Best external hard drives to buy right now?

I'm weighing my options on this specific hard drive:

Basically, I'm in the market for a 4TB external hard drive.

If this particular model isn't up to par, I'd love some solid recommendations.

It’s just for some basic home use.

Are you really dead set on grabbing that dual-drive model for some reason? You could honestly pick up this one for way less cash:

@wanderingwalker3

Maybe look into something like this instead:

— this one’s got that "armored" vibe with a slightly more rugged casing.

And if you're looking at $193, if you don't mind stretching your budget just a tiny bit, you actually land 750 GB:

Honestly, though—all these drives are pretty much performing at the same level. It's not like those cheap USB thumb drives where you see massive jumps in speed.

Alright Benjamin King2, thanks man. I'll chew on this for a bit longer before I, hopefully, make a call 😁

Cheers 🙂

Benjamin King2, thanks for getting back to me.

I took a look at that hard drive you mentioned, but unlike mine, the one you pointed out only comes with a two-year warranty.

Meanwhile, the model I’m looking at offers a full five-year guarantee.

So, here is my question:

I am more than willing to pay $833 because I genuinely need a reliable drive right now.

If anyone has a recommendation or some solid advice to share, I would truly appreciate it.

Hey everyone,

I just picked up a 4TB hard drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236385

The thing is, I formatted it using NTFS, and now Windows is telling me I only have 3.63TB of usable space instead of the full 4TB I paid for.

Is this actually normal behavior? Also, is there any way at all to reclaim that missing space so I can get more than 3.63TB out of this drive?

Hey everyone, it's me again 😁

Does anyone have a link to a site where I can actually compare specs for 2.5'' external hard drives? Looking for something in the 0.5TB to 2 TB range, I guess.

thanksssss much

Drew Parker5 said:Best,

So I picked up this 4 TB hard drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236385

The thing's formatted to NTFS and it's telling me I only have 3.63 TB of space instead of the full 4 TB.

Is that actually normal? And like, is there any way at all to squeeze more than 3.63 TB out of it?

The usable capacity is always going to be lower than what's printed on the box, so don't sweat it. It's totally fine. Like, if you buy a 1TB drive, you're usually looking at maybe 931GB once you actually format it, so... yeah, nothing to worry about.😉

That’s perfectly normal—we're talking about 3.6 TB of actual formatted capacity here.

Big thanks to wanderingwalker3 and Benjamin King2

Alexander Brown48 said:...The headaches aren't stopping. When I fired it up again today, the drive would show up for maybe ten seconds and then just vanish. Windows keeps throwing that error message saying new hardware was detected but it's acting up. It’s just constant—on, off, on, off every ten seconds. Tried switching to a different port, same garbage. Then I plugged it into a USB 2.0 port and things actually stabilized, so I went ahead and formatted it through Disk Management... fine. But then I used Sally to remove the hardware, swapped it over to a USB 3.0 port, and we're right back to square one—it keeps disappearing on me. Just a total mess...

Anyway, here's an update for everyone who wasted their time giving me advice:
I finally sorted this mess out. Work has been absolute chaos lately so I couldn't deal with it until now. Turns out the connector on the USB 3.0 controller power cable was damaged (it was shoved way too close to the GPU heatsink). Fixed the connection, put in a new one, and now the damn thing works perfectly. 👍

I've been scrolling through dozens of pages here reading up on external hard drives.
Based on all your recommendations and everyone's shared experiences, I pretty much made my decision easy, but there's this one specific thing that's really bugging me... My laptop has an eSATA/USB combo port that I'm dying to take advantage of by picking up an external drive that supports that kind of connection. From what I've gathered during my research, the speeds should be significantly better than what you get over USB 3.0. Since my laptop doesn't have a USB 3.0 port, I was really hoping to make up for that lack of speed by plugging in via the eSATA/USB port instead. The catch is that the SanDisk StoreJet 25M3 doesn't actually offer that kind of dual connectivity. I was almost certain I was going to pull the trigger on that one, but then it hit me that I could potentially grab way more speed if I just utilized the eSATA port.
Does anyone know of an external HDD option out there that works with standard USB but also supports eSATA/USB? Ideally, I'm looking for something high-quality that stays within the same price range as the 25M3...

