Need to take your data with you? Or do you need a second hard drive? Then consider portable hard drive. They're a powerful and inexpensive way of adding storage capacity to your computer.
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.
Types of Drives
"Types of drives" means
the type of connection that is used to hook a drive into your computer. This is
done using ports. Also called interfaces, ports are external connections
at the back of your computer (sort of like electrical outlets) that allow you
to connect devices to your machine. Without ports, external devices can
communicate with your computer.
The two most popular ways to
connect a portable hard drive to a PC are Universal Serial Bus and FireWire.
Universal Serial Bus
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
supports high-speed data transfers, at rates up to 12 Mbps (12 million bits per
second). You can connect up to 127 devices, ranging from keyboards to modems to
drives, to one USB port on your computer. As well, USB also supports
Plug-and-Play installation and hot swapping. Plug and play simply means that
once you plug the device in, your computer automatically detects it. Hot
swapping allows you to move a USB device from one computer to another without
having to reboot the machine. On top of that, your computer's USB port supplies
power to the drive.
FireWire
Next up is FireWire, also called
IEEE 1394 (the technical standard used to designate these devices). FireWire is
extremely fast, supporting data transfers of up to 400 Mbps (400 million bits
per second). Like USB, FireWire support hot swapping of devices and receives it
power from your computer. While fast, FireWire devices can be expensive. But
they're great for transferring data, like video and audio, which require a lot
of bandwidth.
What's On the Market
Going portable has become quite
popular. To meet the demand for portable hard drives, a number of companies
have entered the market.
Two of the best-known makers of
portable drives are LaCie and Iomega. Amacom is a smaller company, but it does
manufacture one of the most versatile portable drives that's currently
available.
Two other companies that make nice
portable hard drives are MicroSolutions, known for its Backpack series of hard
drives, and Archos Technology. Archos is known for its MP3 players, but its
portable drives are small and can hold a lot of data.
Of course, if you just need to
move a lot of files from computer to computer, you should check out the
offerings from TREKSTOR. The company's ThumbDrives are USB devices that are the
size of a human thumb.
Factors to Consider When Buying a Portable
Drive
Before you lay down your money,
you should first think about what you want from a portable hard drive. Here are
a few factors to consider:
Cost
First, determine how much you want
to spend. If money is no object, then get the biggest and most expensive drive
that you can. The benefits of data transfer speed, storage capacity, and all
around convenience will help the drive quickly pay for itself. If, on the other
hand, you're on a tight budget, look at a smaller drive.
Storage Capacity
Storage capacity will be your main
concern when looking for a portable drive. Don't just think about your present
needs, but your future needs as well. Sure, a 1 GB drive might be enough for
all your MP3 and graphics files, but somewhere down the road you might want to
digitize your family videos. One GB of storage space definitely won't be
enough.
If you plan to use your portable
drive move only documents between computers, then something like a ThumbDrive
will be more than sufficient for your needs. But if you want to store a lot of
larger files or even back up your system, you should seriously consider buying
the largest drive you can afford.
Speed
If you have a need for speed, at
least where data transfers are concerned, you'll want to get the fastest drive
you can. This is especially true if you're going to use the drive like a second
hard disk. So, if you regularly work with a large PowerPoint presentations,
with a lot of graphics and some multimedia waiting while the data moves from
the drive to your computer is frustrating..
Conclusion
Portable hard drives are a small,
fast, and convenient way to add storage space to your computer. And if you move
large files between systems, a portable drive can be an indispensable tool. One
is waiting for you. All you have to do is find it.