After six MacBooks arrived at our bench with liquid damage in just one week (and it’s only Wednesday), we thought it was time to write a guide for what to do if this happens to you.

Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth at least $1,000. Try to keep your computer away from wet places like kitchen counters, sinks, and swimming pools. And—this may be the hardest thing of all—make it a habit never to place your beverage container next to your laptop. All it takes is one strategically placed droplet of water to turn your MacBook into a very expensive paperweight. We know this is common sense, but it bears repeating.

Now…what to do when the unthinkable happens?

This month’s edition of The Primer will stay on the topic of laptop/portable storage, but this time moving outside the machine itself and examining external storage options of several types that are suitable for laptop use. These kinds of external storage devices, when directly connected to the system, are referred to as “Direct-Attached Storage”, or DAS devices. For anyone doing serious work on a laptop, especially when dealing with high-bandwidth digital media such as digitized audio and video, a DAS device of one kind or another is essentially a necessity due to size and speed issues of the drive your media lives on. Some external storage devices are better than others at such tasks, and there is always the issue of how well-protected the device is from breakdown and data loss. Read on to learn about the primary options available in this space.