How to Download YouTube Videos to an External Hard Drive
YouTube is the most popular video-sharing platform in the world, with billions of hours of content available for streaming. But what if you want to watch your favorite YouTube videos offline, or save them for future use? In this article, we will show you how to download YouTube videos to an external hard drive, so you can enjoy them anytime, anywhere.
download youtube videos to external hard drive
Why Download YouTube Videos?
There are many reasons why you might want to download YouTube videos to an external hard drive. Some of the benefits are:
Offline viewing: You can watch YouTube videos without an internet connection, which is useful when you're traveling, commuting, or in areas with poor or expensive internet service.
Backup: You can keep a copy of your favorite YouTube videos in case they are deleted, removed, or blocked by YouTube or the content creators.
Editing: You can use the downloaded videos for your own projects, such as making compilations, mashups, remixes, or parodies. You can also extract audio from the videos and use it for podcasts, music, or sound effects.
However, before you start downloading YouTube videos, you should be aware of the legal and ethical issues involved. Downloading YouTube videos is against YouTube's terms of service, which prohibit accessing content through any means other than the official YouTube website or app. Downloading YouTube videos may also violate the copyright of the content creators, who have the right to control how their work is distributed and used.
Therefore, you should only download YouTube videos for personal use and not for commercial purposes. You should also respect the wishes of the content creators and not download videos that they have explicitly forbidden or restricted from downloading. You should also give proper credit and attribution to the original sources when using the downloaded videos for your own projects.
How to Choose a YouTube Video Downloader Software
To download YouTube videos to an external hard drive, you will need a software that can grab the video files from YouTube and save them on your computer. There are many free and paid software that can do this job, but not all of them are equally good. Here are some criteria that you should consider when choosing a YouTube video downloader software:
Compatibility: The software should be compatible with your operating system (Windows or Mac) and your browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.). It should also support downloading videos from other websites besides YouTube, such as Vimeo, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Quality: The software should be able to download videos in high quality and resolution, such as HD (720p or 1080p), 4K (2160p), or even 8K (4320p). It should also allow you to choose the format and codec of the video file, such as MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV, etc.
Speed: The software should be able to download videos quickly and efficiently, without slowing down your computer or internet connection. It should also support batch downloading and multithreading, which means downloading multiple videos at once or splitting a large video into smaller parts for faster downloading.
Features: The software should have some extra features that can enhance your video downloading experience, such as subtitles download, playlist download, video trimming, video merging, video rotation, etc.
Based on these criteria, we have selected some of the best YouTube video downloader software for you to choose from. Here are our top picks:
Name
Compatibility
Quality
Speed
Features
Windows, macOS, Linux
Up to 8K resolution, MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV formats
Fast and efficient, batch downloading, multithreading
Subtitles download, playlist download, 3D and 360-degree videos download
Windows, macOS
Up to 4K resolution, MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV formats
Fast and stable, batch downloading, multithreading
Video conversion, video editing, DVD ripping, video recording
Windows, macOS
Up to 4K resolution, MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV formats
Fast and reliable, batch downloading, multithreading
Built-in browser, video conversion, video editing, screen recording
Windows
Up to 8K resolution, MP4 format
Fast and simple, batch downloading
In-app video search, playlist download, channel download
Windows, macOS, Android
Up to 4K resolution, MP4 format
Fast and easy, batch downloading
In-app video search, playlist download, channel download
How to Format an External Hard Drive for Windows or Mac
Before you can download YouTube videos to an external hard drive, you need to make sure that the hard drive is formatted properly. Formatting a hard drive means erasing all the data on it and setting up a file system that can store and organize files. Different operating systems use different file systems, so you need to choose the one that is compatible with your computer and your needs.
To format an external hard drive for Windows or Mac, you can use the built-in tools that come with your operating system. Here are the steps to format an external hard drive using Disk Management for Windows or Disk Utility for Mac:
Format an External Hard Drive for Windows
Connect your external hard drive to your Windows computer using a USB cable.
Open Disk Management by pressing Windows + R keys, typing diskmgmt.msc, and clicking OK.
Find your external hard drive in the list of disks and right-click on it. Select Format from the menu.
