Best Hard Drives of 2026 For Students

Save and backup your essential data with the Toshiba 1TB Canvio Ready USB 3.2 Gen 1 Portable Hard Drive. Featuring a compact and lightweight design with a unique two-tone black finish, the Canvio Ready can easily fit in your desk drawer or travel bag for convenient travel and storage. A Micro-B port allows you to plug in the included USB-A cable so you can easily use the drive on a wide range of systems. The USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface gives you up to 5 Gb/s data transfer speeds, allowing you to manage your contents quickly and easily. The drive is compatible with Windows and macOS devices for greater flexibility, and it comes preformatted in NTFS, allowing you to use it with Windows 10 and 8.1 operating systems right out of the box.

The new norm in external storage Light and pocket-sized, the Portable SSD T7 both delivers fast speeds and safeguards data for an easy way to store and transfer large files. Experience everyday high performance in your work and play with the T7. Transfer in a flash Transfer massive files within seconds with the incredible speed of USB 3.2 Gen 2 on the T7. The embedded PCIe NVMe technology facilitates sequential read/write speeds of up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s, respectively, making the T7 almost twice as fast as the previous T5 model. Built strong and secure SSD stands for Solid State Drive, which means it's built with no moving parts. The hardware can be secured with an AES 256-bit encrypted password and is encased in a sturdy metal body that keeps data intact from falls of up to 2 meters. The T7 is confidently backed by a 3-year limited warranty. Sophisticated thermal solution Use T7 without worrying about overheating. The T7's advanced thermal solution uses ePCM technology and the Dynamic Thermal Guard to withstand and control heat, so the compact SSD stays at an optimal temperature even at fast speeds. Sleek and compact style Pocket-sized and slim, the lightweight body comes standard on the T7. Roughly the size of a credit card and weighing in at 58 grams, the solid aluminum unibody construction fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Find your best fit The T7 gives you a range of options so you can find your perfect match. Pick a color from classic black to striking blue and red, and choose from three capacities to fit what your lifestyle demands: 500GB, 1TB, or 2TB. Multi-device compatibility Access your files anytime, anywhere. The T7 is compatible with PC, Mac, Android devices, gaming consoles, and more. Included in the box are USB Type C-to-C and Type C-to-A cables for added convenience. Management software The T7 comes embedded with upgraded software for PCs and Macs to help you set up a password and get the latest firmware updates. You can also download the mobile app for Android smartphones and tablets. World's No. 1 Flash Memory Experience the superior performance and reliability that you can only get from the world's number one brand forflash memory since 2002. All firmware and components,including Samsung's world-renowned DRAM and NAND, are produced in-house, allowing end-to-end integration for quality you can trust

Every journey needs a passport.The WD My Passport drive is a trusted, portable storage hard drive that gives you the confidence and freedom to drive forward in life. With a new, stylish design that fits in the palm of your hand, there's space to store, organize, and share your photos, videos, music, and documents. Perfectly paired with backup software and password protection (Windows only), the My Passport portable HDD helps keep your digital life's contents safe.Slim styleSlim and durable design to help make your life on-the-go effortlessly convenient. Robust construction provides you with a reliable companion for your adventures.Expansive CapacityUnlock vast storage possibilities with up to 6TB capacity, providing plenty of space to carry your photos, videos, music, and important documents wherever life takes you - helping to keep everything securely within your grasp.Backup that's simple. Help protect against ransomware.Scheduling backups of your precious files made easier with the included Acronis True Image for Western Digital software. Also help fortify your important applications and protect your computer system against data loss caused by ransomware attacks.Help safeguard what matters mostHelp safeguard your files against unauthorized access at home or away. Use our included software to add an extra layer of security with password protection and built-in 256-bit AES encryption.A worry-free warrantyWe build our drives using tried and true components and provide a 3-year limited warranty for extra peace of mind.Designed with the Planet in MindThe enclosure of this drive is composed of more than 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. Packaging is made of over 50% post-consumer recycled pulp and is fully recyclable.

Seagate Expansion desktop drive, add-on storage for your PC and Mac The Seagate Expansion desktop drive provides extra storage for yourever-growing collection of files. Instantly add space for more files,consolidate all of your files to a single location, or free up space on yourcomputer's internal drive to help improve performance Setup is straightforward; simply plug in the included power supply andUSB cable, and you are ready to go. It is automatically recognized by theWindows or Mac operating system, so there is no software to install andnothing to configure. Saving files is easy too-just drag-and-drop. Take advantage of the fast data transfer speeds with the USB 3.0interface by connecting to a USB 3.0 port Plus, Seagate Expansion comes with Rescue Data Recovery Services for additional peace of mind

Expand internal storage. Expand your gaming possibilities. Instantly expand the capacity of the most-powerful gaming experience Xbox has ever created with the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S. Effortlessly compatible with the Xbox Velocity Architecture, experience the fastest load times and most dynamic worlds - with improved performance optimised for Xbox Series X games spanning every Xbox generation. Play at home or take it to a friend's house; peak performance is now at your fingertips.Key Advantages Built-in partnership with Xbox to seamlessly match the full power of both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S Add up to 2 TB of peak performance storage to your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S without sacrificing performance Compatible with the Xbox Velocity Architecture - providing faster load times, richer environments, and more immersive gameplay Achieve the same performance of the Xbox Velocity Architecture when playing games that have been optimised for Xbox Series X Quick resume means gamers can switch between multiple titles in seconds - from either the internal SSD or the expansion card Easily plug in and play, or remove the card and take your games with you

