{"id":439312,"date":"2022-04-29T14:00:01","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/"},"modified":"2022-04-29T14:00:01","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T11:00:01","slug":"how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Make Your Own External Hard Drive (and Why You Should)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3fa8a5723f4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3fa8a5723f4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/#%E2%80%9CHow_to_Make_Your_Own_External_Hard_Drive_and_Why_You_Should%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How to Make Your Own External Hard Drive (and Why You Should)&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/#Why_Build_Your_Own_Drive\" >Why Build Your Own Drive?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/#First_Pick_an_Internal_Hard_Drive_Model\" >First, Pick an Internal Hard Drive Model<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/#Next_Pick_a_USB_Hard_Drive_Enclosure\" >Next, Pick a USB Hard Drive Enclosure<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/#Finally_Put_Them_Together\" >Finally, Put Them Together<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_to_Make_Your_Own_External_Hard_Drive_and_Why_You_Should%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How to Make Your Own External Hard Drive (and Why You Should)&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage size-full wp-image-799541\" data-pagespeed-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/usb_hd_hero_6.jpg?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/usb_hd_hero_6.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/usb_hd_hero_6.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A USB hard drive enclosure on a blue background\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Inateck<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s tough shopping for an external hard drive with reasonable performance these days. Many USB options use a slow hard drive <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> called SMR that can be hard to spot. If you want good transfer speeds for a reasonable price, you\u2019ll need to roll your own. Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Build_Your_Own_Drive\"><\/span>Why Build Your Own Drive?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Since at least 2020, manufacturers of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/749487\/best-external-hard-drives\/\">external USB hard drives have been using a technology called Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) in their products that increases capacity and lowers cost, but dramatically limits the performance of the drives. SMR <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kb.synology.com\/en-id\/DSM\/tutorial\/PMR_SMR_hard_disk_drives\">uses a special method<\/a> of partially overwriting previously written tracks on a hard disk platter (like shingles on a house roof). In contrast, Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) hard drives use conventional parallel writing methods that don\u2019t overlap tracks, so they don\u2019t suffer the same performance penalties.<\/p>\n<p>Manufacturers love SMR because the drives require fewer platters verses a CMR-based drive, and that saves them money. Unfortunately, these same manufacturers have also <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gadgets\/2020\/04\/caveat-emptor-smr-disks-are-being-submarined-into-unexpected-channels\/\">stirred up controversy<\/a> by selling these arguably inferior SMR drives\u2014especially in USB hard drives\u2014without openly advertising that fact.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-799545 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/cmr_vs_smr.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A track diagram of CMR vs. SMR in hard drives\" width=\"650\" height=\"400\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.seagate.com\/tech-insights\/breaking-areal-density-barriers-with-seagate-smr-master-ti\/\" data-credittext=\"Seagate\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Writing hard drive tracks with CMR (top) vs. SMR (bottom). <span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seagate.com\/tech-insights\/breaking-areal-density-barriers-with-seagate-smr-master-ti\/\">Seagate<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Luckily, you can take the guesswork out of external USB hard drive shopping by assembling a drive yourself. Using a clearly-marked CMR drive from a reputable vendor and an inexpensive USB hard drive enclosure, you\u2019ll be up and running in no time.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to note that there are many avenues you can <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> when it comes to rolling your own external storage, including choosing different drive sizes (2.5\u2033), SSDs, or RAID arrays that dramatically increase performance. For now, we\u2019re going to stick with building a simple USB 3.0 external USB drive that uses a 3.5\u2033 CMR hard disk. It will be ideal for home backups.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First_Pick_an_Internal_Hard_Drive_Model\"><\/span>First, Pick an Internal Hard Drive Model<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The heart and soul of your custom USB hard drive is a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/256960\/is-ata-the-same-as-idepata-or-sata\/\">SATA internal hard disk\u2014the kind you\u2019d put into a custom PC build or a NAS. In this situation, we\u2019ll focus on conventional 3.5\u2033 disks because they offer a wide variety of storage options for a reasonable price and performance.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s paramount when choosing a hard drive is picking one that uses CMR technology (and avoiding SMR drives, as described above). While some manufacturers aren\u2019t open about which drives use SMR, Seagate <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seagate.com\/internal-hard-drives\/cmr-smr-list\/\">provides a handy chart<\/a> that shows which of its hard drive models use CMR or SMR technology.