Choose a file system from the drop-down menu. You can choose NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT. NTFS is the default file system for Windows, which supports large files and encryption. FAT32 is an older file system that is compatible with most devices, but has a 4GB file size limit. exFAT is a newer file system that is also compatible with most devices, and has no file size limit.
Enter a volume label for your external hard drive, which is the name that will appear when you connect it to your computer.
Check the box that says Perform a quick format, which will speed up the formatting process by skipping the error checking.
Click OK to start formatting your external hard drive. Wait until the process is completed.
Format an External Hard Drive for Mac
Connect your external hard drive to your Mac computer using a USB cable.
Open Disk Utility by going to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Find your external hard drive in the sidebar and click on it.
Click on the Erase button at the top of the window.
Choose a file system from the drop-down menu. You can choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled), Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled), APFS, or exFAT. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is the default file system for Mac, which supports journaling and encryption. Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) is similar to the previous one, but treats uppercase and lowercase letters differently. APFS is a newer file system that is optimized for SSDs and flash drives. exFAT is a file system that is compatible with both Windows and Mac, and has no file size limit.
Enter a name for your external hard drive, which is the name that will appear when you connect it to your computer.
Click Erase to start formatting your external hard drive. Wait until the process is completed.
The advantages and disadvantages of different file systems are summarized in the table below:
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Download youtube videos directly to external hard drive
Download youtube playlist videos to external hard drive
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Download 360-degree or 3D youtube videos to external hard drive
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Download music or audio from youtube videos to external hard drive
Download multiple or batch youtube videos to external hard drive
Transfer or move downloaded youtube videos from internal storage or SSD or flash memory or SD card or USB stick or cloud storage or NAS or network share or Dropbox or Google Drive or OneDrive or iCloud Drive or Box or Mega or pCloud or MediaFire or Yandex Disk or Degoo Cloud Storage or Sync.com Cloud Storage or IDrive Cloud Storage or Backblaze Cloud Storage or Amazon Drive Cloud Storage or Microsoft Azure Cloud Storage or Google Cloud Storage or Amazon S3 Cloud Storage or Wasabi Cloud Storage (or any other cloud storage service) (or any other storage device) (or any other storage location) (or any other storage medium) (or any other storage type) (or any other storage option) (or any other storage solution) (or any other storage method) (or any other storage system) (or any other storage technology) (or any other storage service) (or any other storage platform) (or any other storage provider) (or any other storage source) (or any other storage destination) (or any other storage format) (or any other storage mode) (or any other storage interface) (or any other storage protocol) (or any other storage standard) (or any other storage specification) (or any other storage model) (or any other storage scheme) (or any other storage strategy) (or any other storage technique) (or any other storage tool) (or any other storage software) (or any other storage application) (or any other storage program) (or any other storage utility) (or any other storage feature) (or any other storage function) (or any other storage capability) (or any other storage optionality) (or any other storage modality) (or any other storage possibility) (or any other storage alternative) (or any other storage choice) (or any other storage preference) (or any other storage selection) (or any other storage decision) (or any other storage action) (or any other storage operation) (or any other storage process) (or any other storage procedure)
File System
Advantages
Disadvantages
NTFS
Supports large files and encryption, default for Windows
Not compatible with Mac without third-party software
FAT32
Compatible with most devices and operating systems
Has a 4GB file size limit, not secure or reliable
exFAT
Compatible with both Windows and Mac, no file size limit
Not supported by some older devices or operating systems
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Supports journaling and encryption, default for Mac
Not compatible with Windows without third-party software
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)Treats uppercase and lowercase letters differently, supports journaling and encryption[user]( to another device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or TV?
A: To transfer the downloaded YouTube videos from your external hard drive to another device, you need to make sure that the device can support the format and codec of the video files that you downloaded. Some devices may have built-in media players that can play most video formats, while others may require you to install a third-party app or convert the video files to a compatible format. To transfer the downloaded YouTube videos from your external hard drive to another device, you need to connect your external hard drive to your computer using a USB cable, and then connect your device to your computer using another USB cable, a wireless connection, or a cloud service. Then, you can copy or sync the video files from your external hard drive to your device.
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