Hard drives: How we test
Ease of use
We timed how long it took to transfer data between the hard drive and our computer
We set up and installed each of the drives as a typical person would.
We scrutinised any manuals that came with the drives either on paper, or preloaded on CDs and assessed them for how clear and complete they were.
Performance
Our experts loaded any software that needed to be installed, then transferred large files and small files across to the external hard drives and timed how long each transfer took.
We then tried to access the files held on the external hard disk on our computer and, once again, timed how long it took for each set of files to transfer back to our powerful test computer.
We marked drives down if they were noisy, got too hot or if they guzzled power – especially when they were just idling.
We assessed them for practical things like whether they had power lights, and lights that illuminated to show they were actually doing something.
Versatility
For the portable drives, we assessed them for robustness, how much they weighed and how easy they were to carry around.