With people using their computers more and more for handling their media libraries, it is becoming ever more essential to have large, dependable storage with which to house all your videos, music and photos.  There are several different ways of achieving this, in this article we’ll evaluate some potential solutions and give their advantages and disadvantages with regard to ease of use, reliability and cost.

Option 1 – Large Internal Hard Disks

This is often the cheapest option for increasing the amount of storage that you have available, however it does have some drawbacks.  Basically, what we’re talking about is adding a large secondary hard disk inside your PC on which to put all of your media files.  The advantage of this is that the only cost involved is the cost of a hard disk, most modern PC’s will have enough space and connections inside to accomodate a second disk and it’s surprisingly easy to install and set up a hard disk.

The downside to this approach is that all your media is still stored on your computer and there are few options for making it available to other devices on your network or elsewhere.  You would also need to keep your computer turned on if you wanted to access the information from elsewhere, which would increase your electricity bills.  Of course, if you only need to access your data on one PC then this is by far the best solution for you.

Option 2 – Local External Hard Disks

This option is similar to option 1, but rather than having the hard disk inside your computer, it is housed in a small-ish plastic or metal enclosure and connects to your computer using a cable plugged into a spare slot at the back of your case (there are many standards available; USB, Firewire and eSATA to name a few, it’s best to check which connections you have available to you).  With this option you can either buy a complete external hard disk or buy a normal internal hard disk and fit it into an enclosure yourself.  The latter can work out cheaper when talking about larger capacity drives.

The advantages of this approach over option 1 are that this data is effectively available to you wherever you wish, providing you can plug the disk into a computer.  You can safely move the disk between computers and easily transfer or copy data at your discretion.  Many other devices such as some set-top boxes and games consoles will be able to read the hard disk if it’s configured properly.

The downside to this approach is that it will work out slightly more expensive than an internal hard disk as you will also be paying for an enclosure.  The mobility of the drive can also be a downside as it’s more likely to be dropped or knocked which could result in loss of data.  However, the mobility does allow for the drive to be stored in a separate location to the main computer, which makes it useful as a backup device as it allows you to protect against things like fire by having a copy of your data stored elsewhere.

Option 3 – Networked External Hard Disks

This option is similar to option 2 in that we’re talking about a hard disk stored in an enclosure on the outside of your computer.  However, this time instead of connecting that hard disk directly to your computer, you’re connecting it over network cabling via a router or switch.  What this means is that the data will not only be available to one computer but to any computers or networkable devices on your home network.  This becomes especially useful if you want to centralise your home media libraries in one location as you can do so without the need to move your hard disk around between devices.

Many networkable hard disks also have additional features built in which allow for extra functionality such as sharing printers, managing Email and receiving downloads directly to the drive as apposed to your computer.

The main disadvantage of this approach is that it’s significantly more expensive than an internal or local external hard disk.  Often the equipment is sold as a complete unit and the “price per gigabyte” is often much higher than for a simple internal or USB hard disk.  You are also restricted to using your storage drive within the confines of your home, though some do offer remote access over an internet connection which would allow for (comparatively slow) access from remote locations such as a friends house or the office.

Option 4 – Cloud Computing and Remote Storage

By a long, long way this is the most expensive solution for adding additional storage to your PC.  In reality, this approach is designed entirely for commercial purposes and is unlikely to be feasible for home use.

What we’re talking about is enlisting the services of a third party company to handle the storage of your data.  There is no initial hardware cost for you as you are not actually buying any equipment.  What you will be doing is paying a company for access to a set amount of storage on their servers, on which you can store your important files.  There are a few emerging services along these lines for consumers, but the amount of storage offered is very small in modern terms and offers very little value for money compared to the first three options above.  What you do get for your money is a managed service whereby your data is readily available for (usually) more than 99% of the time.  A lot of companies will also offer a guarantee that your data is safe and secure and some even offer compensation should your data be lost or corrupted.

For the home user, this option is often not considerable due to cost.  But if you have certain files that are important enough it may be worth considering in conjunction with one of the first three options as a way of separating your data to protect against theft, loss or damage of your home equipment.  As an example, I store my book keeping files and personal documents using an online service as well as storing them on my local drive,  that way I am safe in the knowledge that even if my computer fails I have a backup of the data that I can easily retrieve.

Conclusions

For 99% of home users, the first three options are the way to go.  If you only need storage on one device then option one will definitely suit your needs and be the most cost effective.  If you need to be able to move your data around easily then option 2 is worth the extra initial cost.  If your looking to centralise your data then option 3 is the easiest and safest method, though it does have an extra initial cost associated with it.  Only if you have important files which need to be retained should you consider option 4 at this time.  The prohibitive cost of leasing disk space makes it unfeasible as a solution for storing all of your data, but it may be useful for those few important files.

In any case, with the size of peoples file libraries increasing and the cost of hard disk space falling, now is the time to consider how best to manage your storage requirements.