external hard drives | DataRecoveryUnion.com

On September 7, 2011, Seagate announced it is shipping the new 4TB GoFlex Desk external hard drives.

This latest addition to the GoFlex Family of external hard drives showcases Seagate’s new desktop design. The new 4TB GoFlex Desk drive is now available from seagate.com and will be available from select online retailers within the month for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $249.99 USD. The entire line of GoFlex Desk products will also adopt the new industrial design in the coming weeks. The GoFlex Desk for Mac external drive featuring both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 will be available in Apple stores by the end of the month.

Yet another industry first for Seagate, we have reached a new high-capacity in the 3.5-inch hard drive form factor. At Seagate, we are committed to pushing the limits for our customers and will continue to adapt and innovate our products based on customer needs, this latest GoFlex® Desk drive offering, with its new industry-leading capacity point, is a statement of our continued commitment to meet consumer needs. -said Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager of Retail products for Seagate.

As more of our entertainment and personal data become digitized, the significance of greater access to local storage becomes increasingly more valued. The new GoFlex Desk 4TB drive has the space to contain over 2,000 HD movies. This new GoFlex Desk external drive comes at a time when people are archiving more of their memories in the form of digital photo and video.

IDC foresees there being an increase in global demand for personal storage capacity driven by the growing creation and acquisition of digitized videos, photos and music, – said Liz Conner, senior research analyst, Storage Systems, IDC.

Debuted in May of 2010, the award-winning GoFlex Family of hard drives provide an alternative approach to external storage solutions by allowing users to change interface adapters to stay current with the latest in interface technology. With USB 3.0 still undergoing adoption and the emergence of Thunderbolt technology in the coming months, the GoFlex adapter concept has been proven as an idea that works and Seagate plans to continue with this design for future iterations of the company’s external hard drives. The GoFlex drives are also Windows and Mac OSX compatible and have the flexibility to go between both operating systems. In addition to cross-platform compatibility, the GoFlex Desk drive can also be utilized with the GoFlex Home adapter if one chooses to use it as a network drive.

With the pre-loaded back up software, the GoFlex Desk external drive provides automatic, continuous back with encryption for all your files. The included USB 3.0 adapter also works with USB 2.0 ports making it easy to connect to your Windows or Mac computer. The adapter also features an illuminated gauge to display available space on the drive.

Data Storage

Recommended 500GB External Hard Drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago1 month ago05 mins

Looking for external hard drives with 500GB capacity? please refer to this guide.

Today’s Storage disks’ capacity upgrade day by day. A few years ago, purchased a 1GB U-disk, you would already feel it was a great capacity and could not expect the 8GB, 16GB U-disks become noting in today. Moreover, the capacity of the external hard drive is extremely huge. You can see 1TB, 2TB’s external hard drives everywhere, greatly eased people’s requirement to massive data transmission. Many manufacturers have launched promotions for this capacity external hard drive. I have collected many promotions information to shall with you. Before you purchase these external hard drives, you can refer:

Seagate Expansion 500GB Desktop External Hard Drive ST305004EXA101-RK
(Model: ST305004EXA101-RK Price: $99.99 Amazon.com Price: $58.19 Form Factor: 3.5″)

Review: “I easily reformatted it with fdisk (to make a Linux partition) and mkfs (to make an ext3 file system) so as to make it friendly with my Linux machine (running Scientific Linux—basically RHEL 5.0), and it works like a charm. It is immediately recognized; all I need to do is to plug in the USB. It is also very quiet.”

Cirago CST4500 500GB USB2.0 External Hard Drive
(Model: CST4500 Price: $59.99 Form Factor: 3.5″)

Review: “I haven’t delved into the accuracy of the advertised specs but it functions exactly as I expected when I made the purchase. I know my system holds it back from full speed performance(laptop HDD not as fast as this thing so copy speeds aren’t phenomenal) so that’s not something I hold against it. Actual usable space is something like 460GB but don’t quote me on that. The stand is nice, helps it stay cool I s’pose. Speaking of which, I’ve had ZERO heat problems after the year or so I’ve owned and used it.”

