Desktop External Hard Drive Search

[MELLY]

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Hello All,


I am the keeper of my large family's Photo & Video Archive and I desperately need a way to safely save our precious memories.

After a ton of research, I decided to start a library of external hard drives. To start I will need one to:

Do regular back-ups of my system
Keep all my photos
One for the safe copy of all my photos (in case of hard drive failure)
One for all my videos
One for the safe copy of all my videos (in case of hard drive failure)



Most of these will not be plugged in but filed until I need to update them etc.

What is the best way to go about this dream of mine?

What I need to know is what is the best External Hard Drive (1TB) to go
with for regular back-ups of my system. Something that will take care of the back-ups automatically if possible, if not, what software should I get?

What is what is the best External Hard Drive (1TB) to go
with for my photo, video etc.?

I would also like to get a more portable, small hard drive to take along with me when I need it.


I realize that there is no such thing as a really dependable hard drive but I appreciate any input I can get here from those of you that have had a reliable experience over time with your external hard drives.


Thank you :>)


Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002
Dell XPS with Windows XP,
1GB DDR2 SDRAM AT 533MHZ
160GB SERIAL ATA,7200 RPM,DIM,P
256MB ATI HYPER MEM (I added another 256)

 

[r_manic]

I'd go with Western Digital, so far so good with their reliability record. Also, regarding your desired back-up setup, this old thread will help: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/232371-45-time-machine-windows

 

[MELLY]

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Thanks 4 your time.