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Im constantly running out of space on my lappy hard drive (103 gb) so its time to buy an external one, the only problem being I don't know squat about them!
So:

1) Any brands I should steer clear from/ towards to?

2) I think a 500gb should be fine for my needs, unless some one heard of a 1tb on special offer that isn't much more in price?

3) I assume they are all Plug&Play, rather than messing about with installing software etc. If not what terms should I look out for in regards to non Plug&Play models? For example I have noticed one brand (Western Digital?) That use the term "passport" on some models but not others.

4) Im also new to internet shopping, can anyone recommend any good, reliable sites for me to check out? I have had a quick look at the usual suspects (Amazon, PC World etc).

5) Are there any other pitfalls regarding drives I may not have realised?

Many TIA!
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Posted: 2009-10-17 06:35:51
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I've had a 500gb seagate HDD that I got from Ebuyer ages ago and I've never had an issue with it...
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Posted: 2009-10-17 11:02:20
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I have one of these, after a few recommendations off here, no issues with it so far.

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopco[....]cm_sp=FeatureEnd-_--_-position
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Posted: 2009-10-17 11:18:47
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I too went for a Western Digital, if you have a firewire 800 port port on your laptop/pc then try and get a harddrive that has one too, you will pay slightly more but get faster transfer speeds.
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Posted: 2009-10-17 12:34:31
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I don't believe he's a mac user
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Posted: 2009-10-17 12:57:48
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Another thing to consider is the HD size (physically).
A 3.5" drive (desktop) are higher capacity for a lower price (about £50 for 500GB) but require external power.
a 2.5" drive are more expensive per mb (about £50 for 250GB) but are smaller and dont need an external psu.
A 2.5" drive can easily be taken around with you as it doesnt need the external power.

All drives are plug and play (unless you are using Win98 or older). In my experience Western Digital or Lacie make reliable drives.

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Posted: 2009-10-17 14:49:54
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£50 for 500mb?! I got 320GB for £100

Anyway, I've had my Seagate FreeAgent Desk Mac for a number of months now doing regular Time Machine backups and it's faultless. Powers down when not in use, and only takes ~5 seconds to (automatically) start up again when I do need it. Turns on and off with the computer, obviously, and I have it connected via FireWire 800, which is also brilliant. Definitely recommend it!
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Posted: 2009-10-17 15:23:25
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Desktop 3.5" Hard drive 500GB : £47.29
Portable 2.5" Hard Drive 500GB : £70.01

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Posted: 2009-10-17 15:41:02
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You're still posting them as MB....
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Posted: 2009-10-17 15:41:55
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Cheers for the replys guys. I had a quick look around, and I think Im best off going for a 3.5" drive. My lappy stays in one place and it has precious little horse power as it is so I will be better off with a drive with its own power supply.
Also there is little price difference between 500gb and 1tb with the 3.5"s so I might as well get a 1tb.
I've seen this one and dont think I will get any cheaper, unless someone knows better?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166600
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Posted: 2009-10-17 15:55:25
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