Seagate Expansion 500GB USB2.0 External Hard Drive ST905004EXA101-RK
(Model: ST905004EXA101-RK Price: $89.00 Amazon.com Price: $59.99 Form Factor: 2.5″)

Review: “Acceptable transfer rate over USB 2.0, doesn’t need an external power source, extremely portable.”

Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB External Hard Drive
(Model: WDBACY5000ABL-NESN Price: $99.99 Amazon.com Price: $78.52 USB2.0/3.0)

Review: “Fast and easy, runs very cool. Of course I have it on top of my HAF 932, and that big old fan makes sure it don’t even get warm. Can’t beat the price for what you are getting. Disk Image of Win7 Prem, and X/P Home in under 3 Hours start to finish 382 GiGs. Great shipping from the EGG, as they never fail.”

Samsung S2 500GB External Hard Drive HXMU050DA/G22
(Model: HXMU050DA/G22 Price: $103.99 Amazon.com Price: $77.99 Form Factor: 2.5″)

Review: “”Really small, comes with a cable. Some people complain about the cable being small but it is for a reason. With this short cable it allows fast transfer speeds. “

Considerations for External Hard Drives

One drawback to using external hard drives for backups is that they are still relatively new for home computer use. They come with Windows drivers; should Windows fail, you will not be able to access your external drive through DOS. There are DOS drivers available but they can be difficult to find and most manufacturers do not provide support for them. This isn’t a frequent occurrence, just something to keep in mind as you select your external hard drive.

Data Storage

Recommended 2.5 Inch 1TB External Hard Drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago11 months ago05 mins

Looking for a 2.5’’ External hard drive with 1TB capacity? please refer to this guide.

Today’s Storage disks’ capacity upgrade day by day. A few years ago, purchased a 1GB U-disk, you would already feel it was a great capacity and could not expect the 8GB, 16GB U-disks become noting in today. Moreover, the capacity of the external hard drive is extremely huge. You can see 1TB, 2TB’s external hard drives everywhere, greatly eased people’s requirement to massive data transmission. With the portable function and great capacity, the 2.5-inch external hard drives become the main force of high-capacity transmission. Now, the capacity of 1TB is the best capacity for 2.5-inch external hard drive. Many manufacturers have launched promotions for this capacity external hard drive. I have collected many promotions information to shall with you. Before you purchase these external hard drives, you can refer:

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1 TB Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive
(MPN: STAA1000100, Price: $$144.99, Amazon.com Price: $99.99)

Huge capacity, no power supply needed, fast(depending on the cable you use), interchangeable interface cables(USB 3.0, Firewire 800, eSATA, USB 2.0), small, nearly the perfect external hard drive to carry around in your bag every day.

Toshiba Canvio Plus 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
(MPN:E05A100PBU3XS, Price: $139.01, Amazon.com Price: $99.99)

Small and light. Drive is very quiet too. The mini USB 3.0 plug seems like it makes a good connection. I can hold up my drive by the cable and it wont fall out. Doesn’t wiggle either.

Western Digital WD Elements SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
(MPN: WDBABV0010BBK, Price: $136.99, Amazon.com Price: $89.99)

Works with WD Live TV Hub. No power issues with single USB port. Matches cosmetically quite nicely. Sustained transfer rates of 28.0-30.0 MB/s for about 350GB of files. That’s about as good as you’ll do over USB–it’s about what the 3.5″ WD Elements drives get. No WD Smartware. You don’t have to deal with AutoRun or virtual drives that clutter things up. This is a plain old drive.

Seagate Expansion 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
(MPN: ST910004EXA101-RK, Price: $134.99, Amazon.com Price: $88.14)

As a PC Tech, I require a high-capacity portable drive with a common interface, that can run as fast as possible and not require a seperate power supply. This drive has about 14 hard drive images on it from Acronis and still has about 300GB free! When I first got it, I was surprised and a bit disappoint in its size, in that its about twice the size of a Western Digital Passport. However, I got over that real quick when I saw how much faster it was and its unique size helps me identify it from my group of portable drives very quickly. All my Western Digital drives look alike and I have to label them to tell which is which. If I order more of these, I may have to do the same thing, but its so capacious, I can’t see having to order another any time soon.

