WD Hard Drives (Refurb): 3TB Western Digital My Book External Desktop

Trash SMR drives

Trash SMR drives make great plex drives

Trash SMR drives

I need a drive to put important photos/videos because my laptop is full. I'd be devastated if they were lost because a lot of them (most) are of family, and with my dad just passing away a few months back. I'm afraid to buy something that could lose all my files as I can't get those memories back. I look for Father's Day for deals, but it being the first in my 31 years not spent with my dad, I wasn't in the right mindset to read and review the top drives for what I'm looking for. Big files from my GoPro hero 9, and other things that aren't on my iCloud. Any suggestions on what would be a good fit for me without breaking the bank as our household income is/has been $0 since he passed. So money is somewhat limited. I remember back in high school (awhile back) paying $500 for 1TB (when it was the biggest thing out at the time) for one of these, but when setting it up, I used their program installed on it instead of just using it like it was any other regular storage like a usb stick, (simple drag and drop) so when I try and open that machine 1T brick, it's password protected with their software, and my files are in random folders if I want to view it without using their program, which I can't stand especially because (from what I remember) if I try and update it by adding new things onto it, I'll lose all my files from 15 years ago. Plus I need more than 2T this time. I'm agora's of getting something that is supposed to be great, and it being a Chinese knockoff or something that will break somehow.



Sorry, long! I've been finding out I talk a lot in this stage of grief. Like a crack head or something. Anyway, I apologize and truly appreciate any suggestions you (or anyone willing to read) may have.

Thank you!

I need a drive to put important photos/videos because my laptop is full. I'd be devastated if they were lost because most files are of family, and with my dad just passing away a few months ago, I'm afraid to buy something that could lose all my files as I can't get those memories back or make new ones with him. I looked for Father's Day deals, but it being the first holiday in my 31 years not spent with my dad, I wasn't in the right mindset to read and review the top drives for what I'm looking for. I have a lot of photos/videos, plus huge GoPro hero 9 files amount whatever else isn't on my iCloud (which is something I'd like to have a backup of as well sometime in the future because Icloud is weird and confusing to me, kinda like how I bought a huge brick of the 1TB one for $300-$400 back in 2009ish at Best Buy. I didn't know I could use it like a regular drive or SD card, so set it up with its software, meaning it's password protected, and if I remember correctly I cant update it by adding new files to it without losing my original update from 15 years ago. Plus I need a lot more space these days with 4K videos and GoPro hero 9 video files being so huge.

Any suggestions on what would be a good alternative to this? Big space, lower price that won't lose my files?

I can't spent too much because our household income is literally $0 and has been since he passed months ago. But I do need to be able to use my laptop and want to keep those files safe and not accidentally buy a Chinese knockoff or something that will break somehow. I usually buy from Amazon (never used eBay before),

Sorry, that was long! I've been finding out I talk a lot in this stage of grief (whatever it is these days). I'm like a crazy crack head these days with how much I talk/text (when not isolating).

. ..,,Anyway, I apologize and truly appreciate any suggestions you, or anyone willing to read all of this may have for me.

Thank you!