Best External Hard Drives for Photo Backup
An external hard drive stores copies of your photos and files so they're safe even if your computer breaks. Here's how to choose one.
4 min read · 5 steps · Checked May 2026
Step 1. Estimate how much storage you need
Look at your computer's current photo library. On Windows, open File Explorer, right-click your Pictures folder, and click Properties to see the folder size. On Mac, Control-click the Photos library in Finder and choose "Get Info." Buy a drive with at least 3 times that space to allow for future growth.
Step 2. Purchase the drive
Seagate and Western Digital 2TB external drives are widely available at Walmart, Target, Costco, Best Buy, and Amazon for about $60-$70. Check the return policy before buying — reputable retailers allow 15-30 day returns on electronics.
Step 3. Connect and do your first backup
Plug the USB cable into your computer. The drive will appear as a new folder (on Windows it shows up in File Explorer; on Mac it appears on the Desktop). Open your Pictures folder, select all photos (Ctrl+A on Windows, Command+A on Mac), and drag them to the external drive folder.
Quick Tip
Quick Tip: The first backup may take 30-60 minutes if you have many photos. Your computer will still work normally while it copies. You do not need to sit and watch it.
Step 4. Set up automatic backups
Windows has a built-in feature called "File History" (SettingsSystemStorageBackup) that automatically backs up your files to the external drive on a schedule. Mac has "Time Machine" which does the same. Setting either one means you never have to think about backups again — they happen automatically.
Step 5. Store the drive safely
Keep the external drive in a separate location from your computer when not in use — ideally in another room. If there is a fire or flood, having the drive in the same spot as the computer means losing both. Consider keeping a second backup copy at a family member's home or using cloud storage like iCloud or Google Photos for additional safety.
An external hard drive is a storage device you connect to your computer with a USB cable. You use it to copy important files — especially photos — so that if your computer ever breaks, is lost, or gets infected with malware, your memories are safe on the separate drive.
The rule of data backup is the "3-2-1 rule": keep 3 copies of important data, on 2 different types of storage, with 1 copy stored somewhere else (off-site, like the cloud or a relative's home). At minimum, having your files on your computer AND on an external drive is a major improvement over one copy.
How much storage do you need?
1 TB (one terabyte — one thousand gigabytes) stores about 250,000 to 500,000 photos, depending on their size. For most home users who have a lifetime of family photos, 1 TB is more than enough. If you shoot a lot of videos, 2 TB provides comfortable room.
Top picks:
Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB (~$60-$70): Fits in a shirt pocket, connects via USB, no external power needed (draws power from the USB port). Plug it in, drag and drop files. This is the go-to for straightforward photo backup.
Western Digital My Passport 2TB (~$60-$70): Another reliable, portable option with similar specs. WD and Seagate are the two most trusted names in external drives.
WD My Book 4TB Desktop (~$90-$110): Larger capacity, sits on a desk, requires its own power adapter. Better for large video collections or long-term archives.
Caution about SSD drives: Solid-state drives (SSDs) are faster but much more expensive per gigabyte. For backup purposes where speed does not matter, traditional hard drives (HDD) are the economical choice.
(Source: NIST, csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-34/rev-1/final)
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