Data Storage

WD Introduced its New My Book and My Passport External Hard Drives with USB 3.0 Connectivity

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago3 years ago07 mins

Oct. 5, 2010 – WD today introduced its new My Passport® Essential™ portable hard drive, My Passport® Essential™ SE portable hard drive, and My Book® Essential external hard drive. All three drive families come in a variety of capacities and offer lightning-fast USB 3.0 connectivity. Highest industry capacity is another key feature for the My Book Essential drive, which is now available in 3 TB capacity, in addition to 1 and 2 TB capacities. Equipped with WD SmartWare™ visual backup software for automatic, continuous backup, these drives provide users the extra space they need to store or back up all of their digital memories, such as high-resolution photos and videos, along with music and other critical files, all in one place.

The drives not only take advantage of the latest blazing-fast USB 3.0 technology, but are also fully compatible with USB 2.0 connections for those who have yet to upgrade their computers to USB 3.0. When connected to a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, consumers can transfer data at speeds up to 5 Gb/s. At that rate, a two-hour HD video will transfer in as little as three minutes. The same two-hour video would take approximately 13 minutes to transfer on a USB 2.0 port.

My Passport Essential, still WD’s smallest portable drive, is available in a 500 GB capacity and comes in five fun colors – Midnight Black, Cool Silver, Real Red, Pacific Blue and Arctic White (Arctic White only available in EMEA and APAC). My Passport Essential SE portable hard drives are available in 750 GB and 1 TB capacities and come in stylish black, silver, metallic blue and metallic red colors. The pocket-sized My Passport portable hard drives are powered directly through the USB cable; no separate power supply is needed.

My Book Essential, the world’s number-one selling hard drive, also impresses with its small footprint, sleek design and high-capacity storage ranging from 1 TB up to a massive 3 TB³. The drive is compatible with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, and uses WD SmartWare visual backup software.

“With more and more devices like the iPod touch®, iPhone®4 and other smartphones adding video-capable cameras, digital video is becoming ubiquitous. Most homes already have thousands of photos and music files, increasing the need for storage around the house. Having the extra capacity to store these files and move them around quickly is becoming a big issue for many consumers around the world, WD’s newest line of My Book and My Passport external hard drives features the latest USB 3.0 connection technology, which more than triples the speed to transfer media files, but still works with today’s USB 2.0 ports. In addition, consumers can take advantage of the highest capacity available on external hard drives with the new 3 TB My Book Essential drive.” – said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group.

Features:
My Book Essential external hard drives, My Passport Essential and My Passport Essential SE portable hard drives feature:

Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces;
Up to 3x faster transfer rates when compared to USB 2.0;
WD SmartWare software for automatic, continuous backup;
Password protection for privacy; and,
Planet-friendly packaging from recycled materials which can, in turn, also be recycled.

Capacity and Compatibility:
The My Passport Essential portable hard drive is available in 500 GB capacity. The My Passport Essential SE portable hard drive is available in 750 GB and 1 TB capacities. The My Book Essential external hard drive is available in 1 TB, 1.5 TB, 2 TB and 3 TB capacities. The drives are formatted NTFS for Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, or Windows 7. These drives require reformatting for Mac® OS® X Leopard® or Snow Leopard®.

Price and Availability
My Passport Essential portable hard drives and My Book Essential external hard drives offer a 2-year limited warranty in the U.S. and are now available at select U.S. retailers and online at wdstore.com.

MSRP for My Passport Essential portable is $99.99 USD. MSRP for My Passport Essential SE drives range from $129.99 USD to $169.99 USD. MSRP for My Book Essential drives range from $129.99 USD to $249.99 USD.

Data Storage

Recommended Western Digital External Hard Drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago3 months ago13 mins

The main purposes we need an external hard drive:

Expand your computer’s storage capacity;
Backup your data and share data between computers;
Easy to use. Most of the time, you just need to plug it into the computer and use it as an internal hard drive.

