I loved my previous Back-Up Drive because it was so easy to use. Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus. Not only would it back up the entire PC when I scheduled it weekly it had a button on the front that when pushed would immediately back up the drive. This drive saved my life when my working computer at the time went belly up. Well it went belly up because of this back up drive. After the computer died I learned that this drive was known to create Blue Screens of Death which it did to the other computer and the new computer I transfered everything to. Once I got rid of it from the new computer the BSOD disappeared. Needless to say that drive went into the trash. I did manage to get the other computer up and running after getting rid of the drive on that one too.

Sorry for the long story but I am now looking for another External Back-Up drive that is as easy to use with backup software. I don't need a big one as I keep a clean PC so a 300 or 500 GB is way more than I need and I only wish to use it for backing up everything on my main computer not saving games or using at as a second hard drive. Any suggestions???

I have a Seagate Go that I really like.

Hi Draclvr

Thats scary...Seagate is who made the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus. What do you like about the Go and is it now called the FreeAgent® GoFlex™ Drives?

I have a Western Digital that I got at Costco that causes me no problems. It has it's own backup software, you set it and forget it. I use Carbonite online backup on the desktop and the WD on the laptop.

I think mine is one of the My Passport ones, I was just looking at the Costco coupon book and the 1TB is on instant savings for a cost of $99.99. In the description is says features WD Smartware Automatic Backup and Hardware Encryption. I know that mine can be used on more than one computer.

The only part that was a bit of a pain is when I already installed it, then took it off, I had to go through tech support to reinstall it. It is just a failsafe to keep others out in case the drive was stolen.

I had a Maxtor for a long time too. Actually the one I have now is not a Flex - it's a older version which is much simpler from what I read. I've been using it for almost 3 years now with no problems at all - unlike the Maxtor which caused any number of problems.

Thanks Hawka and Drac

I will look into those. Do they also back up all the Windows OS to? Any other members have a backup drive they like?

I have a 1 Terabyte WDC My Book, never had an issue. I use it for drive imaging as well as media storage.

Pretty simple to use and very reliable. The price was right to boot.

As far as I know, none of them come with drive imaging software necessary to image the entire drive including the OS. So unless you have Windows 7, you would have to purchase imaging software separately. Most of them come with some form of backup software.

Drac

I was looking at this drive and it says it backs up the OS. If you have a minute see what you think.
Seagate® Replica



Thanks InlandAZ I will check out the Western Digitals too. Terribytes is way over what I would need, hope they have them smaller too.

Wow, that looks awesome, Greyfuss. I'll be anxious to hear what Inland thinks of it.

PCMagazine rated it very highly, but gave their Editor's Choice to one called Clickfree. You can read the review ***here***

Hey Drac, thanks for the link to the review, I hadn't read that one yet. I am finding mixed reviews but not enough to put me off yet. I am looking into the Clickfree now.

Edit: I can't seem to find the Editors Choice Clickfree Backup Drive on their site. I know it has to be there but I don't seem to know what I am looking for.

Is this what you're looking for? I just clicked on the link in the other article.

Clickfree Review

I don't think it backs up apps and the OS though.

Thank you Drac

You are the sweetest Tomato Queen I know

Why, thank you, kind sir! It was a bad tomato year, but we still got almost 50 gallons of salsa, pizza and spaghetti sauce. Good eating this winter! I'm making my famous garlic powder now and my garage smells heavenly!

I have a Seagate portable one and I don't particularly like it. There were no instructions and the online help wasn't much help.It is hard to tell for sure what has been backed up. It seems to be backing up the whole computer and I can't figure out how to get it to just back up the files I want it to save. IMO it is hard to use and I would get something different if I could do it over.

Hi Gatsbygirl

Thank you for your input. Do you know which Seagate you have as they make several external drives.

I have the Free Agent GoFlex 500GB. It might be just me since I am semi- literate when it comes to PC hardware. I am learning a lot here on Gameboomers.

Thanks Gatsbygirl

I will stay clear of that one. You are a good example of what I am looking for. A Backup drive should be easy to use even for a novice. My last drive was simple and thats what I am looking for in a new one.

Greyfuss,

Don't want to deter you from this as I am sure that it is a fine product, but for me, it has been difficult to use. You might be more technically savvy than I am. I agree with you that it is helpful to hear comments from "average" users.

Here's some ideas:

www.consumersearch.com/external-hard-drives

I have a Seagate 640 gig Freeagent Go drive I got at newegg for about $60. It came with Seagate Manager software. I don't have a problem with it.

If you're life is on your computer, you NEED some kind of backup. DVD's are OK too, but limited in capacity.

I can't stress this enough. Ahh, for the days when a tape drive did the job.

Albert

I love my Seagate Freeagent Go too and the software is fine. I've read that the software that comes with the GoFlex like gatsbygirl has is also good, but isn't quite as user-friendly.

Thanks for the link Albert