External hard drives offer additional storage capacities apart from what your laptop/PC has to offer. They can be connected to your laptop via USB or firewire connections for easy data transfer. There are a lot of external hard drives currently available on the market, and it can be confusing to know which one to get and why to get one at all. Check out our article for the answer to both those questions.
Do you ever think about how we are at the mercy of technology a little too much? How we tend to center our entire lives around a laptop or PC. Do you ever think about how much our laptops are integrated into our routines? We use it to store our pictures, videos, movies, books, and even homework.
Do you realize as perfect as technology may be, it’s not without fault? Ever imagine what would happen if your laptop suddenly decides to die on you? Yeah, total chaos. You’ll end up losing everything, from your precious pictures to your homework.
But fret not! You can actually avoid this said doom by investing in an external hard drive. Using it, you can create a backup of all your files and keep them away from harm’s way. Trust me, this is something you’ll thank me later for.
If that isn’t convincing enough, let’s take a look at all the reasons why an external hard drive is a must-have for anyone.
7 Benefits of External Hard Drives
While you might have other options for external storage such as a flash drive, an external hard drive is far superior in terms of performance and durability. Here is why:
All That Extra Storage!
Your computer is equipped with an internal hard drive that determines the amount of storage it has. Unfortunately, it only has a limited amount of it. So if you’re a PC gamer, video editor or anyone else that needs a lot more than the standard storage, an external hard drive is here to save the day.
External hard drives come with storage capacities of up to 1TB, which you can use to easily store any files that you don’t need immediate access to. That way, you save your internal hard drive from collapsing.
No More “Storage Space Running Out” Problems
If you hoard excess files, photographs, and anything else on your computer, you probably know of the problems you can face when your computer is running low on space.
This is due to the fact that your system requires a certain amount of free space in order to run smoothly. It has something to do with your CPU creating temporary files that allow it to function the way it does.
When your system storage is too full, your CPU can’t create these temporary files, disrupting the way your computer works. However, if you have an external hard drive, you can always free up space by moving some files to it.
Impressive Speed!
External hard drives have a really good transfer speed in contrast to flash drives. You can easily transfer files to and from a hard drive at an impressively fast speed.
Some hard drives even come with firewire connections that help achieve an even faster connection.
It’s No Rocket Science!
The best part about using an external hard drive is that it’s pretty easy. There’s little to no effort that goes into making it work.
Most external hard drives are equipped with the ability to self-install upon connecting to your computer, so you just have to plug it in, and voila! The work is done. You can then continue transferring your files to and fro without any worries.
It’s Hard to Lose
I personally prefer an external hard drive to a USB flash drive because it’s harder to misplace a hard drive than a USB. I’ve lost quite a number of flash drives, just because I kept them somewhere ‘too safe’ and now I can’t find them.
Thankfully that isn’t the case with external hard drives. While they are designed to be portable and easy to carry, they’re not quite invisible, and hence easier to keep track of. They’re also easier to locate in the mess of your backpack, so that’s a plus!
Sharing Large Files Made Easy
Remember the days when you had to copy things to at least 3 different writable DVDs to fit it all in when you had to share stuff like movies or photographs with your friends? Yeah, so much work.
Fortunately with external hard drives, you can share a great number of large-sized files in one go. They’ve made data sharing such a breeze, you don’t have to worry about files corrupting due to format disputes and whatnot. Simply copy and paste, and ask your friends to do the same. And you’re done.
Keep Your Files Safe
Like we talked about above, it’s super important to make sure you always have a functional backup of all your files, and important documents. And an external hard drive is a great way to do that.
So in the unfortunate event that your laptop crashes, you at least have one less thing to worry about. This is especially important if you’re a professional video editor or PC gamer.
Those things require a good amount of storage and a high-functioning hard drive. While your computer might be equipped to handle the load, it’s always good to be safe and have your files saved elsewhere in case things go south.
Conclusion
A lot of tech junkies swear by the importance of owning a good quality and reliable external hard drive. Not only can you use it to create a backup for your important data, but you can also use it to improve your computer’s performance, and to easily share data with anyone.
External Hard drives offer you portability, along with massive amounts of storage. So it’s a win-win situation for everyone.