Topic: What' s the Best External Firewire Drive (Read 9475 times)

andyg · « **on:** December 31, 2005, 09:41:01 AM »

What are some of the best external firewire drives? Also what features/specs should I look for (size, rpm, etc.)

I'm a home studio guy who is about to eat up the remaining space on my current drive (which is an EZ Quest). I haven't purchased a new drive in over a year and that's why I'm asking what the current opinion is...Thanks

Greg Youngman · « **Reply #1 on:** January 02, 2006, 05:43:20 PM »

All the brands seem to have their lemons. I just purchased some Maxtors. Places like Staples and Best Buy are running specials. They're cheap.

compasspnt · « **Reply #2 on:** January 02, 2006, 08:16:02 PM »

We've had great luck with these;

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/fw800-drives/

PookyNMR · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2006, 04:44:48 PM »

I would second Terry's comment on the OWC drives. I've had nothing but good performance from them.

djui5 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 03, 2006, 08:08:49 PM »

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEF W912AL2/

I bought this bastard...stuck 2 WD 250GB drives in it, wrote some stuff to it and turned it off.

I turned it back on today and it's clanking really loud...won't show up on the desktop....etc etc.

Don't know if it's the drives or the enclosure...

Greg Thompson · « **Reply #5 on:** January 04, 2006, 07:35:08 PM »

Seagates seem to have the best warranties on their drives.
I stand by a company that stands by its product.
I've had trouble with Western Digitals.

overeasy · « **Reply #6 on:** January 05, 2006, 06:58:05 AM »

I would have to say STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ACOM DATA drives. I've seen 3 of them lock up and die.

PookyNMR · « **Reply #7 on:** January 05, 2006, 12:12:40 PM »

djui5 wrote on Tue, 03 January 2006 18:08

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEF W912AL2/

I bought this bastard...stuck 2 WD 250GB drives in it, wrote some stuff to it and turned it off.

I turned it back on today and it's clanking really loud...won't show up on the desktop....etc etc.

Don't know if it's the drives or the enclosure...

It's the drives. There seems to be a problem with the latest batch of WD 250 GB drives. I had one do the same thing to me.

Also, (note to all) don't forget to "eject" your volumes before you disconnect the FW cable or turn off the device. Failure to do so could result in lost data, damaged FW ports or damaged drives.

djui5 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 05, 2006, 02:15:48 PM »

PookyNMR wrote on Thu, 05 January 2006 10:12

It's the drives. There seems to be a problem with the latest batch of WD 250 GB drives. I had one do the same thing to me.

Also, (note to all) don't forget to "eject" your volumes before you disconnect the FW cable or turn off the device. Failure to do so could result in lost data, damaged FW ports or damaged drives.

Thanks! Guess I'll be sending those back. What sucks is I have information on them..

damm.

Jan Folkson · « **Reply #9 on:** January 05, 2006, 10:45:48 PM »

Just got wind of a bunch of guys that used to be with Quantegy that formed their own company called Avastor. Drives come with internal power supply and carrying case.

A bit pricier than the consumer stuff but I'm really getting tired of all those power supplies.

http://www.avastor.com/

Jonathan Heimberg · « **Reply #10 on:** January 05, 2006, 11:04:50 PM »

I've got two Maxtor One Touch drives, a 250 and a 300.

My 250 has traveled more than 300,000 miles with me in my suitcase, my carryon, in plastic baggies, been inspected by the TSA who knows how many times... and it still kicks butt.

Loved it so much i bought the 300.

Fry's always has great deals on these.

compasspnt · « **Reply #11 on:** January 06, 2006, 06:56:42 AM »

I Just bought some of these

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlis t&A=details&Q=&sku=325205&is=REG&addedTr oughType=categoryNavigation

for an upcoming production. (That's why they are now out of stock!) Hope they are good...will report.

By the way, whatever happened to 10k rpm drives? They were the rage, then suddenly everything is 7200.

Is this a positive harbinger spelling the potential death knell for 192?

Jonas as · « **Reply #12 on:** January 07, 2006, 12:25:57 AM »

I've had two of those maxtor one-touch drives die on me.
Both where 250Gb disks.

One of them at the very end of a productive day in the studio, just as I was going to back up.
not good.
Beware.

djui5 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 07, 2006, 02:56:45 AM »

compasspnt wrote on Fri, 06 January 2006 04:56

By the way, whatever happened to 10k rpm drives? They were the rage, then suddenly everything is 7200.

SATA happened.

There's no need to spend money on 10K drives for backup, and you can get SATA 10K drives internal to work off of. I have one, and it's great Smile

Way cheaper than SCSI......

wwittman · « **Reply #14 on:** January 08, 2006, 06:08:27 PM »

I've had mixed luck with almost every drive manufacturer.

I've sworn off Western Digital after one too many catastrophic crashes...

Maxtor has been spotty as well..

Mercury seems to be fairly reliable although every once in a while one refuses to mount somewhere but I have yet to have one actually CRASH, which is great.

