I'm not very familiar with computers. I have an older laptop that only works while connected to its charger, and I'd like to save some YouTube videos onto a USB drive so I can watch them later. What's the simplest way to do this, and where will the downloaded files be stored?
3 Answers
The simplest and safest option is YouTube Premium, if it’s available to you. It provides a download button for offline viewing within YouTube, although those downloads generally aren’t regular video files that can be copied to a USB drive. If you need portable video files, make sure you have permission to download the content and use a reputable, legal method.
If the laptop can access the internet, plug in the USB drive and use a legitimate download option. If a video file is created, it will usually be in the laptop’s Downloads folder; you can then copy it to the USB drive using File Explorer. The laptop needing to stay plugged in doesn’t prevent this—it can remain connected to the charger while downloading or playing videos.
A tool such as yt-dlp can save videos as files, but it’s command-line software and may be confusing if you’re new to computers. You would install it from its official source, copy the video’s address, and choose the USB drive as the destination. Be careful with unofficial download sites and only download videos when the creator or service allows it.
Thanks! I’m not sure where to find yt-dlp or how to use it, so I may need a simpler option.