Best external hard drives to buy right now?

So I'm thinking about picking up an external hard drive Seagate Portable External Hard Drive (the 2.5-inch, 500GB, USB 3.0 kind),$127
-but I was browsing online and saw this in the specs:
Western Digital External Drive: USB 3.0
Interfaces: USB 3.0
Cable Included: USB 3.0 micro-B Cable

And now I've got this nagging question stuck in my head... since the description says it comes with a USB 3.0 cable, but my laptop is pretty old school and only has those USB 2.0 ports, I'm wondering if I can even plug this thing in and actually use it? Like, if it works, how does that even happen... or am I just wasting my money here?
Is this drive strictly meant for laptops that have USB 3.0 slots, or can I make it work on mine?

You can just plug the cable straight into a USB 2.0 port on your laptop and it'll run at the max speed that port allows. They’re physically identical, after all.

I'm looking for an external hard drive for $150—any thoughts on what's currently available in this link? Should I just grab a Pqi since they offer a solid 3-year warranty, or are WD or General Electric actually better quality? All I really care about is that it has USB 3.0, and honestly, I don't mind checking other shops if the price stays under $150

That Western Digital one in the lineup is a solid choice. Their warranty is pretty reliable, and honestly, they’re high-quality drives.
If you can swing an extra ten bucks or so, you could probably grab a drive with double the capacity, which is way more bang for your buck in the long run. But hey, if money is tight right now, maybe just hang tight until you've saved up enough?

So, I've finally decided to pick up some kind of external 2.5" drive!
One of the biggest things for me is making sure there's an actual, legit SATA drive inside, just hooked up to a SATA->USB 3.0 bridge. That way, if my computer case ever decides to kick the bucket and head to the great scrapyard in the sky, I can actually pull the drive out and use it elsewhere.
I also really need something beefy and durable. My main goal here is just general storage and occasionally booting up a virtual machine directly from the drive.

I'm seeing a ton of people recommending the Seagate Expansion, USB 3.0, Seagate Expansion($179)
And looking at photos online, it definitely seems like it houses a real SATA drive—looks like it’s packing a Western Digital Blue SATA I 5400rpm drive. I was wondering if it's even worth hunting down something with 7200 RPM or maybe a SATA III setup? Honestly, I'm thinking it probably isn't necessary.
The only tiny red flag I stumbled upon in a review was someone asking about the cooling situation since the whole thing is wrapped up so tightly 🙂 hmm...

As for other options, I see people mentioning WD:
Or maybe Seagate/Samsung:

I wouldn't mind DIY-ing my own enclosure or putting together a little docking station either, assuming there's actually some kind of advantage to building it yourself versus just buying a ready-made unit.
The only thing I found that has those nice rounded edges (I absolutely hate those sharp metal enclosures that snag on the mesh of my laptop bag!) is this one:
And here is the exact same drive from Seagate (though it looks like it might be out of stock locally):
Total: $218.

Anyone got any advice or tips for me? 🙂

p.s. If my Google search didn't steer me wrong, this enclosure should theoretically support a SATA III drive too...
For the USB 3.0 interface, Transcend is using the ASmedia ASM1053 bridge.

Hey everyone, does anyone know if an external HDD 4 TB would actually work with Windows XP 32 x
using a single NTFS partition just for extra storage?
I've heard conflicting things—some people swear it won't work, while others say it's fine, but they also claim that once you cross that 2TB threshold, the system starts corrupting data bit by bit until the whole MFT eventually collapses.

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some solid advice on which of these four external HDDs would be the best bet for my setup:

1. General Electric Canvio Basics 500GB

2. General Electric Storage Basics 500GB

3. ADATA HV620 500GB

4. Hitachi Touro Mobile 500GB

Which one of these is actually worth my money? Honestly, the prices are all pretty much identical right now.

Ashley Barnes50 said:Guys, does anyone happen to know if an external HDD 4 TB would actually work with Windows XP 32 x
using just one single NTFS partition for extra storage?
I've heard conflicting things—some folks swear it won't work at all, while others say it might, but they warn that once you cross that 2TB threshold, you risk a slow, creeping data corruption where files start vanishing one by one until the whole MFT eventually collapses.

