God Save the Queen of Portable Data Storage!

During my time at the vocational rehabilitation department, I tasted what it was like to do actual labor, although it was only for a short time. But it isn¡¦t about my time there. It was what I bought with one three-figure paycheck that I had one day on Friday. It felt so good to earn so much money like that, my work paid off a little bit. So I went to Wal-Mart, bought some extra items for myself, and you know what I found in the Electronics department? Among the hi-tech stuff on the shelves, I found external/portable Hard Disk Drives in multiple varieties! Portable HDDs are almost expensive as they cost $100-$200, varying on the size of storage, from 80 Gigabytes, to 300 Gigabytes.
With my paycheck money, I bought a Western Digital ¡§My Book¡¨ 80 Gigabyte Hard Disk Drive. A year later, the HDD is almost full, yet I still use it as a portable library for all the files I collected since 2003. But still, I hate to lose my ¡§crown jewel of data storage¡¨ at all. That¡¦s when I started writing this guide for protecting your on-hand data storage investment.

Protecting your "digital crown jewel¨:
-Never carry it on hand unprotected

-They're VERY fragile and easily breakable

-Purchase an insulating tote bag that cools your portable hard drive in hot weather, and warms it in cold weather

-If it gets too cold or too hot (exceeding optimal temperatures) it can be physically damaged and cracked, shorted out and/or fried

-Wrap portable hard drives with any cushioning material in a number of layers
-Purchase inexpensive bubble wrap used for protecting packages and items, especially mail packages or use layers of safe Styrofoam
-If you can't afford that, use your washcloths, rags or towels on top AND bottom of the protective-yet-cheap bag
-Place washcloths/mini-towels at the bottom of the bag. Then wrap the HDD in cushioning that has friction so that it won't slip out of your hand when you take it out. After that, place another layer of washcloths/mini-towels on top of the HDD.

-Zip up the bag VERY tight so that your HDD won't fly out when carrying it around with you. There's nothing more embarrassing or more crushing than an HDD flying out of its container only to end up crashing to the ground and flushing your earned money down the drain.

-Make sure that you find a bag that comfortably fits your HDDs. It shouldn't be moving and sliding around freely, nor does it make you jam it in so tight. It needs enough room to fit, and must protect your HDDs from any and all elemental forces of nature, and from dropping as stated earlier.

-Don't expose your HDD to any fluids or liquids. They can kill your hard drive easier.

-In case something goes wrong with your HDD, do these three things:
-If you have the same files on your desktop PC, don't transfer them there. However, if you have anything that's truly irreplaceable, such as your journals, your spreadsheets, your word processing documents, etc., transfer them to the desktop PC through your flash drive or the HDD itself.
-Burn your HDD files to CD or to DVD, and store them in CD cases for even more permanent storage.
-Buy another HDD to act as a backup, and duplicate your files to the second HDD. That way, if the first one goes on the fritz, you can fall back to your backup and rest easily.

-Make sure that you take the necessary cords and plugs with you, such as:
-Surge protectors or extension cords
-4-port, 8-port, etc. USB Hubs that can fit a number of USB devices

-Also, when selecting your HDD from a hi-tech store like Best Buy, Wal-Mart or Circuit City, make sure that you find one that has:
-A rugged, very strong, durable casing for extra durability
-A feature that, after an impact shock, locks the HDD temporarily for a short time until the shock passes
-One that doesn't require external electrical power; in other words, a HDD that also acts as a jumbo-sized version of a flash drive
-Money-back guarantee for the number of days the manufacturer states
-Security programs that protect your files inside.

Remember to take caution in carrying your HDD when you travel. Since your files, some irreplaceable, are inside, GUARD IT WITH YOUR LIFE!!! HDDs are just as expensive, personal and as valuable as laptops. Treat it like royalty Treat it like a love one. Treat it like it is your grandmother¡¦s heirloom. But guard it with your life just as it is digital treasure filled with bits and bytes of gold and silver. Just like its main counterpart, the laptop and notebook, HDDs can just as much be stolen, so place it in a bag that no one would notice.
So in summary, protect, guard, and safekeep your crown jewel of info no matter what the size of it is, whether it is 80 Gigabytes, or even 70 Terabytes. It¡¦s not for sale to anyone, and it¡¦s beyond priceless. It¡¦s an important part of you in data storage. It¡¦s your own digital treasure box.