“Can you tell me what the difference is between the WD-My Cloud and a regular external hard drive? Do I need both?”
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The cloud can be accessed by your devices from any location where you have wifi access. The external HD is accessed by the computer it's attached to or on your local home network if installed to your router.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.A regular hard drive just plugs into your computer though a cable. The MyCloud plugs into your router and becomes part of your network. Only you would know whether you need both.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.MyCloud is network based so it doesn't have to be connected directly to a computer where a regular external drive does.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.The difference is that the WD-My Cloud is an online personal storage space that can be used to backup your data to from the external hard drive. Traditionally, an external hard drive would not have this additional feature and just store the data locally with no online storage/backup option.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.An external hard drive plugs directly to your computer through a USB cable. It gives you added local storage with a drive letter designation (Drive F: or Drive G:) My-Cloud is a network based device. It plugs into your router and has an Internet address. As well as being able to access it locally (on the same network as your local computer/laptop), it can also be accessed from anywhere (across the country or the world). Both devices can hold the same data (documents, spreadsheets, pictures, etc) -- it's just the options you have to access that data.
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