Seagate Expansion desktop drive, add-on storage for your PC and Mac The Seagate Expansion desktop drive provides extra storage for yourever-growing collection of files. Instantly add space for more files,consolidate all of your files to a single location, or free up space on yourcomputer's internal drive to help improve performance Setup is straightforward; simply plug in the included power supply andUSB cable, and you are ready to go. It is automatically recognized by theWindows or Mac operating system, so there is no software to install andnothing to configure. Saving files is easy too-just drag-and-drop. Take advantage of the fast data transfer speeds with the USB 3.0interface by connecting to a USB 3.0 port Plus, Seagate Expansion comes with Rescue Data Recovery Services for additional peace of mind

Take Life Anywhere Toshiba's Canvio Advance portable hard drive allows creators to do what they do best-anywhere their lives take them-offering high storage capacity, quick access to your stored content and the time-tested reliable performance they need. Key Features Store It All - In Style Step up your storage with up to 4TB capacity so you can take your massive collection of photos, music, and videos with you on the go - and still have space for all your other important files, too. Choose from up to three trendy colors in a stylish, textured finish, so your portable storage can stand out as much as you do. Back up Automatically Avoid losing valuable content with the included Toshiba Storage Backup Software for your PC. The intuitive interface makes backing up your data a breeze. Simply set the time and intervals for your backups and let the software take care of the rest. Protect Your Data Prevent unauthorized users from accessing your private information with the included Toshiba Storage Security Software, allowing you to secure your hard drive with a unique password. Portable Peace of Mind The Canvio Advance is built to Toshiba's world-class quality standards, offering time-tested reliable performance and backed by a 2-year limited warranty, so you can feel confident to create wherever inspiration moves you.

Our Toughest, Fastest,Most Secure Drive Yet. Designed and built to COMPLETELY meet NIST FIPS 140-2 Level 3 requirements (pending 1Q 2019) meaning that the entire device-the hard drive, electronics, external fasteners, even the enclosure itself-are included within this elevated FIPS validation boundary. The tamper resistant enclosure is milled from a solid block of aircraft-grade 6061 aluminum alloy, snap-off uni-directional security fasteners, and a membrane-style keypad. The Aegis Fortress L3 is the perfect combination of software-free operation, advanced read / write speeds, and the highest level of security and durability. Military-Grade 100% Hardware Encryption: Featuring AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption, the Aegis Fortress L3 seamlessly encrypts all data as it's being written to the drive on the fly, protecting your data even if the hard drive is extracted from its enclosure.Software-Free Design: The Aegis Fortress L3 is ready to use right out of the box; no software, no drivers, no updates. Completely cross-platform compatible, the L3 excels on any PC, MAC, Linux, or any mass storage compliant system with a powered USB port. Forced Enrollment: Like all Apricorn Secure Drives, the Fortress L3 has no factory-preset default PIN, thus eliminating the common security vulnerability found in other manufacturer's encrypted drives. With Forced Enrollment, the admin is required to establish a sufficiently complex PIN before the device can ever be set up or used. Configurable: Create custom profiles and mass configure multiple Aegis devices at once with Apricorn's Aegis Configurator (sold separately).Onboard Keypad: All PIN entries are performed on the device's keypad making it compatible with systems without keyboards, and shares no critical security parameters with its host computer.Lock-Override Mode: Designated for specific cases in which the drive needs to remain unlocked, e.g., during reboot, passing the drive through a virtual machine, or other similar situations that would normally prompt our drives to automatically lock. When enabled, Lock-Override Mode allows the L3 to remain unlocked through USB port re-enumeration and will not re-lock until USB power is interrupted or the LOCK button is pressed.Two Read-Only Modes: Perfect for accessing data on the drive in a public setting to protect against USB viruses. Particularly important in forensics, Read-Only Mode is ideal for applications that require data to be preserved in its original, unaltered state and can't be overwritten or modified. The Fortress has two read-only modes. The first is set within the Admin mode and can only be enabled or disabled with the Admin PIN. The second read-only mode can be set and disabled by anyone with a valid PIN.Data Recovery PINs: In the case of lost or forgotten User PINs, up to four single-use Data Recovery PINs can be programmed and used to restore access to the data on the drive.Brute Force Protection: After a predetermined number (programmable; up to 20) of consecutive incorrect PIN entry attempts has occurred, the L3 will conclude that it is under Brute Force Attack and will respond by performing a crypto-erase - deleting the encryption key which will render all of the drive's data useless. Wear-Resistant Keypad - Water & Dust Resistant: Designed with protection in mind, the Aegis Fortress L3's keypad is impervious to dust, grit, and water, and the buttons coated with a durable polymer that defends against surface wear, which could tip off a potential hacker to the drive's most frequently used buttons.