Desktop external hard drives are based on the 3.5-inch internal hard drives and laptop (or portable) external hard drives that are based on the 2.5-inch internal hard drives. Generally, external hard drives are connected to a computer using collectively these types of connections: USB 3.0, USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and eSATA.

Here’s the list of our current favorites.

Western Digital WD Elements 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $99.99
Price: $59.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAR3200ABK

Western Digital WD Elements 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $129.99
Price: $74.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAR5000ABK

Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $129.99
Price: $74.99 on Amazon.com
Free Standard Shipping
Model: WDBAAU0010HBK

Western Digital WD Elements 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $169.99
Price: $106.49 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAU0015HBK

Western Digital WD Elements 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $229.99
Price: $129.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAU0020HBK

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $199.99
Price: $139.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBABM0010BBK

Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $127.60
Price: $119.00 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBABT0010HBK

Western Digital My DVR Expander 1 TB eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $159.99
Price: $119.00 on Amazon.com
Model: WDG1S10000VN

Western Digital Elements SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $149.99
Price: $119.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBABV0010BBK

Western Digital My Book for Mac 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $129.99
Price: $99.00 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAG0010HCH

See my another post: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, or FireWire – What is the recommended solution for data storage.

Data Storage

Top 20 Most Popular External Hard Drives on Amazon.com

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago3 months ago06 mins

External hard drives are ideal for backing up your hard drive or storing additional media separately from your main hard drive. Photos, videos, and digital music have all become so popular in recent years that people need a place to put it all. CDs and DVDs do not have the capacity to hold PC backups and are not all that convenient. However, the prices of external hard drives have come down so much that they are perfect for backing up your important data.

The two most common interfaces for hooking up external drives to your computer are USB and FireWire with eSata now becoming popular also. USB has been around for years and are standard on just about all computers today while FireWire ports are newer and if you use a digital video camera with your computer you probably already have one. In terms of access speeds the latest eSata standard offers the fastest connection however that comes with a price. USB 2.0 and Firewire can cover most of your general needs without having to upgrade your system with a new eSata card. Any of the interfaces will do the job however be sure to purchase an external hard drive with the same type of port that your computer has.

WD Elements 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $149.99 Price on Amazon.com: $98.92)

Seagate FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $139.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.00)

Iomega Prestige 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $172.99 Price on Amazon.com: $99.99)

Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $93.99 Price on Amazon.com: $82.44)

WD Elements 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $169.99 Price on Amazon.com: $117.82)

Toshiba 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $99.99 Price on Amazon.com: $60.00)

WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $129.99 Price on Amazon.com: $97.95)

WD My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $199.99 Price on Amazon.com: $149.00)

WD My DVR Expander 1 TB eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $159.99 Price on Amazon.com: $129.00)

LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Disk 1 TB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $164.99 Price on Amazon.com: $154.99)

Seagate FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $139.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.00)

Seagate Expansion 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $115.99 Price on Amazon.com: $79.99)

Iomega eGo Mac Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $140.99 Price on Amazon.com: $125.99)

Iomega Prestige 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $147.99 Price on Amazon.com: $119.99)

Seagate Expansion 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $115.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.99)

Iomega Prestige 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $115.99 Price on Amazon.com: $79.30)

Iomega Prestige 500 GB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive

(Price: $82.99 Price on Amazon.com: $74.44)

Seagate FreeAgent Go 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $89.99 Price on Amazon.com: $59.82)

Seagate Expansion 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $75.99 Price on Amazon.com: $58.99)

WD Elements 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive

(Price: $129.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.99)

Note: Your backup drive should have a capacity at least as big as your computer’s largest hard drive. That will leave you with plenty of room to back up your important files or mirror/clone your current drive. You can also buy an external hard drive case and mount an internal hard drive inside it. This method will give you a choice of brands and models, and if anything goes wrong with your internal hard drive, you can simply install the external one inside your computer to replace it.

Seagate Announced New 4TB External Hard Drives