Do you have to keep External Hard drives plugged into a powerpoint at all times?

portable hard drive 2tb powered usb image

Krystel Za

I just bought my first Portable HDD (Seagate Expansion 2TB) and I was wondering if I had to keep in plugged into a wall all the time. If I wanted to use it on another computer would I need to plug it in or can I use it sort of like a flash drive? Or if I wanted to plug it into a portable mini TV or something like that.
How do you know if its a 3.5 inch or a 2.5 inch?

Answer
Only small, 2.5 inch external hard drives draw power directly from the USB port. No external power is necessary for those.

All big, 3.5 inch external hard drives would require a power adapter.

Should I purchase an external hard drive or a portable hard drive?

me

Which one is going to be the best cost wise and usage wise. I have a lap top and want to mirror image my drive. I want to get a 2TB for memory as I am scanning pictures and stuff on to my drive and currently don't have enough memory to complete everything I want to scan.

Answer
In my personal experience, portables have been more reliable. This doesn't mean that they actually are, it's just my opinion. But your biggest factor of the difference between the 2 is usually cost. Externals tend to be cheaper. If I were in your shoes, I would purchase the portable. They are lighter, and power just fine via USB. But you could also consider going external because you use a laptop. I would assume there would be more power drain on the laptop with a portable. And at the same rate if you got an external, you would have to be near an outlet anyway. So just weigh your choices and decide from there.

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Title Post: Do you have to keep External Hard drives plugged into a powerpoint at all times?
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