External Hard Drive

[Margaret N]

I am considering the purchase of a External Hard Drive. I just require a plain and simple External Hard Disk for back up of about 80gb.

Do they come with software and if so what would I expect?

Are they formatted? What would I have to do to install it other than plug the USB in?

I would like to set my PC to do a back up at a set time each day automatically and understand this is possible.

I have been told so many different sales lines in various stores that what I thought was straight forward is now appearing to be a nightmare.

Simple explanations only please.

[borobabs]

I have a external but don't know if I can set it to back up at certain times or not ;;
but all I had to do was plug in install with disc and away I went back up my tree every week to it so I know its save ;;

[Suein10b]

I use both a Lacie and an Iomega both great external hard drives.

Even though you say you only need to back up 80 gb. Id suggest going for as large a capacity as you can afford.

Just plug in to a usb. Drivers are then automatically installed.

Back up if you are using Vista is a doddle. You can set the computer to do this at a given time on a regular basis.

Backing up using visit I cannot help with.

Sue

[Guy]

I am considering the purchase of a External Hard Drive. I just require a plain and simple External Hard Disk for back up of about 80gb.

Do they come with software and if so what would I expect?

Some do some don't, Maxtor comes with software which allows back-ups at a touch of a button.

Are they formatted? What would I have to do to install it other than plug the USB in?

Again some (most) are some are not.
With most you simply plug and play.
Having said that it depends on your computer, some large hard drives need software for older computers to recognise them.

I would like to set my PC to do a back up at a set time each day automatically and understand this is possible.

Possible and very easy to do

I have been told so many different sales lines in various stores that what I thought was straight forward is now appearing to be a nightmare.

Simple explanations only please.

The reason it seems difficult is there are some many combinations of computers and hard drives that giving specific advice is difficult.

In most cases assuming a modern computer there should be no problems.
Just two cables to plug in (the power lead and the usb connection to the computer).
The computer should then see the hard drive and it can then be used as any other drive on the system.

For back-ups the drive may come with software to be loaded on to the computer or you could use software already on most computers.
Cheers
Guy
PS I back up manually by simply copying or saving the file or folder to by external drive.

[Margaret N]

Guy, What an excellent reply thank you. My PC is about nine months old so it is 'semi modern'. Only thing I did not understand is when you say that you back up a file or folder manually does that mean that every single time you write a letter you first save as normal to C and then repeat to the External.
If automatic backup does it just update the files and folders as necessary? On my Flash Pen I need to say 'Yes or No' to each folder that I back up if their is a change.

Thank you all for your replies.

[Jools in Scarborough]

I have an 80gb Iomega external hard drive. It came formatted. It came with Iomega's own backup software. You set it up to run a backup automatically. You can tell it to overwrite any existing file or save the newest version of a file. Mine just does it in the background - it doesn't ask me questions, just gets on with it. It's saved my bacon a couple of times. Jools

[Margaret N]

Jools, That sounds great just what I need. Will go shopping tomorrow.

[Guy]

How I back up depends on what I am doing.
Unimportant documents such as letters I just save in a folder.
If it is an important letter such as a request under the Freedom of Information Act or similar, I save then back up.
If there is likely to be a series of files or documents I open a new folder on my data drive (D) and save the file to that, I then copy that file to both of my remote hard drives (E & F) and save the folder and file under the original names.
As time progresses I will back up to the first of my remote drives (E) leaving the second drive (F) until the next back up.
On the second back up I will copy all the files from the back up first drive (E) to the second back up (F) then update the file on the (D) drive followed by an update of the first back up folder (E).
This ensures that I have a master and a back up plus a further back up one step behind in case something fails in the current file.
It sounds complicated but it means I only ever risk one days work.
Cheers
Guy

[Margaret N]

Guy, You have certainly given me something to think about. Actually I use a flash pen and have three on the go using a different one each day. Thanks very much for your help.

[Chipesh]

I have one of these.

Amazon.co.uk: Western Digital 160GB Elements External USB 2.0 2.5" Hard Drive: Western Digital: Electronics & Photo

The 2.5 drives are smaller and usually ( like this one ) powered from the USB. This is a much neater option especially if you want to move it around.

They are usually formatted to FAT32 for compatibility but you can easily reformat from Windows.

Bob

[kateh]

Just wondered which external hard drive did you go for in the end? I have been given different advice about backing up files and an external hard drive was one option but unsure which one I should look at!

[Margaret N]

kateh,
I have been away on holiday and only been home a day. I plan to start a serious search Monday and will let you know how it all goes. My PC has a 300gb and many I have been shown are some 500gb. The bigger the cheaper they appear to be but I don't like that idea I prefer to keep things smaller about 80gb will more than do me. I am backed up on a 2gb Flash Pen at the moment. Main thing is it must be simple preferably without loads of software.

[Margaret in Burton]

My daughter's bought me one for my birthday.

It's an Adaptec ACS -120

USB connection, no mains lead needed 80gb

It's about 6inches by 3 inches by half an inch.

They got it off ebay. I think it was about £40.

No software, just plug in the usb and go.

[Margaret N]

Today, I purchased a WDElements portable hard drive 160gb. It is sat by my PC unopened at this moment while I pluck up the courage to open the packet. The details that one needs to read are of course inside the box. If was to change my mind I would be unable to exchange it for a different one if packet had been opened.
I selected this make on size alone as all hard drives were getting large both in size and gb. Will edit this item if and when I install it.
**Update**
At long last I have taken the plunge and installed the external hard drive that has been sat on my desk for a month.
It has no software with it and Windows Vista did not reconize it as new hardware. It is just like a very large Flash Pen. Saves me using three seperate ones to back up.
I have still not got over the problem of the screen that says 'do you want to skip the next 5 items. I am never sure quite what is happening when this appears especially as it is often an update of a letter or photo and I want to keep both in a few cases.