Iwrite this article because I have been getting a lot of my clients ask me about using their external hard drives. Apparently external hard drives are still a new technology that still needs explaining. I apologize if that line sounds condescending; it is not intended as such. Nevertheless, external hard drives are very simple and easy to use.

But before I explain their making and how to use them, let me just highlight why someone might need an external hard drive. You might need to get an external hard drive if
The why

• you are running out of space on your computer
• you save a lot of music and videos on your computer
• you want to back up your data
• you want to take your files with you to another computer

These by no means are the only reasons to buy an external hard drive but points out the reasons for most people. For techs like myself, they are a must. I have a 1.5 terabyte (a thousand gigs). Back in the days terabytes were only found on servers now they are a norm. So now that this technology is more common, how do you use it?

Simple. When you open your new external hard drive, there is a USB cord that usually comes with it and sometimes a power adapter that connects to your electric socket. Some need external power (from your socket) some don’t because they get power and also transfer data via the USB cable that comes with it.

Once you have the box opened, connect one end to the drive and the other end (USB end) to your computer. And almost immediately a “autoplay” screens pops up asking you what you want to do. You can open the folder which is what I do and then copy the files from your computer by pressing control Ctrl+C and then click on the blank screen on the external hard drive folder that you opened and press control Ctrl+V to paste the files over to your new hard drive. That’s it.

If you have any questions you can always ask an expert using our Tip Cycle system.