While USB 2.0 is reasonably fast at 480 mbps, and Firewire 800 is
slightly faster at 800 mbps, both of these standards will restrict the
speed of your drive. For faster backups and less time spent transferring
files, you??™d be hard-pressed to beat eSATA (external SATA), which supports
speeds up to 2,400 mbps. Most desktop PC and some higher-end
laptops include eSATA ports for this purpose, but if your PC doesn??™t have
one, you can get an internal-to-external (SATA-to-eSATA) adapter for just
a few dollars, or a standalone eSATA controller for not much more.
Finally, there??™s the form factor, and this one??™s easy. Desktop PCs use socalled
3.5-inch drives, while laptops use 2.5-inch drives. If you??™re getting an
external drive, you have a choice between the two; 2.5-inch drives are
smaller and lighter-weight, but you get much more speed and capacity for
your money with a 3.5-inch drive.
Work with Partitions
Most hard disks are known by a single drive letter, usually C:. However, any
drive can be divided into several partitions, each with its own drive letter.
Most PC manufacturers these days ship partitioned hard disks. In fact, your
drive may have one primary partition with all your data, plus another,
smaller partition containing your PC??™s recovery data (to restore your hard
disk to the state it was in when you bought it), and sometimes a third EISA
Configuration partition (discussed later in this chapter). If you decide to nix
the other two partitions, you can combine them and finally start using all
the space on your drive.
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