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"&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;What is a Peripheral Device?&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A peripheral device is any auxiliary device that connects to and works with the computer to either put information into it or get information out of it.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Usually, the word peripheral is used to refer to a device\u00A0&amp;lt;em&amp;gt;external&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;\u00A0to the computer, like a scanner, but the devices physically located &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;inside&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; the computer are also technically peripherals too.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Peripheral devices often aren&amp;amp;#39;t directly involved with a computer&amp;amp;#39;s main function, but that doesn&amp;amp;#39;t mean they aren&amp;amp;#39;t considered necessary components. For example, a desktop-style &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-monitor-2618155&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;computer monitor&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; doesn&amp;amp;#39;t technically assist in computing but it is required to use the computer.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Another way to think about peripheral devices is that they don&amp;amp;#39;t work as standalone devices. The only way they work is when they&amp;amp;#39;re connected to, and controlled by, the computer.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A peripheral device may also be referred to as an\u00A0&amp;lt;em&amp;gt;external peripheral&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;, &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;integrated peripheral&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;, &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;auxiliary component&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;, or &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;I/O (input/output) device&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h3&amp;gt;Types of Peripheral Devices&amp;lt;/h3&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Peripheral devices are categorized as either an input device or an output device.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Among these types of &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/computer-hardware-2625895&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;hardware&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; are both &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;internal peripheral devices&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;external peripheral devices&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;, either type of which might include input or output devices.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Internal Peripheral Devices&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Common internal peripheral devices you&amp;amp;#39;ll find in a computer include an\u00A0&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-an-optical-disc-drive-2618157&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;optical disc drive&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, a &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-video-card-2618161&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;video card&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, and a &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-hard-disk-drive-2618152&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;&amp;gt;hard drive&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Network interface cards, USB expansion cards, and other internal devices that might plug in to a PCI Express or other type of port are all types of internal peripherals.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;External Peripheral Devices&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Common external peripheral devices include devices like a\u00A0&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-mouse-2618156&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;6&amp;quot;&amp;gt;mouse&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;,\u00A0&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-keyboard-2618153&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;7&amp;quot;&amp;gt;keyboard&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, pen tablet, &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-an-external-drive-2625867&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;8&amp;quot;&amp;gt;external hard drive&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, printer, projector, speakers, webcam,\u00A0&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-flash-drive-2625794&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;9&amp;quot;&amp;gt;flash drive&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, media card readers, and microphone.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Anything that you can connect to the outside of a computer, that typically doesn&amp;amp;#39;t operate on its own, could be referred to as an external peripheral.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.lifewire.com/peripheral-device-2625951>