EXTERNAL
HARD DRIVE
You need an external hard drive to store your
extensive photo library. Or perhaps it's your music collection, which
got out of hand and grew exponentially. Or maybe it's your library of
videos that continues to grow because you must have every video ever
made.
Whatever the reason, you are looking for storage which is external to
the computer. You want some place that's safe, a place that is not
affected by lightning strikes or computer glitches.
The computer is a machine and is subject to ware
and tare, and sometimes parts need to be repaired or replaced. This is
easy, after all you built this machine, and now all you have to do is
replace the defective part. The only thing you can't replace is the
data. For this you need a backup
copy of your data. Here again the
external hard drive is the place to backup your data. But, you must set
up a backup regiment, one that you follow every day. So the external
drive is always current.
If you do not have a backup copy of your data, and
the internal hard drive fails, you are left to replace the hard drive
and reload your programs from your CDs and DVDs. There is no
replacement for your lost data (photos, music, videos, letters,
e-mails, client lists,
customer lists, accounting information, etc.). Do you begin to see the
advantage of backing up your data regularly?
The external hard drive is different from the internal
drive, in that it requires its own power supply, and it also
connects
to the computer via a backplane connector. The most common connections
are to a USB, or eSATA, or firewire port. The latest version of eSATA
is the fastest, and USB 2.0 is next. Make sure the external drive has
greater capacity then the internal drive; this will allow you to backup
everything. Also, that the drive connector matches one on the
backplane.
There
are two ways of acquiring an external hard drive; the first is to
purchase one complete, plug it in, and connect it to the proper port,
and your off and running. The second is to purchase an external drive
case
and any internal hard drive. Then mount the drive inside the case, make
the connections, and go. The advantage to this approach is; if the
internal drive fails, you can replace it with the external drive, and
continue working. Your data will be as current as your latest backup.
Take a look at the offerings provided by your
online computer parts
store and evaluate which external drive will satisfy your needs. Look
at other online stores to make sure you are getting the best deal.
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