External Hardrive.

[Artiom916]

What exactly is it? Can I buy a USB external hardrive and plug it in and leave it plugged in as if it were a normal hard drive inside the computer? Can i also install games on it and play it from there because my pc has no space for games, and im getting elder scrolls online. Thanks

[WoodenMarker]

An external hdd is a hdd that isn't kept in your system/case. 

Yes, you can leave it plugged in and it can work just like an internal hdd. The drawbacks usually include less speed due to to the sata to usb adapter, more cable mess, and worse cooling. 

[Frost Byte]

Yeah, if you purchase an external drive you'll plug it in via USB, and you should be able to install anything that you would normally, on a PC. You could always upgrade your hard drive that's in your system too, but that would take more effort.

[Artiom916]

Now If i buy one and plug it in, its ready to go? something will pop up? Or will my C disk just go up in space.

[WoodenMarker]

Now If i buy one and plug it in, its ready to go? something will pop up? Or will my C disk just go up in space.

A new drive letter should be added. If you have never used any other drives, it should show up as the D: drive. 

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

[Artiom916]

A new drive letter should be added. If you have never used any other drives, it should show up as the D: drive. 

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

OK thanks! Also do all external driives work on every os and pc type or are there specifics. Mine is a dell presicion T5500, running windows 8.1

[WoodenMarker]

OK thanks! Also do all external driives work on every os and pc type or are there specifics. Mine is a dell presicion T5500, running windows 8.1

That shouldn't be an issue.

[Captain_WD]

What exactly is it? Can I buy a USB external hardrive and plug it in and leave it plugged in as if it were a normal hard drive inside the computer? Can i also install games on it and play it from there because my pc has no space for games, and im getting elder scrolls online. Thanks

 

Hey Artiom916,

 

As the guys explained, an external drive is basically a regular internal HDD that is put in an external enclosure and is connected to the computer via a cable (USB most of the time but not necessarily).

You can use it as a regular drive although in some situations external drives are treated differently than internal:

- some games and programs cannot be installed on external drives

- you cannot boot some OSs from an external drive

- the speed would be limited as external drives tend to work slower than internal ones, even though with USB3.0 the connection is not the bottleneck

If you need to remove the drive, you should always use the "safely eject" tool in the system tray, otherwise you are risking data corruption.

 

I would rather get a regular internal drive for gaming as it would work better and with less potential problems. 

 

Captain_WD.

[Artiom916]

 

Hey Artiom916,

 

As the guys explained, an external drive is basically a regular internal HDD that is put in an external enclosure and is connected to the computer via a cable (USB most of the time but not necessarily).

You can use it as a regular drive although in some situations external drives are treated differently than internal:

- some games and programs cannot be installed on external drives

- you cannot boot some OSs from an external drive

- the speed would be limited as external drives tend to work slower than internal ones, even though with USB3.0 the connection is not the bottleneck

If you need to remove the drive, you should always use the "safely eject" tool in the system tray, otherwise you are risking data corruption.

 

I would rather get a regular internal drive for gaming as it would work better and with less potential problems. 

 

Captain_WD.

 

I am to scared to change it myself, and I do not have money to pay someone to come and change it, I have around 50 dollars which is enough for a 500gb external hardrive, also how can I tell what games cant be installed on the external hard drive?

[Captain_WD]

I am to scared to change it myself, and I do not have money to pay someone to come and change it, I have around 50 dollars which is enough for a 500gb external hardrive, also how can I tell what games cant be installed on the external hard drive?

 

Are you using a desktop computer or a laptop? Desktop computers usually have space for more than one storage drive and it's a simple plug and play procedure.

It really depends on the game. Some really require the drive to be connected directly to the motherboard, others can be installed on external drive. I would check each game that you want to install if it can be put on an external drive. Do have in mind that loading times will be longer if a game is played from an external drive and you might experience some lags (depending on the game).

 

Captain_WD.