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Backup InfoComing Soon:
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Green ComputingFor our children
Recycle ElectronicsUrgent & critical
Data
Backup InfoComing Soon:
Kids and
Computing 
For
a back up hard drive, consider these hard drive specs . .
.
Connectors:
Any
external hard drive with a USB
connection will work. Some external
drive units can use other conections, like Firewire or eSATA,
but make sure your computer has this kind of connector before you start
down this road.
(You can also add these new connectors to your computer by buying a card that installs in the computer)
Size:
How much storage space do you think you need? Double it. Space is relatively cheap, and you may want to just carry forward this unit to your next computer without needing to go through the time consuming annoyance of transfering data because (sigh) you are running out of room.
Dual hard drive
As mentioned in a more complete article on this site on setting up an external hard drive to do backups, RAID is a software technology that copies data to different hard drives in a way so that if one drive fails, you loose no data. It is wonderful, and highly recommended, as long as you have hte necessary knowledge to set it up. RAID1 is the simplest version, which means you need no specialized knowledge. It just creates duplicated hard drives inside the case. If one fails, replace it, and the other copies over all your data so that you maintain a second backup in the same bo
Use NAS?
- A NAS connects directly to a network, using an ethernet cable to a hub or switch or router. This makes it work without having to connect directly to a running computer, and is ideal when several people want to access the info from different computers.
It is often used for file sharing in a small office, or in boosting storage space.Some people like them in their home if they have several computers using the same storage space.
Portable drives
Warranties range from 1 to 5 years. A long warranty may give you less trouble if things go wrong, although you still have rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act with a shorter warranty.
You can back up your computer
data using a simple hard drive that connects to your
computer with a USB drive.
To figure out if this approach is good for you, and how to think about, click here.
To figure out if this approach is good for you, and how to think about, click here.
External Hard Drive Parameters to Consider
Connectors:
Any
external hard drive with a USB
connection will work. Some external
drive units can use other conections, like Firewire or eSATA,
but make sure your computer has this kind of connector before you start
down this road. (You can also add these new connectors to your computer by buying a card that installs in the computer)
Size:
How much storage space do you think you need? Double it. Space is relatively cheap, and you may want to just carry forward this unit to your next computer without needing to go through the time consuming annoyance of transfering data because (sigh) you are running out of room.
| Hard drive size | Photos | MP3 songs | DVD video |
| 100GB | 28,000 | 25,000 | 45 hours |
| 250GB | 70,000 | 60,000 | 110 hours |
| 500GB | 140,000 | 125,000 | 220 hours |
Dual hard drive
As mentioned in a more complete article on this site on setting up an external hard drive to do backups, RAID is a software technology that copies data to different hard drives in a way so that if one drive fails, you loose no data. It is wonderful, and highly recommended, as long as you have hte necessary knowledge to set it up. RAID1 is the simplest version, which means you need no specialized knowledge. It just creates duplicated hard drives inside the case. If one fails, replace it, and the other copies over all your data so that you maintain a second backup in the same bo
Use NAS?
- A NAS connects directly to a network, using an ethernet cable to a hub or switch or router. This makes it work without having to connect directly to a running computer, and is ideal when several people want to access the info from different computers.
It is often used for file sharing in a small office, or in boosting storage space.Some people like them in their home if they have several computers using the same storage space.
NAS
Warning:
A NAS often will not back up to an online backup service. We regularly run into businesses that realize that since their NAS keeps the data inside their office, their data is still at risk from any accident that affects the rest of the office - water damange, fire, theft, etc. They discover that to use online backup, they usually need to abandon their NAS, or buy one that works with the service they want.
The good news is that if your are going to use an online backup service, you do not need a NAS. You get even a higher level of reliability from the online backup than you can get form using a NAS.
A NAS often will not back up to an online backup service. We regularly run into businesses that realize that since their NAS keeps the data inside their office, their data is still at risk from any accident that affects the rest of the office - water damange, fire, theft, etc. They discover that to use online backup, they usually need to abandon their NAS, or buy one that works with the service they want.
The good news is that if your are going to use an online backup service, you do not need a NAS. You get even a higher level of reliability from the online backup than you can get form using a NAS.
Portable drives
These use
similar hard drives to those in
laptop computers, generally 2.5 inch. They're light, small enough to be
transported and range from 40 to 160GB of storage space. They're
typically powered through the USB port, and some have a USB
power-sharing cable or USB/power combo cable, which means there's less
to carry around when you transport the drive.
They're usually made with a rugged, shock resistant enclosure since
they're more likely to take knocks than desktop drives.
Revolutions per minutes (RPM)
The higher the RPM, the faster the drive can read or write data. A common RPM for hard drives is 7200, with high-end drives having speeds of 10,000 RPM. Be wary of models that don't have a stated rotational speed.
Buffer
A drive's buffer is an amount of RAM on the drive to store frequently accessed data. The more buffer RAM on the drive, the more data can be stored in the cache to decrease the amount of physical drive operation. Most drives today come with an 8MB drive buffer. Some performance drives come with a larger 16MB buffer.
Connection type
FireWire (in speeds of 400 and 800) is commonly used for external storage devices, and is generally considered faster than USB. But we found FireWire only marginally faster than USB, and FireWire 800 only 3 percent faster than FireWire 400.
NAS based drives use an ethernet port for connection across a network.
A new interface connection becoming more common is the eSATA connection. Most computers currently do not come equipped with eSATA connectors, so it's necessary to install either a PCI or PC card adapter that features the connector, or use a PCI bracket that converts an internal SATA connector into an eSATA connector at the back of the machine.
One touch backup
As the name implies, this is backup at the touch of a button on the case of the hard drive. Drives can even be synchronised and scheduled for regular backups, as long as the drive is connected to the computer. It can also work in the opposite direction, restoring data just as easily.Seek time
Seek time (the length of time taken to find a particular piece of data) is often considered a big deal in terms of specs, but it really makes little difference. It's measured in milliseconds with the lower the figure the better the seek time. Most home or small business users wouldn't notice the difference between seek times.Warranty
A hard drive warranty generally only covers the failure of the physical hard drive - it doesn't include loss of data. The best idea is to mirror the backup to another drive.Warranties range from 1 to 5 years. A long warranty may give you less trouble if things go wrong, although you still have rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act with a shorter warranty.
