Can I take an external hard drive through airport security in my carry-on bag?

Question

I'm moving to France at the end of the month. I will be taking extra checked baggage so I don't have to ship my things separately. Do you think it would be safe (customs and interpol wise) to take Data DVDs that hold my music and DVDs I ripped from my original DVDs? Should I ship them through UPS, as check baggage or should I just leave my media at home? I wanted to leave my original CDs and DVDs at my parents house and just take copies that way if they are lost or damaged while in France, I still have them without having to go out and buy more. What do you think? I'm desperate to know.

Also, is it safe to take an External Hard Drive with my music and DVDs through the airport security in my carry-on?

Will customs allow external hard drives onto an airplane. I wouldn't use them and they would be packaged very very tightly to avoid damage but I just want to know if I could take them on the airplane with me or not. Thanks so much.

Answer 1

You will be able to take them on the plane with you, but the security officials will most likely need to examine them, so they will need to be visible to them, not packaged.

Answer 2

I don't think there is a regulation not to allow external drives. I am bringing my hard drive in flight but not to France.