Losing my memory…. Advice please.

[Learner]

Help please… this is becoming a serious issue!

I once had a huge capacity for storing new information…music, images and words were no problem at all.

Then, after several years of use, I find my memory is simply not what it used to be… it’s crammed full. I can’t afford to discard any more information and my photos are precious reminders of the past.

Of course I’m talking about my reliable, faithful old PC…. Not me!

Of my once expansive 66.5 GB I have a mere 5.32 GB available. In its day it was a trend setter – a business level HP Compaq with some rather nifty additional software including two HD – the second is only for back up and security.

So… as I can’t afford to replace my machine I thought the only other option would be an external HD of some sort or other.

It’s either an external hard drive or a portable hard drive which doesn’t require an additional power source. Whichever I choose it will need to be USB2 I guess as I’m too old to have USB3.

Which would you chose / recommend?

This one link

or this one link

I quite like the idea of the first one because it’s cheaper and won’t be yet another gadget plugged into the mains but I need something really reliable to hold many years of photographs that I couldn’t bare to lose.

Your advice would be appreciated.

[stace]

Hi there Learner.

The problem with computers failing to keep up over time is accelerating. Their lifespans are shortening as tech gets better and faster more rapidly, so machines just can't keep up. 

I'm on a Mac which I have to upgrade every 4 years at the least, but I need mine for work so it's an expense I must bear. 

I asked my partner, Marc, about your situation. He deals with PCs, scheduled upgrades and quick fixes to dying machines at work. 

Hope this helps. Here's what he said:

As far as the two drives go – I’d recommend the WD My Book for 89.99.

The WD My Passport is cool, small and snazzy, but it’s also dangerous.

Why? Because its small then you move it around a lot, upstairs, downstairs, round to your relative’s house to show them the pictures/movie. Then you drop it. And loose everything, like our neighbour did last week. Eight years of stuff.

Also – you can compress the files on your old Compac. Right click on Local Disk C, and go down to Properties. Then click on Disk Cleanup.

The sliding bar thing will happen for a while and then it’ll give you a list of where you can make some savings.

Another thing you can do – probably before doing the above, is uninstall old software that you don’t use.
Go to Control Panel – Add or remove progams. Be cautious though.

On a “future” note, you will need to consider getting a new computer in the next year or so, as MicroSoft are going to stop support for Windows XP in April next year. There’ll be no more upgrades and your Windows machine will become even more vulnerable.

[birdguhl]

I am in the same situation but as well as my computer being full, I feel my brain is too.

Have you considered online storage? I have two full external hard drives and I don't have room for more devices. Also I like to have info on at least two devices so the most recent full external drive would have to be backed up to the new one and I am a bit worried about routing that much information through my current laptop.

I have been looking into the online options a bit (( forget if you are a UK person, Learner? If so Currys/PC World's 'Knowhow' is the one I've looked at www.knowhow.com/uk/support/cloud-backup.aspx?country=uk ) but it is on my list to do a bit more checking to see what is the best deal.

I think there are some computer whizz people on the forum tho - so you'll probably get some more informed advice than mine!

[Deleted]

Could you put all your photos on photobucket? That would free up some space. look into compressing files and do a defragment to remove and sort out all your wasted space. You'd be surprised at how much room you an make. You could also remove some things to USB sticks. I regularly remove all the info I need and then reset my computer back to factory settings.

[Learner]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I've already compressed files so there's little room for improvement. I'm not relaxed about saving files / photos online - sooner have them where I can be sure they should be safe.

I think I'll go for the 2TB WD model although I could do without the exttra expense as I also need to renew my internet security so that's another £24 on top. Cheaper than a new PC though.

Here's hoping the WD My Book Essential External Hard Drive will last - it doesn't appear to have any more than standard warranty although the WD My Passport Portable Hard Drive - 1TB does (2 years).

Fingers crossed. Now to talk to my wife....