One of the things that drives many computer users to upgrade their entire machine is the simple lack of space on their internal hard drive. For most people the need to upgrade the entire system is brought on by a lack of knowledge as to just how easy it is to replace or add a new hard drive to your system. Simply replacing the hard drive can save hundreds of dollars over the cost of a new system, and anyone can do it. Here's how.
Selecting a new hard drive is largely dependent on two things. First, how comfortable you are with modifying your computer and second, what kind of hard drive will work with your existing system.
External USB Hard Drives: The Easy Option
If you are the type of person that is scared to death of opening up the chassis of your computer and moving around some wires then an external USB hard drive is the best option. As easy to do as plugging in a new mouse, external USB hard drives are spacious and incredibly easy to set up. Simply plug the drive into an available USB port on the outside of your computer, plug the drive in to a wall power socket, and instantly you have a new hard drive, ready to be filled with family photos, videos, or anything else that you need to put on it. USB hard drives are also great to use as backups to store your important data in case the primary hard drive fails.
The downside to using an external USB hard drive is that you cannot use it as a boot drive to replace the hard drive already in your computer. Another occasional problem with USB drives is that they are not as fast at transferring data as a normal hard drive is. This can be a major problem if you are doing video editing and attempting to store the data on the external drive. The next iteration of USB will probably fix that issue, but the release of USB 3.0 products is still a long way off.
Internal SATA or PATA Hard Drives: Power in a small package
If you decide to replace the hard drive inside your computer you will need to know what kind of interface it has. By opening up the case and looking at the back of the hard drive you can easily tell whether the drive is a Parallel ATA or Serial ATA drive. Parallel ATA drives have a very wide yet thin ribbon cable which has dozens of tiny pins connecting it to the hard drive. SATA drives use a much smaller connection. Once you have determined the drive type purchase your favorite replacement and follow the instructions with the drive to transfer the old hard drive files over to the new drive. The process is fairly simple, and the major hard drive manufacturers such as Seagate and Maxtor do a wonderful job of making the process relatively painless.
Replacing the hard drive on your computer is a quick and highly cost effective way to breathe new life into a middle aged computer. Save a few bucks and try installing one the next time your PC says it is running out of room.
