Mauitouch

I am looking for the best way get my photos off computer and into some kind of external hard drive. I work with an Apple Mac Book pro, I need to free up space on the hard drive. Just not a computer wiz, so hopefully there is an easy way to do this...

hank6595 Loc: Amesbury, MA

I've been using Carbonite for years at a cost of $69.00 a year and I have been very satisfied. Twice over the years I have had to use them and that is worth the investments. I have automatic backup so I don't have to worry about forgetting to backup.

appealnow Loc: Dallas, Texas

I use two external, USB drives. One backs up the other. You can get a 2 TB solid state drive for about 60 to 80 bucks.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

I'm not an Apple user, but I'll bet it's as simple as selecting the files (images) to copy and pasting them in the new location. Of course, that 'new location' must be established, but that's usually as simple as plugging the drive into a USB port. After copying all images, and making sure they copied, you can delete them from your system's drive.

genocolo Loc: Vail and Gasparilla Island

Look at an SSD drive. Very fast and reliable. But I agree with having redundancy.

sandiegosteve Loc: San Diego, CA

This is unfortunately a complicated topic. To free up space typically means to move files off your computer to some other place. A lot of the backup options sync what you have, so check to see if there is an archive type feature.

One option is a home NAS (Network Attached Storage) or a USB drive. To make them safer, look at a RAID (redundant array of independent drives). To get more space back, I think the ideal solution would be an external drive that will then sync with an off site tool like Cabonite.

I did a google search for "nas with cloud backup" and found this article - https://www.cloudwards.net/best-online-backup-for-nas-network-attached-storage/
Similar searches may help as well.

If you don't want to move files off your computer, you don't need the NAS. I like to keep files locally as they are faster to access if you need them.

genocolo Loc: Vail and Gasparilla Island

Doesn't using a "backup" system like Carbonite mean that the backed up photos will be deleted from the backup if you have removed them from your computer and the next carbonite backup does not find them on your computer? A little confusing but maybe someone with more expertise will understand what I am trying to ask.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Look into Network Addressable Storage (NAS). Synology makes some affordable units.
--Bob

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Folks, I don't think the OP is interested in backup options. I take it they simply want to move files from the system's hard drive (to free up space) to an external drive. But then, I could be wrong.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Bruce, that's why I suggested the NAS approach. Could be used for either.
--Bob

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Works the same on my PC or your Mac. Buy external hard drive big enough it won't fill up too fast. Plug in to usb etc. "Move" files to new drive. If you use Light Room then do it from LR or LR will not be able to find the files.

Create a folder
Click the desktop if you want to create the folder on the desktop; otherwise, open a Finder window and navigate to where you want to create the folder.

Choose File > New Folder, or press Shift-Command-N.

If the New Folder command is dimmed, you can’t create a folder in the current location. For example, you can’t create a folder in the All My Files section of the Finder sidebar.

Enter a name for the folder, then press Return.

Move items into folders
Do any of the following:

Put an item in a folder: Drag it to the folder.

Put several items in a folder: Select the items, then drag one of the items to the folder.

All selected items move to the folder.

Keep an item in its original location and put a copy in a folder: Hold down the Option key, then drag the item to the folder.

Keep an item in its original location and put an alias for it in a new folder: Hold down the Option and Command keys, then drag the item to the folder.

Make a copy of an item within the same folder: Select the item, then choose File > Duplicate or press Command-D.

Copy files to a different disk: Drag the files to the disk. To move files to a different disk without copying them, hold down the Command key, then drag the files to the disk.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

He probably doesn't understand what the options are. He's only thinking of making space on his internal drive.
Mac provides a built in auto-backup to external drive utility, which would probably work well for him. >Alan

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Although I mainly use a Windows machine, I also have a Mac, and that does automatic backups with TimeMachine.

On my PC, I have two external drives - HGST Ultrastar - which I put into a separate case. If you buy an off-the-shelf external drive, you don't know the quality of the drive inside. Never shop for a drive by price. It's like getting the cheapest parachute or fire extinguisher you can find. The Ulstrstar is an enterprise drive, designed to run 24/7. Of course, you'll need at least two drives: one for your photos and one as a backup. You should really have two backup drives.

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hgst+ultrastar&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ahgst+ultrastar
https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=external+drive+enclosures&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aexternal+drive+enclosures

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Good article, and NAS lets you access your files from anywhere that has an Internet connection.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage