Shaddy perhaps you do not need an external drive if it is only the patterns you wish to save. These could easily be burned to a blank CD and are there forever then. Your only cost would be for a pack of blank CDs. Burning to a CD is an easy task to do.

owbist, you are the voice of reason here, always look forward to your replies. I am not sure what kind of CD to purchase, and further, how to organize on the disc itself, so I can find what I want once there? Anyone, got clues?
Also, can one add as you go along, rather than try and fill up the disc at once? Need some answers to these burning questions, as I am green about this sort of thing as well; and perhaps would be best, but I do know I have the equipment on the machine to do the CD thing.
Will await some replies before I do the deed, either way.
I know there are pros and cons to everything done in this world, and appreciate anyone responding that can give me a feel for the operation to come.

Shaddy I never wrote how to do it untill you said you might consider the option. So..... Check the link below for a howto.

Any blank CD will do and they can be bought individually, in 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 packs. Also they come bulk packed or in hard plastic sleeves. Ask at your favourite computer store or Walmart type store.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to copy data to a CD in XP

Shaddy, I would make 2 of each CD if you decide to use that medium to copy your patterns. That way you can put one away and use the other. Then if something should happen to the one, you still have another backup. A CD-R holds 700MB of data. A flash drive can hold up to 8 or even 16 (maybe more) GB of data. Flash drives are now so inexpensive, I'd go that route since they hold lots more information than CDs. But whichever way is easier for you, either one will work. Either CDs or flash drives can be bought almost anywhere these days. I even see blank CDs in drugstores. I bought a 4GB flash drive for $12 at Big Lots recently and haven't put anything on it as yet. I'm thinking of saving some family pictures on it. 4GB will be lots and lots of pictures.

Grandms has a good point, I never use them for long term storage so tend to overlook them as options despite having at least 6. They do give greater flexibility because you can add or remove as you wish where CDs once burned are not changeable.

Point taken, I would like the flexibility of adding/removing, as that be the reasoning for the storage part of patterns, also, the need to find quickly is another.
Still, looking into external tho, as gathering a great number of flashdrives and keeping track of what's on them perhaps isn't the easiest route to go either?
Why did I start this in the first place? I have something called PAS, (pattern acquisition syndrome) for those unfamiliar with the term, and you just keep collecting, and gathering, sorta like a hoarder?
I, because I want to keep the craft/art of crochet alive and well, and hoping to pass this wonderful "hoard" of goods on to someone that can appreciate the gifts gathered.
Thank you all for your thoughts, still pondering, and will probably til I get to the store, and see the array in front of me.
Appreciated your input greatly, so nice to have others give me different viewpoints as to the capabilities of storage.

Now Shaddy just how many patterns do you have and how big are those file sizes?

4 gigs is 4,000 megabytes roughly. If your file sizes are about 512kb you could store somewhere around 8,000 patterns. If you crochet all of those once you will wear your crochet needle right down to your elbow LOL.

owbist, you make me chuckle, I have more patterns than 20 lifetimes would use, and then some. When you get that disease, it is horrible, people you don't even know contribute to your collections, and even tho you get picky about what you want to collect, the stuff keeps mounting up.
Yes, good thing I have several crochet hooks, the issue is running out of thread/yarn, and also the carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a real and painful syndrome from entering the picture.
Thanks for the grins today, sir, you are sumpin else!
I haven't a clue as to how many patterns I have, also have magazine/pamphlet collections as hard copies here in the house, garage, so you see, I am overrun to say the least, but it is so contagious, can't help myself!
do have a great day, and keep those answers coming for all of us, we need your expertise!

in answer to your question about an actual external hard drive the major name brands would all be good candidates, I went with Seagate Free Agent PRO mainly because of their warranty length and many positive reviews plus it came formatted in NTFS format which is what is used now in the windows operating systems from xp forward, so no need to format the drive. I like to look at real reviews by real people who have bought it and used it so I like to look at the product at amazon and read those reviews and on newegg.com and read those reviews plus any I find at google.