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Old 01-18-2011, 10:52 PM
 
4,502 posts, read 13,428,977 times
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First, forgive me for being not very "up" on computer stuff. I'm posting here in the hopes of getting some info and help.

I realized that when I got rid of my old computer for this one (about 4 years ago or so) that I had a ton of photos on the old computer that I never transferred to this one. Now, on this one, I also have not only a ton of photos but some video as well. I know I'll be replacing this computer soon and I want to keep all the pics and video that I have.

Someone suggested an external hardrive. I looked at them on the best buy site and saw a few but I'm not sure of the difference. Here are my questions:

What size is the best? I guess I would need a large one since I have a ton of pics and some video (and will have a lot more video)

How do I move the stuff that is already on the computer to the external hardrive?

Can I load my photos directly from my camera to the external hardrive? Or do I have to put them on the computer first?

Any other info or input or advice will be greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!!!
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Old 01-18-2011, 10:59 PM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,314,839 times
Reputation: 7585
An external hard drive is a good way to move data from an old computer to a new one but its more important to use it to backup your computer regularly. The size depends on how much stuff you have. I prefer the smaller sized 2.5" drives as they get their power from the USB port, so they don't need a power brick. Like this: Newegg.com - TOSHIBA 1TB USB 3.0 Black with Silver Accents Canvio 3.0 Plus Portable Hard Drive E05A100PBU3XS

You could move your files from your camera directly to the external drive but that wouldn't be smart. What would you do if that external drive died? The smarter thing to do is to put all of your data on your internal hard drive and make a second copy to the external. An off-site backup system like Carbonite is also a good idea.

Windows 7 has a decent backup program built it but I also like to use a program called Second Copy to copy just the data files.
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Old 01-19-2011, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,420,217 times
Reputation: 17827
Hard / Removable Drives at Pricewatch - lowest prices, sales, price comparison

One terabyte drives are around $60-$70. I may order one today. I won't get the cheapest, but maybe the cheapest name brand like this

Amazon.com: Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive WDBAAU0010HBK-NESN: Electronics

I also use Second Copy to mirror my personal files on my C drive to my external.
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Old 01-19-2011, 10:56 AM
 
28,803 posts, read 47,487,419 times
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I use backup built into XP on my server to make a copy to a second internal drive and use Carbonite as well. You can't have too many backups. I manually copy data from my laptops to the server on a regular basis.
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Old 01-19-2011, 11:00 AM
 
28,803 posts, read 47,487,419 times
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Depending on the size of your files you could use a USB drive for backup. Programs made to backup data to an external drive automatically will use one if it's plugged in.

Some users don't care for USB drives as a backup medium, but I've have very good luck with them. I only buy Rally drives from OCZ. Very reliable as I've had one for a few years now and it still works when I need it. The two others are larger and get used more often.

An advantage is portability. After a backup is done you can slip it your pocket and take it with you. Off site back up.

Price per megabyte is considerably higher than external hard drives, however.
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