Do you need more data storage space for your growing business? An external hard drive seems like a quick solution to add more capacity. However, there are big downsides of relying entirely on external drives that you should know first!
As your trusted technology advisor, I recommend exploring better storage solutions. After 20 years working in enterprise IT and computer repair, I‘ve seen countless scenarios where users lost everything by trusting external hard drives.
In this expert guide, I‘ll overview:
- What are the pros and cons of external hard drives
- 10 reasons why I don‘t recommend buying external drives
- Better alternative storage solutions you should consider instead
My goal is to help you make a well-informed decision before wasting money and regretting it later!
Overview of External Hard Drives
External hard drives are portable data storage devices powered by USB cables. They provide easy plug-and-play extra storage space for desktops, laptops, gaming consoles, and media centers.
The two main external hard drive types are:
HDD (Hard Disk Drive) – Mechanical platters with moving heads to read/write data. High 1TB+ capacity but fragile.
SSD (Solid State Drive) – Microchips storing data digitally with no moving parts. More durable but lower 500GB capacity.
| Specs | HDD | SSD |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Up to 16TB | Typically <= 2TB |
| Durability | Low – platter damage risks | High – no moving parts |
| Speed | ~100 MB/s seq. read/write | ~550 MB/s seq. read/write |
| Price Per GB | Around $0.02 per GB | Around $0.20 per GB |
The portability of external drives provides flexible extra storage for multiple devices. Professionals can easily move data between home and office computers with external SSDs. Gamers expand limited console storage with external HDDs holding 50+ AAA titles.
However, experts like myself generally do not recommend relying solely on external drives for primary storage. There are several big disadvantages I‘ve seen cause major data headaches.
10 Reasons to Avoid Buying an External Hard Drive
Before hitting "Buy Now" on a shiny new 1TB external HDD or SSD, consider the following drawbacks I‘ve witnessed consulting with clients:
1. Slower Transfer Speed Bottlenecks
External SSDs jump up to a blistering 550 MB/s data transfer rate through USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 ports – over 5x faster than HDDs! However, those blazing fast SSD speeds only occur individually.
Attaching multiple external drives requires USB hubs which share total bandwidth. This leads to slower transfer speeds the more drives you add, like rush hour traffic merging lanes. Network bottlenecks also crimp external drive speeds in office environments with many simultaneous users.
Personal example – A client nearly ripped their hair out enduring painfully slow video editing with 4TB of external USB drives. We upgraded them to Thunderbolt-enabled internal SSD storage pools instead achieving smooth real-time 4K editing.
2. High Physical Damage Risks
Standard external hard drives have zero built-in shock absorption or protection besides thin aluminum chassis or plastic casings. This makes them prone to failure if accidentally dropped, dinged, or subjected to high vibrations or magnets during everyday travel.
Recent Backblaze analysis found ~25% of external HDD failures were due to physical mishaps destroying internal platters. New SSDs without moving parts withstand shock better, but drops can still ruin controller chip solder points losing all data. Accidental liquid spills are especially disastrous for externals without waterproofing.
Also, have you seen those YouTube drive destruction videos? Hilarious, but it horrifically demonstrates how fragile our storage devices remain.
3. Overheating Threats in Enclosed Spaces
You know the scorching heat you feel watching videos on a laptop perched on a pillow? Now imagine tightly enclosed external drives enduring sustained reads/writes while crammed on a desk or media shelf.
Without built-in fans or open chassis for ventilation like internal drives, external drives face serious overheating risks. Excessive heat degrades drive controller electronics, speeds wear, and can utterly cripple HDD platter motors.
One survey analyzing IT support call records discovered frequent external storage failure patterns with peak summer temperatures. Positioning extra drives in open desk areas or rooms with AC helps mitigate overheating threats. But expecting flawless USB drive performance long-term in hot operating environments is asking for trouble!
4. Lack of RAID Redundancy for Automatic Data Backup
Ever have that forehead-slapping moment realizing you forgot to manually backup critical data? Or the sheer frustration dealing with accidental file deletion or corruption? Networks with internal enterprise drives guard against such catastrophes using ingenious RAID storage pooling.
RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Drives and writes identical data copies across multiple drives. If any single drive gets damaged, you simply swap it like a flat tire without data loss! Various RAID levels with striping maximize speeds for heavy workloads also.
But consumer external HDDs and SSDs have zero support for crucial RAID technology. A lone external is a single point of failure risking all data to the occasional bit rot gremlin, power spike, failed read/write, or bozo user error. Oof!
Advanced business-class Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices DO permit RAID-protected external storage. But USB-powered portable externals otherwise lack those safeguards so one failure = 100% data destruction.
5. Prime Target for Theft and Data Breaches
Before the widespread cloud adoption we enjoy today, I witnessed several alarming client data breach incidents involving stolen external drives from years past.
Externals often sit visibly on desks or tucked under laptops in public places. Light security also makes them effortlessly portable for thieves or snoops to discretely snatch. Even safeguarded office spaces got infiltrated after hours with alarm overrides or copied keys.
One Ohio marketing agency endured public embarrassment and over $200k in legal settlements after an unencrypted external backup drive disappeared. It contained thousands of client social security numbers, medical records, and personal data. Beyond monetary losses, the damaged client trust took years rebuilding.
While cloud storage presents unique cyber attack vectors, legitimate services provide extensive endpoint encryption safeguards and cybersecurity teams protecting exabytes of data globally. Woe to small businesses relying solely on insecure, vulnerable external drives stolen in seconds.
6. Tangled Cables Post Tripping Hazards
Notice how external devices steadily multiply on desks over time? Like rabbits breeding USB cables and wall adapters! Does that limbo dance navigating under desks give you anxiety also?
"Data hoarding drives digital clutter accumulating not just on computers, but stretching across workspaces," cyber-psychologist Dr. Lisa Greer explained. "We feel pressured keeping years of files handy through cheap storage rather than conscious data minimization."
Beyond looking plain ugly as cable tumbleweeds take root, those awkward lean-overs increase risks literally tripping over cords yanking devices mid-transfer. Such accessory clutter also collects dust bunnies aggravating allergies over years.
Dr. Greer suggests disciplined data storage assessments: "Ask yourself what files you truly need close by. Backup the rest securely offsite through HIPAA-compliant cloud services with easy anytime/anywhere access."
7. Power and Connectivity Interruptions
No matter how neatly you arrange the external drive rat king, leaning an elbow on the wrong cable at the wrong nanosecond unleashes chaos. The interrupted transfer immediately fails.
Accidental USB disconnections mid-read/write sequence often corrupt data. The drive may completely malfunction thereafter. Loss of electrical power is also disastrous to external drives without warning to safely eject.
That nightmare scenario recently plagued my cousin‘s graphic design business when the landlord shut off electricity for repairs without notice. Two plugged-in external drives containing five years of art assets instantly got zapped beyond recovery. Whoomp, there goes hundreds of billable hours down the drain!
Always connecting external drives through Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) battery backups reduces some data loss risks from power blips. But user error mishaps remain an ever-present vulnerability.
8. Limited Longevity With Degraded Performance
Like tires losing tread depth over time, the performance and lifespan of drives degrade through accumulated wear and tear. However, portable external drives face far more volatile operating conditions than secured internals.
Enterprise studies found external HDD/SDDs generally last 3-5 years on average before failures take hold. Contrast that against internal data center hard drives surviving beyond seven years before replacement.
SSD durability is further limited by write cycles. As electric charges repeatedly etch microscopic channels within flash memory cells, the structures eventually break down. Manufacturers claim between 1,000 to 10,000 erase/program cycles per cell prior to failure. High data churn workloads on external SSDs hasten the inevitable crash significantly faster than read-dominant media storage.
While nothing eliminates failure risks outright, sticking with name brands offering longer 3 to 5 year warranties on drives provides more financial protection spending $100+ periodically.
9. Interoperability Quirks Between Operating Systems
Back when computers just worked without needing cross-platform excellence, external drives presented even more frustrating compatibility tripwires. Thankfully in 2023, external drive support under Windows and Mac is fairly transparent minus some lingering file system nuances.
