External Hard Drive

Making sure that your information is safe should be your priority. An external hard drive is a device that you plug into your computer for immediate storage space. Having a backup for your computer is very important in case your computer crashes. This is a safe and secure way to protect your information.

The top 5 ways to use an external hard drive:

Storage- having a second copy of your files
Backups- a second copy of your entire hard drive
Digital Editing- more free space for editing
Data sharing- transfer data at a faster speed
Gaming- more space to store your games

Why do I need an external hard drive?

External hard drives are very useful. A big advantage of owning an external drive is that they are small and portable. They allow you to carry a large amount of information where ever you want. External drives also have the capability to connect to many other computers. If you feel that your computer is running out of storage space then investing in an external drive is a good idea.

How do I use it?

Use a USB cord to connect your external hard drive to the computer. This allows you to transfer and copy files off the computer into the drive. Regardless of the operating system, you can transfer files from Mac to PC or vice versa.

Do I need one for each computer?

Everyone's needs are different. The size of the external drive depends on what you need it for. External drives come in many sizes. Typically, the storage space is between 250GB and 1TB. As long as there is space on the drive, you can use it for more than one computer. Be sure that you know how much space you need on the drive to handle your needs.

How do I back up my computer?

You can backup your computer on your own:

Windows:
Click the Start button > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Backup and Restore.
Next, do one of the following:
-To create your first Windows Backup click Set up backup
-If you've created a backup before, you can wait for your scheduled backup or create a new one by clicking Back up now
-Make a new backup instead of updating the old one by clicking Create new, full backup.

Mac:
Find System Preferences in the Apple Menu
Click Time Machine
Then click Backup Disk
Select Your Hard Drive and for additional security check Encrypt Backup
Create a Password for Your Backup.
Wait for Backup to Begin.