Without hard disk drives (HDDs), the world couldn’t run as efficiently as it does today. HDDs are critical to allow airlines, retail establishments, banks, ATMs and other financial institutions to complete transactions, to allow movies to be offered on airplanes, to allow security cameras to record footage, and to allow your car to help you get from Point A to B. The lack of HDDs to store data would affect everything in your life down to individual business transactions.

In the past, security cameras used tape for storage. Tape is inconvenient because the reels have to be frequently changed, and the tape is subject to wear and breakage. The transition from t...

Many consumers don’t realize that most everyday gadgets and devices use hard disk drives (HDDs) to store information. Toshiba drives are in everything from MP3 players to automobile GPS and infotainment systems, and office printers to gaming consoles.  It’s amazing how much people rely on HDDs and don’t even know it or how different their technology-saturated lifestyles would be without HDDs to store content. 

Most prevalent are 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drives, but various features have to be factored in to determine the correct drive for each application. There are different connectors and interfaces to be considered for every situation in which data storage is necessary.  In this two-part series, I will discuss the secret life of HDDs: where they ...

Hard disk drives (HDDs) rarely miss; they are an incredible component of computing which have to satisfy extremely demanding expectations. HDDs are responsible for finding the correct file that is requested when accessing a document, image, music or video file. These small devices have tremendous demands put upon them every day and yet still attain high levels of durability.

How often have you accessed a photo, file or any bit of information on your computer and found that the HDD didn’t pull up the file you wanted? I don’t remember ever accessing a piece of data that wasn’t exactly what was requested.  It’s not often that ...

Price and Time
First and foremost, you should consider how much money you’re willing to spend on the new drive. That, in part, depends on the expected lifespan of the device. For example, if you’re looking to purchase a new computer in two years’ time, the drive you purchase will be replaced as well. Don’t spend a lot of money on a hard drive that you might replace in the near term. On the other hand, if you plan on keeping your computer and the drive for an extended period of time, consider spending a bit more to get additional capacity you’ll need as you accu...