[X4U] Ext Hard Drive

[Randy B. Singer]

On Jan 9, 2014, at 3:36 PM, Grappone Al wrote:

> I want to install (back up) estimated 10,000 photos. I have used WD in the past and lately the list did not give them good views. I have had no problems. This would be something I could give the children and they could download their favorite ones.
> 
> Recommend?

I'd currently avoid most of the big name brand external hard drives: Seagate, Iomega, LaCie, and especially Western Digital.  Without going into a rant, they all have been putting out POS of late.

I used to recommend purchasing an internal hard drive mechanism and putting it into an external case kit.  But too many of the external case kits on the market currently are garbage (they don't keep the drive cool, electronics are poor, etc.), and ridiculously overpriced at that.

If you want something decent, at a decent price, (not the best or the fastest, just something good), I recommend:

Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB 
I usually find that for backup needs Firewire 400 is sufficient.  FW800 is marginally faster (we're talking about real-world speeds, not theoretical), but not a huge amount faster and not really worth the additional price for backing up, IMHO.

If you want the most reliable external hard drive you can find, consider:

Glyph
http://www.glyphtech.com/
http://www.glyphtech.com/products/

Amazon offers them at a good discount:
http://is.gd/6rLM1d
More info:
http://www.glyphtech.com/products/gpt50/#/images/products/gpt50-gallery-33smaller.jpg

Another source:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/manufacturer/Glyph

B&H Photo also carries Glyph products:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Glyph&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma

which is good, because they can become back ordered pretty quickly. These drives are becoming well know and are in great demand.

They also show up on EBay occasionally:
http://is.gd/nE2a2A

Glyph drives come with a 3-year warranty that includes advance replacement during the first year and it also includes data recovery services for 2 years.

Reviews:

http://is.gd/itTPka
(Click on "Reviews".)

<http://www.amazon.com/Glyph-GT-050Q-external-FireWire/product-reviews/B001GXPX3E/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1>

Depending on which Mac you have, you may need a Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter:
$29
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adaptor

and you might need a Firewire 400 to Firewire 800 cable:
6-foot, 9-pin to 6-pin bilingual FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 Cable
$4.75
http://is.gd/5rXJD


___________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
___________________________________________