External hard drives?

[donutsweeper]

Appealing to my flist for information here :)

I know next to nothing about computers. I would like to get an external hard drive or a zip drive or something that I can back up my files with. I would be backing up word docs, photos and a bunch of .avi files (tv shows and movies). Anyone have any suggestions as to what device would work best for this? Any info- like what brands are good or which ones should be avoided or what storage size is ideal would be appreciated.

Comments

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I second all this about Western Digital. I have two, because I filled the 500G with just extra files (not back-up -- I have so many photos) and I wanted another for more extra files plus an actual back-up of my computer. The WDs work with Mac or PC, but I think you'd have to format it for one or the other when you start.

I love the auto-save backup feature too.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Good to know, thanks.

Don't you have a laptop though? How does the autosave work with a laptop?

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

My main computer is a desktop (iMac) so I just leave it hooked up all the time. With a laptop, I would just schedule a daily (or weekly, whatever you want) backup for 4am or somesuch, then plug it in to the laptop when I go to bed.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

oh, that might work, thanks!