Does anyone out there use a Western Digital external hard drive?
Apr 24, 2018 17:43:00 #
bobforman wrote:
I'm curious as to what back-up software all of you are using.
I use the DOS XCOPY command with a string of options.
Apr 24, 2018 17:43:15 #
Jwshelton
Loc: Denver,CO
Have purchased about a dozen over the last 8-10 years.
No issues.
Currently have three of the 4TB drives for back-up.
No issues.
Currently have three of the 4TB drives for back-up.
Apr 24, 2018 18:22:48 #
bickfor903 wrote:
I have 2 Western Digital 2TB MyBooks that are mirrors of each other and a 2TB MyPassbook that I move around a lot. The MyBooks are 6 & 7 years old, the Passbook is 3. I went through too many LaCie drives in the 1990s and early 2000s (as volume and capacities slowly increased) and every single one of them died what I thought was a sad and premature death. It taught me the necessity of redundancy.
And Seagate recently purchased LaCie, Only God and Seagate management knows why - a match made in heaven (or hell).
Apr 24, 2018 18:26:32 #
drklrd wrote:
But the cloud is very hackable please keep that in mind. An old hacker I know says so. So I believe him.
You shouldn’t (believe him). Hackers are looking for nicely organized databases with valuable information like SSNs, credit card numbers, etc. Can you really imagine a hacker going through thousands of your photos hoping for something valuable?
Apr 24, 2018 18:27:38 #
PeterBergh wrote:
I use the DOS XCOPY command with a string of options.
Or rsync...
Apr 24, 2018 18:48:05 #
Apr 24, 2018 19:14:19 #
julian.gang wrote:
I am considering purchasing a Western Digital 4TB external portable hard drive to hold all of my photographs. If you have input on this subject, let me know...Julian
I have a 1TB works fine.
Regardless I keep duplicates as all drives fail no matter what. I have had 3 fail over the years.
Apr 24, 2018 20:17:13 #
I have several but i feel that the main problem with these drives is that you have to treat them like an "EGG" even if it falls over on its side it may die - so the most important thing is to keep them on the desk and secure them to avoid any tipping over on its side
Apr 24, 2018 20:26:42 #
starshipwarrior wrote:
I have several but i feel that the main problem with these drives is that you have to treat them like an "EGG" even if it falls over on its side it may die - so the most important thing is to keep them on the desk and secure them to avoid any tipping over on its side
True - a hard shock may kill a HD by causing a head crash. Also, most drives are spec’d to run horizontally (right side up) or vertically, BUT NOT horizontally upside down.
Apr 24, 2018 20:39:55 #
julian.gang wrote:
I am considering purchasing a Western Digital 4TB external portable hard drive to hold all of my photographs. If you have input on this subject, let me know...Julian
I have 3 of them for redundant backups and so far they're working fine. Have had them for a few years.
Apr 24, 2018 22:58:02 #
grathbun
Loc: Placerville, California
I've had good luck with most of my Western Digital drives, but the one that I had back luck with convinced me to switch to Seagate.
I bought a 4GB WD internal HDD 2 or 3 years ago, and it quit working after about a week. I'm pretty sure it was one of their enterprise line of drives, because that's what I usually get, but don't remember for sure. Anyway, I contacted WD and they said they'd replace it with a refurbished unit. I said, "Why not a new unit, since it's only a week old?" All they said was, "That's our policy."
A refurb would probably have worked OK, but I didn't care for their policy, so sent it back to the store I bought it from for a full refund and got a Seagate enterprise drive, which has been running flawlessly ever since.
So, you'll probably be OK with WD, they're a reputable manufacturer, but be aware of their replacement policy. And, as TriX said, I'd put together my own external setup using an enterprise drive; there's a reason that they cost more.
Gary
I bought a 4GB WD internal HDD 2 or 3 years ago, and it quit working after about a week. I'm pretty sure it was one of their enterprise line of drives, because that's what I usually get, but don't remember for sure. Anyway, I contacted WD and they said they'd replace it with a refurbished unit. I said, "Why not a new unit, since it's only a week old?" All they said was, "That's our policy."
A refurb would probably have worked OK, but I didn't care for their policy, so sent it back to the store I bought it from for a full refund and got a Seagate enterprise drive, which has been running flawlessly ever since.
So, you'll probably be OK with WD, they're a reputable manufacturer, but be aware of their replacement policy. And, as TriX said, I'd put together my own external setup using an enterprise drive; there's a reason that they cost more.
Gary
Apr 25, 2018 04:05:28 #
julian.gang wrote:
I am considering purchasing a Western Digital 4TB external portable hard drive to hold all of my photographs. If you have input on this subject, let me know...Julian
I only use WD, I have 6 of them, the latest is a 8TB with back up.
Apr 25, 2018 16:33:13 #
photoman022
Loc: Manchester CT USA
Be sure to buy at least one more external hard drive! external hard drives fail (just as the internal hard drive does). The extra external drive is your true insurance policy!
Apr 25, 2018 16:48:32 #
photoman022 wrote:
Be sure to buy at least one more external hard drive! external hard drives fail (just as the internal hard drive does). The extra external drive is your true insurance policy!
Good advice. If you buy an external enclosure with room for two drives (plus an adequate power supply and fan cooling), you can use two drives in a RAID 1 (mirrored) configuration. If you’re running Windows, RAID capability is included and very straight forward to configure. That’s your on-site backup. You also need an off-site copy for DR (disaster recovery). If you have decent Internet access, I’d suggest one of the major cloud storage providers. I know that this (2 good quality drives plus an enclosure) is more $ than the $89 external drive you might have initially considered, and less “sexy” than spending the same $ for a new lens, but in the long run, this strategy will save all your precious data from a drive failure. After all, all the cameras and lenses you buy are just to produce that data. End of unrequested advice...
Apr 25, 2018 18:15:04 #
Like Carbonite it is Guaranteed and insured - win, win.
drklrd wrote:
But the cloud is very hackable please keep that in mind. An old hacker I know says so. So I believe him.
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