Removable Storage

CD burners, DVD recorders and more

Removable data storage comes in many forms with several uses. It's convenient for backing up important data on your hard drive or swapping information between computers or people. One of the most basic forms of removable storage is the magnetic floppy disk, but in recent years, floppies have been largely replaced by CDs and DVDs. Optical recordable and rewritable CDs and DVDs are more reliable than magnetic storage such as floppy disks. In order to make use of CDs and DVDs as removable storage, CD burners and DVD recorders are required to transfer data to the optical storage.

A CD burner is an optical disc drive, using lasers or electromagnetic waves to read and write data. A DVD recorder operates in the same manner. Many computers today come with optical disc drives that can record, erase, write and rewrite, but external drives can also be purchased.

There are other storage options that are even easier to write, erase and swap. USB removable storage comes in several forms, one of the most convenient and popular being the USB flash drive, also called a thumb or jump drive. Flash drives are small enough to fit in a wallet or on a key chain. They can pop into a computer's USB port, copy material, transfer the information onto another device and erase the data to make room for more in a matter of minutes.

Must-Have Features

• Though cost and compatibility must be considered, regardless of your storage usage, more storage space is always better.
• If the cost of media is low, go for an expensive drive; if the cost of media is high, it's more worthwhile to dish out the money for expensive media and go for a cheap drive.
• Make sure the interface you choose to use is compatible with your computer and that you have the necessary ports to support it.
• Faster storage speed is better, as it means recording data will take less time.
• Many computers today have left behind the floppy, so sometimes optical storage is more cost efficient, as many computers already come equipped with CD or DVD readers and recorders.

Major Considerations

• Which type of storage is best suited to my needs; magnetic, optical or solid-state?
• Do I need erasable and rewritable storage, or do I need only to record data?
• Do I need storage on which I can randomly erase, replace and add certain pieces of data while leaving others unaltered?
• Would internal or external CD or DVD writers be better suited to my needs?
• How much space do I need?

Top Manufacturers

• LG
• Sony
• IBM
• NEC
• Plextor

Common Accessories or Add-Ons

• USB or FireWire cables to connect external CD or DVD recorders
• A warranty on removable storage drives

Price Range

Removable storage comes in various forms, so prices differ greatly depending on the type, size and speed of storage. CD burners can cost as much as $200 or as little as $25, depending on their speed and capabilities. DVD writers also have a wide price range, from around $100 to $500. Writable CDs and DVDs can cost less than a dollar each, and while rewritable discs may cost more, their ability to be reused up to 1,000 times can make the price worthwhile. USB flash drives can cost from as little as under $10 to over $100 depending on the storage and features.

Summary

Removable storage is fast and flexible, and the variety of options available provides limitless possibilities to meet a user's unique needs. Any one format can be used, or they can be used in combination to comprise a storage system perfect for you and your computer.