External DVD Burners by Marcus Peterson
External DVD burners are DVD burners that burn information through laser onto a DVD disc. As the name says, these burners are connected externally to a personal computer or a laptop using FireWire or USB connectors. External DVD burners are used to record video and to read, write and store data... If there is no free drive bay in the desktop, it is better to use an external drive. ... External DVD burners are more expensive compared to internal burners. ... It is possible to convert an internal DVD burner to an external one.

Shopping Tips For Buying An External Harddrive by Cedric H. Dirose
When the first external harddrive first hit the market, it was large, clunky, slow and very expensive. Like most aspects of the world of computer technology, however, the prices of these external had drives have steadily fallen, even as the speed, reliability and storage capacity has increased... While there used to be a huge price differential between internal and external hard drives, with external hard drives costing far more than internal had drives, these days the difference in price has dropped significantly, making an external harddrive a more realistic choice for more and more people.

What To Look For In A Computer Hard Drive by Cedric H. Dirose
There is no doubt that the computer hard drive is the lifeblood of any computer, from the tiniest laptop to the largest computer server. Without a hard drive on which to store data, even the most technologically advanced computer is worthless, so it is important to choose that drive carefully. ... If you fill up the computer hard drive that came with your computer you will have to either replace it with a larger capacity drive, buy a second internal hard drive or purchase an external hard drive that connects to the computer with a USB cable.

Configuring the Internal Drives ... Step 11 of 21 by Chuck Lunsford
Before configuring you must decide what type of drives and how many you want in your system. Unless you plan on using your PC for more involved applications such as networking then one drive should be sufficient. In fact with today’s drive sizes like the LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Drive coming in at... Strictly speaking, "drive" refers to a device that drives (removable) media, such as a tape drive or (floppy) disk drive, while a hard disk contains fixed (non-removable) media. ... However, in recent times, the hard disk has become more commonly known as the "hard drive." The same procedure goes...

Using An External Hard Drive To Keep Your Data Safe by Niall Roche
If you want to keep your data completely safe, you should look into types of data backup that do not require constant power supplies. While discs such as CDs and DVDs are a good way to make a smaller, permanent backup, external hard drives are another great way to back up your data safely. ... Before external drives were affordable, there are some computer users who made external drives by setting internal drives into an outer casing. ... Once again, if you are using an external hard disk for computer backup, do not leave the external drive connected to your computer.

External Hard Drives by Kent Pinkerton
The trend with technology seems to be going small and mobile. You would probably think that is where the manufacturers got the idea of making external hard drives. These are hard disk drives (HDD) that are literally placed outside of the computer case. ... As an alternative to these external HDD, manufacturers have developed an HDD casing that allows you to convert your internal HDD, whether it is a 3.5” drive or a 2.5” drive, to external HDD. ... What differentiates an external 3.5” drive from a 2.5” drive is that normally, the larger device would need an extra power source, while the...

PC Purchases: The Benefits of Adding CD-RW Drives by Joshua Feinberg
Regardless of whether your clients are considering PC purchases of desktops or notebooks, they need to consider compatibility issues with a CD-RW drive, the accompanying operating system and other hardware components. With a notebook, you’re generally restricted to proprietary parts that only... The incremental cost of upgrading from a standard CD-ROM drive to a CD-RW drive at time of PC purchases is usually minimal. ... The bundled CD-RW drive will be covered by the PC’s warranty. ... Tech Support and Warranty Benefits The PC vendor who bundled the CD-RW drive with the desktop notebook...

How to Add or Remove an IDE ROM drive by Mark Berger
CD ROMS - If you're adding or removing an internal cd-rom, dvd-rom, or just about any internal ROM that has an opening CD door, read on. Almost all IDE devices such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc. including burners and dvd burners are all installed or removed in the same fashion. ... Now, your drive will not stay in that position unless you mount it with some scrues, so do so to both sides of the drive. ... You can connect up to two rom drives on one cable, as it will have one end that connects to your board, one end that connects to a drive, and a middle connector for another drive.

Thumb Drives - Great New Technology! by Mike Burstein
The ability to easily move data from PC to PC with minimal inconvenience is just another benefit computers have brought to the current business world. Over the past few years, the different options to save and move data have multiplied dramatically. Usually the floppy disk (with it's 1.2 MB... The latest innovation, the USB Removable Flash Memory (Thumb Drive, Key Drive, Flash Drive, USB Drive, Micro Drive) brings a whole new meaning to easy transport of data. ... For very little cost you can now conveniently move data between PC's just as easily as accessing the data on your internal hard...

Are Hard Drives Better for Backups than CD/DVDs or Tapes? by Buddy Shearer
Are hard drives better for backups than CD/DVDs or Tapes? Tapes have issues and so do CD/DVDs. Well, on thing is for sure. These are better than nothing. In fact, a thumb drive or USB drive is better than nothing but weigh all of the facts before you come to any conclusion. ... I mentioned a thumb drive as being better than nothing and while that is true they have their own major issue. ... The reason is their internal software. ... Just make sure the drive is of a new model. ... It is true a tape can be zapped with a magnetic but a CD/DVD should not be hurt by one.