hard

When it comes to ultrabooks, you have to pick between a solid-state drive (SSD) or a hard drive as the main storage drive. The former is generally limited in terms of capacity, expensive but very fast, while the latter offers much more storage space for a much lower cost.

If you're willing to go with a hard drive, WD now offers another option.

The company announced today the availability of the new single-platter WD Scorpio Blue hard drive. The drive still uses the 2.5-inch standard but is just 7mm thick, as opposed to 9.5mm in regular laptop hard drives. … Read more

Beside death and taxes -- and April 17 is approaching, in case you don't pay attention -- the loss of data might be the third thing that's certain in life; it's just a matter of time. But there's hope.

Since you can file an extension to do the tax return, which you should avoid, there's also a way for you to further prevent data loss, which you definitely should do. And the Solo G3 from IoSafe is one of the best, if not the best solution, all things considered.

In a nutshell it's an … Read more

The 2.5-inch standard Vertex 4 solid-state drive (SSD) is a clear signal that OCZ wants to move to use its own Indilix Everest controllers rather than those from SandForce, which was used in the Vertex 3.

And that would be a good decision. The new Vertex 4 now uses the second generation (Everest 2) of the controller and offered great performance in my testing.

It's the first SSD I've seen that took just a second to be formatted and was immediately recognized by the system when used as a secondary drive.… Read more

While Mac users can use the recently reviewed Windows-preformatted 2TB WD My Passport portable drive, they now have another drive to call their own.

Western Digital announced today the new My Passport Studio, which increased the storage space to up to 2TB. Similar to the existing My Passport Studio, the new drive offers USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 connectivity in the place of USB 3.0. This is because Macs generally don't support USB 3.0, leaving FireWire 800 the only second fastest peripheral connection to Thunderbolt. In fact the new 2TB model shares the same design as the current 1TB model with the all-metal casing. … Read more

The WD My Passport, the first-ever 2TB portable drive WD introduced last week, turned out to be pretty impressive.

Despite the fact that it offers the top capacity for 2.5-inch-based drives that use the current perpendicular recording technology, the drive is also compact and light. In fact, it's more compact than the My Passport Studio that offers just half of its storage space.

Originally, it was predicted that for 2.5-inch internal drives -- those housed inside portable drives like the new My Passport -- to reach 2TB, a new recording technology would be required. WD's My … Read more

Editors' note: This blog was originally posted on March 30, 2012, and updated on March 29, 2013, to update the list of devices and add relevant information.

This last Sunday of March is World Backup Day, and you'll see a lot of storage/backup vendors taking this occasion to pitch their products. I am about to do a similar thing, but from a very different point of view: yours.

This is because none of the existing vendors goes as far as guaranteeing the integrity of storage on the products. At most, a vendor would give you a new product to replace the broken one, or in the currently unique case of IoSafe, offer to pay up to a certain amount toward data recovery. I, on the other hand, promise, if not guarantee, that if you follow my advice, your data will be safe.… Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week people wrote in with questions on external hard drives appearing as read-only, Apple's USB modem not working after upgrading to OS X Lion, whether triple-booting OS X and Windows will work properly, and Safari's menu bar disappearing after zooming the window. We welcome alternative approaches and views from readers, so if you have any suggestions, post them in the comments!

Question: External hard drive appearing as read-only MacFixIt reader Orlando asks:

Tomorrow, as we've mentioned, is known in some quarters as World Backup Day. While we at Crave like to think of every day as Backup Day, we also understand that life (in the form of laziness, procrastination, and lack of a backup device) can get in the way of even the best backup intentions. This week's giveaway is here to help.

The winner will score an IoSafe Solo G3 external hard drive. As CNET's storage and networking reviewer Dong Ngo has personally discovered, the disaster-proof SoloPro lineup can survive serious abuse. For its part, the Solo G3 is designed to withstand temperatures up to 1,550 degrees Fahrenheit, submersion in 10-foot-deep water for up to three days, and other extreme conditions (but, hey, don't get carried away).

The Solo G3, like its predecessor, houses just one 3.5-inch internal hard drive. However, unlike the previous version, it sports a fanless design, making for nearly silent operation. It measures 5 inches by 7.1 inches by 11 inches, weighs 15 pounds, and is compatible with Windows and Mac.

Normally, the IoSafe Solo G3 external hard drive would cost you $299.99, but you have the chance to score one free. So how do you go about trying to win? Please read carefully; there will be a test (and please, whatever you do, back up your answers). … Read more

This is an update of a post from a few months ago.

For a long time I was a solid-state-drive naysayer. I'd heard mixed things about their performance and longevity, and I certainly wasn't a fan of their sky-high prices.

But SSDs have improved considerably over the years, to the point where they're now a highly desirable alternative to traditional hard drives.

Indeed, a good SSD is usually significantly faster, and it consumes less power -- a big consideration for battery-conscious laptop users. Also, because it has no moving parts, it's much less susceptible to damage.… Read more