Interestingly, Many people who own a computer do not own a small portable hard drive, which is a very useful tool for backing up your summer vacation picture way for backing up your important files and storing them safely. Some people still go through the daunting time consuming task of backing up their files multiple CDs. Some users simply do not realize that a is the simplist way to make sure you do not lose any of your files in the event your main hard drive goes bad . Backing up your computer files on another drive is a fairly simple process.

What Files do You Want to Back Up on Your Portable Hard Drive?

Look through your computer files and determine which ones you would like to back up to your portable hard drive. This is an important step, as you need to make sure that you have the correct amount of storage space to complete the task . This is generally figured in megabytes (MB) or, gigabytes (GB) depending upon the capacity of the device. Once you have done this, you will have a basic idea of the portable hard drive size you will need. It is always good to add extra storage so that you can add more files later if you choose.

Purchase a Portable Hard Drive if You Don’t Already Have One

The next step is actually purchase a portable USB hard drive. While there are multiple steps to the purchase, there are a few easy tips to follow. Find a good brand that has a good reputation (research this online) and find the size closest to the size that you need. You may want to do some price comparisons but portable hard drive will come with a power cord and a USB cable. Using the power cord, plug it into your power supply (either directly into the wall or a power strip), while one end of the cable will simply plug into your portable hard drive and the other, flatter looking end plugs into one of your USB ports located on your desktop . It is important to note, however, that many newer drives have a simple extending USB port that, attached directly to the drive that simply plugs directly into your USB port. Make sure you read up on any special features the drive may have come with like fingerprint id or push button backup.

Moving or Copying Your Files

Since you have already found the files you want to move onto your portable hard drive, so now it’s time to move them. Simply “drag and drop” the files you want to move onto the folder that designates the portable hard drive in your “My Computer” window. It may take a few minutes for larger files to move over to the portable hard drive. If you feel like moving (and not simply copying), just delete the files on your computer from their original location once you have completed transferring them.

When you have completed the steps, you have officially backed up your files on your portable hard drive. You can store files on both hard drives, but you can also keep files on only the portable hard drive itself, allowing you to essentially double or triple your hard drive space for any new files you would like to transfer or back up.