Topic: Needin' some space...

[landofoz]

My computer is a bit cramped.  I'm down to 13% of my space free - and that's after I've been deleting stuff.  I have about 20G of photos and stuff, that I'd like to put onto something else and then remove the pics from my computer.  What would be the best option for this?  I'm thinking flash drive but my husband is thinking external hard drive.     Please and thank-you.   

[sunsoaker]

It really depends on what your long range plans for them are. Here's my thoughts:

1. Are these pics that you will access off and on?  If not, and they are pics that you just don't want to lose, I'd put them on CD or DVD. This would be my choice for a more permanent storage option. This will require more media (cd/dvds) than the other options.

2. If you are going to access them often and only on your computer then an external hard drive is a good option. Keep in mind that if you get a new computer in a few years, and it has new technology, the hard drive may not work on the new one and you would then need to transfer them. I had a friend that ran into that problem.

3. On the other hand, if you have more than one computer that you go back and forth with, then a flash drive is a good option, but I would not use the flash drive as a permanent option.

In the end, any of the options will not only free up space on your computer, but preserve them in case something happens to it. When my laptop died, I thought I'd lost years worth of pics. I still haven't transferred them off the laptop or the desktop. I need to do that.

Just my thoughts.

[Triss]

I would go with CD's as well.  I personally make 3 copies of my picture CD's, one I keep here and one that goes to each set of Grandparents... I do that for 2 reasons... so the Grandparents have pics of the kids and so I have a back up not here at home in case something happens here.

[wimc]

CD stores typically around 750 MB of data.
DVD stores around 25 GB (+/-) of data.

Internal DVD burner.
http://www.newegg.com/store/category.aspx?category=10&name=cd-dvd-burners-media

External DVD burner.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=420&name=External-CD-DVD-Drives

Or internal or external hard drive that store up to 1TB (1024 GB) of data.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=15&name=Hard-Drives

[landofoz]

With 20GB, I'd rather stay away from CD's.  Although I might be able to put them on a DVD.  I've burned the pics onto a DVD before, but nothing on earth recognized the disk.  Maybe I did something wrong though.  I'll have to check into that.  Since I happen to have a bunch of DVD's, it's also a cheaper option.  Thanks!

[sunsoaker]

Did you "close" or "finish" the DVD?  Do you still have to do that?  Used to be if you want other drives/players to recognize it, you have to "close" it. Once closed you can't write any more to it. But I haven't burned a disk in eons so I don't know if this still holds true.  Maybe William will pop back in - or Jim, to answer that question.

[Jim]

As you can see from William's information the DVD is the way to go due to the storage limitations of CDs.  That is unless you are needing quick access to the files.

What software did you use to put the files on the DVD?  I use Nero Media 10 and it will do DVD slideshows that will play on most any DVD player.  You can also normally format it as a data disk and just put the individual files on using explorer.  You would need a computer to read those discs.

As for the external hard drive, that would be a good solution if you are going to want to access them from time to time. 

Removing all the pics from your harddrive will appear to speed up your drive access time as well.

[wimc]

Software I use for CD's and DVD's. And its free.
InfraRecorder: http://infrarecorder.org/