A 2.5-inch hard drive is a type of storage device commonly used in laptops and portable external drives. Its compact size, measuring 2.5 inches in width, allows it to fit easily into smaller devices, making it ideal for mobile computing. These drives can store large amounts of data, typically ranging from hundreds of gigabytes to several terabytes. 2.5-inch hard drives use either HDD (hard disk drive) or SSD (solid-state drive) technology. HDDs have spinning disks and read/write heads, while SSDs use flash memory for faster data access. Both types are popular for their reliability and performance, catering to various storage needs.