Topic headline says it all.  Just wondering if I’d have more reliable and more safely retained backups if I used a portable USB hard drive vs. just a cheap memory stick?

If connecting a USB hard drive is possible, how should it be formatted?

thanks!

zippydog - 24 October 2018 11:00 AM

Topic headline says it all.  Just wondering if I’d have more reliable and more safely retained backups if I used a portable USB hard drive vs. just a cheap memory stick?

My own experience with USB flash drives is that they tend to be reliable. I have various ones of 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 32GB capacity, and have never lost any data on them. However, there certainly can be failures, so my approach is to have backups. Those might be on computer or other flash drives. If you need for the data to be portable, having it on more than one flash drive may be sufficient to protect against a random loss. If traveling, I’d suggest keeping one or more in luggage, and another in your pocket “just in case”.

A portable USB hard drive can be used. If you decide to get one, determine whether it can be powered by the XF’s TO DEVICE port. The port is limited to providing 500mA (0.5 amps) of current. Any drive drawing more than that should have it’s own external power supply.

 

zippydog -

 If connecting a USB hard drive is possible, how should it be formatted?

The drive, or at least the partition to be used with the XF, should be formatted to FAT32. That should typically be done on a computer.

Thank you!
After thinking about it, I’ve decided to run with USB memory sticks and then back them up on a computer to have a second layer of protection.

Thanks as always!

You’re welcome!

In my own case I have the XF networked via Ethernet, and there’s a multi-port USB hub attached to the XF, so files can be easily transferred from one device to another. Still, I often find using flash drives alone to be the easiest approach.