An average computer user will one day find out that he or she is
facing a problem with storage issues. With the growing file sizes of
multimedia programs and files, not forgetting the growing number of
files the user is keeping in a hard drive too.
This is when one will go out there and purchase a second hard drive.
Many are not aware that they only have one physical hard disk in their
computer while they see more than one hard disk partition in their "My
Computer" - the usual setup is a single physical hard drive in a
computer with operating system boot partition and also storage
partition.
The faster the disk platter spins means faster read and write speed -
one will not require a 10,000 RPM performance hard disk to store or
back up data. There are also models out there offering large buffer
memory size such as 32MB so that data can be cached on it before being
retrieved, hence speeding data access time.
Usually a second hard drive will be used to store extra data such as
bulk high quality photographs, videos, and also music. A normal hard
disk with a large memory buffer and storage size is recommended. Hard
drive sizes are getting large these days with mainstream sizes hitting
500 Gigabytes and 1 Terabyte (1000 Gigabyte). A large hard disk like
this will be sufficient to store and back up data.
Getting an external hard drive is another method of adding storage
space to a system. An external enclosure for 3.5" or 2.5" hard disk is
available with Firewire or USB interface. This type of secondary drive
allows portability as an advantage, and it also seems to be the only
way to add extra storage space to a notebook computer because notebook
computers have only one hard disk bay.
