USB drives - Working drive or backup only

  • Thread starter Thread starter kerynb
  • Start date Start date
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kerynb

Is it safe to work directly from USB drive or should I only be working
from computer and then backing up to USB? I have had conflicting
opinions on this.

Thanks in advance
 
Is it safe to work directly from USB drive or should I only be working
from computer and then backing up to USB? I have had conflicting
opinions on this.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

All things being equal, the preference to working off the computer
is having a file saved in the computer itself as well as a copy of
same backed up on the flash drive. OTOH, the temptation is too great
to be lazy and not copy an original file on the USB drive for backup
on the computer.
 
Think about this, what happens when the drive fails? That should point
out the erroneous opinion.
 
Is it safe to work directly from USB drive or should I only be working
from computer and then backing up to USB? I have had conflicting
opinions on this.
Click to expand...

Not considering the slower transfer rates of USB, you have to consider the
quality of the USB enclosure and power supply. The only real risk of working
directly on the drive is that MANY of the USB enclosures out there have
really crappy power supplies and cheap electronics, so are more likely to
fail.

For the most part the risk is negligable though. If the drive is fast enough
and you find it easier to work directly from it, feel free.
 
Ya... there are MANY more points of failure in a PC than in a USB enclosure,
so you'll DEFINATELY want to work as much as possible on the USB drive and
leave the internal drive alone!

: )
 
And I repeat, "Think about this, what happens when the drive fails? That
should point out the erroneous opinion." ;-)
 
And I repeat, "Think about this, what happens when the drive fails? That
should point out the erroneous opinion." ;-)
Click to expand...

This is for a classroom situation where I am constantly changing
computers. I do, however, backup regularly to my account on a server
so I will continue to use the USB drive.

Cheers to all for the replies
 
classroom situation, moving <<

A couple of thoughts...

Are the (classroom) computers going to allow a usb drive connection?

How much do you need to take with you? there are some fairly large thumb
drives which have no moving parts, not shock sensive, low power demands,
don't need external power and have no heat problems, all of which are
going to be factors with a usb hard drive enclosure.

If you still need a hard drive unit, take heat and power into
consideration. The empty "drive enclosures" where you add your own hard
drive are more likely to have heat problems than complete units which
sell including the actual hard drive.

Units for smaller laptop or smaller drives will need less power and have
fewer heat issues, but I'm not impressed with their life and reliability
so far.

If the heat and power issues are addressed, to answer your base
question, they should be as accessible and reliable as an internal hard
drive.

Finally, are your classroom computers networked? In addition to being
possible (depending on the "lockdown" level and access to the admin)
accessing your computer or a portable "network drive" might be
possibilities.

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]
 
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