Many of us associate the power and value of a computer based on the capacity of its hard drive. To a certain extent, this is true. After all, newer (and presumably better) computer models come with robust hard drives. However, this may not be enough with the kind of computing needs and habits many people have nowadays. If you often download, upload and store large amounts of files, a built-in hard drive is most likely insufficient. As a result, many turn to an external hard drive for better support but is it truly useful and necessary? Here are 10 benefits of using an external hard disk drive and reasons why it is important to you:
1. Extra space
Of course, the function of an external hard drive is to provide some much-needed extra storage space. If your memory is used up or about to get saturated and replacing your current hard drive is out of the question, getting an external hard drive is a wise decision. You will have more space with which to store additional data in text, images or audio form. You could also use the extra room to transfer files to unload your computer and boost its performance. Definitely a handy must-have external storage device to have.
2. Inexpensive storage
External hard drives with a storage capacity of 2TB can be purchased online for approximately $70. When comparing their value to internal hard drives, external hard drives offer an equally cost-effective option. Therefore, there’s no compelling reason not to consider owning one, as you can get a significant amount of portable storage for a very reasonable price.
3. Storage for old files
If you have files that have been sitting on your computer for months (or years) but you still cannot get around to deleting, you might find an external hard drive very useful. Many of us are wary about removing old files from our computers, believing that they will come in handy someday. The problem here is that it tends to clog up the system and eat up resources. With an external hard drive, old files may be transferred and memory freed up to increase speed and improve performance of the computer.
4. Backup important data
Many computer users fail to back up their data. This could cause a potential costly problem, particularly when important files are involved. If there is no available space on your computer or you simply want to stash important data someplace else, then use an external hard drive to store extra copies of your files.
Read also: The Importance of a Disaster Recovery Plan
5. Convenient and handy
External hard drives are smaller, lighter and more portable than a laptop, so these can be detached, carried around, placed in a bag or purse and stored without requiring a lot of space. These are handy enough to be brought anywhere, allowing you to access your files from another computer unit.
Read more: 5 Uses for Hard Drives Old and New (That you may not have thought of)
6. Storage for copying and transferring files
External hard drives prove to be invaluable when you have a substantial volume of files that require copying from one computer to another. They offer a secure and reliable means of storing these files before transferring them to the intended destination.
7. Security
Certain external hard drives offer encryption capabilities, rendering transferred files incomprehensible to unauthorized individuals. For individuals who extensively use the internet, it is feasible to enhance file security by transferring them to an alternate storage device. Once the data is saved, simply disconnect and power off the external hard drive. Even if it remains connected to your computer, hackers will be unable to access your files remotely.
Read more: 5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Have External Hard Drives
8. Extended lifespan
Incorporating an external drive into your setup safeguards against the chaos resulting from an internal hard drive failure. Remember, when the internal drive fails, it jeopardizes the entire system’s functionality. In contrast, if the external drive malfunctions, your computer remains operational, ensuring uninterrupted usage. Repairing an external drive is generally faster and less costly than fixing the internal drive. Additionally, using an external drive as your primary storage option reduces strain on the internal drive and extends its operational lifespan.
9. As an emergency boot drive
If your computer’s main drive crashes, you can utilize an external hard drive to boot your computer through several methods. Although this may require some technical know-how, having an external hard drive for emergency boot purposes benefits the user.
10. Being prepared
One of the benefits of using an external hard drive is it enables proactive file protection and safeguards against system failure or unforeseen events. It empowers you to be prepared and secure your important files effectively. Definitely worth considering!
Benefits of an external hard drive: conclusion
An External hard drive offers a multitude of benefits for individuals and businesses alike. It provides ample storage space, increase portability, enhance data security, and offers a customizable backup solution. Investing in an external hard drive offers both space optimization and data security benefits. Understanding its significance helps you make an informed decision about the ideal storage solution. Choose an external hard drive today for peace of mind, knowing your data is secure and easily accessible.
hii Peter Lee,
now a days memory is the main concern while using a computer either it may be primary (or) secondary.when it comes to secondary storage harddisk is the main thing we have to store lot of files in it.
for FLEXIBILITY and SECURITY reasons using external harddisk is the best thing,because we can carry it to anyplace along with us . if we are doing office work a project may contain cofidential data keeping that in office is not a good thing , there might be a chance of stealing that information.so if we use external harddisks we can carry that confidential data with us anywhere.
All of your reasons are valid but the most important reason for having an external hard drive is Maintaining Data Integrity.
Everyone is guilty of keeping duplicate data on their computer.Also it is very annoying when you don’t know what to do with them and you are unsure whether they are important to you or not. It gives you so much headache and also wastes your time.
Thanks for writing this article 🙂
I am totally agree with you peter that an external hard drive is really helpful. We can easily make Backup of our important files and also provide extra storage. I also have one external hard drive.
My computer has only 160 GB total space. Now it is almost filled and causing hanging problem. I am thinking to buy a hard drive. Please suggest me what will be better, an internal or external hard drive.
Thanks in advance! 🙂
Of course you should buy internal Hard Drive and sell the current one. Actually your question should be “What should I buy, Solid State Hard Drive or the normal one?”
Solid State Hard Drive are faster but they are expensive too. So if you have limited budget, you should go for the normal internal Hard Drives.
Note
External Hard Drives are used for backups and to transfer data. It can not be fixed inside your CPU case.
I agree. SSD is becoming popular nowadays. They are really fast and we’ve tried it on our MacBook Pro. However the price is expensive but I guess it worth it.
Thank for sharing this article Peter Lee..
External HDD are very useful for storing old backup files and also easy to carry anywhere… One of the good features of External HDD is that they are fast and damage-resistant because they contain no moving components…
Harish Bali
This is a good article on how to keep your files safe on an external HDD. I have one for backup purposes as well. Take care.
Hi, I have a question. I have a external hard drive which I use most of the time but lately when I plugged it in it show 2 EHD with the same letter. Why is that?
Please help me I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m not that good computer savy. Also is it safe to leave the EHD attach to the computer all the time? Thanks in advance. Martha