<\/p>\n<p>In our drive build, we chose an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B084ZV4DXB\/?tag=hotoge-20\">8 TB IronWolf hard drive<\/a> for its balance between capacity and price. As of April 2022, all IronWolf drives utilize CMR, which is what you want for a higher-performance backup or storage drive. They also operate at 7200 RPM, which translates to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seagate.com\/tech-insights\/choosing-high-performance-storage-is-not-about-rpm-anymore-master-ti\/\">quicker access times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box \">\n<div class=\"product-img product-img-noaward\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B084ZV4DXB?tag=hotoge-20&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/414zmuFeWhL._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"product-add\">\n<div class=\"product-add-button\">\n<div class=\"product-share-links\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Shop for IronWolf 8TB CMR Hard Drive\" aria-label=\"IronWolf 8TB CMR Hard Drive - Amazon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B084ZV4DXB?tag=hotoge-20&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\">Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"product-price\">$184.99 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"12\" width=\"42\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,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\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\"\/><br \/><small><del>$214.00<\/del> Save 14%<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And like nearly all modern hard drives, IronWolf drives use the Serial ATA (SATA) connection standard. This is important to note because of the enclosure we\u2019ll be picking below.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you can pick any 3.5\u2033 SATA hard disk you want. Just make sure it uses CMR for its recording technique, and know that sometimes manufacturers label it \u201cPMR\u201d instead, for Parallel Magnetic Recording. PMR is basically the same as CMR.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Next_Pick_a_USB_Hard_Drive_Enclosure\"><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" name=\"autotoc_anchor_2\">Next, Pick a USB Hard Drive Enclosure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Now that you have your 3.5\u2033 SATA hard disk picked out, it\u2019s time to buy a USB enclosure. There are dozens on the market available, mostly from generic OEM vendors with different badges. The choice of USB enclosure has a large effect on performance because each enclosure includes an interface board that translates between the SATA standard used by the hard drive and the USB standard you use to connect it to your PC. We\u2019ll be aiming for USB 3.0 enclosures here for price purposes, but it\u2019s also possible to find enclosures that support faster standards such as USB 3.2.<\/p>\n<p>For our build, we picked the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00GAML7OK?tag=hotoge-20\">ORICO Toolfree USB 3.0 to SATA External 3.5\u201d Hard Drive Enclosure<\/a>, because it includes everything you need (aside from the hard disk), is easy to put together, supports USB 3.0 transfer speeds, includes a power button, and retails for only around $24.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box \">\n<div class=\"product-img product-img-noaward\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00GAML7OK?tag=hotoge-20&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41Vo9hlfFpL._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The ORICO enclosure is a serviceable purchase for a non-rugged environment, such as a desktop in a clean, air-conditioned home. Otherwise, it has some drawbacks, including a plastic enclosure that does not conduct heat well and no mechanical mounting inside the unit (the drive slips in place easily, as you\u2019ll see ahead). If you want a slightly more robust case for high-performance environments, you might try the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00UAA4J6G\/?tag=hotoge-20\">Inateck 3.5\u2033 Hard Drive Enclosure<\/a> instead (for around $30).<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box \">\n<div class=\"product-img product-img-noaward\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B00UAA4J6G?tag=hotoge-20&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/5136NDNhMeL._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another metal enclosure alternative is the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B08611BWQG?tag=hotoge-20\">OWC Mercury Elite Pro Storage Enclosure<\/a>. It supports USB 3.2 and is somewhat pricier at around $55. Any one of these enclosures will work on PCs, Macs, or Linux once you format the drive you\u2019ll insert with the proper file system.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finally_Put_Them_Together\"><\/span>Finally, Put Them Together<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Now that you have your USB enclosure and SATA drive, it\u2019s time to put the two parts together. For the ORICO enclosure, all you have to do is slide off the plastic cover, insert the hard disk into the SATA slot inside, then slide the case back on. You\u2019ll notice that nothing secures the hard drive other than the SATA connector and the plastic case around it, so to make the fit more snugly, use the foam inserts that come with the ORICO case to pad the drive into place.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-799551\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/USB_hard_Drive.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A USB hard drive under assembly.\" width=\"650\" height=\"405\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>As discussed above, the ORICO design has pros and cons. The pro is that it\u2019s more like a SATA dock, where it would be easy to change out hard drives if necessary. The con is that it\u2019s not mechanically secure for rugged environments. If you purchased the Inateck or OWC case for a more secure fit, mounting the hard drive is easy with a few screws.<\/p>\n<p>Once assembled, plug the drive into your PC or Mac using the USB cable provided and switch it on. In some cases, the hard drive might already be formatted and ready to go. If not, you can use <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/787213\/5-ways-to-open-disk-management-on-windows-10-or-11\/\">Disk Management on Windows or Disk Utility on a Mac to partition and format the drive. On Windows, you should choose the NTFS file system, and choose AFS on a Mac. If you want to format the drive for use on both Macs and Windows, choose exFAT as the file system.<\/p>\n<p>For backups on Windows, the built-in File History feature is simple and easy to use. On a Mac, you can use the new USB drive with Time Machine for easy backups. Enjoy your new drive!<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Use Windows&#8217; File History to Back Up Your Data<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/798756\/how-to-make-your-own-external-hard-drive-and-why-you-should\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How to Make Your Own External Hard Drive (and Why You Should)&#8221; Inateck It\u2019s tough shopping for an external hard drive with reasonable performance these days. Many USB options use a slow hard drive technology called SMR that can be hard to spot. If you want good transfer speeds for a reasonable price, you\u2019ll need&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":439313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/usb_hd_hero_6.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-439312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}