Cheap Ext. Refurb. For File Transfers

[dannyboy3210]

I find myself transferring a lot of files from one computer to another at home and am current using my dad's 500 GB external hard drive to do so. The problem is, he's using it as a media center and every time I "nab" it and then later plug it back in, he has to re-set up the whole shared folder thing and this is starting to tick him off.

I know this probable isn't the best time to buy a hard drive (well no duh), but I was looking at usb keys and saw these hard drives on sale at local stores.

One at Futureshop

One at Bestbuy

They are Western Digital 250 GB passports for 39.99$ CAD with free shipping, which is a great price (for me at least), but they are both refurbished units, which is where I become a bit skeptical. Both have 90 days labour warranty.

Does anyone think its worth the 40$ to pick one up, just for some file storage (not as a backup device, just for convenient file transferring when needed) even though they are refurbished units?

Oh yes, I was considering this instead of a 20$ 16 GB usb, seeing as its also a usb powered hard drive, costs double the price and has over 10x the storage capacity.

Any and all opinions/refurbished stories will be appreciated, many thanks in advance.

 

[Chainzsaw]

for 40 bucks thats not too bad, especially if you aren't doing any back ups. I have a WD passport 1TB version and it's been very reliable.

Why don't you just set up a local area network? That way you won't need to use sneakernet to transfer stuff.

 

[tomatthe]

I guess if you are saving a significant amount over a new drive, and you are not storing anything you plan to keep on there it might be fine.

It's basically all about how much you are saving over a new drive, as obviously you would get a new drive if the prices were the same. The uses you mentioned seem like losing data isn't a concern, and its just kind of a gamble as to how long the drive last as to if it's a good deal or not.

 

[dannyboy3210]

for 40 bucks thats not too bad, especially if you aren't doing any back ups. I have a WD passport 1TB version and it's been very reliable.

Why don't you just set up a local area network? That way you won't need to use sneakernet to transfer stuff.

Well at the moment we've got a 16 man switch/router (can never remember which is does what) set up in the basement for 3 computers and then I have my laptop and its mostly steam downloaded games that I transfer from one computer to another, maybe some other stuff, such as the occasional video or t.v. series, which makes it difficult to transfer over lan because with 3 teenagers using the internet at once, hogging up the router/switch would probable earn me some very angry comments. + it takes waaaay too long with our switch thing's like 1 MB maximum transfer speed.

And yes, I started with a 500 GB hard drive in my computer and went out and got a 1 TB hard drive in order to backup my first drive and store other files, etc. (For example my steam files are all on the second hard drive, not backed up which is a bad idea, but oh well, its all "in the cloud" as they say)

The main reason I've looked at it is because its only 20$ more than a 16 GB usb and thus depending on how well it holds up, seems like a potentially worthwhile investment.

I guess if you are saving a significant amount over a new drive, and you are not storing anything you plan to keep on there it might be fine.

It's basically all about how much you are saving over a new drive, as obviously you would get a new drive if the prices were the same. The uses you mentioned seem like losing data isn't a concern, and its just kind of a gamble as to how long the drive last as to if it's a good deal or not.

I probably would get a new one if they were cheaper, but this one being the price it is, is now stuck in my mind as a "good deal", but like you said, it all depends on how long it will last, seeing as its refurbished.

 

[dannyboy3210]

Best answer selected by Dannyboy3210.