Most importantly, they are powered by the laptop, phone or device they are plugged into, usually through a USB-B, USB-C or another type of powered communication cable.ĭesktop hard drives tend to be larger, and have a power cord that plugs into the mains AC. This type of hard drive may lack high-end storage capacity, but many portable hard drives have a full TB of storage or more. Portable hard drives tend to be physically smaller, and often fit into a pocket. The main differences are in their bulk, the degree to which they can withstand the jostling of travel, and their power supply. Portable Hard DrivesĮxternal hard drives may be portable drives or they may be purely desk-mounted devices. Popular external drive brands include Seagate, WD (Western Digital), LiaCie, MiniStation, and Adata. An external hard drive may be the answer. It may be that one or more of your devices is simply full, or you just need backup for your most important files. This is simply that the hard drives in these devices wont store all of our data. In a world of ever smaller and lighter mobile digital devices, we all seem to be running into the same problem. External Drives for all of your data needs