1

Toshiba 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive HDDR320E04XW (Vivid White)

Its a very nice hard drive, works well on my MacBook Pro and others computers with Windows. This is super lightweight! and I love its appearance. This is my first external hard drive I ever had and I can handle it very good, so its so easy to use!

2

Seagate FreeAgent Go 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST905003FAA2E1-RK (Black)

Totally useless product.

Backed up perfectly the first time used, was unable to access drive after that.

3

Toshiba Canvio Plus 1.0 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive E05A100PBU2XK (Raven Black)

The device did not install on my Windows 7 PC. The plug n’ play feature failed to install the device drivers. I tried uninstalling the drivers and scanning for new hardware, but all attempts failed. I am returning it for a different brand.

4

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBABM0010BBK-NESN (Midnight Black)

I purchased the 1TB model this morning, hooked it up to my 2009-era MacBook Pro, reformatted the drive to HFS+ Journaled, and told Time Machine to use it as a backup disk, and it worked. That’s it.

No issues with virtual disks, or firmware, or embedded software, or any of that junk. It is powered by my MBP’s USB port as stated, so no issues there. Even the USB cable works fine and stays connected.

I have seen a lot of complaints about this drive, but frankly, none of the problems are apparent in my drive. For the record, the bottom of my drive has “0211B R/N: B9B” on it. R/N may be “revision number?” At any rate, it’s possible WD has heard the feedback and made great progress, because like the title of my review says, it’s working perfectly for me.

The only thing I could possibly dock it a star for is a cheap, shiny black plastic housing that looks absolutely atrocious as it picks up fingerprints, smudges, etc. It really should have been a matte or pebble-textured case, since it is meant to be portable (and thus handled) but oh well.

If you are running the latest OS on a recent Mac and need a Time Machine backup device, this fits the bill wonderfully.

5

Toshiba Canvio Plus 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive E05A064CAU2XK (Raven Black)

The device did not install on my Windows 7 PC. The plug n’ play feature failed to install the device drivers. I tried uninstalling the drivers and scanning for new hardware, but all attempts failed. I am returning it for a different brand. ]]> http://www.portableexternalharddrivereview.com/reviews/top-5-portable-external-hard-drives/feed/ 0 http://www.portableexternalharddrivereview.com/articles/why-you-need-a-portable-external-hard-drive/ http://www.portableexternalharddrivereview.com/articles/why-you-need-a-portable-external-hard-drive/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:51:48 +0000 Craig Josan http://www.portableexternalharddrivereview.com/?p=10 The world of work has changed drastically. With the prices of personal computers dropping rapidly, and with the Internet expanding our reach of the world, more business pros are doing the vast majority of their work on their own computers. But that also leads to a potential problem: What if your computer crashes and you lose your documents? This is where portable external hard drives come in.

A portable external hard drive can help you protect your valuable reports, presentations and photos. Best of all, the latest portable external hard drives are easy to use. And, as their name implies, they are easy to transport from place to place. Just throw it in your laptop bag along with your laptop mouse and other accessories and you are ready to go.

Portable hard drives are perfect, in fact, for business professionals who travel often for their companies. These pros need merely attach their external hard drive to a USB port in their laptop computers, backup their files to the external drive, remove the drive and place it in a safe place. Then, when they need to access these files again, they simply plug the portable external hard drive back into their computer’s USB port.

Many of today’s better portable external hard drives come with their own software that, once installed, automatically backs up your computer’s files onto the external drive. This is an enormous convenience. Backing up files is normally a bit of a pain. That’s why computer users so often put off performing this essential task.

Of course, you never know when you’ll need the backup files on your external hard drive. That’s why it’s so important to keep that portable drive filled at all times. There’s nothing quite like the sense of dread when your computer crashes and you know that all your important files are gone.

At the same time, there’s nothing like the sense of utter relief when you remember that you’ve backed your files up on a portable external hard drive. You again have access to your files. Your hard work hasn’t simply disappeared.

Do yourself a favor and begin shopping today for one of these essential tools. Operating a computer without a portable external hard drive is a foolish move. It’s also a risky one.

It doesn’t have to be this way. If you own a portable external hard drive, you can easily protect your most important computer files.

Portable external hard drives have become essential tools for all computer users. They usually attach to your computer’s USB port. There are also external wireless hard drives which are portable and don’t need any cables. When you’re writing a story, saving a photo or creating a report, you can simply save a backup copy to your portable external hard drive. That way, if your computer does crash, your work will at least be saved on your external hard drive.

For many less experienced computer users, the process of buying a portable external hard drive may seem a bit daunting. But it needn’t be. Portable external hard drives are relatively simple tools to both install and use.

