Best way to use hard drives to maximize speed?

What should be kept on the internal drive versus an external? I assume program files go on the internal and data for the external? What about iTunes songs? Would they clutter the internal thus making it slower?
Thanks.

Hi rolesh79
OS X is very organized and way different than that other OS, it actually runs faster when accessing data internally as long as it has free space to work in..
Unless you are running low on free space, keep it all on your Internal HD and use the External(s) for backing up your Internal HD.
Dennis

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Best way to replace hard drive with Time Machine

Hello, I searched dozens of threads before posting but I didn't find my specific topic.
I have a G5 (single CPU) with two internal hard drives plus one external drive. The original hard drive is only 80gb and it has been quite full for several years now. I purchased a second internal drive (150gb) about 3 or 4 years ago and have been storing all my files video and data files on the second drive. This created some additional space on the primary drive, but not much. I started off with OX 10.1 back in 2003 and have purchased the upgrades all the way to OX 10.5.4. I also have about 14000 photos in iPhoto that are stored on the primary drive because I can't figure out how to move my library to the second drive (where there is more space).
About a year ago, I purchased an iomega 500gb external drive (USB 2.0) that runs Time Machine.
I have not had any issues with any of the drives except for running out of space on the main drive. I accidentally deleted some of my wife's files once and used Time Machine as advertised.
My main drive has 4.7gb free
My second drive has 87gb free
My Time Machine drive has 205gb free.
I purchased a new 500gb internal drive.
I think my G5 will only take 2 internal drives total, so the original 80gb drive needs to go. How do I accomplish this? Should I make my 150gb the main drive, since it will be the smallest and therefore maybe the fastest for running the OS? If size of the drive doesn't matter, then should I just remove the 80gb drive, install the new 500gb in it's place and then boot using the OS X10.5 disk?
I suppose I could just let Time Machine restore the system, but do I really want OS X10.1 with a bunch of upgrades? It looks like my OS X 10.5 disk is a full version (it doesn't say 'upgrade only') on the box... Wouldn't my computer run better with a fresh OS X install and if so, is there a way to let Time Machine re-install my apps and user settings? I think I am running iLife 06 (which ever one has iMovieHD...) I also have Final Cut Express HD, CorelDraw suite and NeoOffice. Everything else is how the computer came back in 2003. I've never had any issues, so I am more than a little concerned that I am going to mess something up. You know that saying...."If it ain't broke....'
Any advice?
Regards

You do indeed have only two internal drive slots in your G5. To avoid having to try restoring everything from your TM backup what you could do is to be sure you force a final TM backup of the 80 GB drive before removing it. Install the new drive. Prepare the new drive - I suggest the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Upon completion of formatting quit DU and return to the installer. Now complete your installation of OS X. During this process you will be asked if you want to do a full restore from a TM backup. Skip this option. Once the installation has completed the computer will restart. After restarting you will see the Setup Assistant. When you've completed the Setup Assistant you will be given the option to migrate from a connected TM backup drive. Select this option. You can then migrate your Home folder, applications, and preferences. There is only one important caveat to this. When completing the setup you are asked to provide a username and password for the startup admin account. Do not use the same username as the Home folder you will migrate. Select a different username (short name is what it is also called.)
Once the migration has completed you can log out of the startup admin account and log into the migrated account. You can then delete the startup account unless you choose to keep it around for test purposes.
This process will not restore anything else from your backup except the Home folder, applications, and preferences. If there are items in your Home folder you would prefer not to migrate, then move them to the other hard drive.

Best way to replace Hard Drive?

Hi,
I am ready to replace my hard drive and get a Solid State Drive.
What is the best way to transfer the contents from the old hard drive to the new?
Except from Time Machine (I guess you can do this with time machine... not sure), does Leopard offers any other utility?
Thanks

xsi wrote:
Hi,
I am ready to replace my hard drive and get a Solid State Drive.
What is the best way to transfer the contents from the old hard drive to the new?
Except from Time Machine (I guess you can do this with time machine... not sure), does Leopard offers any other utility?
Thanks
There are at least two free utilities for cloning your HD.
CCC and SuperDuper!
Make a bootable clone of your HD and test it.
Then swap your HDs and reclone the new HD from the clone.
It's that simple, and relatively fast and, unlike TM, you can test the clone beforehand.
CCC
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
SuperDuper!
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

Best way to increase hard drive space on Time Capsule?