Lately I've been having the most luck with LaCie's, but I admit that some people have told me they've had trouble with them. But so far *I* have them all purring away happily.

compasspnt · « **Reply #15 on:** January 09, 2006, 03:05:10 AM »

wwittman wrote on Sun, 08 January 2006 18:08

Lately I've been having the most luck with LaCie's, but I admit that some people have told me they've had trouble with them. But so far *I* have them all purring away happily.

Same experience here with Lacie, Wm.

UNTIL LAST WEEK that is. One of our Lacie 200's which had worked great for 6 months suddenly went south. Very depressing.

maxim · « **Reply #16 on:** January 09, 2006, 04:20:00 AM »

i have one of those lacie porsche drive and it's pretty small and cool and portable, but i can't bring myself to trusting it completely, so digital rule #1 still aplies

maxtor, caveat emptor

the seagate icecube has been with me for 5 years now, travelled across the world and back a few times, and it still purrs

(this message was typed while gripping tightly a large piece of wood)

aaaaah, the good old tape days

Invisible Member · « **Reply #17 on:** January 09, 2006, 10:44:30 AM »

Ive been using one of these for my video projects drive.

http://www.pacificproaudio.com/drives.asp

Peace,
Dennis

Spiritwalkerpro · « **Reply #18 on:** January 10, 2006, 12:19:07 PM »

Lacie D2 drives have been very good for me. Had trouble with Maxtor and western digital drives.

Norm

FireMoon · « **Reply #19 on:** January 27, 2006, 09:38:56 PM »

If its for recording to . i'd forget the offboard answer and go for a Western Digital Raptor on a SATA connection fitted internally in it own nice quiet cooling enclosure in a 5 inch drive bay.

I'd go for a couple of IDE drives on USB connections for storage..
WD Raptor 36 meg drive for OS and Apps.. and a WD Raptor 76 meg for recording to and working on mixes from.

Plus buy a copy of Perfect Disk 7 for degragmentation duties, it pees allover the one that comes with XP from a great height. It also allows you to offline defrag your swap file. Keeping your system drive tidy pays massive benefits across the whole of using a comp fullstop ,DON'T neglect the housekeeping.

nob turner · « **Reply #20 on:** January 29, 2006, 07:22:15 PM »

there are only three manufacturers of drive mechanisms left in the world: seagate/maxtor, western digital, and ibm/hitachi. after that, you are just talking about whose case the drive mechanism is mounted in. seagate and maxtor announced their merger in late december. and yes, the enclosures can fail... but that rarely leads to data loss, compared to the drive itself crashing.

everyone has a story of how SOME drive has failed... undoubtedly from every manufacturer. i am currently using drives from all 3 which have been in service for a long time and continue to function well. however, they will all eventually fail. ALL DRIVES FAIL. they are electromechanical units that cannot last forever. expecting otherwise is like expecting your car to run forever. anecdotal evidence in the past has suggested that of the IDE drives, seagate's barracudas were particularly reliable. they certainly maintained the longest warranty when everyone was shortening theirs. that may change with the merger.

personally, i have been buying drives for a couple of years from an online retailer--coolerexpress.com. i've found which enclosure seems to be reliable and relatively quiet (the bytecc plastic 3.5" model) and i have them put a seagate in it. currently a 160GB firewire unit sells for $114 plus tax and shipping. i will keep using these until i start having trouble with them.

the bottom line, as always, is to back up religiously.

thedoc · « **Reply #21 on:** January 29, 2006, 07:41:05 PM »

A few months ago I had stated the following, but I think it bears repeating. (I paraphrase...)

I went to a symposium at USC that was all about archival and storage. A speaker from Seagate was there (name forgotten, sorry) who is a expert in hard drive manufacture. He said that drives are designed to last a couple of years, but that most last longer than that. He also said that if a drive makes it past six months, that it will most likely last a few years.

He also made the point that drives may LOOK like they are hermetically sealed, but that they are not. dirty air, bouncing around, moist air, these things kill drives.

I see people treating drives too roughly and assuming too much too often...!

An important file that exists on only one drive does not exist at all!

Have you kissed your RAID today?

minister · « **Reply #22 on:** January 30, 2006, 01:23:39 AM »

thedoc wrote on Sun, 29 January 2006 18:41

went to a symposium at USC that was all about archival and storage. A speaker from Seagate was there (name forgotten, sorry) who is a expert in hard drive manufacture. He said that drives are designed to last a couple of years, but that most last longer than that. He also said that if a drive makes it past six months, that it will most likely last a few years.

so, what would he say to my seagate cheetah SCSI drives that i have had for 6 years and show no signhs of slowing down?

thedoc · « **Reply #23 on:** January 30, 2006, 01:30:02 PM »

Well he did say that most drives last longer than their original design target, so it's all good. I have a ton of the very same drives that you have and they have been spinning for years. I was surprised when he said that they are designed to work for 2 or 3 years, but i guess that they were built well.