Apple largely phased out temperamental HFS+ formatting on modern external drives which plays happily with Windows. However, read-only NTFS external drives still prompt reformatting first for Time Machine compatibility.
Linux users occasionally still battle external drive gremlins also if encountering uncommon file systems, older distros, or flakey open-source drivers. Situations requiring data transfers between multiple operating systems generally go smoother reformatting exFAT instead. But don‘t expect effortless cross-platform Nirvana spanning back catalog files across decades.
The storage pros can‘t resist peeking under the hood even with "It Just Works™" external drives – curiosity propels progress! Occasionally those tweaks pan out poorly.
10. Vulnerable to Disasters Without Offsite Backups
Despite their advertised durability, external drives essentially remain single hard disk units no smarter than internal drives. Just in smaller enclosures. That makes them just as susceptible to existential threats like fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, or theft.
Lacking cloud or off-site redundancy, all your backed up irreplaceable data instantly vanishes without recovery options if catastrophe befalls your external drive‘s physical location. Photos, critical documents, financial records – poof!
I counsel new parents and small business owners specifically around augmenting external local backups with additional cloud or off-site copies. Because who wants calling loved ones explaining the lifetime of baby pics got toasted? Or telling employees pink slips may be forthcoming if site disasters tank clientele? Take my advice securing redundant data backups seriously before dire scenarios strike.
Weigh These Storage Alternatives Instead
Clearly these 10 external drive pitfalls prove why solely relying upon portables inevitably causes heartburn, money pits, or worse. When clients inevitably ask my storage recommendations, I suggest exploring these better options first:
Cloud Storage Services
Migrating from local externals to secure encrypted cloud backup services like Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, iDrive, or Sync offers businesses and families affordable peace of mind.
Cloud storage providers replicate your data across multiple global data centers offering 99.999999999% resilience even if one site gets leveled! Plus you can access backups anywhere with internet availability along with robust file version histories.
Downsides mainly consist of monthly subscription costs, large initial upload bandwidth requirements, and placing personal data faith outside your control. But the sheer convenience and security cloud services provide far outweigh external drive vulnerabilities for primary storage needs.
Internal Drive Upgrades
For applications requiring local storage access, replacing standard hard drives (HDDs) or solid state drives (SSDs) with higher capacity models keeps your data more secure internally. Multi-terabyte SSDs meeting performance needs for years are readily available.
Internal SATA III SSDs deliver up to 4x faster speeds than eking out USB 3.2 Gen 2 throughput on external drives. Leveraging speedy NVMe internal SSD storage tanks drive benchmarks even further.
Cons are higher short-term costs than cheap external drives. But you receive longevity lasting over 5 years matched with way better speeds and connectivity. Internal upgrades just take a bit more elbow grease cracking open laptop or desktop cases during installation.
Network Attached Storage (NAS)
If needing network-wide storage access for teams, advanced NAS appliances shine by housing multiple internal drives with automatic data backup. Features like RAID data mirroring prevent loss from any single drive failure. Their storage pools also scale expanding available capacity easily through additional drive bays when needed.
QNAP, Synology, Netgear, and TerraMaster make excellent NAS models suitable for average users to expansive small business demands. Downsides mostly consist of steep learning curves configuring all the settings (!), higher costs than solo external drives, and reliance upon stable internet connectivity.
External Drives Work In Limited Backup Roles
Hopefully these 10 tragic flaws demonstrate why externally powered drives best serve limited backup roles solely. Relying upon them heavily as primary long term storage almost always ends in misery sooner than later.
I‘ve just seen those tales of woe play out far too many times from negligent back habits and placing too much trust on external drive durability myths.
Don‘t become another painful data loss statistic! Heed my decade of professional advice. Ditch the external procurement urge today. Your happiness, business efficiency, and sanity will thank me later.
Now if you‘ll excuse me, my UPS indicates the power temporarily winked out. Time to walk the office checking for any disrupted connections…and grumbling at cables strewn underfoot. This battle fighting digital decay and chaos carries on!
