EHD Advice

[lisa.hinrichs]

I am thinking about investing in a new EHD. I am currently using the same one that we back up both our computers and even though there is plenty of room left, I am nervous about carting around what what indended as a back up plan.

It is also rather bulky, about the size of a large journal and has the USB port and a power supply. Do they make any that do not require an independent power supply. What would you recomend.

[Mary Rogers]

I just bought two more Western Digital - 250GB for $60 each at walmart..I just filled one with photos and am putting it in our safe deposit box

all it needs to hookup is a small usb cable, which is included...it is about the size of a photo 3x5...they had cool colors as well.

We also have two FreeAgents that are about the same

[hguenthe]

Do you know about what size you are looking for? Is it going to be just for your supplies and some layouts? Will you still back up to the other EHD as your backup plan?

If it is just your supplies and some layouts, another option you could consider is one of the large usb flash drives.

They now come in many sizes including large ones at 32GB, 64GB and 128GB for not too unreasonable prices. The 128GB is quite pricy but the 32GB & 64GB are in the $75 and $120-150 range.

They are very convenient for porting around if you are just looking for something easy to take your supplies along with you and save layouts to. You can save a lot of supplies and layouts in 64GB still.

[faerywings]

I have two ehds, my portable is a Western Digital Passport ( can't remember size). I use that o keep all of my ACDSee program and scrap stuff on it. I can move it between my desktop and laptop and scrap away from home very easily.

I also have a WD My Book that is supposed to be able to back up my entire computer, but I screwed up the settings and it hasn't be automatically backing up.
DH has a My Book terabyte size and his works fine.

If you use ACDsee photo Manager for organizing, I know there are some issues with some Seagate ehd's but there are also workarounds if that it what you end up with.

[geekgirl415]

I have a Toshiba and there is no separate power supply for it. It's the size of a passport wallet - it was about $99 8 months ago. I love Heather's idea about getting a back up back up EHD and keeping it in the safe deposit box.

[KerryMac]

I have 3 Toshiba EHD's. A 500, a 250 and a 320 GB. I bet they're the same ones as Denise has, from her description. I like the physical size and so far they've been very dependable. I can't say that about the Western Digital and Seagates that I've had!

[sweetpeony]

I have two Seagates, a 320 and a 1T. Automatic backup works fine on the 1T for my photos and kits. The AB on the 320 backs up the whole laptop each time and zips the backup. No problems so far, except sometimes when the 1T is plugged in it messes with my Internet connection.

My backup DVDs are (mostly) in the firesafe, but a EHD would be lots easier, both to backup and to find files - Thanks for the tip, Heather!

[lisa.hinrichs]

Wow, thanks for the great input. I think I am going to invest in a little passport. The 250 will last me quite a while, if I keep just my supplies, photo's and current projects. I can then put my origional EHD back into back up mode, and store it away in a separate location again.

I also liked Heather's thoughts on the memory sticks. They really have dropped in price lately. They would work great for items that I won't access often, like finished projects that have been printed. They are also very portable for taking in for more prints.

Thanks again.