What is an External Hard Drive?
An external hard disk drive or most commonly referred to as an hard drive is a portable and removable laptop external memory storage device that connects to your computer through a USB, Firewire or a Thunderbolt connection. They are used to connect peripherals to a computer. Usually, small, external and portable hard drives consist of one cord that plugs into your computer to transfer data and also powers the hard drive. External hard drives provide extra storage capacity in order to back up your data and store files that your computer doesn’t have space for in its internal hard drive.
External hard drives consist of their own power supply and connectivity to the PC which allows them to be connected for longer time periods as compared to other kinds of storage devices. You can access, read, write as well as delete files from an external hard drive, easily. External devices come with their ease of use and portability but have their fair share of disadvantages as well. This blog explores the advantages and disadvantages of using external hard drives, its types and uses.
Advantages of using External Hard Drives
An external hard drive is convenient as it can hold various forms of digital files. They create ideal storage solutions for individuals and businesses accessing large volumes of data in a quick and reliable manner. The following are the benefits of external hard drive:
Large Storage Capacity
External hard drives prove to be vital when it comes to large storage capacity. They have storage capacities ranging from 250GB to 28 TB which makes them quite useful when it comes to storing huge files that can take up a lot of room in your computer’s internal drive. Examples of huge files are high-resolution images, music and videos. If you are looking to increase your desktop’s storage capacity, then use an external hard drive.
Portability
Another significant benefit of using external hard drives is the portability factor. Nowadays, most hard drives are small as well as light weight, making them easy to move around. Those drives can be easily removed and inserted into compatible devices. For example, you can easily store a presentation in a USB and then plug it into your classroom’s CPU where the file will open automatically rather than logging in to your email. It would save time. Here are ways in which USB drives are portable:
- Physically portable: You can transfer a lot of terabytes in quick speed by unplugging the drive and then plugging it into a new PC or server.
- Portability between systems: Different kinds of operating systems all support USB insertion, hence you can copy data between dissimilar operating systems through just plugging the drive into it, directly.
Ease of Use
External hard drives are easy to use as they can be easily recognized automatically by most operating systems. They are convenient as they can be plugged into a device and used immediately without requiring any additional software or installation.
Backup Solution
External hard drives provide a back-up solution and provide an alternative in this way if your system or data faces a failure. Through backing up your data, you can ensure that your files are smoothly recoverable and safe.
Other strengths of external hard drives lie in its data access, wherein you can access data offline. Moreover, external hard disk drives provide data security which ensures your data is not accessible by third parties. Also, some drives provide password protection as well as encryption options so that your data can remain safe. You can access your data whenever and whenever you want by inserting and disconnecting your external device.
Disadvantages of using External Hard Drives
While using external hard drives have their benefits, they have their drawbacks as well. They consist of problems like breaking, security hazards as well as issues of connectivity and cost. The following points explain disadvantages of using external hard disk drives in detail:
Breaking
External hard drives can break easily if handled poorly due to their fragility. Once damaged, data lost can be impossible to recover. Therefore, to avoid this risk, protection covers for drives should be used.
Security Hazards
Another disadvantage is security hazards. Your external hard drive can be at the risk of data theft if not kept safe. This is because anyone can access the data if the device is misplaced which could lead to the data being compromised. Hence, you should keep your drive safe to avoid a security breach.
Connectivity Issues
External hard disk drives use a USB connection in order to transfer data. USB insertions can be slow and unreliable due to a faulty USB port for instance, or plugging the device into the wrong port.
Cost
External hard drives can be costly since they take up a lot of storage space if you are using large capacity drives and cost more per gigabyte. Their high speed RPM drives contribute to their high costs. If you are looking for cost-effective and reliable options according to your device’s needs, consider SSDs over HDDs. External SSDs, though more expensive than external HDDs, are faster and more reliable. If you are looking towards a more budget friendly option then consider HDDs as a better option.
Types of External Hard Drives
Moving on, we look at the types of external HDDs as well as how they differ from each other. Here is a table differentiating between external hard drive for gamers, external hard drive with triangle enclosure and external HDD for laptop.
|
Type of External Hard Drive |
Key Features |
Target Use Case |
Power Source |
Notable Characteristics |
|
External Hard Drive for Gamers |
Consist of higher speeds and larger capacities |
Used for gaming libraries. Also supports fast game loading. |
Usually uses an external power adapter. |
Aesthetics that are focused on gaming such as RGB lighting |
|
External Hard Drive with Triangle Enclosure |
Distinctive triangular shape |
General storage with a unique design |
Varies by model |
Focuses on visual design or form factor rather than its purpose. |
|
External HDD for Laptop |
It is compact in size and is also lightweight |
Includes a portable storage for laptop users. |
Often powered via USB port |
Emphasizes portability and usually doesn’t require separate power supply. |
All three variations of HDDs provide extra storage space apart from a computer’s internal drive and typically connect through USBs or through other interfaces such as Firewire and Thunderbolt.
What is a Wireless Hard Drive?
Another type of external HDDs is a wireless hard drive. Wireless hard drives or Wifi hard drives are external hard drives that do not include plugging the hard drive into your desktop or laptop. This makes wireless hard drives convenient to use. Wifi hard disk drives do not need cables or any physical tethering to connect to a computer.
Which one is reliable? External or Wireless Hard Drive!
To determine whether external drives or Wifi hard drives are more reliable, first let's look at the comparison between the two in accordance with some of their features.
Connection Stability: External hard drives include very stable physical connections while wifi drives have the potential for WiFi interference or disturbance in connection.
Transfer Speed: External drives consist of faster as well as more consistent speeds whereas wireless drives or portable drives generally have slower transfers depending on WiFi Router signal strength.
Battery Issues: External hard drives consist of no battery issues, while portable drives include internal batteries which can fade out over time, therefore limiting portability.
Data Security: Generally, external drives are more secure since physical connection is required. On the other hand, Wifi drives consist of potential security vulnerabilities via wireless connection if they are not secured properly.
So which one is more reliable? Traditionalexternal hard drives tend to be so because of fewer components, no battery issue as well as stable data transfer.
Conclusion
In summary, while external hard disk drives do have the benefits of portability, extra storage space and so on, they include disadvantages too such as security risk, cost and more. Hence, if you are aiming to purchase external drives, you will need to weigh the pros against the cons. Types of external drives consist of SSDs and HDDs with both having benefits or drawbacks over the other. Moreover, there are different types of drives all suited to their respective functions. Now that we have guided you through the benefits and disadvantages, make sure to check out our website for drives to buy.
FAQs
What is the purpose of an external hard drive?
They provide extra storage to back up your data and store files your internal drive doesn't have space for.
How does external storage work on your computer?
On your computer, external storages backed up on your external hard drive which connects to your computer through a USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt connection.
Do external hard drives require power?
Yes, drives typically need a 12V power connection which the USB port or drive adapter doesn’t provide.
