Hey Reader,

As someone who started working on computers in the mid 1970s and who’s seen technology evolve over the decades, I know how daunting it can be to keep up with the latest digital storage options.

Before I talk about external hard drives, I want to recap what I teach about digital photo storage:

• All your digital memories (photos, videos, documents, audio files, etc.) should be kept in ONE Digital Photo Hub (DPH) with 2 other copies for backup, and one of those copies kept off site (cloud storage counts as off-site).
• Not counting NAS systems, which I’ve found most Family Photo Keepers do not have (so don’t worry if you don’t know what that is), there are three good places your Digital Photo Hub could live:
  • On your computer - if there is room for it. With computer disk drives getting smaller and smaller, this is not usually the best option for most people.
  • On an external hard drive which should be replaced every 3-5 years because they do wear out, just like the hard drives in your computer
  • In the cloud, except that the only cloud storage I recommend as a Digital Photo Hub is Forever. There are other sites I recommend as cloud-based backups, but not as a Digital Photo Hub.*

I only show one external hard drive (EHD) on my Amazon Prime Days page, and that’s just for space reasons. There are actually several that I usually recommend, and I looked into more information about each to prepare this email for you.

First I want to break down the key differences between SATA and SSD external hard drives, as well as the limitations of thumb drives. SATA drives are the traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) that most of us are familiar with. They are also called mechanical drives, and you can hear the disk spinning when they are running. They offer large storage capacities at a lower cost per gigabyte. The downside is they can be slower and more prone to physical damage from drops or bumps.

Solid State Drives, or SSDs, on the other hand, are faster, more durable, and quieter, but they come at a higher price per GB. They are fully electronic so they are silent. And although they are more durable, once important difference to note is that when a mechanical hard drive goes bad, often most of the data on the drive can be recovered by a tech at a computer store. When an electronic drive goes bad, it’s all gone. Toast. That’s why we have backups, right?

Now, thumb drives may seem convenient, but they have their limitations. The storage is relatively small, they can be easily lost or damaged, and they’re not the best choice for Digital Photo Hubs. They are fine for transferring photos or even gifting them, but make sure that your recipient knows how to make a copy of the content to their computer or another external hard drive.

Also, quality matters, especially with thumb drives (AKA flash drives). When my daughter was in college she often prepared her class presentations on her computer and transferred them to a thumb drive to plug into the classroom presentation system. She tended to buy cheap ones at Walmart or other drug stores. Twice she had thumb drives come apart in her hand as she removed it from the computer.

When it comes to external hard drive brands, here’s my take based on my latest research:

• ​Western Digital: Consistently solid performance and durability. Ratings around 4.7/5.
• ​Samsung: Reliable and fast, with good value. Ratings around 4.5/5.
• ​Toshiba: Good budget-friendly choice, but not as robust as the top brands. Ratings around 4.2/5.
• ​Seagate: Affordable options, but can be hit-or-miss on long-term reliability. Ratings around 4/5.
• ​SanDisk: Great for thumb drives, but their external HDDs are just average. Ratings around 4/5.

Ultimately, when purchasing an EHD, I’d recommend going with a Western Digital or Samsung external SSD for your Digital Photo Hub or your Backup Drive if speed and reliability are your top priorities. For sheer storage space on a budget, a Seagate SATA drive could be the way to go (this is what I’m currently using, and I plan to upgrade soon).

I’ve also been asked about using a PictureKeeper or PhotoStick as a Digital Photo Hub. I do not recommend this. First, my one and only experience with a PhotoStick was terrible. A client had used it to back up her photos from her computer, then deleted them off her computer because it was too full. She then wanted to upload them to Forever and we had a heck of a time getting them off (it was protecting them from us). In addition, it did not keep any of the folder organization she had created on her computer, so she had to recreate that in Forever once all the photos were uploaded. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

As for PictureKeeper, I really love this product, but not as a Digital Photo Hub. It is great for gathering up your photos from all.the.places when you are in the Archive stage of the process. It can even get your photos from Facebook and your email (most email programs). It comes with software that you set up to look where you want it to look, and then it keeps them organized exactly as you have them on your computer (the folder organization) (and maybe phone - I haven’t tried this). This may not be the way you will organize them in your Digital Photo Hub, but it makes it much easier to find what you are looking for and to ensure that you got everything you wanted to. PictureKeeper can also be used as a backup EHD if your Digital Photo Hub is on your computer or in Forever. And because of the abilities of the software, it will only backup what is new in your DPH - it keeps track of what it has already backed up.

Some other things to consider when purchasing an EHD:

• Size of drive: For most people a 2TB drive will be sufficient. However if you have a photographer in the family, or you’ve already digitized all your printed photos, but not deduplicated or organized, you may want a larger drive.
• Make sure you get the right one for your computer. Many are formatted for both Mac and PC, but some are formatted for only one of those operating systems.
• I actually like to reformat them when I get them to give me a nice, shiny new interface to work with. Many drives will come with backup software and other things on them, and although that’s not a bed concept, it’s not needed with a drive you plan to use for a Digital Photo Hub or backup for your DPH, and it’s just taking up space you could be using.
  • If you will only be using it with a Mac, use one of these two formats (your Mac will offer you one or both of these depending on which operating system it is running):
    • Apple File System (APFS) - this is the newer system (and best for SSDs)
    • Mac OS Extended (HFS+) - this is the previous, but still good, system
  • If you will only be using it with a Windows PC, use the New Technology File System (NTFS). It is Microsoft’s proprietary file system and will work with SATA or SSDs.
  • And if you will using both Windows and Mac computers with this drive, format it in the Extended File Allocation Table format (EXFAT).
• USB Ports: Make sure you either buy the right connection for your computer, or you buy a hub. Many newer computers only have USB-C ports in them, and yet many external hard drives are still sold with USB 3 or 2 connectors. If you find yourself in this situation, it can be remedied by purchasing a USB Hub. This is what I had to do. Here are the connectors explained:
  • USB 2 is the oldest and slowest of the current USB connectors. You can usually tell if a port is USB 2 because when you look inside it, other than metal, the color is black. But some things, like wireless keyboards and mice that use a USB dongle to power them tend to run better on USB 2 rather than USB 3 (ask me how I know!). So if you use these items and you need to purchase a USB Hub, look for one that has both USB 2 and USB 3 connectors on it.
  • USB 3 is newer and faster than USB 2. When you look inside you usually see blue.
  • USB C is newest and fastest to transfer information. If your computer has only or at least one USB C port, then look for an EHD with a USB C connector for the fastest connection.

Phew! That’s a lot! Let me know if you have any other questions! I’m always happy to help you with the tech.

Warmly,

Fancy

*If you’d like to know more about cloud storage and WHY I only recommend Forever as a cloud-based Digital Photo Hub, I wrote a comprehensive article about it.

I help overwhelmed family photo keepers become memory preservation masters so they can enjoy their memories now and leave meaningful collections for future generations.

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