4 Unconventional and Innovative Uses for External SSDs
When SSDs first appeared, they were not affordable for everyone, but in recent years, this has completely changed and it has become difficult to see a desktop or laptop computer that does not contain these storage units instead of the traditional HDD . Some games and systems have become a prerequisite for operating, because these units provide high data transfer speeds (this speed is constantly increasing), not to mention that they come in significant storage sizes. Most SSD users use them to contain the main operating system due to their speeds, while they use HDD hard drives for storage . The development of SSD units has not been limited to use as internal storage units only, but has extended to external units that can be connected via a USB cable only, and below we review their most prominent uses.
You can actually use external SSDs as a portable operating system tool. This would be useful for people who frequently move between different computers, IT engineers, and anyone who needs to troubleshoot and fix operating system errors. The idea in short is that you can install a complete operating system, or even more than one, on an external SSD and use it as a “Plug & Play” tool, i.e. run the system as soon as it is connected to the computer. The idea of using more than one operating system is very useful in itself, as it allows you to easily diagnose a wide range of technical problems. We covered an example of this in the topic of installing a copy of Windows on an external hard drive .
Of course, this use is not exclusive to external SSD units, but any flash memory or even HDD can perform the same use, but the read and write speeds make the SSD preferable to deal with the operating system smoothly and quickly on any computer.
The operating system installed does not have to be Windows, you can use the Ubuntu distribution or use what are called rescue CDs . There are many systems designed for portable use, as they provide powerful error checking tools such as Kali Linux . It is worth noting that you can store more than one system on the same external SSD using a program called Ventoy . However, if you are thinking of using SSD units for this purpose, you do not need to invest in a modern external unit; an old SSD with a (SATA to USB3) adapter will do the job. It is true that it will not reach the speed of the newer NVMe units, but it will do the job and save you some money.
Unlike HDDs, many modern external SSDs come with powerful encryption software to automatically protect your data. The drive is locked as soon as it's disconnected from the device or after a set period of time. It's not just software, there's a dedicated hardware chip on the drive's motherboard - such as the IronKey Vault Privacy 80 - to ensure maximum protection against encryption hacks.
This feature will protect your data in case of theft, for example, as it will be difficult for anyone to access the data without your password. This does not mean that your data will never be hacked, but at least it will be safer than if it were on regular storage devices. You can also enhance the security of your data by using features built into the operating system, such as BitLocker on Windows or FileVault on Apple macOS.
The main purpose of SSDs is to store files, and they are the best option for this function (if we ignore the price), but in general, we are not talking here about regular file storage for the purpose of keeping them on the computer, but rather about storing files for the purpose of accessing them from the smartphone via a direct connection via USB cable when we are outside or even inside the home. As you know, the space of most phones is limited, and if it is large, you will find that most of it is occupied with applications, system files, etc.
Fortunately, most modern smartphones, including the iPhone, support reading external storage units connected via USB or Lightning ports if you use the appropriate cable. Thus, you can store movies, photos, and all the files that you sometimes need to access - but cannot store them directly on the phone's memory - on the external SSD and take it with you wherever you go, then connect it to the phone to browse and play files, just as you do on a computer. Since we are talking about SSD units here, speed will not be an obstacle and you will be able to enjoy movies, series, and other files in the best possible way.
Some of us use virtual machines because they are stable, suitable for programming, and offer many other advantages. If you are one of those who use virtual machines, we advise you to try it on external SSDs if you want to have a different and smoother experience, meaning that you install a copy of Windows on a virtual machine using programs such as VirtualBox and then save the files of this system on the external SSD, and thus you can boot into the copy of Windows installed on the virtual system from any device and all your programs and files stored on this system will be ready and available without the need to reinstall anything from scratch.
As we said, SSDs have high read and write speeds compared to traditional hard drives, which is important for speeding up the boot and smooth operation of virtual systems directly from the external SSD. However, there is a problem that must be taken into account, which is the compatibility problem with operating systems such as Windows and Mac; for example, when installing Windows on a virtual system using VirtualBox on a MacBook laptop running an Apple M processor (based on ARM architecture), you may not be able to boot to the virtual system using the same program on a regular computer running an AMD or Intel processor (based on x64 or x86 architecture). It is true that you can solve this problem using tools such as Rosetta and QEMU, but in this case the performance may be affected.
Conclusion: External SSDs have a variety of uses outside of storage, as we have seen, they can be used in several ways that benefit various segments of users. Whether you are looking for a way to use operating systems on the go, or you are looking to protect and encrypt your data, or you want to increase your phone’s storage space, or even run virtual systems with improved performance, external SSDs will be what you are looking for thanks to their high speed.