Hard drive photo storage

The HP 500GB Pocket Media Drive comes with its own carrying case for protection and portability.

Connect an external hard drive to any PC for a fast, simple way to transfer files and share photos with friends and family.

There are a number of benefits of external hard drive photo storage:

Portable—Connect your external drive to any computer for an easy way to bring all your pictures with you when visiting friends and family. Look for a lightweight option like the HP 500GB Pocket Media Drive for ultimate portability.

Simple—Just connect an external drive to your PC via a USB cord or PC media bay and transfer your files.

Large storage capacity—External hard drives have a higher storage capacity than discs, perfect for archiving large batches of photos. If you opt for a drive with a large capacity, you could even archive everything on your computer—not just your pictures.

Long-lasting—External drives last longer than traditional computer hard drives, typically because they're not constantly running like a PC's hard drive. So you can rely on photo storage for many years to come.

Automated backup—Synchronize your external drive with your computer so that every time you upload photos to your PC, they will be backed up on your hard drive as well.

Do not plug or unplug your external drive from your PC while transferring photos or other data.

It's never a bad idea to use a backup storage method, like archiving photos on CD or DVD media.

Follow these tips for a longer-lasting hard drive that offers premium performance.

• Be gentle! Hard drives can become damaged if dropped or knocked against a hard surface.
• Do not plug or unplug your external drive from your PC while transferring photos or other data.
• Store at room temperature, and keep away from heat sources.
• If you keep your external drive in storage—and not connected to your computer—you'll want to connect it to a PC every few months to ensure it's working properly.
• To keep track of your stored photos, label your external drive with its content and last date of backup.
• Use a backup storage method, like a second external drive or a copy of your photo collection on disc. It's always possible for an external drive—or any other photo storage method—to fail.