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EngineFD223
Participant
November 13, 2016
Question

How to store and backup library on external drive?

  • November 13, 2016
  • 3 replies
  • 1889 views

Hi Guys,

I could you some help with pointing me in the right direction. I'm going to be purchasing he new 15" MacBook Pro with 256gb SSD for $2,399. I thought about going for the more expensive model that's $2,799 only because it has a 512gb SSD. However, when I thought about it, all of my documents are stored in iCloud and the only large files I have are from Lightroom and Photoshop.

I was thinking that the extra $400 I was going to spend for a larger internal HDD, would be better spent on an external drive and backup system. I am an amateur photographer and most of my files are from tutorials and some vacation photos right now. What would be the best system for me to store my whole Lightroom library and all photoshop documents on? I've heard of people talk about a RAID system, but I don't know much about them. Should I look into a RAID system or would I be better off with two hard drives and usin something like time machine to backup the drive?  The new computer uses USB-C so transfer rates should be really fast.

Any help you giys guys could offer me with my question is greatly appreciated. I'm getting the computer on Wednesday or Thursday and want to be prepared to get everything up and running.

Thank you you so much!!!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

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    BigDingus
    Inspiring
    April 7, 2020

    Hi there.

    I use a small and FREE program to do all my backups. It's called Cobian Backup.

    You can choose what, when and where to have it backup. You can also run it manually. Used it for years and it's never failed once.

    Hope this helps.

     

    E
    EngineFD223Author
    Participant
    November 16, 2016

    Does anyone have any more insight into this topic?

    Its either external HDD and allow Time Machine to backup that external drive and the internal drive. Or, do I get a Raid setup? And if so, what would be the most economical setup

    ManiacJoe
    ManiacJoe
    Inspiring
    November 17, 2016

    Raid vs single drive backup: you need to weigh the pros and cons.

    For most of us hobbyists, a single drive backup will easily get the job done.

    Some of my images are on my internal E: drive.

    Some of my images are on my external Q: drive.

    My LR catalogs are on my internal D: drive. (Cache on a different drive from the original images.)

    My LR backups are on my internal E: drive. (Backups should always be on a different drive from the masters.)

    All get backed up to my external P: drive.

    D
    dj_paige
    Legend
    November 13, 2016

    As you are an amateur photographer, as I am, you need a drive big enough to hold all of your photos and space for future photos, and a second drive of probably the same size, to hold the backups of all of your photos AND the backup of your Lightroom catalog. It does not matter if these drives are internal drives or external drives or network drives. I don't use RAID, but you should decide whether or not you need this based upon your situation.

    Time Machine will work fine as your backup software, as long as it is configured properly to make backups of all of your photos AND the Lightroom catalog file; the backups must go on a different physical disk than the originals. You are also advised to use the catalog backup feature in the Lightroom software when creating backups of your catalog file, and have the boxes named Test Integrity and Optimize Catalog in the backup dialog window checked.

    The USB-C transfer rate is irrelevant, speed is not the issue here.

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      EngineFD223Author
      Participant
      November 15, 2016

      Do you know if time machine will do a backup of the Internal HDD and the external HDD that will contain all of my Lightroom info and photos simultaneously?

      I currently use an AirPort Extreme with a 1TB HDD hooked up to it for automatic wireless backups.  I could easily increase the size of that HDD as well.

      I just want to ensure that there is zero chance that I could accidentally lose all of my photos and edited work.  I'm down for the most economical solution that will fully protect me.

      D
      dj_paige
      Legend
      November 15, 2016

      I can't really answer Time Machine questions, other than I have learned that it will make backups of both of your drives.

      I currently use an AirPort Extreme with a 1TB HDD hooked up to it for automatic wireless backups.  I could easily increase the size of that HDD as well.

      Do you really mean you can increase the size of the HD? I've never heard of that. But anyway, that doesn't help, to make secure backups they must go on a DIFFERENT physical disk, not the same disk as the originals.

      You could also do backups in "the cloud" using a service like Carbonite or similar.

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