Calling all tech guys

[Strongers]

I got a hard drive delivered today and it seems to work but it has a tinkle when shaken - Like there is a tiny little loose screw inside the casing. I know nothing of such little black boxes and this maybe normal, which I doubt. Before I go marching into PC World with receipt in hand I thought I'd just ask on here to make sure that it isn't meant to make this noise.

It's Saturday tomorrow and a simple trip to PC World will turn into a two hour food shopping experience so I don't want to go unless it is knackered!

[Conrad]

Hi Strongers,

I am assuming you mean an external hard drive like this. The hard drive itself should most definitely not be making any tinkles when shaken they are vacuum sealed containers with discs inside that will disintegrate if they have shards in, so I think it is unlikely you have that. If it is in an enclosure like a portable drive it is most likely just the hard drive (which will be a stock bit) rattling in some way against the enclosure which should be a minimal issue. Regardless though it shouldn't really be rattling/tinkling.

If there was something loose inside the disc itself it would stop working within minutes normally, so it is unlikely to be anything more than a rattle in the enclosure, and if it were me I would be unlikely to be worried about a rattle. But if it is a simple enough job then it is probably best to get it replaced with something that doesn't rattle as it can't really mean anything good.

[Strongers]

Cheers Conrad,

Yes, External hard drive ahem

I didn’t think it was good. I thought that I'd ask as there is nothing worse than arguing with someone about a subject you know nothing about, unless a few jars have been sunk beforehand!

[trainman]

I am assuming you mean an external hard drive like this.

Is the above a back-up drive you'd endorse Conrad, or are they much of a muchness in quality/price?

Strongers, if it rattles I'd be taking it back, even if it meant a food-shopping punishment. Or leave it til Monday.

[Conrad]

Endorse, definitely not, I don't want you baying for my blood when it falls to bits . To be honest I just went to eBuyer, who I am happy to buy components off and did a search, if they have a decent amount of reviews and a good star rating it is probably fine. In the interests of offering options, the other online computer retailer I rate is Novatech (my first choice normally).

My feeling has always been that external hard drives are much of a muchness. It is probably an exageration, but they are one of those pieces of kit that I suspect are made up out of left over parts to try and get rid of them by the drive manufacturers. I am sure they come in variable quality, so for instance ones that don't rattle . They are just laptop hard-drives chucked in a plastic case with a tiny circuit added to allow them to connect through the usb port, as the usb port is slower than the normal internal connection there is a limit to how different the models are other than chucking fancy software preloaded on, which I think frequently confuses more than helps.

Any time I have got one (and they are undoubtedly handy), I have just found one in a sale and picked it up. They key thing is to make sure you get one that is big enough, doubling the size does not double the price, so it is a good economy to get one the right size. They are always getting bigger though, so plucking a number out of the air, make sure it will last you a year, and then it is probably just as cheap to get a second one after that year.

If you want a suggestion for one, or my thoughts on a specific device then do feel free to post, happy to give any feedback from my limited knowledge.

[trainman]

Ta. We still, stupidly, haven't changed the home resi package yet, but will most likely heed advice to back up stuff before the switch over.

[NickDavies]

As Conrad said.

We quite regularly get users clutching one of these devices hoping that we will fix it and and retrieve their life's work.
"So where's you back-up?" we ask.
"This is it".
"Well if that's the back-up you must have the original data then?"
Blank stare of bovine incomprehension.

[Conrad]

I do regularly see deals for these drives go buy, there was one last week.

I will try and remember to post them onto this thread, Nick is absolutely right it is essential to do back ups, and this is a relatively cheap and easy way to do them.

[trainman]

I do regularly see deals for these drives go buy, there was one last week.

A drive-by sighting?

[hondo]

rg has some IT problems