Storing Digital Files

[meship4]

My Macbook simply does not have the space to store all of my photos. I have bought an external hard drive to move photos there once I am done with them in order to free up space, but I have multiple concerns about this process. First off, I can only copy the files to the hard drive, I cannot move them over therefore I am losing the original file if I copy and then delete from my computer. Second, I have heard many times not to store files only on an external hard drive incase they become corrupted or lost or a number of other problems, but I don't have another form of storage for my pictures. I like to shoot in raw which means that it would take many CDs to store one photo session so I don't see how that can be my best option.

What should I do?

 

[480sparky]

Read the book "Digital Asset Management." AKA the DAM book.

 

[Light Guru]

You need 2 external drives. One working drive and one backup.

 

[AceCo55]

You need 2 external drives. One working drive and one backup.

Might I suggest that you consider three external drives.
One working drive.
One on-site backup
One off-site backup (eg in case your house burns down)