Sean Wright2 said:I’ve spent quite a bit of time digging through dozens of pages here just to wrap my head around everything there is to know about external hard drives.
I made my decision pretty easily based on all the advice and experiences you guys shared, but now I’ve run into a bit of a headache. My laptop has an eSATA/USB combo port that I’m really itching to take advantage of by picking up an external hard drive that supports that kind of connection. From what I’ve been digging into, the speeds should be significantly better than anything I could get through USB 3.0. Since my laptop doesn't actually have a USB 3.0 port, I was hoping to make up for that lack of speed by plugging in via eSATA. The catch is that the SanDisk StoreJet 25m3 I was looking at doesn't support that type of connection. I was basically ready to pull the trigger on it, but then it hit me that I might be missing out on a much faster setup if I don't find a way to utilize that eSATA port instead.
Is there actually any kind of external hard drive out there that lets you toggle between a standard USB connection and an eSATA setup, like a hybrid drive that supports both? I'm looking for something that isn't just some cheap plastic junk, but something built with actual quality, ideally sitting right around that $250 mark if possible.

Still waiting on this one... anyone else got an answer, or maybe Benjamin King2 knows what's up?
Is there actually an external hard drive out there that you can plug directly into an eSATA port? I was also wondering if anyone knows if there's even such a thing as a converter that lets you jump from USB over to eSATA.

Anyone have experience with this drive, or maybe some advice on whether it’s worth grabbing?

The price looks pretty decent to me—I definitely need more space since my PC's storage is already hitting the red zone 😁. Speed isn't really my top priority, though...
Thanks!
Hey there

I am looking to purchase an external hard drive. It needs to be white.😁
My sole requirement is to store my work documents. I’ll be plugging it in a few times a week, transferring files, and then disconnecting it. These are mostly text-based files with very minimal graphics; we're talking an average file size of about 400-500 KB per document.

What are your thoughts on the following options? Thanks. I have pulled these specific models because they have the highest consumer ratings, but I believe it is always prudent to seek a second opinion before committing to a purchase.

1. Intenso Memory Case 1TB, 5400rpm, 8MB Cache, USB 3.0—$78

2. Intenso Memory Station 6002561 1TB, 5400rpm, 8MB Cache, USB—$74

3. Western Digital hard drive Basics 1TB—this is $65, but it comes in black.😳

4. Seagate expansion desktop 2TB—also under $85, but again, it's black.

5. Seagate expansion desktop 2TB

6. Seagate Platinum MyDrive 500GB—it has low capacity, but since I only need it for text files, it might suffice.🤷 It's $55 and it is white.

Regarding brands, there is also Verbatim, or the classic TrekStor style (which I am currently using, though it is completely full). Personally, I find the Western Digital designs quite unattractive.

If you’re really just dealing with such a small amount of data, you might as well just grab a USB flash drive.

briskwolf13 said:Has anyone actually used this drive before, or does anyone have advice on whether it’s worth grabbing?

http://www.amazon.com/details/example-link

The price looks pretty decent—I need some extra space because my computer's storage is already flashing red 😁. Speed isn't really my main concern here.
Thanks!
Best,

sorry, I missed the previous post, but Transcend drives are fine—go ahead and grab it if you want.

@nimbletinker10
Honestly, you're better off going with what David Sanders4 suggested if you're just moving small amounts of data around—you'd probably be better served picking up a high-quality USB flash drive instead. Drop a link to the shop you're looking at so we can see what the actual options are.

I usually just grab everything I need from Amazon because they have basically everything available.😁 And I mean *everything*.
The problem is, my cat has this habit of stealing my USB sticks.😳 Basically, the second I look away for even a heartbeat, they're gone. I can guarantee I'll be hunting for lost ones for months.
If she were to swipe a business document I've been slaving over for an entire year, I would absolutely lose my mind.
I'm talking about maybe 20 different files, each around 500 KB.
On top of that, I’m worried I might accidentally swap out the wrong drives since I own such a massive pile of them.
I just ordered a Seagate Platinum MyDrive 500GB; is that enough capacity to handle the situation I described?

You’re doing way too much. Just toss some rosemary or maybe a bit of lavender on the table where you keep your sticks—that should be enough to keep your cat far away from them. 🤣

Benjamin King2 said:It’s actually quite simple. Just put some rosemary or lavender on the table where you keep your sticks, and your cat won't even dare go near them. 🤣

Well, if that works, then fine by me. I finally tracked one down for about $45, so I’ll just list it as a business expense on my tax return and call it a day.
And honestly, this cat is a menace—everything I've managed to grow in pots on my balcony has already been completely devoured.🙂

Okay, this is totally off-topic and probably belongs over in the pet threads... but, listen, if you want to stop the chaos, just lay down some wide double-sided tape around the edge of your desk. It’s like a little invisible barrier—once the cat realizes that surface is "off-limits," they'll learn their lesson pretty quick.

And honestly, if you're really that worried about losing your files, just toss everything important up into the cloud using one of those services like Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Docs.