[carperl]

I want to purchase an external hard drive to back up my pc and have the option of taking to work, trips, etc. I see the sizes go up to 1Tb. What size do you recommend to do a complete backup of an average computer?

Thanks!

[tek101]

1TB is kind of over kill to me........
250GB to 500GB is a cheap way to go .....

Here is the one you can put it in your pocket ..: reviews.cnet.com/laptop-hard-drives/seagate-freeagent-go-blue/4505-9997_7-33299927.html?tag=mncol;lst







[http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=PortableExternalHard+Drives&source=activity]

[smax013]

carperl said:

I want to purchase an external hard drive to back up my pc and have the option of taking to work, trips, etc. I see the sizes go up to 1Tb. What size do you recommend to do a complete backup of an average computer?


Thanks!

Depends on how big of drive you computer has and what you want to backup (i.e. just your data files, your entire drive, etc). Considering that most current desktop computers tend to come with a 500 GB drive or larger, if you want to backup your entire drive, you would want 500 GB or larger. If you only want to backup data files and your data files are only 100 GB, then a 250 GB drive would likely be fine for quite a while no matter how big your computer's drive is.

And FWIW, "portable external drives" are generally considered different than an "external drive". The former is generally a laptop size (2.5") drive in a small, VERY portable enclosure that can be operated in a bus-powered mode (i.e. no separate power cables required...just plug into a USB or Firewire port on the computer and the USB or Firewire port provides the power). The later is generally a desktop size (3.5") drive in a larger, but still typically portable enclosure that requires it own power cord. Portable external drives currently max out at 500 GB, while external drives max out at 2 TB (larger if you get one that can do RAID).

[LincolnSpector]

Hi, carperl.

If you want to take the drive to work, on trips, and so on, you better think of the size in the most literal sense of the word--it's physical size, not its capacity. There are external drives that come in big enclosures and require their own AC power, and there are portable external drives that can fit in a pocket and are powered entirely from the USB port. That's the kind you need.

Portable drives have another advantage for backup: You can hide them. That way, if a burglar steals your computer, they probably won't get the backup drive, too.

I don't believe that 1TB portable drives are yet available. 500GB (half a tb) drives are, however, if you really need that much storage.

For backup, I generally recommend a drive that's a little larger (in capacity) than the internal drive you'll be backing up from.

Lincoln

[RonSWinTeam]

I think there are a lot of good points above. You?re going to want to get a XHD with enough space to hold what you?ve got now and what you think you?ll have say one year from now (in order to avoid making your hardware obsolete very quickly.

LincolnSpector also throws out a good point that when you start getting bigger in the capacity area, you start getting larger size wise as well, meaning you lose the joy of portability.

That said, your choices are pretty wide open (depending on how much $ you want to throw down). You might also want to check out online storage for some of your docs, it?s a good way to have access to them from basically anywhere. You can check out http://skydrive.live.com/ for 25GB of free storage from Microsoft Windows.

Good luck in your search.

Cheers

[smax013]

RonSWinTeam said:

LincolnSpector also throws out a good point that when you start getting bigger in the capacity area, you start getting larger size wise as well, meaning you lose the joy of portability.

All depends on how you define portable.

"Typical" external drives (i.e. ones that require their own power supply/plug) go up to 2 TB (unless you look at a RAID version). While there are bigger than "portable" external drive, they are still rather portable...they just will not fit in a pocket (unless it is a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY big pocket). Such drives that only use one internal 3.5" drive (i.e. non-RAID version) are generally all about the same size (if they have a fan, then they might be a little bit bigger, but ones with fans are rather rare these days)...most are about 50% bigger max than the internal 3.5" drive. But, the point is that you can still rather easily carry them around...they are just a bit bulkier/bigger.

The so-called "portable" external drives (i.e. ones that do NOT require their own power supply/plug) go up to 500 GB right now. They will be significantly smaller than the "typical" external drives as they are based on using 2.5" laptop size internal drives. They are typically about twice the size of a deck of cards and will basically fit in a pocket (not that you would want to really carry them that way). They are certainly MUCH more easy to carry around...and can be used ANYWHERE, even if there is no power plug any where in site (and assuming your laptop has juice).

[mdembski]

I have a NAS drive that I consider my "normal" backup. It is hidden away in a closet. But I rely on portable hard drive for both day to day storage and for my "failsafe" backup. Portable hardrives can be stored in a safe for safety and require no power supply to be misplaced or lost. In addition, the portable hard drives run cooler and seem to last longer. I have had 4 external drive die over the last 5 years. All ran very warm and appear to have fried themselves. The portable drives run much cooler and I have never had one fail.

[lexon]

I use a Maxtor 80gb external drive, only for personal files. I
have had it for at least four years. It is powered up only for
backup. Since I use Linux, I do not need to back up the system. I
have a second drive configured like the first so if the first ever
fails, I am back up in about sixty seconds.

lexon

[smax013]

lexon said:

Since I use Linux, I do not need to back up the system. I
have a second drive configured like the first so if the first ever
fails, I am back up in about sixty seconds.

A cloned drive (i.e. the second drive configured the same) IS a backup. :)

[smax013]

mdembski said:

In addition, the portable hard drives run cooler and seem to last longer. I have had 4 external drive die over the last 5 years. All ran very warm and appear to have fried themselves. The portable drives run much cooler and I have never had one fail.

The fact the they seem to run cooler is likely tied somewhat to their lower power requirements, which is why they can be run off bus power on most computers, and the fact that, by default, 2.5" laptop type drives (which is what come in portable external hard drives) are 5400 rpm drives while 3.5" desktop type drives (which is what come in the "desktop" external drives) are typically 7200 rpm.

[lexon]

You missed the point I was making. If the drive fails. I am ready
in a minute or so to be back to full active drive. I did not Clone
the drive. Linux is so easy to duplicate a drive that I do not bother
cloning. I use removable drives so I can play with a different Linux
OS if I choose to and not mess up the primary Linux OS. Gives me a
lot of flexibility. My personal files are only on the primary drive
and back up external drive. Changing drives keeps power requirement
low and long drive life. The back up is powered only when needed.
[url="http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/richg1998/Misc/Harddriverack.jpg"]i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/richg1998/Misc/Harddriverack.jpg[/url]

A key locks the drive.

My way. Works for me. Plus, it gives the ever present critic some fodder.

lexon

[smax013]

clone=duplicate (unless by duplicate you mean you completely re-install the OS on a second drive and set it up identical, which would kind of be a waste when you can make a bootable clone with software that would be WAY faster and easier).

[Sooupper]

Getting an external for a backup and using the same one for trips in not a good idea. The backup is to recover your data if/when your computer crashed or you get a new one. Carrying the same on trips puts your data in danger. I would think about two external storage devices.

For portability it depend on how much extra data you need when you travel. I purchased a 16 G SD and a reader for my business trips.The USB readers are not much bigger that a thumb drive. I needed the reader because my laptop does not have a SD slot.

For a backup drive, the other repliers had very good suggestions.