Procedural help with new External Drive

[OC Zoom]

Just got an external drive and have never used one before. I want to transfer my images but don't know the procedure. My images are in DPP and ZoomBrowser and also in a folder named Canon Editing. Which one or ones do I transfer? Is a copy transferred or the actual file? Where is the main image stored? Do I go back after the transfer is done and delete anything? I'm hoping that I can go to one source, drag and drop to the Ext HD, and my hard drive is free from the transfer.

[scubasushi]

are you going to use this external drive as a backup for everything on your hard drive (that's what I do, but I copy to 2 external hard drives for redundancy)....if so, copy everything. Use your PC as the master system and use this as a backup-copy in case of crashes.
sorry don't know where things are stored for your system, for mine i copy the directories with the main original images and any "database" (e.g. lightroom) and i even copy directories where i have exported to (post edited files).
..and yes, do the drag and drop method (or Ctrl-C Ctrrl-V if you are a PC person)

[OC Zoom]

Once the transfer is complete, do you have to go back and delete the original if a copy is made or is the original moved?

[René Damkot]

If you want to use the external as a backup, then you obviously don't delete the original...

[OC Zoom]

If you want to use the external as a backup, then you obviously don't delete the original...

I realize that. Once the original is moved or copied to the external hard drive, do I have to delete anything from my computer hard drive? Or is it automatically deleted? I want to use the ext HD for a backup and want my RAW images to go to the ext HD. Another reason for this is to free up space on my computers hard drive.

[René Damkot]

Again: If you remove the images from the internal HDD, the *only* copy you'll have is the external HDD, so from that moment on, those files would be the originals. Not backups.

[scubasushi]

you should keep at least 2 if not 3 copies of your originals - computers crash, hard drives fail, CDs/DVD become unreadable - it's just the way it is. If you are running out of space on your PC, invest in a couple of external hard drives (they are cheap) and copy everything to 2 external drives (and ideally store them in different physical locations)- only then should you consider "freeing up space" on your PC by removing files.

[OC Zoom]

Rene and scuba. Now I understand. Thanks for explaining. :)