One of the cheapest and most efficient methods of getting more from your laptop or desktop PC is to add a little extra memory to speed it up. On the other hand, if a laptop or PC is running slow it may be down to the hard drive being saturated, or at least near to saturation point. A handy solution in more ways than one is to attach a portable hard drive and move as much as possible from the internal hard drive to the external portable drive.

Instant storage solution

Portable hard drives are an instant storage solution for files, images and applications when storage space on the internal hard drive of a laptop or PC is fast approaching ‘critical mass’ so to speak. You can guarantee that most of the images you have downloaded from a digital camera or other device such as a camcorder or mobile phone will be in the original format (and size) in which they were taken.

File sizes can be many Megabytes and a collection of images of the family, days out, holidays or just snaps taken as a memory of an occasion soon start to clutter up a hard drive. Hard drives and memory in laptops and PCs have greater capacity but so too have applications and file sizes grown too. With a strategically connected portable external drive, you can now transfer images and videos and create a library for your treasured memories.

A platform for applications

Most laptops and PCs are the platform for games and applications, which although they may be used regularly do not have to be stored on the internal hard drive for them to work. If they are not required as an element of the boot up sequence of a laptop or PC, they can be installed on the external hard drive and booted from there when needed.

Portable hard drives are a much cheaper option than buying into a new PC or laptop especially when you have no reason to do so. Keeping the internal hard drive as free as possible form ‘clutter’ will enable it to run more efficiently. A USB connected portable hard drive is a practical alternative for storage, for running applications and freeing up space, giving a PC or laptop a new lease of life.

Games and applications

Games and applications which are commonly used either on a home PC or office PC can take up many Gigabytes of space on a hard drive, yet only require a few files at any one time when they are in operation. This is especially true of games such as Call of Duty Black Ops and FIFA Football series of games. These can be successfully run from a portable hard drive with no perceptible jitter or lag time.

A simple and cheap solution, in two swift operations you can create a library for all your treasured images and video recordings, as well as a storage space for files and other work related stuff. In addition, the bonus is a much faster more responsive PC or laptop, pretty much almost as fast as the day it was bought.

Now, isn’t it time you rejuvenated your old laptop or PC at a fraction of the cost of buying a new one?

Graham Green is a freelance writer and has two portable hard drives attached to his laptop at all times. His laptop is his work and his leisure; it is as clear and free as the day it was taken out of the box.