Any thoughts on the best external hard drive to buy? I have a WD 1tB hard drive but would like a 3 0r 4tB one. I have looked on line and Samsung or WD seem the most popular but the prices seem a long way apart. I will most likely use a USB 3 and plug it into my desktop. The other thought is a Ethernet one but all 4 ports are in use on my BT Homehub 5. Will a port extender work for that?
Just connect a 4 or 8 port switch to the router and they will give you some extra ethernet ports. Go for the drives that give the longest warranty, or buy an external drive and add your own caddy http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/harddrives-external/icybox/
I've just bought one of these, because they're made by Hitachi, and I've never had a problem with any of their drives:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006L0XE7O/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_N1T6vbZ7H0D10
If your computer is connected to the router by wifi then I'd avoid an Ethernet one, as transfer speeds will be slow. USB3 would be preferable, or better still an internal drive if you have space.
I'm connected to the router directly so that should not be a problem as long as I use a port extender. I had not considered an extra internal hard drive so I will look into that as well.
I've got 2 Samsung M3 drives, a 1Tb and a 2Tb. I'd recommend them to anybody. Fast, quiet, and with a secure area. They are a bit "dumpy" compared with some others I've seen (Seagate for example) but they do what it says on the tin very well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Slimline-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B008PABFX8 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Slimline-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B008PABFX8)
http://worldofreviews.co.uk/external-hard-drive-25/ (http://worldofreviews.co.uk/external-hard-drive-25/)
Today I went to PC World and bought the WD 3tB My Cloud but I'm going to be busy for the next few days so I will set it up later in the week.
That's what I have. Not the most straightforward of interfaces but it seems to do the job.