Best Practices, Project Files with External Drives

I've found bits of discussion here and there, but I would like some further clarity.
For performance and stability is it best to have the Final Cut Pro Documents directory on an External HardDrive and the Project File on the desktop?
Ideally I would like to have all the files for each client project on a separate Hard Drive for working and storage purposes. Is this generally what others are doing? I've had some editors not do this, and I end up searching around for clips and project elements on the main hard drive, which makes me nervous that I will miss something for archiving.
Also, with some critical projects I've been making a second copy of the external hard drive at various stages of the project in case of drive failure. I guess a swappable raid system might be an option, but I really like the plug-in play of firewire, not to mention they're cheap.
Any insights into how others are managing projects, files and storage would be appreciated.
Thanks,

I keep all my projects on the internal drive (main system drive) and all the media on the externals or secondary internal drive. I back up the project files each night to one of the externals (the one with the media of the project I am currently working on) and a USB Thumb Drive. I do this redundant backup as the project file is gold...without this your project is lost. Tapes you can always recapture.
When I start a project, I designate the scratch drive. That way, all the captures and renders go to that drive. If I change projects I am working on from day to day, then I go into my settings and change the scratch drive, so that I keep things where they belong....and so they don't end up scattered across my system.
Backing up my drives? Cloning the media drives? Unnecessary IMHO. If you lose a drive, you still have the project file and you simply re-capture. And I have never lost a media drive yet...
But, it you want to be safe about it, get a RAID and make it the kind of RAID that makes duplicates of the media on several drives. Not sure what the RAID type that is.
Shane

Similar Messages

  • Best Practices for VidConf with external parties

    We currently use Sony Video conference units for our end units. On the backend, we use a Cisco 3515 for multipoint conferences.
    We now need to be able to do video conferences with external parties using our MCU.
    Since there are many ways of doing this, are there solutions that work better than others? Basically I need to publish a doc that says 'here is what you will need. This port open on your firewall, a public IP address that is not NATd....'
    Any help would be appreciated.

    David,
    Unfortunately, Cisco has not (currently) chosen to implement H.460.x in their H.323 infrastructure solutions, so a Cisco GK could not be used in combination with a Tandberg SBC (session border controller). However, we currently use Cisco gatekeepers for everything but firewall traversal. For traversal, the Tandberg GK functions as the inside portion of the traversal solution and proxies for all my codecs (a mix of six different Tandberg and Polycom product lines)--even those that are H.460-capable. Combined with the SBC (session border controller is a Cisco MCM (25xx router) setting on the public side of the firewall and neighbored to the session border controller.
    The "public" GK is for the entities who write custom policies in their firewalls or set their codecs on the public side of their security. If not H.460 compliant, they have to register with a GK, they can't register directly with the SBC, hence, the public GK which is simply neighbored to the SBC.
    I would encourage you to closely look at the Polycom V2IU as well. It has come a LONG way since it was introduced a couple of years ago.
    Personally, I still don't feel like the V2IU has as much flexibility nor does it implement a dialing methodology best suited for converging networks. It is an ALG (App Layer GW) that has been tweaked to support H.323 traversal, so I don't think it will ever truly match the Tandberg Expressway solution apples-apples, but it is dramatically less expensive and thus worth considering.
    We tested both the Tandberg and Polycom traversal solutions with our internal CAC (call admission and control infrastructure), which is made up of multiple Cisco GK products in a fully meshed neighboring scenario prior to purchase of a traversal solution, and the Cisco products interoperated with both traversal solutions.
    Cisco did present a solution that proposed a Layer 3 solution, but we felt it best to pursue something based within the H.323 umbrella standard.
    If you want to talk more, please email me at [email protected] w/ direct contact info and I'll be happy to assist you in any way I can.
    Greg

  • Best Practice for using with external HD

    Greetings, I currently have a fairly large Aperture library, about 210Gb, it's managed by Aperture and on my internal MacBook Pro hard drive.  Not good, I know.  I just received my new MBP with Thunderbolt and also purchased the new Promise Pegasus 12 TB RAID storage device.  My question to the community is this... what is the best way to set up Aperture to take advantage of the external RAID storage while still being able to keep some photos on my hard drive so I can work when away from the Pegasus device.
    Any thoughts are appreciated.
    Regards,
    Scott 

    publish/subscribe, right?
    lots of subscribers, big messages == lots of network traffic.
    it's a wide open question, no?
    %

  • Can I edit one project on two computers with external drive and two copies of software?

    I have two copies of premiere elements. One on IMac and one on Macbook. Video files on external drive. I want to be able to edit same project on both. I originally started the project on macbook but IMac doesn't see the exsisting project.  Can I do this? thanks for the help

    jazziegirl
    Thanks for the follow up.
    The matter of the sign in/trial version has happened to me from time to time with Premiere Elements (I worked with Windows). I supply
    the requested information and that usually takes care of that message for a long while.
    What is the status of the issue now with the MacBook Pro to iMac projects? Is that matter restricted to just one project from MacBook Pro to iMac?
    If so, on this particular one, did you try the Project Archiver/Copy Project workflow in MacBook Pro?
    As for the error message...I am not a Mac user, and consequently I am not sure I am interpreting the following correctly. But take a look to see if any of it applies
    Have you looked at the permissions on your file?
    USB tethering lost after installing iphone conf... | Apple Support Communities
    iTunes 11.4 - All Things Apple | DSLReports Forums
    "System extension cannot be used -- The system ... | VMware Communities
    Please review and then let us know the outcome.
    Thank you.
    ATR

