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External Hard drive Wanted

Paul_BlackburnPaul_Blackburn Posts: 1,655
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in PC & Mac Hardware and Software #1
Can someone suggest a reasonably priced external drive I could get for my wife.Would prefer a USB powered one with a capacity of about 500gb.As it is only going to be used to store photos on could you say roughly how many photos you could get on a 500gb drive.

Comments

  • barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
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    #2
    It depends how big the photo file sizes are. If you store all your original RAW files along with jpgs converted from them, it will still hold a minimum 350,000. If your jpgs are typically about 2 to 3 megabytes you will never get anywhere close to filling it.
  • Paul_BlackburnPaul_Blackburn Posts: 1,655
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    #3
    Thanks for your reply could you suggest a suitable hard drive
  • albertdalbertd Posts: 14,355
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    #4
    Probably any of these from Argos, though other suppliers are available.
  • oilmanoilman Posts: 4,529
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    #5
    Amazon has loads of cheap ones.


    Also recommend you sigh up for a free google cloud drive (15 gb)., could store c. 5000 photos.
  • psionicpsionic Posts: 20,188
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    #6
    Or if you aren't worried about the photos being compressed, Google offer 'unlimited' storage for photos now.
  • albertdalbertd Posts: 14,355
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    #7
    The problem with online storage is the time taken to upload if there are a huge number of photos and also the effects on any monthly usage limits one may have (not everyone is on unlimited!).
  • MaxatoriaMaxatoria Posts: 17,980
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    #8
    Don't also keep the only copy on the drive as it could get lost/stolen/used by the kids as a hammer or a fish tank ornament etc - the more copies in more places the better
  • oilmanoilman Posts: 4,529
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    #9
    Maxatoria wrote: »
    Don't also keep the only copy on the drive as it could get lost/stolen/used by the kids as a hammer or a fish tank ornament etc - the more copies in more places the better

    I know its dinosaur technology but paper works :-)
  • DJGMDJGM Posts: 3,934
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    #10
    Be careful which external hard drive you buy. Some of them have onboard encryption on the circuit board that
    connects the external USB port to the SATA and power sockets socket built on to the actual hard drive inside
    the enclosure. If that circuit board develops a problem, and something causes it fail, there is a chance the
    hard drive itself could become corrupted, potentially causing permanent data loss.

    I found out the hard way when I had a 2TB Western Digital Elements external USB hard drive some years ago.
    The encrypted circuit board developed a fault, killed the encryption, rendering all the data on the hard drive
    unrecoverable, and turning the whole thing into a 2TB paperweight!
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