looking for an external hard drive - help please.

Mrs_Bones

Hi
I am looking to buy an external hard drive but apart from the basics I use my pc for I'm not that computer savy

I'm not very good at backing up and I have alot of family history files and photos I have put on now so want something that is really simple for me to set up and will do the backing up for me. I have the XP operating system if that makes a difference.

I have found this one in argos and it just got my attention mainly because it said it was auto install and auto back up but I've no idea if it's a good buy or not, it is a bit more money then I was hoping to pay, but I'd sooner pay a bit more and have something that is simple for me to use then anything complicated I can't understand.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6754855/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C10198997/c_2/2%7Ccat_10198997%7CHard+drives+and+data+storage%7C10199109/c_3/3%7Ccat_10199109%7CHard+drives%7C10199113.htm

Could someone help me please and tell me what sort of hard drive it would be best for me to get or what I should look for in one.

Thanks for reading.

savemoney

Yes dont rely on usb hd !!!!!!, mine went the other day fortunate I had more backups on dvd

aliEnRIK

If you do buy one. Buy a decent make
Seagate, Western Digital and Hitachi are good makes
Duff makes WORK, but then break down.....
Also, bare in mind it MUST be looked after. if its dropped or suchlike, chances are its broken!

Mrs_Bones

Thank you all for the advice.

I have just had a look at my disc drive and is says 'DVD + Writer / CD-Writer' so I'm assuming that means I can use the dvd recorderable discs in it, I found some in argos so I'll get them to see how I get on.

Is there a software program I could get that would make backing up easier for me?

aliEnRIK

IMAGE BURN is now my favourite burning software (Mainly because NERO seems to struggle with the 'layer skip' on dual layer dvds)
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

Cheapest way is to get a hold of normal single density discs, create FOLDERS and put all the files etc that are being 'backed up' in them upto 4.35 gig. Then burn each folder in turn