Windows 7: What type of external hard drive do I need

I want to back up files ,pictures using an extrnal hard drive. After researching this matter I'm now more confused. I know what size I want but not sure if I need a Sata or usb or what. Please explain what I need and the difference. Thanks.

Pepsi

eSATA will require that your computer has an eSATA port on it.
This is generally still a rather premium option and the majority of computers do not support it properly.

Many external drives support both eSATA and USB. I would suggest one of them if it's in your budget.

A quick check of your motherboard specs doesn't reveal support for eSATA. So you will want to stay away from any that connect only using that method.
I think if you look closely you will find many support both though, making it less of an issue.
eSATA IS FASTER, noticeably so. Without a proper port for it though, you're pretty much stuck using the USB.

If it says SATA, and not eSATA this is not the way it connects to the system but rather the type of hard drive inside. I don't think they even offer the older ide ones anymore so the vast majority will be SATA.

...I hope I'm not confusing you even more.

Thanks for your input.
Pepsi

Forget eSata. All disks today are Sata. Some mount inside the the PC, others attach externally to the ports you see e.g. on the side of a laptop or in the front and the back of a desktop.

Those ports are generally USB2 which is the most common external attachment option. On some higher end PCs you also have USB3 and eSata ports. Those are faster than USB2, but you also need a disk that is USB3 or eSata capable. To confuse the matter even more, then there are some more options (e.g. Firewire) that you should not worry about.

If you have a laptop, I suggest you get an external disk that attaches via USB2. I would look for 500GB or larger - but not beyound 1TB. 500GB to 1TB (Terabyte) should give you ample capacity for a while.

For a desktop you can get the same. But here you also have the option to install an additional disk inside the box - if you have someone who can do it for you.

For backup drive purposes I would forget about eSata. Just buy a Usb3 500-1000gb external hardisk that gets it's
power through the Usb port. All Usb external hardisk are downward compatible to Usb2. 1000gb (1 terabyte) is the best value today. It is is to copy files to these. But if you do not have a True Total Backup program, that is recommended. Total backups can be restored even if you are putting in a new blank hardisk. There are several free programs that can do this. Clonezilla.org 32bit 486 version is best to me. It always works but is slow. You can see many other recommendations on SevenForums.com.
For paid total backup software, I use Acronis Workstation. It is much faster. Again there are many other recommendations for paid backup software on SevenForums.
In any case always have a period backup of your stuff. All of these computers and devices fail at some point
in time. It is never convenient when they do fail. Do not risk things like your Family photos the last 10 years because
you do not have a backup.

I am with previous posters go for a USB external Hard drive.

A free backup solution that is good is Macrium Reflect link below for you to have a look at:

Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download

Thanks for everyone's input. Forgive my stupid question but as I am looking at several external disk drives I've seen some come with disks. Since the external disk drive comes with a disk why do I need a True Total Backup program?

pepsi, the disk is only the device where the backups are being stored. It works the same like your disk in your PC. But you still need a program that will transfer your files to the disk - or you can also copy and paste files/folders to that disk. But that would not be very practical if there are a lot of files/folders.

Some disks come with backup software. But that is often not that great. We recommend free Macrium with which you can backup (image) whole partitions. It is very much recommended to backup your C partition so that you can always restore your system when it goes on the blink.

Here is a Macrium tutorial to get you started. If you have any questions, just ask. Imaging with free Macrium

Thanks for everyone's help.

pepsi, are you sure you now know what to do. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have further questions or you need pointers.