Best Mobile Hard Disk

[John Gilmore]

I'm trying to decide on a mobile hard drive for field backups.

I'm considering the Lacie Rugged and the Western Digital Passport.

I've heard some negative comments about the reliability of the Lacie units.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

[Robert Young]

I used the WD Passports (the very small ones) and had reliability problems with video files. It wasn't clear to me the exact source of the problem, but I quit using them for video.
On Philip Bloom's recommendation I switched to Lacie Ruggeds. Phil claims to have beat them up pretty badly over 2 years time with nary a problem.
Mine seem pretty bulletproof so far.

[Paul Cronin]

Gdrive mini's work great. I have 4 of them one RAID and three 200GB storage. Small, well built, fast, and stay pretty cool while in use. Bonus nice carry case.

[Andy Schocken]

I just bought an OWC Mercury on-the-go drive. Largest capacity on the market in a mini bus-powered drive at 500gb, and it's been favorably reviewed.

[Jurgen Taghon]

Lacie rugged : no problem till know, traveling al over the world.

[Dave Morrison]

Begin LaCie rant ---->

You know, these threads are like asking somebody why they use <insert favorite operating system here> or which of their children is their favorite. As to portable HD's, I just bought the same OWC On-the-Go case as Andy and it's doing a fine job. I also feel fairly sure if I have a problem with the case, the OWC folks will help me. However, when you go with a "big" brand like LaCie, you'd expect no less service.

They have their cases designed by some very talented industrial designers. I know because I have shelves full of the older blue and silver models as well as the more recent d2 series that I used in rackmount applications. Then, they go out and buy the bridge chipsets to sit between their lovely case and the lovely <insert brand name here> hard drive. You never know what brand of HD you're getting with a LaCie and, frankly, that's okay with me. However, what's NOT okay, is when the bridge chipset dies and LaCie won't even sell you a replacement. Or, when you have to replace multiple power bricks (do a Google search). But, we're talking about bus powered portables here so my problems with LaCie are only partially applicable.

What I'm trying to say (and maybe not very well) is that no matter what brand you get, be sure you can get replacement parts or some form of technical help if and when you need it. The OWC folks have impressed me lately.....the LaCie folks....not so much.

[Steve Gibbons]

Originally Posted by Robert Young

I used the WD Passports (the very small ones) and had reliability problems with video files. It wasn't clear to me the exact source of the problem, but I quit using them for video.
On Philip Bloom's recommendation I switched to Lacie Ruggeds. Phil claims to have beat them up pretty badly over 2 years time with nary a problem.
Mine seem pretty bulletproof so far.

I can echo this - WD Passports have been horrible for us. Our six production teams have LaCie Ruggeds now and so far no issues.

[Torv Carlsen]

I don't think you can go wrong with any G-Drive product. In my opinion, they make, hands down, the most reliable drives you can buy. If you're using it in a portable environment then I recommend this drive here:

http://www.g-technology.com/Products/G-DRIVE-mini.cfm

I'm using this one myself and its flawless with beautiful design in a really small form factor (slightly larger than an iPod Classic).

I've bought LaCie in the past and frankly I think they're horrible. Incredibly lousy support with drives that have a failure rate that is completely unacceptable. And the noise!! These suckers are so annoyingly loud that its like trying to edit next to a small plane doing an engine run-up. And should you be the unfortunate owner of a drive that fails, well you might as well use it as a doorstop because LaCie won't do a damn thing for you. In my case, the support person I spoke with could barely contain his contempt and impatience with what seemed to me was a routine support call. Basically, I hate LaCie products and won't buy anything they make after that experience.

On the other hand, I've called the folks at G-Technology and not only are they incredibly helpful, but they've responded with professionalism and courtesy and that to me, speaks volumes about the quality of their products.

[Dave Morrison]

Sounds like Torv and I were separated at birth. Hey Torv, you and I need some anti-LaCie t-shirts! ;)

[Andrew Hollister]

Interesting stuff here. I use Lacie 1TB Big Disk Extreme drives (triple interface). No, not very portable, but for me, rock solid. Never a complaint. Just this year I've done 2 large-ish projects, one at 2.5 hours, the other 16 total hours of EX footage. All frames in tact to this day.

I recently purchased, in a mad dash, a WD 1TB (triple interface) Yet the only port that works and has ever worked on this drive, Mac or PC is the USB 2 port. Very unreliable and scary to use. It's basically a dust collector.

I do like the look of the smaller Lacie rugged, and G-drive products. That would get my kit down in weight tremendously.

[Christopher Witz]

hmmm... interesting.....

I've had very bad luck with lacie, and flawless use with WD.

I also have had bad luck with maxtor.

[Jason Bodnar]

I use the Lacie Rugged 160GB FW800....They work great!!! FW800 powered and plug right in the side of my MBP.

[Leonard Levy]

Has anyone used the "miniexpress 825S"
It has eSata , Firewire 800 and USB. Covers all bases and would be great for me.

I've always used the OWC's so far and no problems.

Lenny Levy

[Sean Malone]

What has been the experience with Firewire 800 vs 400?

Do you really realize faster transfer speeds?

I would think the disk speed would limit any noticeable performance. I’ve been looking at the G-Drive Mini (200G @ 7,200 rpm) and I trying to decide on the 800 option. My current lap top only has 400 but I’m planning to upgrade in a year.

[Jason Bodnar]

FW800 transfer is almost twice as fast as my FW400 drives transfer speed...