Page 1 of just bought an external hd - no idea what to do next

The model i bought is listed below, the trouble is it came with no instructions or software, so i`m left wondering how do i actually do things like backup my entire system.
Also some reviewers mentioned converting from Fat32 to NTFS, i can see that if i right click there`s an option to format, but i wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do before i did so.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-250GB-Essential-External/dp/B000EXZAOY/ref=sr_1_2/202-0817487-8132618?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1173444194&sr=1-2&tag=myrev09-21

NTFS is a more robust files system, less likely to corrupt. It can also handle larger files.However it is more or less exclusive to Windows NT and above. (There are drivers for use under Linux and probably MacOS, but I don`t know if they are of production quality yet)

If you will ever want to connect the drive to a DVD Player with USB port, Win 98 pc etc. you should stick to Fat32.

If you want to store files >4GB (eg DVD iso) then you will need NTFS.

You could also partition the drive if you need to do both of the above.

If you are going to leave the drive on the pc then go with NTFS.

For backup you won`t find better than Acronis True Image. Solid, Reliable and quick and easy to use.

HTH

If you bought it from Amazon it should have had the docs with it and even if not there should be a couple of folders already on the drive one of which includes a short PDF set of instructions with a link to Western Digitals site and the correct answer codes for installation questions.
If not go to http://support.wdc.com
To change from Fat32 to NTFS the answer code is 1287 on their site.



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