Types of External Hard Drives

August 31, 2009 · Filed Under Advice/Tips · Comment

When I say “external hard drive” I actually mean all sorts of things. In a nutshell, it means some sort of disk drive that is connected externally to your computer (surely you assumed that much yourself). There are many ways to externally store your data. These drives come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and any one of them may be the perfect fit for your own situation. Here’s a good list to get you started on your external storage search:

	Portable external hard drive: Basically a step up from the USB flash drive. Typically the size of your wallet so it can easily fit into a purse or briefcase. Typically around 250 to 500 GB in disk space (similar to what your computer might hold). They’re quick, simple, and don’t require any kind of power source. Their main use is obviously as a portable disk so if you want something more permanently attached to your computer then move on.
	Desktop external hard drive: These hard drives are usually the size of a typical book. Just plug it in to your USB port and you’re ready to go. They need an external power source so make sure you have an extra outlet. Usually they’re designed to stack up right next to or on top of each other if multiple disks are required. You can find many that hold as much as 1 to 2 TB (that’s more than enough for the typical household!).
	Network attached storage: These are typically storage devices with features more intended for a home network. Many connect to something like a router with an ethernet cable. Some have a single drive, some have two drives, and some have even more. Many come as just an enclosure and you purchase an internal hard drive(s) seperately. If you want to have more ability to share your information between computers, this is the way to go, but make sure you do some research on home networks in case that term goes over your head.
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	Home servers: A step up from the NAS (network attached storage) in that these can be much more user friendly. They have added software capabilities that make these much easier to set up and manage if you’re not a computer wiz. Where the other hard drives are made by various computer hardware companies, the home server systems are made by the big dogs – Microsoft, HP, etc. Although they integrate with your home computers much more easily, they’re most definitely going to be your most expensive option.
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There is your basic run-down as we see it. Look around for the setup that will work best for you!

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External Hard Drive Uses

August 31, 2009 · Filed Under Advice/Tips · Comment

What can you do with an external hard drive? Lots of things!! If you’ve found this site (you obviously have) then you’ve probably got a pretty good idea of what you want to do with an external hard drive, but some of you might still be learning about the wonderful possibilities. Let me tell you how I use mine.

I’ve always been a single-computer kind of guy until I decided I was spending too much time at my desktop PC. I finally took that first step into the laptop realm so now I have two computers in my home. The laptop and desktop are both connected to a wireless router which connects them to each other and the internet. My wife and I use both computers so we had various folders and files scattered all over each computer. At first I figured I would just connect to the other computer via my home network if I needed any files. Soon I realized I was wasting hours of my life away looking for stray files and the inefficiency started to weigh me down. When I did try to organize everything, I ended up wasting even more time since the whole thing eventually became another big mess anyway. I finally thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be great if I had all these files in one place?” My first reaction was to think that setting up a central computer or server in my home would be too much money or too complicated. After brooding over my problem for a while I figured there just had to be something out there nowadays that could easily store most of your data in one central place. I started looking around and realized there were indeed many solutions for the basic home computer user (see my post about types of external hard drives).

Now I have a network storage enclosure with two bays attached to my router. Each bay holds a 1 TB hard drive (I love having that much space!). I keep all of my personal files on the first disk. No matter which computer I use, I can access all of my files in one place. If I need to leave the home with my laptop, I just copy the files over to the computer or a jump drive (it doesn’t need to be done nearly as much as I thought). Both my laptop and desktop are scheduled to backup all other important information to the first network drive. Then all information on the first network drive is duplicated on the second network drive on a daily basis. Now when I use my music program, photo organizing program, etc. its all pulled from the same location. I can’t tell you how much time this has saved me. I’m free of the clutter and able to think clearly. This situation isn’t for everybody, but EVERY computer user can find a use for an external hard drive.

Here is a list of some of the most popular uses:

Centralize file storage
Backup important files
Archive older files
Store photo/video/music collections
Share multimedia content with other network users
Remotely access stored files via the internet

You can certainly find many more features depending on what type of storage device you use. Hopefully you’ll find the one for you and I guarantee it will be worth it!

When you’re ready to purchase an external hard drive of your own head on over to our store.

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