Quick questions for those of you who've increased the storage on your Time Capsules:
1. Did you swap out the internal hard drive or did you add a USB external hard drive?
2. For those that added a USB external hard drive, what are the drawbacks? I've read some threads saying their external hard drive is flaky and they need to power cycle the TC to get their hard drive visible on their Macs.
Here's my situation: I have two Macs backing up to a 500GB TC and I only have 13GB free. I want to increase the hard drive space and am toying with these two options:
1. Swap out the internal hard drive to 1TB and have both Macs back up the new hard drive.
2. Add a 1TB external USB hard drive and have one Mac back up to that drive while the other Mac continues to back up to the internal 500GB drive.
FYI, I'm proficient with building PCs so I have no issues swapping the internal hard drive if that's the best option. It's just that adding an external hard drive is a lot easier.

Based on the how-to articles I've read, it seems like you could remove the rubber pad without destroying it (if one is careful in removing it). That said, I think I'm going to just buy an external HDD and attach it to the TC. dchao99's comment about using an external HDD with his AEBS without issue helps alleviate some of the concerns I had with that option.
I was toying with buying a Drobo to attach to the TC but I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna get an external HDD like a Western Digital MyBook or something similar.

Best way to have hard drive temperature sensor replaced?

Hi all—
During an attempt to upgrade the hard drive in an early 2009 Mac Mini, I accidentally severed the connection between the hard drive temperature sensor and the interconnect board. I've confirmed with a friend knowledgable in this area that there is no reasonable way to solder it back on or otherwise fix it as it currently is.
From what I can tell, I can either use a software hack to override the Mac Mini's fan speed, which I would prefer not to do, or I can have it replaced by a professional [I don't feel comfortable making such an in-depth repair on my own, especially since what should have been a simple drive swap has rendered the computer unusable, unless one can tolerate it sounding like a hair dryer].
Does anyone have any recommendations on where I should take the Mini to get repaired? I've read online that Apple does not sell the interconnect board on its own--you have to buy a hard drive already attached to it. That would be fine, but is this the type of thing that a Genius will work on, or will I need to venture to an "authorized" repair facility? Any nudge in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

bvogts wrote:
Hi all—
During an attempt to upgrade the hard drive in an early 2009 Mac Mini, I accidentally severed the connection between the hard drive temperature sensor and the interconnect board. I've confirmed with a friend knowledgable in this area that there is no reasonable way to solder it back on or otherwise fix it as it currently is.
Ouch, I know exactly what you mean. One of my friends had that on her Early 2010 Mac Mini, I had to redo the connector with a new wire and then solder that to the end of the existing wire on the HDD. Difficult work when she severed in in two places
bvogts wrote:
From what I can tell, I can either use a software hack to override the Mac Mini's fan speed, which I would prefer not to do, or I can have it replaced by a professional [I don't feel comfortable making such an in-depth repair on my own, especially since what should have been a simple drive swap has rendered the computer unusable, unless one can tolerate it sounding like a hair dryer].
I would stay well clear of all hacks to Apple hardware. They always get detected and get wiped out every time you update to the latest OS X update, for example OS X 10.7.1 to OS X 10.7.1.2 when it comes out. This will mean you will have to redo your hack; it could be much more frequent than that.
bvogts wrote:
Does anyone have any recommendations on where I should take the Mini to get repaired? I've read online that Apple does not sell the interconnect board on its own--you have to buy a hard drive already attached to it. That would be fine, but is this the type of thing that a Genius will work on, or will I need to venture to an "authorized" repair facility? Any nudge in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
If you are not comfortable with doing the repair then take to to an authorized repair facility or buy the part of eBay as you can get them at a reasonable price. I have just looked for you and there are loads, in the UK, where I am and in America too. You can then take this part and they will swap it over for you, with a small cost, but it will solve your problems properly and will stop your Mac Mini sounding like a hair dryer!
I hope this helps, if not then give me some more details, I am happy to help!

Whats the best way to keep hard drive space clear

I have a macbook that is getting close to a full hard drive. I have backed up the computer using an extrenal drive but with mostly videos and pictures on the drive it is really close to full.
Can anyone help with suggestions as to how to store things externally on the drive and not on the computer itself?

