Seagate 2TB Backup?

[Ed Rooney]

Do any of you use Seagate stand-alone hard drives? I'm considering getting one of these: http://store.apple.com/us/product/HFUE2ZM/A/seagate-2tb-backup-plus-slim-for-mac-portable-hard-drive?fnode=79

 

I've been using the popular Western Digital HDs for a good while now, but wanted to see what might be newer, gooder and maybe lots better. I once had a LaCie that failed and Time Machine has let me down. 

 

Thanks, Edo

[TokyoM1ke]

The most important thing is the type of drive. If it's a standard desktop drive then you'll find that the MTBF (mean time before failure) is relatively low and they don't particularly like being turned on all of the time. Server drives tend to be better suited to running continually.  You really need to look carefully at the numbers on the drives - even within a manufacturer they can be amazingly different.  They are more expensive but you do get what you pay for.

 

In terms of manufacturer, Seagate and WD are pretty much of a muchness.

 

I would strongly recommend that you use a multi-drive device, if you're relying on them to any degree, mirrored at least (two drives with identical contents). If you have cash to burn then a four+ drive setup offers many more options for redundancy and fault tolerance.

 

Hope that helps.

[Martin P Wilson]

The most important thing is the type of drive. If it's a standard desktop drive then you'll find that the MTBF (mean time before failure) is relatively low and they don't particularly like being turned on all of the time. Server drives tend to be better suited to running continually.  You really need to look carefully at the numbers on the drives - even within a manufacturer they can be amazingly different.  They are more expensive but you do get what you pay for.

 

In terms of manufacturer, Seagate and WD are pretty much of a muchness.

 

I would strongly recommend that you use a multi-drive device, if you're relying on them to any degree, mirrored at least (two drives with identical contents). If you have cash to burn then a four+ drive setup offers many more options for redundancy and fault tolerance.

 

Hope that helps.

 

In Windows it is not difficult if you are moderately technically proficient to set up two similar disk as mirrors. That is what I have but my next step is to add a highly redundant external NAS storage at the end of a long cable locked away in a different room to separate it as far as possible from the main PCs (in case of fire, opportunistic burglary or the like). I do have an occasional off-site backup, but not as often as I should; when I am more active photographically I will increase frequency.

[Guest]

Seagate would be last on my list.

 

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/what-hard-drive-should-i-buy/

[Martin P Wilson]

Seagate would be last on my list.

 

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/what-hard-drive-should-i-buy/

Me too but other brands are made by Seagate I believe.

[Betty LaRue]

I have used seagate with great success and no failures. But then I turn mine on to backup then turn them back off, unlike the test in the link Geoff provided. Like you, Lacie failed me.

I sometimes have mine on for an hour or so when searching for suitable images for FAA with no problem.

 

Just my two worthless cents.

Betty

[Martin P Wilson]

Lacie failed for me, but it contained Western Digital drives. That said I have had failures from most makers over the years - all will fail eventually.

[dov makabaw]

Just bought another WD 2TB. At todays prices will be buying yet another unit soon. Simpler than using a multi drive and you can keep one version off site. I found not much to choose from between this and Seagate, WD happened to be cheaper on the day.

 

dov

[AlbertSnapper]

I've had a Seagate external drive for about 4 years now, performs well and hasn't had any problems. Also use a maxtor which I've had for about 6 years, that's going well too. Only connect/switch on when I need to back up/store data etc.

 

Don't ask me any techy stuff tho, that's what my friend who likes IT is for.

[Ed Rooney]

I thought I was asking a simple question. Silly me. To say I have no knowledge nor interest in IT data would be an exaggeration; I have a lot less interest than that. 

 

The particular Seagate HD I asked about is (my guess) new and so few people here would be likely to own one. Maybe. 

[John Mitchell]

I've never had any problems with WD drives. Just bought a new 2 TB one a couple of months ago. Have heard mixed reviews of Seagate drives. However, it seems to be the luck of the draw with external drives, as with most other mass-produced stuff these days. There are always lemons hiding among the peaches.

 

Like Betty, I manually turn my hard drives on only to back things up. I don't see much sense in leaving them running all the time. Things with moving parts have a habit of wearing out if you use them too much (or too little).

[Ed Rooney]

In my link to the Apple Store, up top, they point out some "attractive" stuff. (Actually I could used the " " or leave them off.) So I can/could get another WD, the "safe" path, or I could choose to buy Irish and try a Seagate? That would be the up-the-down-staircase path, preferred by me.

 

The 2TB costs $100 at B&H or Adorama . . . or from http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/standard/backup-plus/  It has a 2-year warranty. I wonder if that includes my images? A rhetorical question. 

 

Someone asked me for the name of a wine to have with fish yesterday. I asked her what kind of fish and how she would be cooking it. It turned out to be grilled salmon. "You might want to try a Pinot Noir or a Valpolicella (Face it, most people, me included, shop first by price). "Red wine with fish! I'm French, you Irish primitive!" she said. "No. Your grandparents were French; like me, you're from Brooklyn. And salmon is gamefish." Oh, my point being -- I just gave her the names of a couple of wines, but did not relate the history of the cultivation of the grape. 

