External Hard Drive
The external hard drive has come a long way from being as big as modern day CPUs to as small as a typical paper weight. These are external storage devices that are not built-in to the computer but rather are separate units that can be connected to the computer using USB ports. Unlike flash drives which have smaller spaces for storage, external hard drives are useful for backing up large amounts of data for network storage.
History
The first external hard drives were large cumbersome devices that were as wide as most monitors back in the day and were attached to the computer through a port. Apple and Mac computers started out without having any external drive bays so users often always used an external hard drive.
New generation hard drives are now way smaller than they were before but they are constructed the same as internal hard drives, with the single difference in that external drives are encased in a disk enclosure. Small compact flash drives are another difference as small as small MP3 players are now also available although they are also more expensive than conventional external drives.
Choosing one for home or office use
There are a lot of options for an external hard drives both online and in various computer and gadget shops. Take into consideration the memory size of the drive you want as well as the brand, as most hard drives are distinguished according to their quality by brands.
For Connection, choosing between USB and Firewire is also important. If your CPU has a USB 1.0 connection this may not work with external drives that only work with USB 2.0 so check these ports before shopping for an external drive.
The memory size of your hard drive should roughly be the same as the size of your computer's internal drive so that you can use it for backing up the contents of your computer. If you want more space for other files such as additional movies or pictures choose a drive with a larger storage space.
Software is also another consideration. Most hard drives now come with software that will help you automatically set a time and date for the latest back up of your computer file. Price should also be a consideration, although you must not let this dictate what kind of hard drive to buy. Choose the most trusted in quality but if you want something affordable look for drives on sale or on the internet, where an external hard drive is definitely cheaper than in your local computer stores.