The first hurdle, though, is for computer users to determine which type of portable external hard drive is best for them. These devices come with a wide range of storage capabilities. Most users, though, don’t need more than 500 gigs of space. However, if you plan on saving homemade videos or many pictures, you might need to purchase a portable external hard drive that boasts more gigs.

Next, novice computer users need to realize that it’s easy to install a portable external hard drive. Most of these will simply attach to one of your computer’s available USB ports. And most will also come with not only instructions but their own installation software.

The installation software is important. It will guide computer users through all of the steps necessary to get a portable external hard drive up and running.

Don’t let fear of the unknown prevent you from protecting your important files. Invest in a portable external hard drive, and then connect it to your computer. You don’t want to be caught by surprise the next time that hated blue screen pops up on your computer monitor.

The good news is that there are a wide variety of these tools now available. And finding portable external hard drives is little challenge.

Of course, shopping for that perfect external drive does take a bit of research. You have to do your homework before buying. This involves taking a close look at how you use your computer and what kind of files you are backing up.

Portable external hard drives come in a variety of price points. Some of the more inexpensive models are more than adequate for most computer users.

Do you work exclusively on your computer? Is your hard drive filled with irreplaceable reports and presentations? If so, you might want to invest in one of the more expensive portable external hard drives. The costlier drives will offer the best protection for your important files.

Will you be backing up several video files? If so, you should purchase a portable external hard drive that boasts a lot of available space. Video files, and photo files, take up far more room on an external drive than do word files or written reports.

Finally, if you’re a recreational computer user, one who uses a mini notebook or desktop computer mostly for fun, it’s fine to purchase a cheaper portable external hard drive. Even the less expensive of these tools work effectively. An inexpensive portable external hard drive should be powerful enough for your needs.

The key when shopping for a portable external hard drive is to not get overwhelmed by your choices. Yes, there are a seemingly endless number of external drive styles, price points and brands out there. But consider this a blessing, not a curse.

Remember, it takes just a bit of research and homework to determine what you’ll most use a portable external hard drive for. Once you figure this, you’ll have little trouble determining which portable hard drive is best for you.

If you’ve never purchased a portable external hard drive, don’t worry. Finding these, and selecting one that works well for you and your needs, is a relatively simple task.

The best place to start your search might be online. Do a simple Google search for “portable external hard drive.” You will undoubtedly turn up dozens of pages filled with online merchants eager to sell you a portable drive.

Be careful, though. You don’t want to purchase the first portable external hard drive that you come across. Instead, you should explore the Web sites that your Google search has brought up. This is the best way to discover for yourself the best prices on the various portable external hard drives that are available.

It’s important to know that portable external hard drives come with a wide variety of available storage. Most users don’t need more than a 500-gigabyte hard drive. But there are plenty of online retailers who sell portable hard drives that boast much more gigs. If you will be saving videos and photos, you might consider a portable external hard drive that does feature more storage capability.

You may also want to search for a portable hard drive at your local consumer electronics store. These stores will also have many options for you to choose from. Again, the wide variety of portable external hard drives may surprise you. But don’t be overwhelmed. If you’re a typical computer user – one who needs to backup mostly word-based documents – search for a reasonably priced portable external hard drive that comes with about 500 gigabytes worth of space.

The key is to not overpay for space that you’ll never need. It’s easy to do this, unfortunately, with so many versions of portable hard drives available. But if you remember your computing needs, and you research what makes for a good price, the odds are high that you’ll find that perfect portable external hard drive without spending a fortune.

If you don’t have a portable external hard drive connected to your desktop or laptop computer, you’re only asking for trouble. Think of all the important files that are on your computer’s hard drive now. Do you want to lose those? You might, if you’re not backing up your files to a portable external hard drive.

These are tough economic times. No one has much extra money to spare. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot of time to acquire a perfectly adequate and functional portable external hard drive.

These drives come with a wide range of storage capabilities. If you’re saving videos and photos – and a lot of them – you might want to purchase a portable external hard drive with a lot of gigs. But if you’re not, if you’re mostly saving text documents and written reports, than you can get by perfectly well with a portable external hard drive that comes with 500 gigabytes worth of space.

The good news is that portable hard drives with this amount of storage are usually quite affordable. In fact, the odds are good that you’ll be able to find one of these for around $100. That’s not much of an investment when you consider the grief that a portable external hard drive can save you.

The best place to start your search for a portable external hard drive is online. Try a simple Google search; you’ll be amazed at the number of pages you pull up.

Search these results. It’s the best way to determine a good price for the portable external hard drive that most interests you. Once you find a price that you’re comfortable with, you can either purchase your external hard drive online or in person at your local consumer electronics store.