Backup HDD

Is it alright if it is the same size as the computer's HDD, or should it be bigger?

 

It really doesn't make a difference... Just make sure you have enough space to fit everything you want to store.

 

Means getting bigger always means you can back up extras, but having a smaller one means you need another HDD.

 

+1 to this.

It's also important to note that you only need enough space to store the data you cannot get somewhere else.

For example, you do not need to back up your OS and applications, because you can always reinstall those off of DVD / CD / disc if your hard drive fails. You *DO* want to back up your documents, pictures, videos, etc to the external drive, because you cannot recover those from any other source if your laptop hard drive fails. So the external drive you buy should, at the very minimum, have enough space to store that type of content.

 

However, I am thinking of automatic backups rather than dragging over files manually, so I could create an exact system image when restoring the main drive.

 

Every backup utility will give you the option to automatically back up a single directory. So, for example, you could easily back up your "My Documents" directory every night at midnight using any backup software.

However, you may want a full drive clone... if your laptop's hard drive fails, then you would be able to restore your entire drive. The benefit of doing this is that your recovery time is much quicker in the event of a hard drive failure... you can compeltely restore your system within 1 hour. The drawback is that the backups take much more space, and take more time to run.

 

Full drive clone images are compressible by most backup software, so it's not absolutely necessary even to get the exact same size...

... but I'd say just get the biggest one possible if you want as little hassle as possible.

 

2 small backup drives. Hard drives are not infallible just because they're not used frequently.