Jason Lim Sun Feb 15, 2009 4:37 pm
There will be no compatibility issue. Any type of USB external hard drive nomatter the brand or model will work with Vista. It is not neccessary to install any software that came with the external hard drive to make it work. When you plug in the USB connector to your computer (and any external power source to the outlet if it came with one), another icon will show up in your My Computer window - like a E: drive or F: drive for example. At that point you can simply doubleclick into it and copy/paste files to and from it like any other storage location.
For
most people 80GB is enough space to backup all of your saved data like all files in your My Documents folder, Desktop, Favorites, Outlook or Outlook Express email, etc. Plus sounds like you got it free, so even better. Now if you do
lots of music downloads or word with video clips/files transferred from a video camera - those types of files can eat up HD space pretty quick. If you are willing to spend say $100, you can get a 750GB - 1000GB external HD online.
If you intend to have some sort of automation for your backup procedures (ie. it backs up every 24hrs on a set schedule) you can use the built-in backup utility from windows vista, or if you got a CD with the external hard drive it might contain some software that you can install that will automate your backups. Now here is where compatibility issues my come into play with the backup
software that's on the CD. You can also spend more money to buy backup software to automate your backups.
One way of backing up your files that I would recommend getting used to are online services like IDrive.com and Carbonite.com. They have free trials and some services give you 2GB of space free to backup. For about $4 per month, you can backup an infinite amount of data to Carbonite.com (which is the service I use for my systems) and it automates the process where it backs up all files every moment it is edited/saved. With an external hard drive, you still need to learn how to program the back up software, and there's a chance that the external hard drive may fail in 2-3 years. What I like about online backup services is that most allow unlimited space and the software is very simple, to use and you don't have to worry about the service "failing". Spending $100 on an external hard drive that
you have to manage cost the same as about 2 years worth of automated online backup service that is managed
for you and has unlimited storage capacity (at least with Carbonite).
Let me know if you need help in setting up any external hard drive backup scenario for you. But remember, the cost for me to come out an help you could be used to buy another 2 years worth of having an online backup service do all your backups for you.
