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If you had purchased an external hard drive and backed up your computer you would still have all of those files. But you didn’t, so now they’re all gone.
Hopefully you’ve never found yourself in this situation but, just in case, our experts have done a megaton of research to make our recommendations for the best external hard drive in various categories so you can pick which will work most effectively for you. Because, now you know just how important it is to backup your data!
Article Overview
- Best Hard Drives By Category
- Other Hard Drives Reviewed
- Using Time Machine on Macs
- Protect Your Data With Online Backup
Best External Hard Drives (By Category)
Our experts have reviewed hard drives in three categories: disaster proof, wireless, and portable. See a hard drive or category that’s not included and you’d like to see in our review? Let us know in the comments!
Disaster Proof: Lacie Rugged Mini
This LaCie Rugged Mini is our pick for the best disaster proof hard drive due to its shock, rain and pressure resistance. LaCie is owned by Seagate technology.
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Tech Specs
- Size: 3.5 x 1 x 5.5 inches
- Weight: 8 ounces
- Hard drive rotation speed: 5400 rpm
- 1-5 year warranty (depending on LaCie version)
Pricing
- 1TB External Hard Drive – $99.99
- 2TB External Hard Drive – Check Amazon for availability
- 4TB External Hard Drive – $144.99
Wireless: WD Passport
We’ve chosen the WD Passport as our winner in this category because of its small, thin size. And it doesn’t have to be plugged in to an outlet, so you can use this on the go.
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Tech Specs
- Size: 4.33 x 3.21 x 0.62 inches
- Weight: 5.4 ounces
- Hard drive rotational speed: 5400 rpm
- 3 year warranty
Pricing
- Passport 1TB External Hard Drive – Check Amazon for availability
- Passport 2TB External Hard Drive – $124.21
- Passport 3TB External Hard Drive – Check Amazon for availability
Portable: Seagate Backup Plus Slim
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim wins this category because of its slender size.
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Tech Specs
- Size: 4.47 x 2.99 x 0.48 inches
- Weight: 4.8 ounces
- Hard drive rotational speed: 5400rpm
- 2 year warranty
Pricing
- 1TB $99.99
- 2TB Check Amazon for availability
- 4TB $145.00
Other External Hard Drive Reviews
Below are reviews of other external hard drives for you to take into consideration.
HGST Touro S
HGST, Inc. was formerly known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. This HGST Touro S has no password protection and the company lacks in customer service.
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Tech Specs
- Size: 0.47 x 4.53 x 3.15 inches
- Weight: 5.4 ounces
- Hard drive rotational speed: 7200 rpm
- 2 year warranty
Pricing
Toshiba Canvio Basics
This Toshiba Canvio Basics has good customer service but doesn’t offer built-in password protection.
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Tech Specs
- Size: 4.7 x 3.1 x 0.59 inches
- Weight: 8.2 ounces
- Hard drive rotational speed: 5400rpm
- 1 year warranty
Pricing
How To Use Time Machine Backup On Apple
Need help backing up your computer? Here’s a tutorial on how to backup your computer if you have an Apple computer.
Backup Your Data Online (Into The Cloud)
But in the event of a natural disaster, or your hard drive simply getting too old, your data will still be at risk of loss. This is why our experts recommend making the primary backup of your data online, or to the cloud. We’ve reviewed the best online backup services with pricing, pros, cons, user reviews, member discounts, and more.
What are you most worried to lose on your computer in the case of a crash?
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Hi Admin,
This is nice information, Can you please tell us about the price of the 1TB Seagate External Hard Drive.
Thanks in Advance.
If you click through this Amazon link and select 1 TB you’ll see the price. This morning it was $49.99, but pricing on Amazon can change.
Thanks, Kimberly, I lost my data when my hard drive crashed. I read your article and saw all the different drives which suits me. I also purchased one.
Glad our article helped you John!
Kimberly, appreciate you taking the time to compare these, they all seem pretty comparable in terms of pricing for the size of the drive, so in your opinion is there one that stands out overall that you recommend?
Great question! I recently purchased an external hard drive and chose our pick for Best Wireless External Hard Drive: WD Passport. I like that I can use it on the go if need be and it doesn’t need to be plugged into an outlet. It is slim so it fits in a bag easily and it works great for my needs.
Except that the failure rate of the WD is high? Just as a hint: size and running noise are almost irrelevant when the backup fails miserably just like the main hdd – maybe you guys should also include reliability and rate of failure in your reviews.
I mean, what portable hdd will actually store your data without failing inexplicably in 6 months? Despite avoiding all mechanical or thermal shocks, safe storage and all.. This should be more important than mate finish, small pocket size or transfer rate!
Hear Hear!