backing up to internal hard drive?

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sancco

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Sep 16, 2009
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hi all. i'm wondering what's the difference between backing up to internal or external hard drive. if i just keep the external next to the computer the whole time, i may aswell save money and use an internal hard drive, right?
 
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pyro226
The main difference I can think of is a virus may affect all drives connected to the system. If your external is unplugged, it is a little safer in that aspect alone.

I use internal though because it is generally faster data transfer and easier because I don't have to hunt down or plug in a drive each time. Possibly more spin-ups and spin-downs (which wear the drive) each time computer boots though. I turn on an off my system a few times per day :/ Also, I prefer hard drives with external power since I never have luck with USB-power external hdd's. They always just sit there and click and occasionally don't receive enough power, even when using a 2USB power/ data to mini USB data connection (double amperage), which messes up my...
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sancco

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yes but i've already got one of those. i have a two-tier system. one updates every day onto an external that sits next to my computer, the other i bring home and backup onto once a week, then take off-site. i'm wondering if that day-to-day external may aswell be an internal, or if the fact that it's on an different power supply/board makes much of a difference. thanks :)
 
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mbreslin1954

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There's really no difference. In the past, external hard drives were more expensive due to the extra materials in the housing and the cable required, but in the past year or so I've noticed that external HDDs actually cost less than internals in a lot of cases. Perhaps I'm just seeing too many sales on 1 TB and 2 TB external drives. Go with whatever solution is cheapest for you.
 
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pyro226

pyro226

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The main difference I can think of is a virus may affect all drives connected to the system. If your external is unplugged, it is a little safer in that aspect alone.

I use internal though because it is generally faster data transfer and easier because I don't have to hunt down or plug in a drive each time. Possibly more spin-ups and spin-downs (which wear the drive) each time computer boots though. I turn on an off my system a few times per day :/ Also, I prefer hard drives with external power since I never have luck with USB-power external hdd's. They always just sit there and click and occasionally don't receive enough power, even when using a 2USB power/ data to mini USB data connection (double amperage), which messes up my data transfer :(
 
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sancco

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ok thanks for all the replies... just one other thing, if the PSU fails is it likely to take any of the hard drives with it? everything considered, this seems the only likely reason to use an external instead of an internal in this instance. i would still do the external weekly backup for off-site protection.

thanks :)
 
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