You probably also do not throw your drives in a backpack and head to the beach.

minister · « **Reply #24 on:** January 30, 2006, 05:01:51 PM »

thedoc wrote on Mon, 30 January 2006 12:30

You probably also do not throw your drives in a backpack and head to the beach.

well...i DO!...but i leave the backpack at the studio and go to the beach driveless!

thedoc · « **Reply #25 on:** January 30, 2006, 05:19:40 PM »

LOL...

Sand in your hard drive is worse than sand in your shorts.

compasspnt · « **Reply #26 on:** February 09, 2006, 04:07:24 PM »

compasspnt wrote on Fri, 06 January 2006 06:56

I just bought some of these

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlis t&A=details&Q=&sku=325205&is=REG&addedTr oughType=categoryNavigation

for an upcoming production. (That's why they are now out of stock!) Hope they are good...will report...

OK. I've used the Glyphs now everyday, very hard, for over five weeks, and not a single hiccup. I don't know which brand mechanism is inside them, but the cases and psu's have been excellent. One thing I really like about them over the OWC's (my other fave) and the Lacie's is the IEC mains plug instead of the little in-between-psu-thingie. Those can get lost, and create a minor dilemma at times.

Best regards.

Tidewater · « **Reply #27 on:** February 09, 2006, 04:45:22 PM »

Fibes just lost one of two LaCie controllers... drive intact, as far as we can tell.

Box dead.

M

compasspnt · « **Reply #28 on:** February 09, 2006, 08:24:58 PM »

DivideByZero wrote on Thu, 09 February 2006 16:45

Fibes just lost one of two LaCie controllers... drive intact, as far as we can tell.

Box dead.

M

Yep. Just lost a Lacie here as well.

Revolt? Mutiny?

maxim · « **Reply #29 on:** February 09, 2006, 08:32:58 PM »

terry wrote:

"Yep. Just lost a Lacie here as well.

Revolt? Mutiny?"

nope, it just didn't like what you said about it in a public forum

was the drive connected to the internet?

you do the sums

Tidewater · « **Reply #30 on:** February 10, 2006, 11:31:13 AM »

compasspnt wrote on Thu, 09 February 2006 20:24

Yep. Just lost a Lacie here as well.

Revolt? Mutiny?

The drive power supply died.

I would say revolt_and_mutiny.. but when I showed up last PM, he had a brand new LaCie. Let's make fun of him.

M

Fibes · « **Reply #31 on:** February 10, 2006, 01:30:10 PM »

DivideByZero wrote on Fri, 10 February 2006 11:31

compasspnt wrote on Thu, 09 February 2006 20:24

Yep. Just lost a Lacie here as well.

Revolt? Mutiny?

The drive power supply died.

I would say revolt_and_mutiny.. but when I showed up last PM, he had a brand new LaCie. Let's make fun of him.

M

Please do.

But first i need to know where to send a dead drive for extraction. Didn't really lose anything except for a point in time i'd like to keep. And my whole freaking Itunes list.

compasspnt · « **Reply #32 on:** February 10, 2006, 05:44:59 PM »

Fibes wrote on Fri, 10 February 2006 13:30

...i need to know where to send a dead drive for extraction. Didn't really lose anything except for a point in time i'd like to keep. And my whole freaking Itunes list.

http://www.drivesavers.com/

Fibes · « **Reply #33 on:** February 11, 2006, 05:01:30 PM »

compasspnt wrote on Fri, 10 February 2006 17:44

Fibes wrote on Fri, 10 February 2006 13:30

...i need to know where to send a dead drive for extraction. Didn't really lose anything except for a point in time i'd like to keep. And my whole freaking Itunes list.

http://www.drivesavers.com/

Thanks Terry. that's the one that keeps coming up.

I spoke to Ryan over there and he seems real cool. This is prolly a 1,700 dollar job if i decide i need any of this stuff.

Next time i'm backing up my refernce Itunes files too, it takes too long to reload the cds.

Tidewater · « **Reply #34 on:** February 11, 2006, 06:08:11 PM »

We could pull the platters...

Twisted Evil

It's fun to win.

M

leonardo valvassori · « **Reply #35 on:** February 17, 2006, 12:27:00 PM »

Great thread!
I just went through my first major drive failure with a 6 mos old WD160, ironically, while preparing for a backup. It seems no make or brand is bullet proof so obviously proper backup and archiving is the order of the day. FWIW, I have drives by Maxtor(3 yrs still humming), Seagate (1 yr and fine) as well.
WD service dept. was live on the phone, helpful and courteous. The drive was replaced within 5 biz days.

For anyone here in Toronto, I've found an absolute saviour for data retrieval:

TwinBytes
Daniel Gauthier
www.twinbytes.ca

Daniel was very knowledgeable, picked up the drive at my studio, saved and transferred my data to a new drive and returned it within 3 biz days. All at a VERY reasonable rate.

Question: for those of you PC based. Do you format FAT32 or NTFS
and why...and Terry what sample rate do you record in PT?

Cheers all,

R/E/P Community

Author Topic: What' s the Best External Firewire Drive (Read 9475 times)