers!

 

[DrNick]

ive kept the drive just in case but as nothing i need it for not worth time nor effort to investigate atm.

Did look into putting in new drive as it is possible but you have to hack open the case to get at it and so never the same again and so would never trust it.

Will buy another external drive at some point as you can get the time caspsule to dump the back up file onto it periodically so as least have two copies.