Ok, so I'm FINALLY getting around to finishing this entry.  Go me!

When I bought my first EHD, I really liked it, but I didn't like how bulky it was.  Carrying it from work to home or to my mom's house was a pain.

Then one day I was in Best Buy thinking about getting another one -- 40GBs doesn't go far when you're a digital scrapper! -- and I saw the solution to my problem: a PORTABLE EHD!  It's tiny!  It's cute!  It fits in my purse!  And the one I bought is 100GB.  (Seriously though?  Next time I'm spending the extra money at getting the 500GB one.)

As you can see from the picture at right, there is a HUGE size difference.  (On the left is the portable EHD, on the right is my regular one.)

There are some differences between my first EHD and my portable one.  The portable one doesn't have a power switch or a plug in -- rather, it has a cord that plugs into the EHD, and that cord plugs into TWO computer USB ports.  One for power, one for file transfer.  The EHD only works if both of those ports are plugged in.  Most PCs these days, though, have two USB ports on the front or front side of the computer box, so it's not a problem.  (A lot of keyboards and monitors will have USB ports, too, but in my experience the connection is not fast enough to support a hard drive.)

It IS possible to "network" the portable EHD with the regular one, to transfer files from one to the other -- the secret is finding enough USB ports to plug into.  On my home computer I have to plug the regular EHD's cord into a USB port in the back of the computer box and use the front plugs for the portable EHD.  Everyone's USB port situation will be different, depending on your computer.

Just like any other hard drive, once you plug it in and your computer recognises it, you'll be able to access it through My Computer and then by clicking on the drive letter it gets assigned to.  (My EHD's tend to be drive E.)

To transport my portable EHD, I bought a hard-cased CD holder at Target.  (Which is made to store music CDs.)  The EHD fits perfectly in the middle, and the CD sleeves on each side serve as extra padding.  And the CD case fits perfectly in my purse, which is awesome.  Below is an image of what the CD holder looks like on the outside, and then what it looks like with the EHD inside.

Remember: organization and ritual are key for successful back-up and storage with EHD's.  As I've said before, EHD's are not fool-proof.  All hard drives have a potential for crashing.  It should not be used as the sole storage for anything important -- secondary back-ups such as CDs, DVDs, online storage, and other hard drives are all good solutions.  Keep your files organized and keep track of which ones haven't been backed up.  Back up on a regular basis so you don't lose important data.