8 Tips For a Computer Hard Drive

Introduction

Buying the correct type of computer hard drive, might be the single most important task you will ever have to undertake for the betterment of your laptop.

Computer hard drives, are the beating soul and heart of a computer, all your information, processes and OSs (operating systems) are stored on your computer hard drive.

So, what is the best type of computer hard drive for you? We'll give you the top eight tips to help you find the perfect computer hard drive.

 

Step 1

The first tip, is to determine what kind of computer hard drive you need, there are two types, internal and external. Internal hard drives reside inside your laptop, this is where you store all your files, this is where your operating system boots from, and this is where all the extra space on your laptop comes from.

Internal computer hard drives have 21 to 22 pins, and require either an expert or well versed person to install them.

 

 

Step 2

The second type. is an external computer hard drive. external computer hard drives do the same thing that internal hard drives do, except they require a special type of formatting and booting to run an OS (operating system).

Most people simply use their external computer hard drives to back up files, and media (movies, music, games, software, pictures etc.,) and usually keep it in case somehow files get erased on the internal computer hard drive.

 

Step 3

The third tip to consider, is connectivity. In internal computer hard drives, this is determined by the size, you can either choose between a 3.5 inch hard drive or a 2.5 inch one.

On external hard drives though, you have four basic connectivity options, each faster than the one before it.

The first option is USB 2.0 (USB 1.0 is now obsolete), as this is the most commonly available connectivity socket on laptops.

The second option is USB 3.0, which is twice as  fast as its older sibling, USB 2.0. You can transfer 1 GB file in about 15 seconds on USB 3.0

The third option is Firewire, as the name suggest, it is blazing fast. But not all laptops have a Firewire port, so confirm whether or not your laptop has this port before purchasing a Firewire external computer hard drive.

The final option is called Thunder Bolt, a very new technology that has no supporting external computer hard drives on the market yet, though the first ones should start coming out in April. So far the Thunder Bolt port is only available on Apple's latest line of Macbooks Pros and Air.

Step 4

The next tip is size, determine how much memory you'll need, The basic rule of thumb is, the more the better. As you can't really predict how much memory you'll need when your friend decides to share his gigantic collection of Power Ranger episodes.

Sizes range from 80 GB, unto 1 TB (TB equals 1,000 GBs)

Step 5

The next tip is about durability, you can choose to  buy a rugged hard drive or a normal one. Obviously a rugged on is better,  but slightly more expensive.

Step 6

The sixth tip about automatic back up, some hard drives come with this feature and others do not. But one factor is common, all of them work on Windows only. If you have a Mac or run Linux then skip this option.

Step 7

The seventh tip, is to insure that you always buy a computer hard drive that comes with a warranty, no matter how cheap it is, if there is no warranty, it's not worth buying.

Step 8

The final tip is speed, most hard drives have a speed of 5,200 RPM, but if you can afford one with 7,200 RPM, buy it. The higher the RPM's (rotations per minute) the better.

Comments

Always treat your computer hard drive gently.

 

Comments

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