I'd like to go over the
process of finally going out there and buying a portable hard
drive. I don't suggest you go out there and buy the first one
that you see because the design looks cool, or its cheap, or it
has tons of space.
You should definitely
consider the "want" and "need" scenarios. What do you really need
when you buy a portable hard drive? Each person is different, so I
can only speak for myself.
I needed a solution to
backup all my computer files. Before deciding, I figured out how
much space would that take up on the portable hard drive. I have
tons and tons of stuff, and it wouldn't take up more than 30 GB.
Unless you have 20,000 songs, you should come to an average of
10GB-40GB to backup your entire computer.
Although I new that I would
only need a 40GB external hard drive, I went for one that could hold
250GB. Why? Because, in addition to backing up my computer, I have a
laptop to backup, and sometimes I find files that I would like to be
made separate on my portable hard drive to find it easier. I recopy
at times, and even made multiple backups in one day. I think a 250GB
backup is ideal for me.
Another example would be a
friend of mine. He uses his external portable drive to backup his
entire security cameras footage for the day, and weeks it stored for
a hole week. It purchased a independent portable drive with 500GB
just for this. He also has one for personal use, which can hold
80GB.
My point being, you should
not purchase something to small, and should not purchase something
to big (that you know you will probably never use up). Go with what
you are comfortable with.
Here are some places that
you can checkout:
- eBay, Amazon, and Newegg.
The best advice I can ever give you is to always go with the big
boys in the business, because they have services thousands, and only
means they will be able to service you more efficiently.
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