Buying an external hard drive can be a daunting task. There are plenty of different models to choose from, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some may be too big, and others may be too small. If you do some work ahead of time, however, you can make the buying decision a lot easier. In this article, you'll go over your own unique criteria, so you can make an easier decision.
The first thing to take into consideration is exactly how much data, and what kind, will you be backing up. Long gone are the days when you saved your important files to a floppy drive, or even a CD. People these days using really big files, like video files, music files, and other complicated graphics programs. In order to make sure you have enough storage space for all these files, you'll need to decide exactly how much space you need.
This can be difficult if you've never done this before. A good rule of thumb is to take your existing hard drive and then buy an external hard drive that is at least four times as large. Larger if you can afford it. This is so you can back up your hard drive in various different ways. With many software programs that will make several exact duplicates of your hard drive, all this extra space is necessary.
One more thing to ponder is the amount of time you plan on using your current computer. If you've ever bought a new computer, you'll notice that the sizes of hard drives keep getting bigger and bigger. Which means people tend to put more stuff there. So if you plan on buying a new computer in six months to a year, it's best to get as big an external hard drive as you can. That way you won't have to buy a new one when you buy another computer.
Another thing to think about is how portable you'd like your external hard drive to be. If you plan on using different computers for the same project, like one at home, and one at work, then you'd be better off getting a portable hard drive. These are much more compact and lightweight, but they are a little bit more expensive. If, on the other hand, you will only be using this at home on one computer, then a desktop model may be the way to go.
When you take the time to go through these steps, you will be able to choose a backup system that is right for you. You won't spend too much money for something you don't need, nor will you buy something that is too small for your requirements. After you've got your computer set up with an appropriate backup system, you'll be glad you put in the extra time to make these important decisions.
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