Well, strictly speaking, no. If you want to utilize the full capacity of any drive larger than 2TB, you really have to partition it using GPT rather than MBR. The standard, 32-bit version of XP simply doesn't have the built-in support for that architecture, whereas the 64-bit version does (since it shares some underlying logic with the Win2003 server builds). As for the more modern systems, the 32-bit versions of Vista, 7, or 8 can recognize GPT, but they won't be able to boot from it; you'd need a 64-bit system paired with UEFI instead of a traditional BIOS to handle both the recognition and the booting process.

Hey there...

I'm looking to pick up an external hard drive. My budget is around $200, and I want at least 1TB. Honestly, I'm leaning toward Western Digital—it seems like the sweet spot for price and reliability. Just need it for storing movies, TV shows, and all that stuff...

This one looks like a solid bet for the price and quality.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks 😉

restlessbear34 said:Hey there...

I'm thinking about picking up an external hard drive. My budget is around $200, and I'm looking for something up to 1TB. I've been leaning toward Western Digital, mostly because they seem to strike that perfect balance between a decent price point and solid reliability. It’ll mostly just be for storing movies, TV shows, and all that other media clutter...

Thanks, 😉

For that kind of money, you could actually just buy a standalone drive and a separate enclosure instead.
One thing to keep in mind with Western Digital—though I can't speak for every specific model—is that they sometimes pack them with drives that don't use standard SATA III connectors (if you recall that previous point made by wearyfalcon79).

If anyone knows of a better option that won't break the bank, please let me know. 😁

I was wondering if anyone could help me clarify the actual difference between an external and an internal hard drive? I currently have about 500 GB on my desktop, and honestly, I’ve already managed to fill up a good chunk of it with movies and photo collections, so I really need to expand my storage to at least one or two terabytes. What would you all recommend doing for $167, and would opting for an internal drive actually make my computer run any faster?

The difference is an internal drive stays inside the PC case. You aren't exactly "carrying" it around—it’s just part of the machine. An external one plugs right into a USB port, making it easy to move between different computers. Honestly? You just need a standard external hard drive. It won't actually make your computer run faster; it just gives you more storage space. If you really want speed, you should look into an SSD, but at that price point, you're only getting 120GB.

If you're sticking with a standard hard drive, check these out:
http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...-sata__5062841
http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...dm003__5132061
http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...-sata__2373791

Oh, that’s exactly what I was wondering. If I decide to pick up the standard model, would I be able to handle the installation myself, or am I going to have to lug it all the way to a local Best Buy or some repair shop? Also, I'm a little concerned about what happens to my existing partitions and all my saved files—I currently have a 250 GB C drive and a 250 GB D drive, so I'd hate to lose anything during the process.

You can handle the install yourself; it’s not exactly rocket science. Just slide it in above or below the drive you've already got, screw it down, plug in the power cable, and grab another SATA cable to link the drive to the motherboard. Just take a look at how the current one is hooked up and mimic that.

I'm assuming, of course, that you're running a relatively modern setup with a SATA drive.

Greetings..
I am looking to pick up an external hard drive. I’m aiming for 1TB capacity, and I want something with a bit more substance—by which I mean, something that actually feels durable and better protected against the usual wear and tear of daily life..
I was planning on grabbing this Transcend model here Is there anything out there that offers superior quality for roughly the same price point?

I’m having an issue with my external hard drive—total headache. It works perfectly fine when I plug it into my home theater system, but the second I try to move files from my laptop, it acts up. First, it told me the drive needed formatting, and now it won't even show up at all when I plug it in. Does anyone know of a specific program or some kind of fix to get this working again? I realize this forum is mostly for shopping, but if anyone has a lead or a link, I’d really appreciate it.

Hey there,

I was wondering, since I'm stuck with just a USB 2.0 port, would I be able to use an external drive that has a USB 3.0 connection? Specifically something like this:

Thanks!

Joseph Hall4 said:Hi there,

I'm looking at this drive, but since I only have USB 2.0 ports available, would I actually be able to use an external disk that features a USB 3.0 port? Specifically this one: http://www.seagate.com/products/desktop-drive

Thanks

Just read the product description. 😁

The Seagate™ desktop USB 3.0 drive offers reliable storage, massive capacity, ultra-fast data transfer speeds, and universal compatibility with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.

Alexander Smith69 said:Maybe just read the product description first? 😁

Well, a ton of that stuff is already in the "product description," including the part about it having up to 3TB capacity, so I guess you could just ask God where that info went! lol. Seriously though, thanks for the answer, but it probably didn't need all that sarcasm.