A Guide to Buying and Using an External Hard Drive as a Techie

Imagine your life as a techie. What your workspace would look like and what gadgets you’d love to have. Getting essential tech gadgets and perfect lighting for your workspace sounds cool. 

Now, imagine losing all your files, or all your files getting corrupted. Imagine your dream bright workspace suddenly turning into a gloomy room. How would you feel? A downgrade from a hundred to a zero, right? That’s exactly what happens when you don’t have your files backed up on an external hard drive.

Dear tech enthusiasts, the solution to not running out of space on your device or being stranded when a file is lost is an external hard drive!

In this article, we’ll guide you through the importance of an external hard drive. Also, we’ll talk about some tips on how to buy and use an external hard drive.

Why You Should Have an External Hard Drive

• As a techie, you’ll be working with a lot of gadgets and you’ll need a lot of memory to accommodate all the files from different gadgets. An external hard drive serves as a reservoir to keep files. It is also a backup plan for all your files, just in case anything happens.
• As earlier mentioned, an external hard drive serves as a solution to unforeseen file losses or unexpected failures from the hardware. If you accidentally delete files, you already have an insurance policy, so you don’t have any reason to worry.
• With upgrades in connectivity options like the Thunderbolt and the USB 3.0 options, an external hard drive can provide you with the speed to access the available data, thereby saving you time.
• Techies usually have a lot of files and oftentimes, they’re on the move. From showing up at a meeting to attending a coding session, this hard drive, due to its size affords you the luxury of having access to all your files anywhere, anytime.
• An external hard drive provides you with the space to neatly arrange all your files in it. Such that, when you need to find a particular document or media file, you can easily navigate through the numerous files that you have.
• We are in a world that is constantly evolving, making us vulnerable digitally. Nowadays, there’s hardly a device that cannot be hacked into. In this case, the external hard drive helps to safeguard your files and reduce the risk of unauthorized access to the barest minimum.

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Factors to Consider When Buying an External Hard Drive

Buying an external hard drive is one of the best decisions you can ever make as a techie. It is your first step towards having enough storage for all your files.

However, in the process of buying an external hard drive, there are a few things to look out for. To ensure that you’re buying a suitable hard drive, the following are specifications to look out for:

1. Memory capacity

The major function of the external hard drive is to help in storing files, so you need one that has enough space to accommodate all the files you have and the potential ones. 

You should also consider that you will be using the hard drive for a long time. So it should have as much space as it can or as you can afford.

2. Hard drive type 

There are two different types of external hard drives. What you’re looking to get from the hard drive would determine the type of hard drive you should get. We have the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and the SSD (Solid State Drive).

The HDD is more cost-effective when compared to the SSD. They offer more storage space at lesser costs, unlike the SSD which is usually more expensive as the storage space increases. The SSDs are, however, faster, last longer, and consume less energy compared to the HDD.

3. Portability and durability

When you’re looking to buy a hard drive, you should opt for a brand that is rugged and durable. You might need to take the external hard drive away from your workplace regularly to avoid losing your files from mishandling. 

Thus, you need a portable hard drive just in case you need to move it around.

4. Compatibility

Ensure that the external hard drive is compatible with all your devices so you don’t have issues with accessing your files in the future.

5. Reviews

Most importantly, you should check out people’s reviews of the product that you want to buy. This would give you an insight into the product, what it feels like to use it, and likely problems you can encounter while using the product.

How to Use an External Hard Drive

1. Safely remove the hardware

When using an external hard drive, ensure you safely disconnect any device from it to avoid data corruption or even the hard drive from crashing. Once you have ejected the drive from the device, safely disconnect the cable.

2. Maintenance

When using an external hard drive, you should regularly update it to ensure the anti-virus software that protects it is up to date. Also, keep your hard drive away from moisture and dust because it can damage the hard drive.

3. Overloading

Make sure that you never fill up your external hard drive to its maximum capacity because it reduces the performance. Thus, to get the best out of your hard drive, do not overload it.

4. Physical impact

Protect your hard drive from any type of physical impact at all costs. Physical impact on the external hard drive can damage the hard drive, causing it to malfunction.

Conclusion

External hard drives are very important and instrumental for every techie. This gadget gives you rest of mind when anything happens to the files on your device unexpectedly. You know you don’t have to worry because those files are already backed up on your hard drive.

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Edited by Priscilla Ajayi.

About Author

Tomi Taiwo

Tomi Taiwo is a Freelance Writer, Social Media Strategist, and Author. He creates and develops quality, tailored, and optimised content, and has written books/ articles for Lifestyle, Automobile, Finance, and Personal Development niches.
He is a lover of music, fashion, arts, enjoys reading and is passionate about research, growth and development.

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