What is an external portable hard drive?
An external portable hard drive is any hard disk storage device that is external, easily transportable and doesn’t require its own power supply.ProtectionAn external hard drive is usually very small, enclosed in a slimline case that helps protect it from the elements. However, such drives are quite fragile and should not be dropped.Hard Disks and Flash DrivesAs of April 2010, most external hard drives are traditional magnetic disk drives, just like the hard drives in most computers. Flash-based external hard drives are on the rise, but they are more expensive and hold less data than most traditional external hard drives.USB SupportNearly every external hard drive made has USB support, allowing for easy connectivity to almost every computer. External hard drives usually require no software installation, making them swappable with little effort.Backup and StorageAn external hard drive frequently serves as a backup device, in case something happens to the internal hard drive on a computer