Simple solution. Store stuff on the external drive not on the computer itself.
Replace the computer's drive with a larger capacity drive.
Get a bigger external drive.
These are not mutually exclusive. Do all of them.

Best way to use an external drive

Hello all,
I have several photos.
I also have three computers that I regularly use: my Windows PC, my Macbook Pro, and a very new iMac.
Rather than place all my photos on each computer... I thought I could place them on a Western Digital Passport portable ext. drive. Then somehow use the drive from computer to computer to edit/play with my photos.
How do I best use iPhoto 08 to do that? I'm not sure... do the photos have to be on the computer in order to make albums, libraries, folders, etc? Or are those things more of thumbnails that POINT to certain files?
Please help a newbie understand the best way to use his external drive.
Thanks for any and all help!

Hello, and welcome, Theodore!
I must first say that I don't yet have iPhoto 8.
I do, however, have a lot of experience with external drives (I have two). I have a huge amount of music in iTunes, so I keep a copy of it on each external drive. Then, when I need to access my music , I turn on either external drive, up comes the External Drive symbol on my display, then I go over to my dock, and select iTunes. I must remember to first open up the External Drive BEFORE I open iTunes (or iPhoto). I then add or subtract music (or photos), edit, and work on my collection. When I'm finished, I just close the application, then select the Hard Drive symbol, and choose File/ Exit Hard Drive. Reach over and turn off my Hard Drive, and it's all good. I just always remember to open the Hard Drive FIRST, before opening the application.
The same would work for iPhoto. If you place iPhoto onto your external drive, you could probably use any of your computers to connect to it. I would suggest you think about backing up your external drive's contents with either another external drive (which was my choice), or other alternate storage methods.
I only have one PowerBook, not multiple computers, but, other than that, the situation's the same. You want to keep your iPhoto collection off your computers, and onto one external drive. I hope this information can be of some help to you.
All best wishes... Cea

I have an 8 year old eMac G3. It will not start up. I need to erase it before putting it in recycling. Apple refuses to open the case and warns me that I will be shocked if I even try. They say no way to erase hard drive. They say use a hammer. Any ideas?

I have an 8 year old eMac G3. It will not start up. I need to erase it before putting it in recycling. Apple refuses to open the case and warns me that I will be shocked if I even try. They say no way to erase hard drive. They say use a hammer. Any ideas?

Hi, no eMacs had G3s, only G4s. Is it maybe an iMac G3?
If you don't know the model, find the Serial# & use it on one of these sites, but don't post the Serial# here...
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
How to find the serial number of your Apple hardware product...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1349
http://www.ifixit.com/Device/eMac

Best strategy for using external drive to speed up painfully slow mac mini

I have Intel core duo, and LaCie external drive. Many programmes are almost unusably slow. Like Adobe Photoshop, Garageband, Logic Express, SecondLife etc... (would have been nice if apple had told me the 'improved spec' would mean so many programmes would no longer work!)
I am looking for the best way to utilise the external drive. I have now set up to boot from the LaCie, but it is no better. Id like to know whats best to do with the two drives. Would one be best kept as clear as possible? And should that be the bootup drive? Originally, the idea was to increase storage and backup. Now it is anything at all, that will make this computer faster. My old G4 PowerMac is actually faster and more reliable!
powerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)
powerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)
powerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.9)
powerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)
powerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)
powerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

There is no way to improve on the graphics card in your mini - it's built into the logic board and can't be bypassed. However, while that may be a disappointment, it has to be said that by and large the graphics system in the mini is actually very capable, and is probably not the cause of the problem.
What IS the primary issue I suspect is the 512Mb RAM, which on a Core Solo running applications such as Photoshop is so woefully inadequate that it would be a surprise if your old G4 wasn't somewhat faster!
The problem is that Photoshop (the version you have) is not Intel-native, so while it runs, it requires Rosetta. Thus you have a RAM-hungry operating system, a RAM hungry application and a RAM-hungry translation package, all running at the same time. To add to that, since the software is not Intel-native, it has to be translated on-the-fly so considerable CPU time is needed to devote to that process in addition to all the other things the system needs to do in order to run.
Thus your external drive would not help much when used as a boot drive because even though it is likely to be somewhat faster than the internal, the limited RAM of the system will be forcing so many 'paging' actions (writing and reading memory blocks to the hard drive) that any speed gains will be rather heavily masked.
Most of the performance problems you experience can be resolved by upgrading RAM to 2Gb, simply because that will allow MacOS, Rosetta and your software a lot more room to breathe and significantly reduce the paging activity of the system such that then booting from the external will show notable improvements in responsiveness.
Alternatively, you may find that there are Intel-native alternatives to your software which may be available at reasonable cost and provide the features you need. Good examples are such things as GraphicConverter, which is shareware and does much of what Photoshop can do, and NeoOffice, which is open source and free, which is a good alternative to MS Office. These would run without Rosetta and provide you with much improved performance as a consequence.

