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External hard disks as reliable as internal ones?

526 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  flavallee 
#1 ·
Guys,

Thinking about moving all of my data off my internal hard disk and on to an external one. I don't have any experience of making this switch, so would appreciate your feedback on how reliable external drives are compared to internal ones.

The plan is to move all my critical data on to the external drive, with backups also on an additional external one.

If okay, is there anything I should look out for when buying an external drive (like manufacturer, specs, etc)?

Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Much less reliable. External drives are best left for backups, as in a second copy, or more, of any important data. They are also good for transferring data but I wouldn't recommend continuous use of one as a primary storage location.

The problem with external drives is that they more prone to physical damage and bumping or shaking, heat issues, issues with connections breaking, issues with the USB part of them failing, easy theft or loss, and more prone to electrical damage if they are externally powered. They are also slower than internal drives and may go to sleep in between use and make you wait for data while they come back up. There is a reason why external drives have much lower warranties than internal drives.
 
#3 ·
Thinking about moving all of my data off my internal hard disk and on to an external one.
How much personal data(documents, photos, music, videos, etc.) in GB's are you referring to?
You may not need an external USB hard drive and may be able to make use of 1 or 2 recordable DVD's.

Why move your personal data completely off your computer and back it up only to an external USB hard drive?
Keeping it stored in your computer is like having another backup copy.

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