Re: External hard drive - Portable or not

[David Gibbs <david@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rick.Chevalier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Does anyone have experience with portable drives that can speak to
> their reliability, especially compared to a non-portable drive?  Are
> there any issues with the drives being USB powered?

To my mind the key element is the drive itself ... I usually tend to buy a solid drive and an external case.  I like Seagate drives and Vantec cases.  For a portable drive I get a solid laptop drive (speed isn't a critical factor for a USB attached drive) and the appropriately sized case.  

For portable cases I try to get one that can be powered by USB alone or by external power.

I've only had a few problems with usb only power ... and it's always been due to the usb power source rather than the drive itself (some USB ports don't provide full power it appears).

david