BACKUP - A very good strategy for backing up your C drive is to use RAID with two internal
hard drives.To set up the system to keep real time mirroring of your C drive on the second
RAID drive. If the drive C fails, you simply swap it and make the secondary
drive primary and of course adding a new drive in the secondary position.
The secondary disk can be also removable but with direct SATA connection .An inexpensive
SATA mobile cradle would do the job to make it mobile.
hard drives.To set up the system to keep real time mirroring of your C drive on the second
RAID drive. If the drive C fails, you simply swap it and make the secondary
drive primary and of course adding a new drive in the secondary position.
The secondary disk can be also removable but with direct SATA connection .An inexpensive
SATA mobile cradle would do the job to make it mobile.
STORAGE - An external disk can be easily moved between computers (home and office).
Memory sticks are handy for moving smaller amounts of data only.
Memory sticks are handy for moving smaller amounts of data only.
The best external drives come with their own built-in fans that will keep them cooler
extending their life.
extending their life.
The speed is affected by a “bottleneck” created by using slow speed connections between
the hard drive and your computer.
There are three types of connections used:
USB,Firewire and SATA.
USB is the slowest and SATA the fastest from those three.Firewire and USB are slower than SATA
so this represents a bottleneck.USB uses a lot of bandwidth from your CPU - that adds to the
bottleneck.USB was designed to use as much CPU as possible in order to have a benefit
from faster CPUs. Firewire was designed mainly for portable devices with minimum CPU usage.
So why they use USB ?Not many peripherals use Firewire, so consumers want more USB ports.
USB 2 is more than good enough for most purposes and it is very easy to connect.
the hard drive and your computer.
There are three types of connections used:
USB,Firewire and SATA.
USB is the slowest and SATA the fastest from those three.Firewire and USB are slower than SATA
so this represents a bottleneck.USB uses a lot of bandwidth from your CPU - that adds to the
bottleneck.USB was designed to use as much CPU as possible in order to have a benefit
from faster CPUs. Firewire was designed mainly for portable devices with minimum CPU usage.
So why they use USB ?Not many peripherals use Firewire, so consumers want more USB ports.
USB 2 is more than good enough for most purposes and it is very easy to connect.
So,where we go from here ?
Ideal would be to have the combination of all three with an external SATA enclosure
that has USB 2 and as well Firewire with its own operating system.
that has USB 2 and as well Firewire with its own operating system.
If you want to know how to find out your hard drive or USB speed ,have a look at the other
interesting article here .
interesting article here .
Custom Search
What is wrong with the speed ?
- they are often slower (than internal drives)
- they often have poor or no cooling
- cheap external hard drives with plastic cases have poor protection and the plastic often
melts due prolonged use in summer temperatures,so the preference would be aluminum case.
- you end up with more cables under the desk and need extra connection socket on your PC.
- they often have poor or no cooling
- cheap external hard drives with plastic cases have poor protection and the plastic often
melts due prolonged use in summer temperatures,so the preference would be aluminum case.
- you end up with more cables under the desk and need extra connection socket on your PC.
Some doubts or disadvantages:
- mobility (for moving files)
- it is very handy for taking work home
- backup your files and store at different physical location
- you don't have to have it accessible except when you need it
- having an external drive will be good when you want to unplug it and let it rest, safe from
viruses when you visiting unknown sites...
- it is very handy for taking work home
- backup your files and store at different physical location
- you don't have to have it accessible except when you need it
- having an external drive will be good when you want to unplug it and let it rest, safe from
viruses when you visiting unknown sites...
Good reasons for having an external hard drive:
The question “external versus internal” sparked an endless debate between the PC community.
A: What we found out
Just recently I went to the computer shop and noticed the large pile of external hard drives
mixed with external DVD drives and USB flash drives.It must be the latest fashion outcry
I thought to myself.If you have a PC usually you stick everything into one box and push
it under your desk to forget it.All you want is to have a nice keyboard ,mouse and a fancy screen.
And now they came up with more bits to connect more mess to have under the desk.So we have decided
to have a closer look at those detachable “magic boxes”.
mixed with external DVD drives and USB flash drives.It must be the latest fashion outcry
I thought to myself.If you have a PC usually you stick everything into one box and push
it under your desk to forget it.All you want is to have a nice keyboard ,mouse and a fancy screen.
And now they came up with more bits to connect more mess to have under the desk.So we have decided
to have a closer look at those detachable “magic boxes”.
Q: Is there any advantage to have an external hard drive
