Portable Hard Drive Cases - Hard Or Soft Protective Case

These days you need an external hard drive and a portable hard drive case if you want to backup and transport files and information. Gone are the days when computers were big and heavy and tied you to your desk now you can simply carry all your information around on a portable hard disk and plug it into any computer to access the information you need.

You can have a powerful computer in your pocket and modern laptops make great computers capable of coping with just about any computing task but we don't always want to carry a laptop everywhere we go and even when we do we may need to take a portable hard drive with us as well.

USB external hard drives are a great way to backup files on your computer hard disk or simply carrying all your information with you but they are small and fragile so you should give them some protection when you take them anywhere. Fortunately you can buy a portable hard drive case for a very low cost and give your external drive the protection it needs so you know it will be OK when you get where you are going.

The cost of portable hard drive cases varies from about seven or eight dollars up to around twenty dollars so it is not a great expense considering the valuable personal data you might have on your portable drive. The more expensive types are likely to be branded to match their own drives and you may consider this worth paying extra for and you certainly know the case should fit your drive with no problems.

You will find them available in various colors and it is entirely up to you whether you want a hard drive case that is subtle in a black neoprene case or very obvious in a bright red or purple case. The bottom line is that a portable hard drive case is there to protect your hard drive from damage and color or brand is of secondary importance.

There are two sizes of hard drives used in external hard drives. There is the 2.5 inch and the 3.5 inch. Any case you buy should be the appropriate size for the type of external hard disk you have so that it fits snugly in the case and is secure and protected.

If you buy what we refer to as a 'portable' hard drive it will most likely be the smaller 2.5 inch hard drive as these are much more compact and easily transported but you should check the measurements of your external hard drive before you purchase just to be sure.

You will find there are both hard and soft cases and the difference is in the degree of protection they give but most are the softer variety. Soft cases are usually supplied as a small neoprene case that slips over the hard drive or zips around it to give it additional protection. A soft case will protect from knocks, bumps and scratches and being soft will absorb part of the shock of any sudden movement or landing on a hard surface.

Hard cases are less common but they give more protection for portable hard drives because they act like a suit of armour and if the case is struck in some way the case spreads the shock around itself instead of transmitting it to the hard drive inside.

For most peoples needs a soft case should be adequate protection but if you have vital information on your portable drive that you would not want to risk in any way then a hard case might be worth any additional cost.

Some cases will have additional straps inside to keep the drive in place and stop it sliding about and some will have a few small additional pockets for storing connecting leads and some paperwork.