In layman language, an external drive, which gets sometimes referred to as solid-state drive or merely the hard disk(HDD), is the computer storage connected to your computer via an external cable from outside, unlike an internal drive is inside your computer. There are various types of external hard drives available, and some of them usually can draw power over the data cable in use. Other external hard drives require you to have an AC connected to the wall for the hard drive to draw its power. An external hard drive is usually portable devices that add extra storage space to your machine when plugged into your computer. You can convert your internal hard drive into an external hard disk via a simple process known as a hard drive enclosure. The storage capacities of hard drive vary in terms of space, and they get connected to the computer via four means, namely, wirelessly, Esata, FireWire, or a USB cable.
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Why is external storage used?
External storage has several critical uses in our daily life. Some of these uses include the following. First, the primary function or use of an external hard drive is storage. An external hard drive is significantly used to power the storage capacity of desktop computers and laptops, and mainframe towers to a great extent. A solid-state drive or external hard disk gets used to store permanent, nonvolatile data such as files, software, or even your memorable photos.
On average, an external hard drive has a storage capacity ranging between 250 GB and goes way above 1 TB. For you to avoid running into complications and losing your critical data, it's vital to note your storage capacity and have an external drive where you save your nonvolatile files.
The second use of hard drive storage is keeping and creating backups for your computer data. For you to protect yourself or your computer data from a catastrophic failure and not recover your files, hard disk storage is essential in creating a copy of your internal hard drive for safekeeping. In general, your computer and data have many threats, including viruses, moisture, or even physical damage to your computer. If you lose your laptop, it won't be easy to retrieve your data back without a backup from an external drive.
Other minor usages of the storage device include RAID processing, document editing, and data sharing. In a situation, you are looking to transfer and share a large quantity of data; hard drives are the best options. With external storage, you can comfortably move tons of gigabytes of data within a short period. This method is very convenient, secure, and fast compared to other conventional data transfer methods. It's advisable to adopt a thunderbolt or USB type of external drive for this kind of task.
How much does an external hard drive?
Like any other computing device, you may be shopping for, and an external hard drive doesn't have a fixed price. There are various reasons for this is so. One of these reasons is that; best external hard drives come with different storage capacities; hence they cannot get sold at the same price. Considering an external hard drive with a Tera Byte worth of storage space and another with a 250 GB worth of space; they cannot cost the same. The other factor that makes external hard drives vary in price is the technology and the brand behind the external hard drive. There are various technologies involved in making an external hard drive, which makes them vary in pricing. If you look for a small external hard drive with a storage capacity of between 250GB and 1 TB,the price ranges between $25 and $50, respectively.
