Hard Drives > Less than 150 GB Hard Drives > ATA-100 > 60 GBP to 120 GBP

Advantages: Fast, Quiet and Reliable. Also fairly cheap!
Disadvantages: None

...around, I settled on the Toshiba MK8032GAX. I chose this disk for 3 reasons: Toshiba branding (I am a Toshiba fan), a large 8MB cache, and a competitive price scheme. I paid a lot more than you would now (I obtained the disk 3 months ago) The disk didn't dissapoint - I timed a Windows XP install at 25 minutes and 39 seconds, compared to the 42 minutes and 17 seconds with the original 10GB disk. The disk has never shown any reliability issues, and ...
...Toshiba is simple to set up. In most laptops you won't have to change any settings - Most laptops run the main hard disk as a primary master. Read speeds were reported at an above average 31.8MB/Sec, probably due to the increased 5400RPM spin speed. Write speeds were equally impressive at around 30MB/Sec. I remember the Speed Test result on the 10GB disk being around 10MB/Sec, so if you have an older laptop this hard disk may well be the upgrade ... Read review

Advantages: Maximizes the amount of data vs the cost of the product
Disadvantages: heat issues, cord connectivity, and small installation problems.

...but I honestly only order Maxtor for my hard drives. Now the only downside to the Maxtor 500 GB is that it is an external drive that, if not careful, can overheat and cause connectivity problems, transfer speed issues, or just annoyance from when the usb gets knocked out. That being said, if you can get past the downside of have an external I would recommend this product to anyone not using a Mac. The only reason I do not recommend this to Mac owners ... Read review

Advantages: memory, reliability, quality
Disadvantages: size, sound

...The Product - The Seagate pushbutton backup external hard drive 400 GB is a very sturdy and functional machine which gives more than good value for money (depending on the time you buy). Push button backup technology is fantastic although a little time consuming, the general idea is that a complete copy of your computer will be saved onto you external hard drive, if and when your computer messes things up (as will eventually be the case)then never ...
...and size is everything, the seagate hard drive has been designed to give the consumer what they want at a cheap affordable price (much to the buyers delight) setting up the external hard drive on you computer is just too easy, plug the mains in, connect the usb into your computer then press the power/backup button on the front of your hard drive and the job is well and trully a good un'. of course your computer will automatically detect your device, ... Read review

Advantages: Portable, easy to use, never failed on me yet!
Disadvantages: Perhaps only the disc size, but it has taken me 2 years to fill it!

Wester Digital, a respected brand name, and i agree! I have owned the unit now for around 2 years, and have 0 problems. My internal hard drive has died on me twice but my external one, never! This 80gb HDD is perfect for storing large files, home movies, photo albums, music etc. It's ideal when transfering data from one place to another, simply unplug it, plug it in elsehwre and hey presto! It supports drag & drop so moving files couldn't be easier. ...
...2.0 connection to your pc, mac, server etc. It is easily recognised by each operating system and i have yet to find one that doesn't support the unit. Plug it in, wait around 30secs and it's up and running. Can be stored horizontally, and if you have 3 like me, you can stack them perfectly, or store them vertically with the feet attahcments that come with the unit. Quick response time from pushing the ''On'' button which in itself gives off a nice ... Read review

Advantages: When working - Fast, convenient, massive capacity.
Disadvantages: Not reliable

Started off very well. Plug and play as promised, via USB. Very easy to use, quick access : very simple to create folders and upload all those things you want to backup (you do keep backups, don't you?!). So on went all my MP3s, pictures, software, in case of a disk crash on my PC No problems for the first 8 months. Then it stopped working. Looked like it just wouldn't power up (green light only faintly flickered). Try to take back to shop under ...
...NO data transfer. The word 'limited' is the key here. Overall very dissatisfied. A so-called high quality product which has proved to be very shoddy with no after-sales backup. Oh, and it came with a free Trojan virus. Having read many other reviews for the same product, the above I have described is not uncommon. I wouldn't buy another one. ... Read review