If you've been using a computer for even just a few years, you can probably remember when hard drive space was at a premium. Drives used to be small -- a few gigabytes or less. And with an operating system, some software, and your files, your hard drive became pretty cramped. Aside from replacing your hard drive with a bigger one, a solution to the space crunch was to pop open your system and add a second hard drive.

If you need more storage space, or want to conveniently transfer files between computers, you can do it using the latest generation of portable hard drives. These devices are small -- many fit comfortably in your pocket or the palm of your hand -- and can store as much data, if not more, than the hard drive that's in your computer.

Why Use a Portable Drive?

Having some form of external storage might seem a bit redundant in this era of multi-gigabyte hard drives. You've probably got enough space on your hard drive for all your files and programs. And if you need to move large amounts of data to another computer, you can always burn the files onto a CD-ROM.

For many people, though, using a portable hard drive makes a lot of sense. A CD-ROM can only hold about 700 MB of data. That's not a lot, especially if you consider how much space many files, like digital video and MP3 audio, take up.

No matter how much hard drive space you have, you can never have enough. As you use your computer, files and programs gradually add up. Before you know it, you have gigabytes of files. Using a portable hard drive, you can store these files without worrying about clogging up your computer's main drive. And you can move them between computers quickly and easily.

Uses of a Portable Drive

What can you use a portable hard drive for? Around the house, you can use them to hold personal documents, archived Web sites, scanned photos, audio files like MP3s, digital video, movies in DVD format, games, and more.

For business and notebook users, portable drives are a great power tool. You can use them to transport your presentations, applications, and other files to meetings or off-site demos. You can also use portable drives to store customer and accounting information, as well as spreadsheets and other business documents. Publishing professionals can use portable drives to move large documents and supporting graphics files from their computers to a printer or service bureau.

One use for portable drive that some people may overlook is system backups. With computers, problems can crop up when you least expect them to and can take down your entire system. It's nice to have a mirror copy of your computer's hard drive. In fact, aside from burning a DVD, portable hard drives are just about the only efficient way to do backups.