Pros and Cons of Using External Hard Disk Drives

6/10/2018

An external hard disk drive is connected to your computer through a USB or FireWire connection. Most drives have high storage capacities and can be used to backup or even run a computer. These drives can be very helpful, but they don’t come without a downside.

Here are the pros and cons of using an external hard disk drive:

Pros:
Extra storage
One most common uses for an external hard disk drive is extra or backup storage. This is handy if you are working with large files to keep space free on your PC or Mac. You can also use an external hard disk drive to backup your computer to protect your data in the event of a hard drive crash.

Accessibility
You can choose to use cloud storage options for the their perceived accessibility, but you may find yourself frustrated in the event of a power outage. The cloud is widely accessible as long as you can connect to the internet. However, an external hard disk drive is accessible when you have it with you, no internet connection required.

Improved performance
Consider setting your computer to run an external drive as a boot drive to increase speed and performance. This is specifically true of Macs which often run slower internal drives.

Cons:
Less security
External hard disk drives don’t come password protected. If you misplace your drive, anyone can plug it in and access your data. An external drive limits your level of security. Keep your drive somewhere safe to avoid data theft.

Breaking
Drops and static electricity are real concerns for an external hard disk drive. External drives have less protection than your PC and can break easily if handled poorly. Use a protective case designed for drives to help protect from damage.

Cables
Newer computers, specifically laptops, have few USB ports built in. You may find yourself having to unplug other devices to plug in your external hard disk drive. Additionally, cords can be easy to lose which render your drive useless.

If you need help backing up your computer or are wanting to run it on an external hard drive, give us a call today! We’d be happy to help.

3 Comments

Dave Anderson link

5/9/2019 11:44:53 am

That is a good point that I could have an external hard drive for extra storage. Maybe it would be good to look into getting an external hard drive for my computer soon. Then I might be able to have a back up while my hard drive is getting data recovery.

Eve Scott

8/20/2019 05:29:13 am

Security and data loss are two important disadvantages associated with the use of external hard disk for cloud computing. So, in my point of view, a person should select a cloud storage platform to store precious data which is one of the most flexible and secure ways of data storage available at an affordable price. However, a security breach is also an important problem associated with cloud computing and assistance from experienced IT professionals could be very helpful to avoid any major data breach. For more assistance, visit
https://www.geektek.com/managed-cloud-services/

Spike • link

10/28/2019 02:53:32 pm

Storage : in any event however you configure your storage there will always be the problem of fault.. weather the drive is dropped or breached.. no system is perfect.. large storage systems get breached and hardware fails.. this is on going and happens all the time.. So what can you do to prevent these events from happening.. not much, but what is good planing is, for your system is to provide good security, and at least three back ups stored in a secure area.. and they must be updated.. which is a on going thing with data..so as long as we have things break, things drop, and things get breached in this reality.. security and replacement will always be a on going reality... Take Care..... Spike •

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