Need a reliable external hard disk! [RANT AHEAD]

optisailor2002

optisailor2002

New member
For a lot of music lovers I believe you guys sometimes need an expansion to your internal computer memory to store all the music that you buy/download.

Just a warning to you guys not to get the Seagate 1TB expansion drive.

I got this last December and within 3 days I was hearing loud clicking noises whenever the files on the drive was accessed, and when transferring files out of the drive it constantly freezes. Got a replacement after transferring everything out from CyberActive.

Fast forward 4 months later. I'm hearing the same clicking noises as before again. Files taking forever to transfer out, and it seems impossible to transfer anything into the drive (why should I be doing that anyway?). I'm going to RMA the replacement but I doubt that the next drive will be good anyway.

After the 2 failing drives I began to do some research on it and it appears that I am not the only one facing this problem, lots of other people who got convinced to buy this product because of it's cheap price experienced the same problems even after 2 replacements. So advice is to do research before buying any products!

This is not baseless though, on the Seagate support forums there have been lots of complaints about it, ditto to amazon and many other forums, but Seagate is doing nothing to fix it.

Oh I contacted Seagate support, they offer to help to recover the data in the drive for 1k and above :) Ever wondered how they earn their money?

Apparently, the drive that comes encased will not give so much problems if you break open the casing and use it as an internal drive though.

Anyway, I need some recommendations on reliable external hard disks, my internal one's filling up soon haha!
 
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dam u missed the it fair if not got lobang haha
anyway this is one of the reasons why i got an ipod classic rather then a sleeky touch/phone/nano haha
 
yea, but some have more than 160GB of music + movie thats why i needed an external drive.

thought that Seagate would be a trustworthy and reliable brand but apparently people who have contacted their support have gotten a reply that no one else has reported any prblems with their hard drive.
 
Well I'm no expert but I've used several Western Digital harddisks and they've never failed me. But not those "external" units with fancy casings. I always buy standard internal disks and a separate enclosure. I think the current WD green disks are pretty reasonable for storage, if you don't need the fastest speeds.

I don't think SSD is affordable for the average person yet.
 
I was going to recommend Seagate since i'm using FreeagentGo 500 GB but forget it lol.

Why not get an internal HDD as well? Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB. Costs around 116 if i'm not wrong. I'm also getting it in a few weeks or so. Too much data.

SSDs costs a bomb btw - don't think of getting one til EOY. 64gb for around 200+ now?
 
rottenramone said:
we're having a similar discussion in another thread. SSDs are the way to go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96dWOEa4Djs
Click to expand...

oh haha, can link me to the thread?

what are SSD all about anyway? haha im clueless cos im a tech noob. i just bought this cos it was on sale and just decided to get it since its cheap for a 1TB external drive.

problem is i have no idea how to fix an internal drive. i've read up, seems simple enough but i dun wanna screw up and risk losing everything on my computer haha.
 
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SSD means solid state drive. In the simplest terms it's like a thumbdrive on steroids lol. No moving parts means less noise and less chances of things breaking.

Just buy an internal harddisk and a separate casing from any Sim Lim shop. They will fix it on the spot for you and format it. Don't have to put internal harddisk into your PC if you don't want to.
 
I've not read any part of this thread, but if you're looking for an external harddrive, make sure you format it before you put anything in. I think you have to format it to NTFS or something so that you can actually put in files more than 4GB in size.
 
blueprintstudios: i'm using the external ones. from some forums that i read, apparently after removing the hard disks inside the casing and using them as internal, they dont give that much of a problem. some mentioned that its the heating up of the hard disk that gives the problem (the only ventilation is at the bottom of the casing, 2 thin strips running down the length).

deathcubek: yea, i did format it before usage. but if its clicking its more of a physical problem isnt it? haha im not sure, like clueless when it comes to tech stuff.

oh and someone who opened up the casing found out that its actually a barracuda hard disk. read on hardwarezone that it's the same one that gives a lot of problem.
 
Barracuda is a series made by Seagate. It's possible that the problem is overheating... have you ever noticed how hot the thing was running? And yes clicking most likely indicates a physical issue. It could be something as simple as using your harddisk on a slanted surface for a long period of time. Or it could be a defect with the head or other moving part.
 
yea thats what i'm intending to do. i read on hardwarezone that this particular make for the barracuda series gives a lot of problem, and so does the expansion drive model.

either way im getting a replacement soon. if the problem persists i'll just break it apart and use it as an internal drive.

regarding the thing heating up, my fan is right in front of the hard disk (on my computer table which is a flat surface) constnatly blowing it. usually it stays pretty cool but when i use some diagnostic softwares to test the drive it goes up to temperatures higher than the internal disk in my CPU. cant really do much there since the only vents are at the bottom of the hard disk, and all surfaces of the hard disk are slanted so i cant make it stand vertically. (if what i said made any sense haha!)
 
of course seagate sucks lah. don't you think there is a reason why people pay a premium for western digital despite seagate and hitachi being cheaper

and $$D? orly?
 
within seagate, from time to time, they sell certain ext hdd thats not released to the public or local market, to their own staff and blardy cheap some more. Those, are pretty decent. Dont know why they never sell it locally.
 
obzervr said:
Not Recommended: Maxtor and Bufallo
Click to expand...

haha sorry dig up this thread again.

i almost decided to get a buffalo as my 2nd backup, cos like never really read anything bad about them yet. everything i read about buffalo is about how fast it is and how quiet it is etc, all praises but no one raises flaws.

anyway, my replacement hard disk arrived last week. its been working fine up till now, i've elevated the entire damn hard disk with 2 foam cuboids and flipped the hard disk upside down to let the vent face upwards (anyway i read that the hard disk inside the expansion drive was installed upside down, so by flipping the whole thing upside down the hard disk beceoms right side up, do i make sense?)

hope nothing happens or i'll be smashing this damn thing.
 
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