Top 5 external drives: Backing up is a personal matter
Posted: March 31, 2012 at 12:54 am
CNET editor Dong Ngo rounds up five external hard drives that make the best backup drives.
The last Saturday of March is World Backup Day, and you'll see a lot of storage vendors taking this occasion to pitch their products for backup purposes. I am about to do a similar thing, but from a very different point of view: yours.
None of the vendors goes as far as guaranteeing the integrity of storage on their products. At most, a vendor would give you a new product to replace the broken one, or in the currently unique case of IoSafe, offer to pay up to a certain amount toward data recovery. I, on the other hand, promise, if not guarantee, that if you follow my advice, your data will be safe.
The truth is that backing up is a personal matter that needs to be taken care of on a regular basis -- even daily, if possible. The key thing is to store copies of data in multiple places and never rely on just one medium for your important, irreplaceable data.
Note that commercial movies, music, and other purchasable digital content are replaceable. It's great that you can back everything up, but most of the time, the personal information that you really need to safeguard takes up very little storage space.
Up-to-date backups of your data are like insurance; you need it and at the same time hope to never have to resort to it.
The second thing to note is that even a brand-new hard drive can die at any time, without any warning. You can always lose your portable drive, and your online storage service can go out of business all of sudden. You need to act when everything is in working order -- which can give you a false sense of safety -- because otherwise, most of the time, it's just too late. And let me say this once more time: never use just one medium to keep your important, irreplaceable data.
Up-to-date backups of your data are like insurance; you need it and at the same time hope to never have to resort to it. There are many ways to keep your data safe and you can find out about different types of backups here.
To make it easier, in this roundup, however, I'll focus on external hard drives, which are the most popular, affordable, and easiest way to back up (and restore) data. Even better: you only have to pay for them once. Here are my choices for the top five external hard drives that are great ways to keep your data safe. They are formatted for Windows but can be easily reformatted to work with Macs. They are listed in order of seriousness, with the most casual -- and affordable -- drives on top.
WD 2TB My Passport Western Digital's 2TB My Passport is the world's first portable drive that offers 2TB of storage space. This is about as large as you can get from a 2.5-inch-based external hard drive given the current perpendicular recording technology. Despite this top capacity, the drive is very compact and is bus-powered. All you need is the included standard Micro-USB 3.0 cable for it to work. (The drive works with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.)
Excerpt from:
Top 5 external drives: Backing up is a personal matter
- Perform Windows Computer registry Cleanup to Improve Method ... [Last Updated On: June 27th, 2010] [Originally Added On: June 27th, 2010]
- Barbara Marx Hubbard, Conscious Evolution [Last Updated On: August 10th, 2011] [Originally Added On: August 10th, 2011]
- Cobus - Planetshakers - Never Stop (Drum Cover) [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2011]
- PK Subban's Off-Season Training featured on the NHL network [Last Updated On: September 23rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 23rd, 2011]
- Yamaha FX SHO Series Test 2012b- By BoatTest.com [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2011]
- 2011 VMAs - Lady Gaga as a man, Adele, NIcki Minaj, Beyonce, Brun Mars does Amy [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2011]
- Lady Gaga -- The Full Interview! [Last Updated On: September 24th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 24th, 2011]
- Google I/O 2011: WebGL Techniques and Performance [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2011]
- Landon Swank UNDERWATER ESCAPE (BEST PERFORMANCE? - Review) - America's Got Talent 8/16/11 Recap [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2011]
- Bloc Party | This Modern Love | A Take Away Show [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2011]
- Liza Minelli Interview [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2011]
- NCIX PC Vesta 5050 High Performance Gaming PC Showcase Linus Tech Tips [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2011]
- SK Gaming vs Kil'Jaeden World First High Quality part 1/2 [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2011]
- Billy Beck III Personal Training [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2011]
- "The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world" (7 of 13) [Last Updated On: September 26th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 26th, 2011]
- Bishop Walter Hawkins - Part 1 - LAST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE - "Marvelous" [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2011]
- Yamaha 190 Series Test 2012- By BoatTest.com [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2011]
- Casey James: Top 11 Performance (Power of love) [Last Updated On: September 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 27th, 2011]
- Britney Spears Satisfaction [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2011]
- Bishop Walter Hawkins - Part 2 - LAST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE - "Marvelous" [Last Updated On: September 29th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 29th, 2011]
- Shania Up! Close [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2011]
- Peak Performance Golf Swing Analysis [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2011] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2011]
- £2300 Ultimate Performance PC Unboxing Video [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2011]
- Cressey Performance Foam Roller Series [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2011]
- Brian Tracy - Unbreakable Laws Of Self-Confidence Motivational Video Preview from Seminars on DVD [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2011]
- Brooklyn Decker on Ellen DeGeneres Show - Sport's Illustrated / 2/12/2010 [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2011]
- NCIX PC Vesta 4050 Performance Prototype [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2011]
- Justin Bieber - "Pray" (HD) AMA Music Awards 2010 Performance LIVE (November 21st, 2010) [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2011]
- Janet Jackson -- Number Ones: Up Close and Personal -- Part 1 [Last Updated On: October 7th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 7th, 2011]
- Cobus - Hillsong United - Take It All (Drum Cover) [Last Updated On: October 8th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 8th, 2011]
