What is an External Hard Drive?

An external hard drive is the same type of hard drive as you would find inside a PC or laptop, except that it is mounted in a separate enclosure. It can be used to store information (data) permanently or temporarily, in the same way as a computer's hard drive. External hard drives (the actual drive itself) come in two main sizes (physical size), 2.5" and 3.5". The 2.5" drives are the same as you would find in a laptop computer, whereas the 3.5" drives are identical to hard drives found in desktop PCs. The difference is in the interface that connects the external hard drive to your computer.  more

In the simplest sense, an external hard drive is any data storage device that provides additional random access memory (RAM) to your computer. This includes desktop models that contain a magnetic disk for storing data and small thumb drives that store data in solid state on flash memory. If you own an iPod or MP3 player, you’ve already got an external hard drive. Most people think about 500GB external hard drives, which are the large desktop versions that connect via USB or an Ethernet port to your computer. When you connect an external hard drive, it allows your computer to read and write data on the drive in the same way that it would on its built-in hard drive. The type of connection you use determines the data transfer speed. Ethernet is much faster than USB, so you’ll want Ethernet if you’re regularly using or archiving large video and audio files. Making Data Portable Smaller thumb and flash drives are the best choice for those who want to move data from one computer to another. ...  more

An external hard drive is a great external storage space that can be used as a backup drive and to keep sensitive documents in a safe and protected environment.  more

An external hard drive is essentially the same hard drive that is in your home computer/laptop. Since the launch of MP3's and digital cameras, internal hard drives across the world have suffered. Take my laptop at the moment - it has a 200GB hard drive. I am a self confessed music lover and one of my hobbies is photography. Storing thousands of songs and photos has eaten all of my hard disc space. I use an external hard drive to store all of these large sized files on. I also run a back up weekly, ensuring that all of my important work documents, emails, new photos etc are securely saved on my external hard drive. External hard drives come in different variants, you will find that the majority of the larger capacity external hard discs i.e. (300GB+) have to run using an external power supply plugged into the mains. In addition to the power supply, external hard drives will come with at least one but sometimes two cables to connect to your PC. These two cables are either USB2.0 or ...  more

A hard drive is a computer component that holds data. Every computer needs at least one hard drive to store its operating system, programs and user information. This drive is usually internal, however, as computer systems have evolved and different needs, threats, and circumstances have arisen, the additional external hard drive has become extremely popular. Internet access regularly exposes computers to potential security threats like Trojan horses, viruses and spyware. It has become increasingly difficult to guard against these threats, even when employing firewalls and antivirus programs. Aside from online threats, multiple family members often use the same system, putting sensitive documents at higher risk of inadvertent corruption or loss. Additionally, the space required for multimedia storage has soared with MP3s, streaming video, DVD burning, and photo files taking up large amounts of space on the hard drive. All of these unrelated concerns can be addressed with one simple ...  more

An external hard drive is an alternative way to save data (photos, videos, documents, music, etc.) on a portable device that remains enclosed in a hard case separated from your desktop or notebook computer. Why should I invest in an external hard drive? • External hard drives are a great way to back up and store all of your photos, videos, important documents, and music. If your notebook or desktop computer crashes, you could lose everything. External hard drives can give you the security of knowing your files will be safe. • More storage space. If you're always having to delete files in order to make room for other files, or if you're just looking for more room to save large multimedia files, external hard drives are an inexpensive way to increase storage and require no messy installation. • External hard drives allow easy plug-and-play connection. You can take all of your files with you on the go by simply connecting your external hard drive to any computer's USB 2.0 or Firewire ...  more