Portable vs. Non-portable external hard drives?

Sunny

I noticed that some external hard drives are labelled portable while others are not. Is this simply due to size? like the portable ones are smaller? or does non-portable mean not removable.

If I want a drive for storage and back up and doesn't want it connected to my laptop all the time, which one should I get?

Thanks very much.

Answer
Portable ones are 2.5 inch drives and have a maximum capacity of 500 GB. They are powered off the USB port.

Non-portable are 3.5 inch drives and can go up to 2 TB and they're about half the price per byte as the portable ones (1 TB for about $110). They need to be powered by a wall wart.

If you don't plan on taking the external hard drive with you wherever you go, then you're better off with a 3.5 inch drive.

What is the difference between portable and external hard drive?

mastermind

I am looking for a back up hard drive and I'm not sure which one to purchase. I am looking at the Segate GO Portable or a Calvary Preformated External Hardrive. Help?

Answer
The difference between a portable and external hard drive is that a portable hard drive usually doesn't need a power cord for power and an external drive does. Portable drive also may run slower and will have smaller capacity. Depending on your use and if you plan on carrying your data around then you best bet is to go with an external hard drive. If you have an eSATA port on your computer try to find an external drive that supports that feature. This will give you better speed (USB 2.0 is 480Mbps while eSATA is 3 Gbps). If you are using a laptop only and want to back that up then go with a portable drive so you can plug and unplug it easily.

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whats the cheapest portable hard drive?

slice_the_

hi, i would like to have more hard drive space for my laptop to play games such as half life 2, wow.ect... i need a cheap portable hard drive but it needs to work well. thanks...
sorry...i meant external

Answer
Lots of companies sell them, check newegg.com for current prices, or many other retailers such as amazon.

It's like asking the best place to buy eggs. It depends on who has them on sale, and how much the farmer's charge the markets depending on volume, etc.

Beware that just because a drive is labelled "portable" doesn't necessarily mean it is more safe from damage than one labelled "external hard drive".

Check the price and specs of various models, and read reviews posted by owners of the devices.

www.tomshardware.com is my favorite site for evaluating computer parts, but don't stop there.

Question about a Portable Hard Drive?

Kathleen D

I have a Seagate Free Agent Portable Hard Drive 320 GB and it won't work on my PS3. How do I get it to work?

Answer
Your hard drive will need to be formatted to FAT32 specification, dear lady, or your PS3 won't see it.

You can do this by downloading and installing the following file. (It's called FAT32 formatter by some strange coincidence.)

Do make sure you select the correct drive to format when you do it. I'd hate you to lose your operating system.

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