Basic External Hard Drive Information
Data storage has always been a key issue in the world of personal computing. External hard drive have grown to become a vital PC tool. Some factors should be known when using or buying these items.
The two main types of external drives are mounted disk and flash based. Mounted disk style drive are similar in nature to the hard drive internal to a PC. It contains rotating plates on which data is recorded. The speed of revolution determines the rate of data transfer. These have upwards of a two terrabyte storage capacity (2,000 GB) and can be about the size of a book. The mechanical nature of these makes them difficult to transport.
Flash based drives are smaller than mounted disk style drives and have internal moving parts. These solid state devices use USB or Firewire connection cables to interface with the computer. Through this platform, any newer PC can connect to the drive regardless of operating system. Solid state memory currently top out at around one to two terrabytes for the more expensive models.
Applications, including operating systems can be stored on external drives. To use them multiple machines, the programs must be configured to leave no finger prints specific to a certain computer. Many web sites list portable versions of programs that are free and open source .
Media files have become ubiquitous amongst file servers. The demand for more and better entertainment has led to very large storage capacity needs. Before a person realizes, their computer can be overrun with mp3 and wmv files that take their toll on the performance of the system. By moving these files to the external drive, the system’s ram and virtual memory will be freed to accomplish other necessary commands and improve the performance of the system.
Viruses effect operating systems, but can be stored in external drives. This can lead to the spread of viruses between PCs that share the external hard drive. A solution is to use portable virus scan software that scan files coming into the drive. Always keep your anti-virus software up to date.
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