# Recommend an external drive **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015 "2010-05-11T05:13:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/1 "2010-05-11T05:13:37Z")
My dad is insistent that he needs a drive that is under 3"x5" in the smallest two dimensions so he can put it in a free safety deposit box. We were looking at this list: [HP GPUs / Video Graphics Cards - Newegg.com](http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150414%20131021336%2C2010150414%20131021336&page=2&bop=And&Order=REVIEWS&PageSize=20) He wants something 1TB, the mentioned size, name brand, that is almost bulletproof. He’s gotten deep into his digital camera and would be crushed if he lost his pictures. I’ve never had a HDD go down, so I tend to just buy something, but is there a manufacturer or model that is the Honda of HDDs? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/2 "2010-05-11T16:03:12Z")
Look to [Seagate](http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/) and [Western Digital](http://www.wdc.com/en/) hard drives. Buy from [TigerDirect](http://www.tigerdirect.com/) and [New Egg](http://www.newegg.com/) and you won’t go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/3 "2010-05-11T17:13:42Z")
Personally, I have a few WD ones. All under 1tb though - because I like the convience of being able to plug it into the usb drive for power (as opposed to a power chord). I haven’t had any problems with WD, but I’d still have two, one as the ultimate back up and the other as the one I use regularly. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/4 "2010-05-11T17:54:33Z")
Those WD Passport drives, powered by USB, are great. No wall plug to worry about, and they use laptop hard drives, which seem to be more hardy than desktop hard drives. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/5 "2010-05-11T21:37:19Z")
Another vote here for the Western Digital Passports. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/6 "2010-05-11T21:43:38Z")
I also like the Western Digital Passport hard drives, because you don’t need an external power adapter (as they run off the USB port) but the largest one now available is 640GB. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/7 "2010-05-11T22:04:40Z")
OK, I was wrong. The Newegg link in the OP is showing a one terabyte Western Digital My Passport 2.5" drive. So that’s what I’d recommend. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/8 "2010-05-11T23:30:53Z")
Seagate Freeagent they have them in terabytes sizes too. > **[Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 500GB USB 2.0 3.5" External Hard Drive -...](https://www.newegg.com/seagate-freeagent-goflex-desk-500gb/p/N82E16822148235?Item=N82E16822148235)** > > Buy Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 500GB USB 2.0 3.5" External Hard Drive ST305004FDA1E1-RK with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! I have three 350mb ones. I like them because they have a wide base and don’t turn over. I’ve had mine a couple years and been very satisfied. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/9 "2010-05-11T23:43:14Z")
here’s the 1tb Seagate Freeagent same design but different color actually, I prefer the black & gold of the older ones > **[Seagate FreeAgent Desk 1TB USB 2.0 3.5" External Hard Drive Silver - Newegg.com](https://www.newegg.com/silver-seagate-freeagent-desk-1tb/p/N82E16822148356)** > > Buy Seagate FreeAgent Desk 1TB USB 2.0 3.5" External Hard Drive ST310005FDA2E1-RK Silver with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/10 "2010-05-12T14:20:29Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > My dad is insistent that he needs a drive that is under 3"x5" in the smallest two dimensions so he can put it in a free safety deposit box. To satisfy the size requirement, you will need to get a 2.5" drive. This limits your options (especially for large capacity units), but both the WD Passport and Seagate FreeAgent Go drives are in that category. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/11 "2010-05-12T14:35:06Z")
Doh! It looks like both the Passport and Go drives are slightly larger than your space requirements. You could go with something like this [LaCie 640GB](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154415) drive which would fit, or just buy the drive and case separately. There are many 2.5" cases that are well within your size constraints. Here is a [WD 750GB](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136546) for $110 and a popular [Nippon Labs case](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817816001) for $12. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/12 "2010-05-12T16:32:53Z")
He should buy two (or more) and cycle them. Data doesn’t stay on hard drives indefinitely. And hard drives fail. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-external-drive/539015/13 "2010-05-12T17:29:47Z")
The other reason to have two external drives is to rotate them between the safe deposit box and the house. So one is always offsite.