In part 2 of my very occasional HOWTO series, I will look at various forms of media and methods of backing up your data in case of data failure and their pros and cons.
USB Flash Drive
Capacity: Generally in the 1-16GB range, though older generations do exist at <1GB.
Price per GB: ~$10
Pros: Highly portable, fast, compatible with most platforms.
Cons: Small form factor makes easy to lose and damage, flash memory technology has limited write cycles, expensive on a per-GB basis.
What this means: USB drives are great for transferring files between computers on the move quickly. Their portability means that it is easy to carry around and use. However, a flash drive has limited write cycles and should not be consistently relied upon to backup data safely.
Portable Hard Drive
Capacity: Up to 750GB, but models up to the terabyte range exist (and you can build your own).
Price per GB: Varies from $0.50 to $1 (cheaper if you build your own).
Pros: Somewhat portable, fast (even faster on eSATA interface), cheap, stable storage
Cons: Susceptible to shock damage from drops, may need own power supply
What this means: Great way to backup data, particuarly before formatting a computer (will be covered in a later HOWTO). Also an excellent way to transfer large files between computers and extend a computer storage without having to open the case (though this is the cheapest and best way!).
Additional Internal Hard Drive
Capacity: Up to 1TB - extensible via RAID.
Price per GB: Varies from $0.29 to $0.35
Pros: Ridiculously cheap, stable for backups and extremely fast.
Cons: Not portable, hard to install for novices.
What this means: Another hard drive is a great way to either add space or dedicate a drive to backups (making reformatting and installing Windows a less painful experience). It is cheap, fast, and getting cheaper by the day =P
Drive Partitioning
Capacity: User-defined, up to hard drive space
Price per GB: Free, except cost for main hard drive
Pros: Same advantages as another internal hard drive, but free.
Cons: As the image suggests, can become a source of problems for the first timer - complexity; loss of space on the main hard drive, loss of all data when repartitioning the drive (except when using GParted - another source of confusion).
What this means: A great way to split your existing hard drive into two 'virtual' hard drives. This means that you can store your data on one drive and your OS on the other, leading to less format headaches later on (ref internal hard drive). However, if your main drive fails - both fail (unlike the former).
DVDs - note that DVD discs are cheaper than CDs, which is why I have not included them.
Capacity: 4.7GB (generally, without addition on dual-layer/double-sided technologies/techniques).
Price per GB: $0.05 - $0.06
Pros: Cheap, somewhat fast, portable and suited to archiving.
Cons: Write-once, generally, susceptible to damage by scratching
What this means: Great way to store files for the long-term without having to resort to tape drives. However, they do degrade over a long period of time (~20 years?). As unerasable storage, I would strongly not suggest you store anything sensitive on DVDs.
All images have been used with permission under the Creative Commons licence.
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