Best External Hard Drive Backup Choices?

Thank you everyone! I apologize that my initial post was somehow cut short (no doubt due to an error I caused). I do backup to time machine, but am getting errors on that external drive and now time machine won’t even back up as it says it cannot access the hard drive.

Any suggestions on how to deal with that - perhaps a way to check the disk? I have DriveGenius but frankly feel a little intimidated by it so I haven’t done much with it yet.

I think I will do a deeper dive on the 3-2-1 strategy, as well as looking at the Backblaze stats too. Thank you @bowline for that suggestion.

I hadn’t thought of testing the drives before hand, so thanks @Timo for that suggestion.

@glenthompson, how would you suggest testing the backup data? Is it as simple as accessing some files on the drive?

Thanks to everyone else who suggested drives and backup strategies. I appreciate the help!

The easiest way to test a backup is to rename or move a file then try to restore it. Open it with the associated app and verify that it works. Also use a file you change frequently and see that you can restore different versions.

One of the scenarios we tested in corporate disaster recovery was to bring up the backup data center without access to designated people. In a home situation the it might be good to see if your spouse can restore a backup without your help.

My philosophy is that if you don’t test the backup, you don’t have a backup.

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@glenthompson your last comment reminds me of this website!

The Tao of Backup

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I would avoid the cheap 2.5” Seagate backuo Drives. After many failing I finally moved to more robust 3.5” Toshiba drives and an external SSD.

G-Technology has proven to be the most reliable.

High rate of failures:
Western Digital
Seagate

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Do you have a citation for that definitive claim?

Which specific models/capacities, and which mechanisms are used in them?

10+ years of work experience.
G-Drives are the best (nothing is perfect) no matter what model.

WD and Seagate are the ones to fail.

When I was working at the Apple store and Apple had WD on the floor to demo time machine these drives were already failing in the store…

Since G doesn’t manufacture their own drives, you’re saying that mechanisms chosen for those cases - of unknown provenance - all are somehow superior overall to any other branded mechanism and case? For me that’s a bit difficult to wholeheartedly accept without any supportive evidence from other sources. I’m glad those drives worked out for you, though.

Its about the construction of the enclosure, ventilation, cooling, and the chipset used.
Then the quality of the USB / FW etc connections. For example the WD passport Mini USB connection is a very weak spot. And when it breaks you are dead in the water since its integrated into the 2.5" drive therefor you cant put it in a drive dock.

As for the internal drive, there are many doors on the backside of each factory. Each speweing out a similar looking drive but with diffeent quality.

For example the WD Black and Red are my go-to drives for Mac’s and Servers.
For a while Apple used Seagate in their iMac’s, no longer for a very good reason.

Recently I attended a Synology workshop. Seagate was a guest speaker and offered a lottery to win their drives. Most of us did not even bother to sign up. Non of us cared about their generous warranty program. The headage of replacing a failed drive is not worth it…

According to Wikipedia:

[G-Technology] is owned by HGST, a subsidiary of Western Digital.[2]

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"It … "? Are you referring to G-Technology?

Yes, G-Technology is just a subsidiary brand of Western Digital, with good marketing :sunglasses: since even MacExpert wrote WD drives" are the ones to fail"

The fact is that different models of drives have different case designs over time, and those cases sometimes are of varying (or improving, or decreasing) quality. It’s therefore incumbent on people to not make overarching claims, especially without any supportive evidence.

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Howdy Everyone,

To replace my aging mid-2011 Macbook Air, I’m going to be getting a new Mac Mini in the spring with 512GB internal SSD. I plan on getting an external harddrive for various types of backups, with the following planned (though not final) setup. I’m considering possibly:

  1. Time Machine partition (between 1 and 1.5TB)
  2. Clone partition (500GB)
  3. Misc storage partition (rest of the drive space) - this would house backups of various Synology folders, clone of my wife’s windows laptop, misc archived storage, etc.

The internal drive and the misc storage partition will be backed up via Backblaze.

I’m considering either the G-Technology G-Drive USB C 8TB drive or an OWC Mercury Pro Enclosure with a 6TB WD Blue drive. Based on this thread, I’m assuming I couldn’t go wrong with either?

Also, the Mac Mini will always be on and the external drive always plugged in and on. Would I be ok to leave the external drive sitting on top of the mac mini to save some desktop space? Or would that make either too hot?

I know your question is looking for information on quality back up drives, but I would like to comment on your partitioning and back up strategy.

It is not a good idea to have both your clone and your time capsule backups in the same drive. A drive failure will wipe out both of your backups. Better to have them on separate physical drives. You should also include some sort of cloud backup as well DSG you alsways have an off-site copy.

I am also not a fan of keeping your backup drive in the vicinity of your computer. A break in and the thief has both your computer and all your backup data. You are left starting from scratch.

I have my time capsule drive in a separate location from my computer and I use a separate drive to do SuperDuper clones. I store (hide) this drive in a location away from the computer and in a place that does not look interesting to a thief. I utilize Backblaze for off site, last resort backups.

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As already covered off site back-up is always a great move. I used CCC to back up to my brothers Mac 100 miles away and he backs up to mine in return. My suggestion find a family member or trusted friends and do the same.

I’m still goign to keep the Time Machine partition and the misc backup partition on the harddrive connected to the mac mini. But i could repurpose an old portable external drive for my clone and keep it somewhere else.

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I recommend using a drive made for a NAS, such as the WD Red NAS drive. From what I’ve read, NAS drives are engineered for always-on environments.

Excellent choice! Now, about your original question: There are many negative comments regarding WD drives elsewhere on this forum, and I personally have not had good luck with them. I have had really good luck with Seagate. And I heartily endorse @JohnAtl’s recommendation to get a drive that is meant for NAS usage.

Knock on wood my G-drive has been bullet proof.

Just to put this out there… EVERY hard drive WILL fail eventually.

Western Digital and Seagate are the 2 big players currently. In every Apple store you will find external drives from LaCie (Seagate) or G-Technology (Western Digital) for purchase. When I am asked which HD do I recommend, I suggest the one that can hold twice my data needs. I have been burned by both Seagate and WD in the past, so now my plan is to replace my drives every 5 years.

Having both an onsite and offsite backup solution is the smartest solution IMHO. Cloud based backup are great… but bringing everything back can be very slow. Having it on a HD can get you up and running quicker. Time Machine, SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner are all good options. Each has its pros and cons. Use what works best for your needs.

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