External Hard Drive
All about portable hard drives
An external hard drive is a simple way to add storage space to your desktop or laptop without having to perform any difficult or invasive installation on your computer. As they connect from outside the computer, they can be shared among computers and can be transported easily. They come in an external hard drive case, an enclosure that protects the drive and is sometimes outfitted with a fan. Hard drives can be removed and replaced in the case, so that several external hard drives can be purchased, swapped and used for different purposes. This can be convenient for backing up your computer's main internal hard drive or even other external hard drives.
External hard drives generally obtain power from the main computer through interface cables, most commonly a USB cable or FireWire cable. A recent USB external hard drive will likely have USB 2.0 ports rather than the former USB 1.1. USB 2.0 connections can transfer data much faster, easily at least 30 MB per second. A FireWire external hard drive typically comes in two transfer speeds: 400 megabits or 800 megabits per second. Some external hard drives come with both a USB and a FireWire 400 Mbps port, or even a USB and both speeds of FireWire connection capability.
Must-Have Features
- A spindle speed of 7,200 rotations per minute or higher if used for images and video.
- A large buffer or cache, where the drive temporarily stores data; look for 8 MB or 16 MB.
- An enclosure to protect and hold the external drive.
Major Considerations
- How much extra storage do I need?
- Am I using the drive for only my desktop, or does it also need to connect to my laptop, digital camera, camcorder or other electronics?
- Do I need an LCD monitor or audio playback to preview data stored on the drive?
- Do I need extra security features or applications built in or installed?
Top Manufacturers
- Seagate
- Western Digital
- Hitachi
- Iomega
- Fantom
Common Accessories or Add-Ons
- Backup and recovery software
- USB or FireWire connectors
Price Range
The capacity and function of the hard drive will largely determine the price. Portable storage with low space, such as thumb drives, can go as low as under $20. For external storage with a significant amount of space, around 500 GB, prices generally range from $220 to $300.
Summary
External hard drives quickly and easily add extra space to your computer. They have many uses and are portable, able to be swapped from one computer to another, and even to digital cameras or camcorders. The possibilities are endless when combining various external hard drives with internal hard drives and numerous electronics, enabling you to develop a storage system that perfectly meets your unique needs.
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