I'm looking for a better long term solution for backing up my data instead of constantly using my 128GB SanDisk Extreme Pro flashdrive for the past 5 years. I've got my eyes on a Western Digital 2TB Elements but was wondering if there are better options or if I should instead buy a separate HDD and enclosure? I have no interest in automatic backup software but am curious about encryption software, the only thing is I'd rather use something that works across multiple OS's such as Windows and Linux, otherwise I'd just end up using bitlocker.
Inexpensive preferably sticking around $60. So that makes an SSD a non option as I don't want to go below 1TB.
@Aeyix you should research whether the drive you're planning to buy has separate USB-SATA bridge, or USB controller soldered to the drive itself (WD drives typically have latter). USB to SATA bridge is the weakest part of the drive, most prone to failure - so you definitely want a drive that has it as a separate part from the HDD itself. Also, I'd suggest 2.5" drive over 3.5" - they are more robust, especially if you're carrying it with you. Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB is within your budget, and this teardown shows it has proper internal design.
I've been using the WD MyPassport series for almost 10 years now. I had a 500GB version, then upgraded to 1TB and, about two years ago, a 2TB version. All have worked great. I did have an issue where the cable stopped working on one of them (it was probably bent too many times). Charles
interesting... So would this lead to the idea it'd be better to use an external enclosure instead? I bought my old man a 1TB 7200rpm 2.5 inch drive and set it up with Windows and his programs for his laptop to swap in place of his 500GB 5400rpm drive. I then bought him an external enclosure for it... Problem is it's been a year and a half and he never backed up his files and Outlook emails like I asked so I still haven't swapped them lol. Maybe I'll just go with that stuff. Granted, I'd rather have 2TB for future proofing but I'm sure 1TB would last me a long time still. Edit: That's exactly what I ended up doing. Formatting the 1TB drive now. It's a Sabrent USB 3.0 enclosure and a 9mm WD Black 1TB drive. It'll be more than enough for now. I figured 2TB would be ideal for future proofing, but currently I use only 100GB on a flashdrive and that backs up all my data. The main problem is I don't have space on my current drives and flashdrives to backup videos so when I upload them I delete them, this will take care of that. My dad can continue using the 5400rpm 500GB drive. At the time I was upgrading his RAM from single channel 4GB to dual channel 8GB which was hugely noticeable for him. He had no space on the 500GB drive either and I figured an rpm boost would help him... but cleaning up temporary files and disabling dropbox on startup removed the urgency of swapping drives because he gained back 1/5th of his storage space and startup time improved greatly.
Some drives drain too much power, and some enclosures don't provide enough of it, but that's rare, most likely it will work just fine.
My sister backs up her HD with a seagate 2tb firecuba 2.5 7mm HD and a external case she bought on ebay. She got the firecuba HD on ebay for $70 and its 2tb. Its pretty fast, I tested with transferring some movies over and it hit 120-130mb/s.
Synology NAS. Backup using rsync which is encrypted and can be accessed easily remotely through an SSL/HTTPS web gui interface or through SSH. Solid devices and you can even run LAG and drive caching with m.2 drives and adapter card.
