I want to buy an extra hard drive to back up files and to store files, movies, etc. so I can re-install Windows XP when or if I need to for whatever reason.
Does an internal HD do the same thing an external HD does? I know an external HD has benefits such as portability and being able to use on another PC without having to remove from the case, but I have no need for that.
I ask because it seems like most people buy an external HD instead of an internal one for backing up files. My brother bought an ixternal HD for the same purposes I’m looking for, but when he transferred the program for his digital voice recorder over to the new HD, he said the formats of some things were not the same (the voice recordings were just mp3s and didn’t have the editing capabilities any longer…or something like that).
An external HD I looked at on Amazon mentions that it is pre-formatted for Windows. Is this something that would have helped my brother’s program to seem like an exact duplicate? Is this a major reason to buy an external HD over an internal one? If so, is there a similar way to pre-format an internal HD?
I am not sure I am following your line of thought exactly but internal and external drives are fundamentally the same thing. The most common way to create an external drive is just to take an internal hard drive and put it a case with the right ports to access it such as USB 2. The external drives you can buy just have a regular desktop drive inside of the case or a smaller laptop drive but they aren’t usually special drives.
You can have more than one internal hard drive if you want but I am not sure why you are leaning in that direction. An external drive is portable which is a key requirement for backup strategy and ease of use. That is the reason most people choose an external drive. You can plug it into any modern computer to get your files back without having to take the whole computer apart.
You can format any drive easily from Windows or by several other methods. Having one preformatted isn’t a big benefit. Your brothers file copy issues didn’t have anything to do with the type of drive used. They were probably file association issues that are easy to fix. Copies of MP3’s are the same no matter where you put them.
Most people buy an external HD for backup so if something fries the computer the backup hard drive is still OK.
They buy external HD for regular everyday storage, because they don’t want to open their computer or the computer doesn’t have the room for an internal HD. Otherwise you’re better having an internal HD for everyday file use.
Another alternative for backup files is to get a removable hard drive bay you can insert different HD into and it uses your internal HD controller not the USB port for data transfer.
An external hard drive is just a hard drive in some kind of enclosure.
Yes, a computer can have more than one internal hard drive. I have three internal hard drive. Then I bought two more internal hard drive and stuck them in enclosures turning them into external hard drives. (So I have a total of five drives, three INSIDE the computer and two outside the computer.)
An internal hard drive will be faster than an external one, unless the external one is hooked up through an eSATA port, then they’re almost equal.
There is one big difference, if you’re going to be carrying this external hard drive around. Putting an internal hard drive in an enclosure works great, but it’s not made for constant movement and carrying around.
In my case my external hard drives (which are hard drives I put in enclosures) just sit next to my computer.
If you plan on carrying this external hard drive around in a laptop case or back pack, what you will want to get is an external hard drive that is specifically made to be carried around. This way the drive will be structured to withstand being carried around.
If something happens to my main HD, I’m going to be going in there to replace it anyway. My files aren’t emergency files I’ll need to get to right away from another PC and I can wait until I get the PC up and running again.
Hmm, so you’re saying having an internal HD isn’t as safe a backup method because both HDs can get fried at the same time? How common is that for someone who uses a quality surge protector?
Many external drives come with bundled backup software, which is one potential advantage.
There’s nothing wrong an internal backup. Many high-end computers (like servers) have multiple internal drives for that specific purpose.
By the way, no matter what you do, keep an off-site backup of some sort. A client of mine had his computer stolen and the thieves took his backup drive along with it. Thus, he lost everything (including a $20,000 graphic design contract because the theft of the project files meant he could no longer meet the deadline). Fire and flood damage are the same way - they’ll usually destroy both the computer and the backup at once.
You mean like for automatic periodic backups? I’m not concerned with that. I’ll be happy if I can easily move files from one HD to another. If that is easier with an external, then I might go with an external, but from the responses so far it seems like an internal will do the job just fine.
You can move files manually just fine with either setup. There is freeware available to do it for you under any configuation as well. You still haven’t said why you are so dead set on an extra internal drive though. They aren’t completely bad but they aren’t portable and won’t help in the case of flood, fire, or theft. Why don’t you just get an external drive and be done with it rather than going through the hassle of an install of something that is less flexible than another option.
An external drive just shows up as a regular drive letter on your computer as well just like an internal one does. They operate the same way from there.
Don’t need portable and none of my files are so important that I’m going to bother storing a HD somewhere so it doesn’t get damaged by flood or fire. I doubt anyone will break into my house and steal my PC but if they do, I’m surely going to have the external HD sitting somewhere in the area anyway.
I like that internal HDs are faster and they don’t take up any extra room and I don’t have to plug it into a USB port to access it.
Another option is an external enclosure or an NAS.
The internal drives do have the upper hand in speed, unless your mobo or hard drive doesn’t support the latest SATA standards, or the external drive is USB 3.
Well, if you’re sure you’re not taking it anywhere, and you’re comfortable opening your computer case, screwing the new hard drive in the case, and connecting the cables, then sounds like an internal hard drive is the way to go. I’d say the chance is pretty low that an accident fries two internal drives but doesn’t affect an external drive sitting next to the case.
But if there are any pictures or other files you really want to keep, burn them onto a CD or DVD. It’s REALLY hard for an accident to fry a DVD. Ideally take them to work or somewhere because an accident could take out the whole house.
The point about having an external HDD is that you can remove it and store it somewhere else, so if your house burns down or your PC gets stolen or whatever then your data is safe.
I’m not sure exactly what you are saying here, but if you want to backup programs, often copying just the program’s folder won’t get it all. You need to back up registry settings and any dll files that might have been installed in the windows directory (and maybe a few other things I’m not thinking of off the top of my head). Ghosting a drive or using some other form of image software makes recovering from a dead drive much easier and you don’t have to fiddle with manual file copies, registry settings, etc.
Re-installing windows from your CD and then manually copying files over is rather labor intensive, but it can work if you do it right. Your brother didn’t do it right. Those who aren’t comfortable exporting registry files and the like should probably stick to ghosting drives and that sort of thing (IMHO).
If the power supply fries (not exactly an uncommon failure mode), it can very easily take out all of the internal drives. It won’t take out external drives as easily. A network drive would be even more isolated from electrical faults.
I’d go with an external drive just for this reason. I have external drives both at home and at work that have never been unplugged or moved away from the computers that they are attached to. An external drive will cost you 5 or 10 bucks more (not enough of a cost difference to worry about, IMHO) and will be slightly slower.
Hard drives are cheap. Get one and hook it up, clone your “C” to it, that copies EVERYTHING, do that once a week and then unhook the backup and drop in a drawer.
My “C” is about 25 GIGs and I can clone in under 5 min. They are 10K drives.
Never have to reinstall the OS. got everything.
Older IDE drives are almost free and I have all my pictures and stuff that I do not access very often on them, with multiple clones.
Do this and you can sit around and giggle when the others cry because they have to start over because they lost everything.