[Richard Coombs]

Seagate would be last on my list.

 

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/what-hard-drive-should-i-buy/

+1

Seen some very bad reviews for this make. "Pays your money takes your chance" with any external hard drive it seems to me. I've been using WD for some years now, touch wood, no problems yet. But, if it can happen, it will happen!

[Linda]

Do any of you use Seagate stand-alone hard drives? I'm considering getting one of these: http://store.apple.com/us/product/HFUE2ZM/A/seagate-2tb-backup-plus-slim-for-mac-portable-hard-drive?fnode=79

 

I've been using the popular Western Digital HDs for a good while now, but wanted to see what might be newer, gooder and maybe lots better. I once had a LaCie that failed and Time Machine has let me down. 

 

Thanks, Edo

Looks to be hugely popular.It's also $99 on Amazon... I always factor in the 4 and 3 star reviews. If I see a large ratio of 1 and 2 star reviews I read a few and if it's a lot I move on.

 

Nice slim drive,I might be in the market for one.

 

Let me know how it works out on your Mac.

 

L

[Duncan_Andison]

I've had a couple of Seagate USB drives so far. The drives have been ok but the connector leads have been poor. As a result, they would permanently disconnect from the laptop.

 

Personally, buy the drive and the bay separatly. This will probably cost you less and is dead easy to do. You will also get a far better bay. Stronger USB3 cable and it will likely have a higher throughput. Often you will not see the max speed of the drive because the bay will be the limiting factor.

 

My bay of choice now is "Inateck" because it is easy to swap drives quickly (slide off top) and the cable is very robust, withstands a lot of plugging in and removing.

 

You can use standard or SSD drives with it. I prefer the speed, Silence and durability of the Samsung 840 Evo.... In any event, you could buy a numberof drives over time and just pop them in and out of the bay as you need them!

[Martin P Wilson]

I've had a couple of Seagate USB drives so far. The drives have been ok but the connector leads have been poor. As a result, they would permanently disconnect from the laptop.

 

Personally, buy the drive and the bay separatly. This will probably cost you less and is dead easy to do. You will also get a far better bay. Stronger USB3 cable and it will likely have a higher throughput. Often you will not see the max speed of the drive because the bay will be the limiting factor.

 

My bay of choice now is "Inateck" because it is easy to swap drives quickly (slide off top) and the cable is very robust, withstands a lot of plugging in and removing.

 

You can use standard or SSD drives with it. I prefer the speed, Silence and durability of the Samsung 840 Evo.... In any event, you could buy a numberof drives over time and just pop them in and out of the bay as you need them!

 

For backup copies I use a hard disk docking station that takes 2.5 and 3.5 bare drives. I originally bought it to clone disks I was upgrading in my PC (I tend to build my own) and to recover data from failing drive.

 

No covers to remove but be careful, don't remove until disk has spun down, there is a substantial gyroscope effect and it could twist itself it out of your hand if you are not expecting it! Must update mine to a USB3, it is only USB2.

[fotoDogue]

Up until my current computer, a 2012 Mac Mini, all of my Macs have come with Seagate Barracuda drives. When the computers die I've just move the drives to external enclosures. With the exception of one very old replacement  300 GB Seagate, I've replaced drives for greater capacity. I'm currently using an old 1tb in a Mini Stack enclosure that I pulled from my G5 and it's still running fine. 

 

I believe Apple did issue a recall for Seagate 1tb drives in iMacs a couple of years ago. Maybe that's why the drive in my Mac Mini is identified as an APPLE HDD  

 

You might also want to think about something larger than 2tb. 

 

fD

[Ed Rooney]

Some interesting Apple info, fD, thanks. In the past, I've owned two Mac Minis and liked them a lot . . . always looking for a smaller footprint in my cluttered flat. In fact that's why I changed to the iMac, since the screen is basically the only hardware to make room for. 

 

"Looks to be hugely popular.It's also $99 on Amazon... I always factor in the 4 and 3 star reviews. If I see a large ratio of 1 and 2 star reviews I read a few and if it's a lot I move on." -- Linda

 

LOL This is how I used to judge hotels and restaurants in TripAdvisor, Linda. The 1 and 2 star people were mostly bitching about a lost reservation, and the 5 star reviews were gushy, filled with heavy additives; these folks want to think of themselves as travel writers. My all-time favorite TripAdvisor review (of a motel)? "I was afraid to get out of the car." 

 

With regard to the folks who are writing over my head (hey, they're really talking to each other), I'll try one more metaphor. If I want to rent a car and transfer some stuff down to Washington, DC tomorrow, I shouldn't have to first learn how to assemble an automobile engine by hand. 

 

Thanks again. 

[Betty LaRue]

Some interesting Apple info, fD, thanks. In the past, I've owned two Mac Minis and liked them a lot . . . always looking for a smaller footprint in my cluttered flat. In fact that's why I changed to the iMac, since the screen is basically the only hardware to make room for. 