- Johnny Cash - Cremation of Sam McGee [Last Updated On: October 8th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 8th, 2011]
- Ajda Pekkan - Petrol (performance from National Final 1980) [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2011]
- Up Close and Personal with PZ - Farhan Akhtar and Preity Zinta - Full Episode - UTVSTARS HD [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2011]
- Cray CX1 Deskside Supercomputer [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2011]
- Yamaha 242 Limited S Boat 2011 Performance Test - By BoatTest.com [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2011]
- HakTip - HOWTO: Optimize Your PC For Fastest Performance [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2011]
- MEDLEY // "A Little More Personal" by Lindsay Lohan - Video [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2011]
- Mosquito XET Turbine Personal and Light Helicopter - You Can Own the Dream @ ROTOR F/X LLC - Video [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2011]
- adidas adiZero F50 miCoach - Video [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2011]
- Avril Lavigne - Push - 4Play - 5th March 2011 [Live] - Video [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2011]
- Children of Bodom - Live at Wacken (2011) ENTIRE PERFORMANCE - Video [Last Updated On: October 18th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 18th, 2011]
- Up Close and Personal with PZ - Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta - Full Episode - UTVSTARS HD - Video [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2011]
- cry baby elimination performance- Allison Iraheta - Video [Last Updated On: October 19th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 19th, 2011]
- Tesla Personal Supercomputer - Video [Last Updated On: October 21st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 21st, 2011]
- Adam Lambert-American Idol Top 8 (group performance+night results) - Video [Last Updated On: October 21st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 21st, 2011]
- Anne Hathaway at Ellen DeGenere - Valentine's Day Show - 2/12/2010 - Video [Last Updated On: October 23rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 23rd, 2011]
- Zero Tolerance 200: Big performance, Less Money - Video [Last Updated On: October 24th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 24th, 2011]
- Stress Release Technique - Video [Last Updated On: October 26th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 26th, 2011]
- Misha Angrist On Personal Genomics - Video [Last Updated On: October 29th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 29th, 2011]
- Best lessons from Anthony Robbins. Personal development.02 Visits. www.agelars.com - Video [Last Updated On: October 30th, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 30th, 2011]
- Cristiano Ronaldo vs Villarreal - Home (11-12) by Yan Gama - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2011]
- How to Build a Quiet High-Performance PC Video Overview - Part 4 - AcousticPC.com - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2011] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2011]
- Alec Baldwin - Best performance - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2011]
- Paul Baloche -solving personal conflicts on the worship team - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2011]
- Ep 6 Marissa practising for and performing 'Hate on me' - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2011]
- Identities - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2011]
- Horia Brenciu , Guess Who [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2011]
- IaMmE Crew Compilation Part 1 (Week 1-8) - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2011]
- DBSK - Mirotic [SBS Gayo Daejun - HD -20081229] - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2011]
- Natasja's Final Performance (Portmore Awards 2007) - Video [Last Updated On: November 4th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 4th, 2011]
- Up Close and Personal with PZ - Yuvraj Singh - Full Episode UTVSTARS HD - Video [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 5th, 2011]
- Mike Burnside CSEP CEP, personal trainer, demonstrates his performance fitness - Video [Last Updated On: November 7th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 7th, 2011]
- Boa Spark Live Performance - Awesome Dancing - Video [Last Updated On: November 10th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 10th, 2011]
- My Life live Performance - Video [Last Updated On: November 11th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 11th, 2011]
- Price and Performance PC Build Video - Video [Last Updated On: November 15th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 15th, 2011]
- 3rd Performance - YellowJackets - "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" By Jersey Boys - Sing Off - S3 - Video [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2011]
- Adam Lambert-American Idol Top 11 (group performance+night results) - Video [Last Updated On: November 19th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 19th, 2011]
- Off Book | Fashion of Artists | PBS Arts - Video [Last Updated On: November 22nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 22nd, 2011]
- {Boost/Improve/Get Better} Gaming FPS [Last Updated On: November 22nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 22nd, 2011]
- Up Close and Personal with PZ - Saif Ali Khan - Full Episode UTVSTARS HD - Video [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2011]
- The Reebok Zig Slash Performance Review - Video [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2011]
- Snowy Cold Starts, Tours, and Updates of the Personal Vehicles - Video [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2011]
- Justin Bieber Mistletoe AMA Performance - Video [Last Updated On: November 24th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 24th, 2011]
- Merton Sings for Hank - Video [Last Updated On: November 25th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 25th, 2011]
- Come Dine With Me Season 17 Episode 76 Series 17, Episode 64 - Video [Last Updated On: November 27th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 27th, 2011]
- Danielle Kennedy: Sales and Personal Performance Whiz - Video [Last Updated On: November 29th, 2011] [Originally Added On: November 29th, 2011]
- Inner Circle Performs Tribute to Dennis Brown. "Revolution" LIVE at the Circle Village - Video [Last Updated On: December 2nd, 2011] [Originally Added On: December 2nd, 2011]
- CJC Personal Presentation - Video [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2011] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2011]
- Achieving Your Personal Best in 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2011] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2011]
- Romanian Deadlift - How To - Radix Performance - Video [Last Updated On: December 8th, 2011] [Originally Added On: December 8th, 2011]