IOmega UltraMax (3-way interface) 500GB hard drive incompatible with iMovie

I recently bought an IOmega UltraMax (3-way interface) 500GB hard drive to use with iMovie (4). I expect I'll need to return it anyway but the IOmega tech support guy was trying to blame my problems on a software issue. He was not helpful beyond saying, "Well, the drive works because you got it to mount (this time)." Has anyone else had problems with this (or any) external drive that were related to iLife programs?
When I have iMovie running (from a project on the internal drive) and plug in the external drive the import window immediately stops working. If I try to set up a new project on the external drive the option to save is greyed out and then I can't quit or force quit iMovie and the drive won't eject (of course) so I have to force-restart.

FW800 and 400. I have to use the 800 cable to connect because the 400 port is in use for the camera.
I did find something on the iomega site about known problems but they said I had to uninstall some piece of iomega software and I couldn't find any sign of it on my internal HD. I never installed anything.

Best way to clone my drive to an EHD

I want ot clone my ibooks drive to an EHD. The ibooks 40gb is just to small so I want to use the firewire EHD as the main drive to keep all my files etc. Whats the best way to clone my drive? Should I use disc utility or other software?

Carbon Copy Cloner:
http://www.bombich.com/download.html

HT3819 I have 2 Ipod touch's, one a 64gb and one an 8gb. Whats the best way to use them both on the same itunes account?

I have 2 Ipod touch's, one a 64gb and one an 8gb. Whats the best way to use them both on the same itunes account?

Click here for options.
(64410)

What's is the best way to use iPhoto? I need to understand.

What's is the best way to use iPhoto? I need to understand.
I guess the iPhoto is only for people with 5,000 of personal photos.
Or even 200,000, but they can't use this app everyday.
I'm not talk about working as a photographer. They use Aperture.
They may use iPhoto like a family album that you take a look sometimes.
And don't care about putting photos from the camera or from internet everyday.
I have tons of music and I love iTunes 8, works great. So I tried but I can't stand iPhoto anymore.
I have over 173,000 photos. My goal is organize, have total control, crop in Preview and delete them fast as I can.
The iPhoto is too slow. And is not only about performance, more RAM... but the whole concept.
Finder is much better/richer/flexible to organize than iPhoto.
I'm not talking about the photographer workflow.
And I'm not talking about editing and all these great photo features, the search, and all the iLife environment. They are amazing.
When I'm iPhoto, I feel like a prisioner.
I can't open an album/folder/event alone just to take a look, without do lanch the iPhoto app with the all thousand photos together. And it's slow.
I can't use Quick Look there.
So, I'll use Finder for manage/crop/etc. But what's the best way to use iPhoto in my case? Put the best/key ones there to use in iLife/MobileMe? To do a more serious editing? I like the features: keywords/ratings/hidden photos/events... It would be cool this features in Finder.
For example:
iMovie: Manage movies? NO. It's editng only.
iTunes: Manage music/small video/podcast...? OK. Editing the song? OK for tags/convert/artwork/equalizer... For music there's a GarageBand of course.
iPhoto: Manage photos? Yes and No.
I think Finder would kill iPhoto incoporating all the editing features in Preview and the rich manage in Finder.
Jobs said that no one care about iDVD anymore. They care about the web.
Using iMovie to export to MobileMe.
Maybe iPhoto become less important in a near future. With a better Finder+Preview Right?
Sorry for this long text with a short question.
Thanks.

