I am in need of more digital storage, so I started looking for an external hard drive. Back in 2009 I got a Toshiba 320GB External Drive [USB 2.0]. That drive is still working flawlessly as it always has. So naturally, the first drives I look at are the current Toshiba line up. MANY reviews, claiming that there are issues with the drive not mounting properly, and not being recognized by windows, or only doing so sporadically. So, I started looking at WD drives... same thing. Not even considering seagate because of different issues. BTW... reviews I read come from numerous sources (amazon, new egg, tiger direct, bestbuy.com, and the companies' own forums) Basically I've come to the conclusion that its not the HDD's themselves that are bad, but either the bridge (SATA to USB interface), the USB 3.0 micro-b ports (pictured at bottom), and/or the USB 3.0 cables that are included with these drives. Some reviewers are saying that wiggling the cable, applying pressure, fiddling with it, will get it to work temporarily. Others are saying they crack open the housing, remove the drive and put in a different enclosure. So, can it be, that the USB 3.0 micro-b interface itself it just garbage? I won't even be utilizing the USB 3.0, at least not for now, because my laptop only has USB 2.0, But you can't really even find USB 2.0 drives around anymore. Does anyone have/or had a Toshiba Canvio or WD my passport that has worked without issue? specifically the connectivity issues listed.
Don't believe what you read on the internet! What's with that micro-interface? You won't find many things that have that socket anyway, most USB-3 ports are just blue versions of the USB-2 ones. Go buy one, bet you don't have an issue, and if you do it's under warranty.
When reading online reviews, I always take them with a grain of salt, but in this case its hard to ignore because of the overwhelming consistincey of the claims. Most, if not all, external hard drives come with "micro" ports on the actual drive itself, and the end that goes into your computer is the full size one.
I've got a few Seagates and a Western Digital external for home use, and lots of HP and Seagates for work use. I would say the 2TB 3.0 Seagate non-portable is the fastest of the bunch. Can't really go wrong with any of them though, the oldest is 3 years and is still kicking.
Mmhm. I've had a 2tb wd passport for almost a year. No issues with the drive itself. Although sometimes it takes awhile to load my folders, there is a lot of stuff on the hdd. Also it only works with some of my usb ports. I'm pretty happy with it. Just to explain it better it maybe takes twenty seconds to load all the folders on the drive if I haven't accessed it in awhile. It always connects right away with the usb drives in front of my pc. The ones in the back don't work with it but I'm not sure they ever have.
to both of you... Are the drives you're mentioning USB 3.0, with connectors like pictured in my OP? or 2.0? Because from what I can tell, the potential issues seem to be related to the USB 3.0 connectors, cables, and/or bridge.