 

"Looks to be hugely popular.It's also $99 on Amazon... I always factor in the 4 and 3 star reviews. If I see a large ratio of 1 and 2 star reviews I read a few and if it's a lot I move on." -- Linda

 

LOL This is how I used to judge hotels and restaurants in TripAdvisor, Linda. The 1 and 2 star people were mostly bitching about a lost reservation, and the 5 star reviews were gushy, filled with heavy additives; these folks want to think of themselves as travel writers. My all-time favorite TripAdvisor review (of a motel)? "I was afraid to get out of the car." 

 

With regard to the folks who are writing over my head (hey, they're really talking to each other), I'll try one more metaphor. If I want to rent a car and transfer some stuff down to Washington, DC tomorrow, I shouldn't have to first learn how to assemble an automobile engine by hand. 

 

Thanks again. 

 

Ed.  I am often lost in the woods with the tech talk myself.  Might as well be speaking French.  No remarks about my French name, please.

[Jill Morgan]

Only have one Seagate , and it sometimes runs, and sometimes doesn't, so at least I have copied everything off of it.

 

Rest of my drives are WD. Never a problem, so why venture to new unchartered territory when there are proven drives that work well. Don't know about the new Seagate drives if they are better now, but until WD lets me down, sticking with them.

 

Jill

[Ed Rooney]

Only have one Seagate , and it sometimes runs, and sometimes doesn't, so at least I have copied everything off of it.

 

Rest of my drives are WD. Never a problem, so why venture to new unchartered territory when there are proven drives that work well. Don't know about the new Seagate drives if they are better now, but until WD lets me down, sticking with them.

 

Jill

 

That is exactly the decision I'm trying to make, Jill. If you read what Apple says in the link I put in my OP, you'll see why I'm interested (although not sold) in the new Seagate 2TB . . . and I don't know if it is in fact new. I can get a WD 2TB for the same money. 

 

Betty, I'm one of those rare Americans who actually like the French and fell historically grateful to them. 

[Jill Morgan]

 

Only have one Seagate , and it sometimes runs, and sometimes doesn't, so at least I have copied everything off of it.

 

Rest of my drives are WD. Never a problem, so why venture to new unchartered territory when there are proven drives that work well. Don't know about the new Seagate drives if they are better now, but until WD lets me down, sticking with them.

 

Jill

 

That is exactly the decision I'm trying to make, Jill. If you read what Apple says in the link I put in my OP, you'll see why I'm interested (although not sold) in the new Seagate 2TB . . . and I don't know if it is in fact new. I can get a WD 2TB for the same money. 

 

Betty, I'm one of those rare Americans who actually like the French and fell historically grateful to them. 

 

 

Ed, you can do that with most good drives now.

 

My best is my 3TB WD Mybook Live which is a network drive, so it stays on all the time and I can access it from anywhere using wifi or connected to my phones data plan.  Did just that this weekend when a customer at a dog show wanted to see all my Lhasa Apso embroidery designs. I simply turned the data and network hotspot on on my phone, then clicked on my drive on my laptop taskbar and I was in to all my 40,000 embroidery designs and could quickly download all the Lhasa Apso designs for him.

 

I have an app for it on my phone which is Blackberry and an app on my Android tablet. So all my devices can access the files at any time. From now on I will only purchase network drives, then no need for a cloud account of any kind.

 

I can even email links to the files directly to clients and they can download them themselves. 

 

I love my WD MyBook Live.

 

Edited to add:  It can also be set up to sync with other drives or cloud accounts. And can be set to sync everything or just specific folders.

 

Jill

[John Mitchell]

I have a geriatric 128 GB LaCie (Vive la France!) drive that is still functioning. Mind you, the drive seems to have arthritis now, and it takes ages to kick start. I like the sleek design, though. It looks a bit like an old 1960's era Citroën auto.

 

The boring looking WD 2 TB drive that I purchased recently for under $100 has a "networking" feature, which I probably won't use, so I guess this capability is becoming commonplace.

[Colin Woods]

I have WD and Verbatim, not a glitch in 10 years of digital photography. and pinot noir is great with salmon. 

Col

[Guest]

 

Only have one Seagate , and it sometimes runs, and sometimes doesn't, so at least I have copied everything off of it.

 

Rest of my drives are WD. Never a problem, so why venture to new unchartered territory when there are proven drives that work well. Don't know about the new Seagate drives if they are better now, but until WD lets me down, sticking with them.

 

Jill

 

That is exactly the decision I'm trying to make, Jill. If you read what Apple says in the link I put in my OP, you'll see why I'm interested (although not sold) in the new Seagate 2TB . . . and I don't know if it is in fact new. I can get a WD 2TB for the same money. 

 

Betty, I'm one of those rare Americans who actually like the French and fell historically grateful to them. 

 

 

I notice it's a USB drive, don't know if it's coincidence but the only drive that's ever gone wrong for me is a month old (or so) WD USB drive. I was talked into it in our local computer shop and it went south last week.

 

All other drives have been powered independently and are on all the time the computer is going, 10-12 hours a day when working....