The is a simple to setup, fast access, high capacity, external storage device that can be turned off when not in use.

Open the box, plug everything together and turn on the drive. Go to Windows Control Panel, select Administrative Tools and then Computer Management. Right-click on the new drive on the right window pane and select Format. I selected NTFS, gave the drive a name and began the formatting process. In less than 15 minutes, I had a formatted hard drive ready for use.

Digital format photography is incredible - but it requires lots of disk storage for high resolution pictures. Storage for both originals and backup (all storage media can fail) copies - both on-site and off.

I primarily work from a laptop computer. The largest laptop drives don't come close to storing all of my digital pictures, thus I utilize external hard drives extensively.

There are other advantages to using external drives such as the . If your computer dies (not the hard drive), you can simply plug the external drive into another computer. The has a power switch. If I am not directly using the drive, I turn it off (you should use the "Safely Remove Hardware" option in Windows System tray). Powered-off hard drives cannot be hacked into or erased by viruses. Powered-off hard drives do not generate heat which can eventually cause them to fail. And when the cabinet they are stored in is locked, powered off hard drives cannot be easily stolen or accessed.

Adding 300GB (about 279GB usable after formatting) of storage space doesn't get any easier than this. Pick up a D-Link 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub and add all of the drives you need. The is Firewire compatible as well.

I keep manually-mirrored copies of all my pics on dual s in my office (one copy on each drive) and another copy on an external drive at home. I also keep a CD/DVD copy of everything as well. I manually mirror (copy same files to both drives) my pics because I have lost RAID-mirrored drives (both at the same time) to a software glitch.

The comes with very highly rated automated backup software, but I am not personally interested in this feature and haven't used it. I am using the Maxtor 300s purely for storage.

The is relatively quiet (no fan noise). It gets warm with use, but not hot. I suggest allowing the a little ventilation during use. They can be position vertically in their stand or can be horizontally stacked on top of each other.

Their relatively small size makes the portable. They are not super light - but feel ruggedly built.

Fast data access cuts down on time spent creating backups - and makes you much more likely to make them in the first place.

If you care about your pictures, you really must have backups of them. The is simply a great primary and backup storage solution. It even looks great with the blue light in front and classy silver metal case.

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