Portable Hard Disk Drives
by: jameswalsh
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Word Count: 880
Let us have a look at how they are constructed and how they can come in handy at the time of need.
Components and Working of Portable Hard Disk Drives
The portable hard disk drive has components similar to the hard drive that resides in your computer. It stores data in the magnetic form. Typically, a portable hard drive consists of a number of disks that are mounted on a spindle. These disks are usually made up of a lightweight metal and are coated with the magnetic material where the data is stored.
The coating is divided into a number of small regions each of which can store a bit of data. These disks are rotated at very high rates by a motor that is present at the bottom of the spindle. When data is to be written onto the hard disk, the read-write head applies a strong magnetic field on the required number of such locations. This magnetisation is detected by the head when the data is read.
These components along with the other necessary parts are held in an enclosure that is usually made of metal. This enclosure provides some amount of protection to the hard drive from falls, shocks etc. and also prevents the entry of dust particles into the hard drive.
The portable hard drive also has a USB port present on it which makes it different from the hard disks present in your computer. By the use of this port, the hard drive can be connected to the computer via the USB interface. The interface between the computer and the hard drive is also possible using FireWire technology.
The portable hard drives are manufactured by companies such as Maxtor, Buffalo, Western Digital, Seagate etc.
Benefits of Using Portable Hard Disk Drives
· The storage capacity of portable hard drive is greater than other data storage media available. For example, they are available in capacities ranging from 40 GB to over 400 GB.
· As most of them make use of the USB interface, high data transfer rates can be achieved.
· The ones with lower storage capacity do not require any external power supply and run on the power supplied through the USB ports.
· They are reliable for storage of data for long periods of time (over 10 years) making them an efficient media for backup of data.
· To facilitate the data backup process, some of the hard drives come with built-in data recovery software that backs up data from specified folders each time it is plugged into the computer.
· The portable hard drives offer almost innumerable rewrites.
· If the hard drive present within your computer is damaged, they can even be used temporarily as the primary storage devices for your computer.
· By making use of these devices, the transfer of data between computers that work on different platforms (Operating Systems) is possible.
· As they are small in size and comparatively sturdy, they can be transported easily from place to place.
Recovery of Data from Portable Hard Drives
Even though they are reliable media for data storage, data present on the portable hard drives can be lost due to a number of reasons. These include virus attacks, corruption of data, physical damage to the hard drive etc. In such cases, recovery of data is necessary.
The same can be performed by making use of the various data recovery software that are available on the internet. Most of the logical errors that cause loss of data can be corrected by making use of such software. However, one must ensure that the software one opts for is of good quality to avoid further complications such as permanent loss of data.
In case the damage to the hard drive is physical then usually the services of a data recovery company would be required. The process that these companies use to recover data is similar to the data recovery process of primary hard drives in your computer.
One must remember that data recovery is not always possible and sometimes the data loss may be permanent in nature.
The Final Word
The hard drives prove to be very efficient for storage and backup of data and hence have a bright future. Also, with the research that is going on in the field, there is a possibility of portable hard drives with even greater capacities being introduced in the market. Considering all the benefits offered by these devices, the portable hard drives are an ideal solution to all your data storage problems.
About the Author
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. For more information on computer crime and Computer Forensics see http://www.fieldsassociates.co.uk
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