Your post demonstrates exactly why I keep saying that iPhoto is not the application for you.
It would be better an iPhoto organizing photos by words like when iTunes browse his music.
Why on earth would anyone want to organise photos by words? A list mode is entirely pointless in a Photo application. That's like having an old photo album organised with the photos facing inwards so you can read the back of the picture.
Again, this is a characteristic of a File browser. You don't want a Photo organiser, you want a file organiser.
And, in iPhoto, you can search by tags, effortlessly in either the search box or by using a Smart Album.
iPhoto always loads all that events and all the thumbs library to scroll, and I think it's overkill.
So, how is iPhoto to know which ones you want to work with today? Open a library, get the Library.
Would be better a Cover Flow option to browsing in Events.
You've obviously never tried scrubbing along the Event icon.
Imagine iTunes using Cover Flow mode all the time. It won't be too useful.
Many, many people do, including myself on a library of 20k tracks totalling more that 100 gigs, and find it very useful. Same with the Finder.
And if when iTunes Store starts to sell photos?
Why on earth would the iTunes store start to sell photos?
My photos are not junk,
I didn't say there were. Read my post again.
When I said Finder to crop photos I mean Preview. But I feel in Finder. Because what's in Preview? A photo opened with a Preview's menubar and some cocoa APIs like adjustments. Not?
Oh, so you don't count Preview as an application. Fine. It is an application but you don't feel it. As you wish.
My point to you is very simple: Because of the way you want to organise your pics - using lists views and so on - iPhoto is not the application for you. Don't use it. But you keep writing things about the application that are untrue, and I'm aware that other folks search these forums and I don't want them to have inaccurate information about iPhoto.
Regards
TD

The best way to use 2 iphones with 1 Mac

Can someone explain whats the best way to use 2 iphones on 1 Mac.
2 different Calendars, 2 different adressbooks, etc., 1 iTunes Library, 1 Photo Library
But it would be great to see each others Calendars
Until now one mobileme Account.
Thanks in advance
Jan

I'm hoonesstly not sure about the second mobile me account. My guess would be that you will need another one though. The only way to see her calendar is to log into her user account. Not a problem if you have her password.

Does Adobe Reader for iOS have the ability to open inbedded links to additional PDF docs? If not, then what would be the best way to use these already created PDF's?

Does Adobe Reader for iOS have the ability to open inbedded links created with Acrobat Standard to additional PDF docs? If not, then what would be the best way to use these already created PDF's on an I Pad?

driddy61,
As of June 2014, none of the Adobe Reader mobile products support the hyperlink action for opening a separate PDF document.
Adobe Reader for iOS
Adobe Reader for Android
Adobe Reader Touch for Windows 8
In addition, the Reader mobile products do not open multiple windows/documents simultaneously, which would make the navigation between PDF documents nearly impossible. (Once a hyperlink takes you to a different PDF document, you have no way to go back to the original PDF document.)
The only Adobe Reader product that fulfills your department's requirements is Adobe Reader XI (mostly for Windows/Mac desktop/laptop computers). Acrobat Pro and Standard are paid products.
Because you are in search of a less expensive device for your department, you could get a Windows tablet instead of a Windows desktop/laptop computer. Microsoft Surface Pro (that you've mentioned in your previous reply) is just one example. You can also find other less expensive Windows tablets.
Tablets
However, please keep in mind that there are two different types of Windows tablets running two different operating systems.
(a) A Windows tablet with an Intel-based processor running Windows 8.1 Pro
Example: Surface Pro 3
You can install and run traditional desktop apps (e.g. Adobe Reader XI) and new Windows Store apps ("Modern" or "Metro-style" apps).
(b) A Windows tablet with an ARM-based processor running Windows RT 8.1
Example: Surface 2
You can only install and run Windows Store apps (e.g. Adobe Reader Touch) but not traditional desktop apps like Adobe Reader XI.
In general, type (b) tablets are more affordable than type (a) tablets. However, if you want to run Adobe Reader XI, you do need to check the technical specification of each tablet and make sure the following conditions are met.
Processor: Intel
Operating system: Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 8/8.1 Pro, not RT
Hope this helps you choose the right device for your department. Please let us know if you have any questions about system requirements or supported features in the Adobe Reader products.

Best way to use hard drives to maximize speed?

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