Network drive recommendations please

[dlanter]

I recently had a cheap Netgear NAS drive crash and I am shopping for a replacement. Actually it was one of the Seagate drives inside the Netgear that crashed and locked up the system. I was able to disable the bad drive and copy the data from the remaining drive to another external drive.

Anyway, I am looking for a network drive for just personal use on my home network of 1 desktop & 2 laptops all running XP Pro. Being able to access the network drive via internet from another location would be real nice, but not a must. I would like to have at least 2 1Tb drives that would be set up to mirror each other and would like to be add more storage later if needed. Here is one that I have been looking at:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822165106

If in the future I connected a USB external drive directly to the network drive, would that added USB drive also become a network drive? If so, I'm sure it would be a lot slower.

I will be using this strictly for storage & backup. I will not be trying to stream movies from it or anything like that. Also I would like to be able to use my current backup software and not be forced to use another manufacturer specific program.

I'm afraid price is a consideration also. Any recommendations, suggestions, warnings, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[PhotoByLeal]

I bought this bad boy @ Fry's on sale for $249, but its going for $299... still a great NAS Hard Drive....

Maxtor 2TB Network Storage Retail Kit $299 plus it has a 5 year warranty! No one offers that!

good luck!

[dlanter]

Thanks Angel for the info. I'll look into it further but I just did a quick search & it looks like a discontinued model at other stores.

[PhotoByLeal]

Originally Posted by dlanter

Thanks Angel for the info. I'll look into it further but I just did a quick search & it looks like a discontinued model at other stores.

yep, but Fry's still has it in stock!
If the drive goes bad, Seagate will send you another one in the nexrt 5 years!
No one offers that kind of warranty for that kind of money for the NAS drives!
The Central Axis is being carried over from the Maxtor brand to the Seagate Brand!

Trust me I love my NAS drive!

[SpeedRacerSlots]

Give a try to a HP MediaSmart Server EX487.
Not only does it serve as a NAS with fully automated backup, it has the ability to remotely re-image a complete machine over the wire if the OS or whatever crashes. Really slick and been really handy when the kids mess up their machines.
Been able to re-image their machines (all applications and setting in-tact) and then restore the files and have a dysfunctional machine totally back to life in less than an hour.

[thirdspacephoto]

I just picked up a Netgear Readynas NV+.
Great device. RAID 5, networked, and it "just works"!
Couldn't recommend one of these things enough.
I came off of a Buffalo Terastation Pro. That was a fantastic device as well, but not as expandable as the ReadyNas.

[hhscr]

I am waiting on this to show up. I ordered it from Amazon and 4 tb drives to go in it.

It may be more that you wanted to spend but I will give an update once its up and running.

http://www.amazon.com/Bay-Nas-Amd-Pr...5125589&sr=8-1

[cooltouch]

I bought this Buffalo 1Tb NAS from Microcenter last week. Works perfect on the network, but data transfer at 100mbps is leisurely compared to USB. Still, it's already come in handy for our five-pc home network.

http://microcenter.com/single_produc...uct_id=0300010

Best,

Michael

[dlanter]

Thanks everyone for your recommendations. A couple of your suggestions are a little more than I was wanting to spend, but I'm not going to just get the cheapest either. I almost lost about 12k photos when my last cheap system failed.

I had another thought while searching online for backup solutions. Instead of getting 1 multiple drive RAID system how about if I used a single drive network unit and then got another single drive USB unit to plug into the network drive. I could setup an automatic backup for the second drive to mirror the first. My reason for this option is that not only would there be a backup drive duplicating the data, but if a power supply failed the second would still be running.

Or am I understanding how it would work correctly? If I used 2 separate drives, would the computers on the network see it & use it as 2 separate drives or would it be seen as 1 drive with the total capacity of them added together?

[Rson]

I love my Buffalo Link Station Duo. You can select Raid 0 or 1 and it has 1000MBs speed through my router.

I have had it for 2 years now with zero problems. You can connect your external to it, when you do it shows up as another drive on the device. You can also set permissions for other users and have external FTP access.

2tb for 349.00

http://buffalotech.pricegrabber.com/...num=LSW20TGLR1

[hhscr]

Watch out on the Seagate Freeagent series. I had a 1tb freeagent pro with usb and firewire. It only lasted 8 months and I was told that these enclosures have no cooling fans and the drives get too hot. Mine the bearings locked up, so no retrieval possible.

I was using this as a backup drive, so I still had all the data on another drive, but if I had been depending on it to come through for me in a pinch, I would have been in trouble.

This is what caused me to look into the RAID enclosure and spend more than I wanted too, but I am trying to prevent the loss if I lose another drive in the future.

Hope you find something that works.

Keep us updated.

[dlanter]

Thanks again everyone for helping make a smart & secure decision. I haven't ordered it yet but I think I'm leaning toward either the Buffalo or Maxtor mentioned above.

[PhotoByLeal]

Originally Posted by dlanter

Thanks again everyone for helping make a smart & secure decision. I haven't ordered it yet but I think I'm leaning toward either the Buffalo or Maxtor mentioned above.

Buffalo is great, but you only get a 1 year warranty and Seagate still makes that Hard Drive!!! Same things goes for Maxtor, but you get a 5 yr warranty!

Check out the info on the 2 TB Maxtor NAS Drive

Capacity (Model #)
2TB (STM320005CDA00G-RK)

RPM
7200

Cache Buffer
32MB

Connectivity
10/100/1000 RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet port

Product Dimensions
7.4"H x 2.02"W x 11.49"L 187.9 mm x 51.25 mm x 291.95 mm

Weight
2TB: 6.70lbs / 3.04kg

Compatibility
Mac and PC

[dlanter]

Well, I evidently thought about it too long. I was going to order the Maxtor this morning from Fry's and even though the website said it was available, my order wouldn't go through. So I called them and that drive is no longer available. So the Buffalo drive is ordered and should be here Fri. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend.

[Footin' Shool]

Originally Posted by PhotoByLeal

Buffalo is great, but you only get a 1 year warranty and Seagate still makes that Hard Drive!!! Same things goes for Maxtor, but you get a 5 yr warranty!

Check out the info on the 2 TB Maxtor NAS Drive

Capacity (Model #)
2TB (STM320005CDA00G-RK)

PhotoByLeal,

According to Maxtor's web site, the current 2TB NAS model is STM320004SDA20G-RK and it appears they only offer a "1 year limited warranty". They don't elaborate on what "limited" means

http://www.maxtor.com/en/hard-drive-...ual-drive.html