External hard drive: I want to buy a new external hard drive for my laptop. I currently have a Seagate 2T and have been using it for about two years and have been very happy with it. I...

bobburk3 Loc: Maryland

I want to buy a new external hard drive for my laptop. I currently have a Seagate 2T and have been using it for about two years and have been very happy with it. I also back up automatically to Carbonite so I am pretty comfortable that I will never lose anything.

My 2T external drive is getting full so now I want to get a larger drive (4-5T would be good for now). Any suggestions on what to get?

Zooman 1

I use MyPassPort and have had no problems with it.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

bobburk3 wrote:

I want to buy a new external hard drive for my laptop. I currently have a Seagate 2T and have been using it for about two years and have been very happy with it. I also back up automatically to Carbonite so I am pretty comfortable that I will never lose anything.

My 2T external drive is getting full so now I want to get a larger drive (4-5T would be good for now). Any suggestions on what to get?

Something that I like is this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KILQTS8/ref=psdc_1254762011_t2_B019Y4JE22

or

https://www.amazon.com/10Gbps-Standalone-Duplicator-Dock-SATA/dp/B019Y4JE22/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=startech&qid=1575297571&sr=8-5

The first option allows you to insert two SATA drives into a holder that looks like a small toaster. Advantage with this approach is that SATA drives in all sizes are very available at reasonable prices.

The 2nd option allows easy duplication of a drive without the need to have the computer connected.

Also, either one of these options will work with Acronis True Image to allow you to make an image of the built in hard drive of the laptop:

https://www.amazon.com/Acronis-True-Image-2020-Computer/dp/B07WT5R8WC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=J1YT70JWKZDM&keywords=acronis%2Btrue%2Bimage%2B2020&qid=1575297958&s=electronics&sprefix=acronis%2Btrue%2Bimage%2Celectronics%2C217&sr=1-1-catcorr&th=1

CindyHouk Loc: Nw MT

I just got this one on Black Friday to replace a 2T that is filling up!

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-easystore-5tb-external-usb-3-0-portable-hard-drive-black/6356880.p?skuId=6356880&irclickid=3dTUdQxT0xyORG80EkzjZTwgUkn3FQ0JUW6oRQ0&irgwc=1&ref=198&loc=3dTUdQxT0xyORG80EkzjZTwgUkn3FQ0JUW6oRQ0&acampID=614286&mpid=221109

bobburk3 Loc: Maryland

CindyHouk wrote:

I just got this one on Black Friday to replace a 2T that is filling up!

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-easystore-5tb-external-usb-3-0-portable-hard-drive-black/6356880.p?skuId=6356880&irclickid=3dTUdQxT0xyORG80EkzjZTwgUkn3FQ0JUW6oRQ0&irgwc=1&ref=198&loc=3dTUdQxT0xyORG80EkzjZTwgUkn3FQ0JUW6oRQ0&acampID=614286&mpid=221109

Thanks for the heads up on this. I just ordered it from Best Buy. It is $10 cheaper than Amazon today and I am buying local from the Best Buy store.

CindyHouk Loc: Nw MT

bobburk3 wrote:

Thanks for the heads up on this. I just ordered it from Best Buy. It is $10 cheaper than Amazon today and I am buying local from the Best Buy store.

Your welcome! Glad you got it in time to take advantage of the sale.

jerseymike

bobburk3 wrote:

Thanks for the heads up on this. I just ordered it from Best Buy. It is $10 cheaper than Amazon today and I am buying local from the Best Buy store.

Good for you. To me even if the cost is higher I buy from a local business.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

bobburk3 wrote:

I want to buy a new external hard drive for my laptop. I currently have a Seagate 2T and have been using it for about two years and have been very happy with it. I also back up automatically to Carbonite so I am pretty comfortable that I will never lose anything.

My 2T external drive is getting full so now I want to get a larger drive (4-5T would be good for now). Any suggestions on what to get?

Buy yourself an enterprise or datacenter quality drive (you'll know them because they all have 5 yr warranties), and an external case and cable that supports the fastest connection on your computer - USB-3.1, Thunderbolt 2 or 3, etc. This will far surpass any $100 drive that you can buy at a big box store or otherwise. I only buy Samsung or Western Digital drives for machine builds. They are worth the extra few $$,

https://blog.storagecraft.com/consumer-vs-enterprise-hard-drives/

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I use a small external on my laptop for travel. My storage drives are 8 TB. and stay home. I went to an 8 as I filled the 4 TBs

CaptainBobBrown

I've been using a Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB for the last few years and always try to keep it from getting more than half full for both speed and efficiency reasons. (spinning topology always more efficient using outer tracks). I always cull when I get to the half way mark and so far haven't had any problems with it but storage is so cheap now that you can probably get twice the capacity or more for the same money.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

bobburk3 wrote:

I want to buy a new external hard drive for my laptop. I currently have a Seagate 2T and have been using it for about two years and have been very happy with it. I also back up automatically to Carbonite so I am pretty comfortable that I will never lose anything.

My 2T external drive is getting full so now I want to get a larger drive (4-5T would be good for now). Any suggestions on what to get?

How about the LaCie 5TB Rugged Mini USB 3.0 External Hard Drive now on sale at B&H for $120 ($50 off). You could even travel with it.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1503998-REG/lacie_stjj5000400_5tb_rugged_mini_usb.html

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I agree with Gene. Get an enterprise class drive like a WD/HGST UltraStar and a fan cooled external case and mount it yourself - just takes minutes. With HDs, like most other things, you get what you pay for, and if you choose an already packaged external, you typically have no idea as to the quality of the drive inside, but you can bet it’s likely the cheapest one they sell. It may cost you an extra $100 over the price of a cheap prepackaged external, but what is your accumulated data worth to you?

photoman43

Any external or internal hard drive can fail at a moments notice and without warning. My practice is not to allow any drive to get more than 80% full as less space available means the drive has to work harder.

I usually buy 4 TB drives over 2 TB drives (Western Digital Passport or Seagate or what is on sale) just to make sure I have enough room.

I tripple backup everything I shoot.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

bobburk3 wrote:

I want to buy a new external hard drive for my laptop. I currently have a Seagate 2T and have been using it for about two years and have been very happy with it. I also back up automatically to Carbonite so I am pretty comfortable that I will never lose anything.

My 2T external drive is getting full so now I want to get a larger drive (4-5T would be good for now). Any suggestions on what to get?

Do you have a budget?

NormanTheGr8 Loc: Racine, Wisconsin

Just a thought, why not use more smaller drives ,external drives can also fail I am of the opinion that I would rather loose 2TB of data instead of 4 TB, same reason I use 64Gb SD cards instead of 128s . EVERTHING WILL FAIL AT SOME POINT why not minamise the potential loss . I have had no problems with the Passport drives.