When my computer threatened to go ape afer a lightning strike, I thought it was time to back up my hard disk. Theres not a lot of room inside my PC so I had to go with an external device. I looked at an Iomega ZIP drive .. with 3 100MB disks which seemed good value at first. Then I discovered that disks cost in the region of a tenner each when bought in bulk. That was a little too hefty when I needed to backup almost a gig. Doing it the iomega way would have cost me a hundred and fifty quid - a little steep. Plus of course, the zip drive would have but one use - backing up.With a CDRW you can make CDs of your favourite music as well - and since CDRs only cost 50p each (pack of ten for a fiver), buying new media is not going to break the bank. Plus, the recorded CDs can be used on any computer with a CDROM drive so you can share files easily with friends without them having to buy a zip. The music CDs can be used on any household, car or personal CD player.
I found setting up the HP extremely easy. I have a HP printer and a HP scanner, both of which are USB and they were both simple to set up with good, clear instructions. The 8230E maintained this tradition. It was plugged in and ready to go in a matter of minutes. The software took a little longer to install because there was so much of it!
I must admit, it was a little daunting reading the instructions on how to make my first CD - and I gave up. I just clicked GO on the HP software and it led me through every step - even ejecting and loading the CD tray when it wanted another disk. Nothing could have been simpler. Its great, what else can I say? HP have done a fantastic job of making life easy for techno-idiots.
You might ask do I really need one? Doesnt it have limited use after youve backed up? Well, you cant put a price on the work you put into files on your PC, to lose them would be soul destroying. And with the ability to record MP3s and CDs and even tapes, not to mention video and pictures, onto CD, you really will keep coming back to this thing time and time again.
