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Still Don't Have An External Hard Drive? You Should...
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05-Dec-2008
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Disaster recovery is perhaps the most aspect of computing, as, let's face it; if you lose your data, everything you've done is completely wasted and for naught. However, disaster recovery does not have to be expensive and is by no means beyond the reach of every computer user. The reason is the external hard drive.
No, I am not talking about flash drives (although I predicted that SD cards would replace DVD's a long time before they were proposed as the new digital music medium); I am speaking specifically about USB/Firewire external hard drives. There was a time when you could expect to get only a few gigs, or maybe 10 or 20 out of an external hard drive. That time is long over; there are now EHD's up to a tera byte (which is more data than you'll ever need...for the next 5 years). As well, it is not uncommon to find 500 GB models under $100. The price is right, now here are the main reasons/uses:
Disaster Recovery
As stated, disaster recovery is important – but you already knew that. By having an always on external hard drive, you can have all of your data backed up for under $100. No additional software is needed; you can either manually copy your important files over to the EHD, or you can setup backup tasks that are built into most operating systems today and simply specify the file save location to the EHD. If you are looking for super disaster recovery, it would be worth the extra $70 to buy a program like Norton Ghost. What this program allows you to do is create complete copies of your entire hard drive so that, in the event of a fatal system crash, you can restore the copy onto a brand new hard drive – and everything will be exactly as it was (you will have to update your drivers for the new devices, but that will take a grand total of 15 minutes). For the most basic user, this is definitely overkill; however, for all you home business/amateur photographers/videographers, this probably would be a good investment as it will save you considerable amounts of time in the event of...
Media Storage
With the advent of file sharing, digital downloads and YouTube amateurs everywhere, it does not take a long time to fill up a hard drive these days. The problem with filling up your primary hard drive is that it makes your programs, and computer in general, run very poorly. This is because Windows operates on a principle of 'dynamic' memory that comes from unused internal hard drive space (in theory, you can use external storage devices for this, but it can be counter productive as this is more likely to cause poor performance). The answer, of course, is cheap, reusable EHD.
Media Transfer
It is not uncommon to work with multiple computers on a daily basis. Some of us have multiple computers at home (and yes, EHD's are completely networkable, and no, you don't have to buy a 'network' version), others will use them at work and at home. And for all you weekend and road warriors out there, you use them just about everywhere. An external hard drives allows your data to follow you, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, for whatever you need. Instead of E-mailing large files or writing/erasing to flash drives; just plug in your EHD wherever you choose. It is rare that you would need to install drivers to utilize them, so it literally is as simple as that. Then no matter where you are, whatever computer you are on, you have access to the same files. Kind of like with Webmail. Again, the more digital we get, the more portability is required.
File Transition
Perhaps the second most important feature (again, the ghosting is the most important for most users), is the transitory ability of EHD's. As stated in the preceding paragraph; you can simply plug an EHD in and have instant access to the files. By utilizing them to their fullest extent, when it comes time for a new computer, guess what; there is instant transition. All of your files will be available for you to use without spending a single moment on transferring files from one computer to the other. No wasted CD's, no hours juggling around flash drives; simply plug in and you are done.
There really isn't anything more to say; just go get one already or you're a Microsoft Word Bandit, BIG TIME! |
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