Dobber
So not exactly sure how they work and wanted some information before I make a purchase. I have alot of files and information I'd like to back up. Well over the amount a flash drive can hold. Does a external hard drive basicly fuction as a flash drive on steriods? Just looking for something that I can store alot of files on and is portable.
Answer
Most external hard drives, when plugged in via USB, appear as âUSB Mass Storage Devicesâ â exactly the same as flash drives. Just be aware that hard drives are more sensitive to drops and shocks than flash drives, so they must be handled with care.
However, you may want to look into an eSATA drive instead. They also function largely like a flash drive, but they can transfer data just as fast as an internal drive (for about $15 more than a USB drive). If you donât have an eSATA port already, you can buy a cheap bracket that connects to an internal SATA port and then provides an eSATA port on the back of your computer (some drives/enclosures even come with these). Just make sure that your motherboard supports hot-plug SATA (as most modern boards do), or else youâll have to reboot to recognize the drive whenever you plug it in.
Also, a tip: Unless youâre interested in the (usually useless) backup software that comes with ready-built external drives, you may be better off buying a hard drive and enclosure separately. Manufacturers usually use up their last-gen drives by putting them in external enclosuresâ¦
Just decide whether you want a smaller (in both physical size and capacity), slower 2.5" drive or a standard 3.5" drive, then get a matching drive and enclosure from the likes of Amazon or Newegg. For a 2.5" drive, you might go with a WD Scorpio Blue 500GB for about $55. For a 3.5" drive, you could go with any number of models around 1-2TB, but note that 7200RPM drives usually need an enclosure with a fan, whereas an aluminum enclosure will act as a heat-sink and be able to passively cool a 5400RPM drive. Beyond that, I canât give much advice on picking an enclosure.
Most external hard drives, when plugged in via USB, appear as âUSB Mass Storage Devicesâ â exactly the same as flash drives. Just be aware that hard drives are more sensitive to drops and shocks than flash drives, so they must be handled with care.
However, you may want to look into an eSATA drive instead. They also function largely like a flash drive, but they can transfer data just as fast as an internal drive (for about $15 more than a USB drive). If you donât have an eSATA port already, you can buy a cheap bracket that connects to an internal SATA port and then provides an eSATA port on the back of your computer (some drives/enclosures even come with these). Just make sure that your motherboard supports hot-plug SATA (as most modern boards do), or else youâll have to reboot to recognize the drive whenever you plug it in.
Also, a tip: Unless youâre interested in the (usually useless) backup software that comes with ready-built external drives, you may be better off buying a hard drive and enclosure separately. Manufacturers usually use up their last-gen drives by putting them in external enclosuresâ¦
Just decide whether you want a smaller (in both physical size and capacity), slower 2.5" drive or a standard 3.5" drive, then get a matching drive and enclosure from the likes of Amazon or Newegg. For a 2.5" drive, you might go with a WD Scorpio Blue 500GB for about $55. For a 3.5" drive, you could go with any number of models around 1-2TB, but note that 7200RPM drives usually need an enclosure with a fan, whereas an aluminum enclosure will act as a heat-sink and be able to passively cool a 5400RPM drive. Beyond that, I canât give much advice on picking an enclosure.
How long to external hard drives last?
Q. I have some 320GB USB external hard drives that I use to store hi res quicktime files. Do these drives fail very much? I have different brands, Toshiba, LaCie. One of them is a couple years old. I'd hate to lose all of my footage.
Answer
External hard drives are actually just internal hard drives that they hooked up to a USB adaptor and enclosed in a plastic shell. They have the exact same lifespan as internal hard drives (anywhere from one year to whenever).
The important thing to understand here is that an average expected lifespan does you no good. Hard drives can fail before the average time, or they can be broken or stolen or any other number of casualties.
If your data is important to you and you don't want to lose it then you NEED TO KEEP BACKUPS. If your data is only stored in a single place then you are going to eventually lose it forever, period. Buy a second external hard drive, or buy a RAID tower (a device you can throw multiple hard drives into and it will automatically make identical copies of your data on each drive).
External hard drives are actually just internal hard drives that they hooked up to a USB adaptor and enclosed in a plastic shell. They have the exact same lifespan as internal hard drives (anywhere from one year to whenever).
The important thing to understand here is that an average expected lifespan does you no good. Hard drives can fail before the average time, or they can be broken or stolen or any other number of casualties.
If your data is important to you and you don't want to lose it then you NEED TO KEEP BACKUPS. If your data is only stored in a single place then you are going to eventually lose it forever, period. Buy a second external hard drive, or buy a RAID tower (a device you can throw multiple hard drives into and it will automatically make identical copies of your data on each drive).
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