  • If I back up iMovie projects to an external drive does it take the media with it? I want to free up space and remove pictures that were in iPhoto...that were used as media by iMovie when project was under way. In short I want archive iMovie stuff

    If I back up iMovie projects to an external drive does imovie  take the media with it? I want to free up space and remove pictures that were in iPhoto...that were used as media by iMovie when project was under way. In short I want archive iMovie stuff. If I pull pics out of iPhoto, and later want to drag an archived projet bac into iMovie and the pics are no longer in iPhoto, will I be able to keep working in the project in iMovie?

    Very likely not, as the iPhoto's can be used for something else.
    More like it took a copy, or it's referencing that spot on the drive in the editable files and most likely made a copy to create a new permanent export file.
    Sample one picture and a iMovie file and see what happens.

  • Best way to move files to external drive in LR 5. Drag and drop or export, if drag and drop

    Best way to move files to external drive in LR 5. Drag and drop or export, if drag and drop can I put all the dated folders into one single folder

    Drag and drop should do the job. Or move the files (or folders) in your operating system and then re-link via http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_find_folder/find-folder.htm
    Yes, you can put all the dated folders into a single folder (but if you plan to do this, then don't try move the files using your operating system and re-link)
    Export most definitely isn't the solution.

  • Best practice to integrate the external(ERP or Database etc) eCommerce data in to CQ

    Hi Guys,
    I am refering to GEOMetrixx-Outdoors project for building eCommerce fucntionality in our project.
    Currently we are integrating with an ERP system to fetch the Product details.
    Now I need to store all the Product data from ERP system in to our CRX  under etc/commerce/products/<myproject> folder structure.
    Do I need to create a csv file structure as explained in the geometrixx-outdoors project  and place it exactly the way they have mentioned in the documentation? By doing this the csvimporter will import the data in to CRX and creates the Sling:folder and nt:unstructured nodes in to CRX?
    Please guide me  which is this best practice to integrate the external eCommerce data in to CQ system to build eCommerce projects?
    Are there any other best practices ?
    Your help in this regard is really appreciated.
    Thanks

    Hi Kresten,
    Thanks for your reply.
    I went through the eCommerce framework link which you sent.
    Can you get me few of the steps to utilise eCommerce framework to pull all the product information in to our CRX repository and also  how to synchronise between the ERP system and CRX data. Is that we have a scheduling mechanism to pull the data from our ERP system and synch it with CRX repository?
    Thanks

  • I would like to know if you have to back up a macbook hard drive, can I use a external hard drive that has been previously used to back up several pc 's, or is it best to have a separate external drive for the Mac?

    I would like to know if you have to back up a macbook hard drive, can I use a external hard drive that has been previously used to back up several pc 's, or is it best to have a separate external drive for the Mac?

    In the Mac side of things, backups usually come in two flavors: clones or incrementals.
    A bootable clone is a bit-for-bit copy of all essential files in the startup volume. If using the Lions, clones can be made using CarbonCopyCloner or just plain old Disk Utility. These backups represent the safest protection of your info, but take the longest to do. Recovery is an inverse process: you copy the clone back into the internal drive.
    Incremental backups start with a complete backup of the startup volume and only copy whatever changed from the previous run. OS X includes the fully integrated Time Machine backup utility to do this. It is extremely easy to do and takes the least amount of time. Recovery is another matter altogether since you have to start with a freshly installed instance of the OS and have to apply all intervening backups to bring the result to the latest saved version.
    As for where the backup takes place, the recommended media is an external dedicated drive or drives connected via the fastest interface available on your Mac: Thunderbolt, USB3, Firewire, or USB2. Network-based backups, wired or wireless, are attractive but may not offer the same performance and hence take longer. Also important to note that the entire drive need not be completely dedicated to a single backup. The Mac's EFI firmware infrastructure allows for an unlimited number of partitions on a hard drive and each can be used for either type of backups.
    Holler if you need specifics on how to do each. This was just an executive summary.

  • How to move an iMovie project to an external drive ?

    Hi I need to move my iMovie project to an external drive, to free some space, please help. if it's possible.....

    To make sure that all required media is in the library contain the project you need to "Consolidate media"  see:  http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov882dee351
    You can then copy the library to your laptop with the Finder and open it with the same version of iMovie.  The last phrase is important since Apple has made changes in the project format several times even between minor updates of iMovie 10.  Earlier versions may not be able to read the library and later versions (not possible in this case) may cause the project to be updated so that it is no longer readable by the desktop version.   iMovie on the laptop will not at first find the copied library - you will have either to double click on it or File - Open library - Other and navigate to its location.
    Geoff.

  • 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

  • Updated to 10.1, now can't find projects/events on external drives

    Yesterday, I blithely updated my Final Cut Pro X to version 10.1. Now I am totally lost...
    I have gradually got used to the way FCP operates and now, all my Events and Projects are on an external drive, organised in a series of folders; current, finished etc.
    When I started FCP yesterday, instead of finding any of my events and projects, FCP created a new Library on my HD.
    I use a Macbook Air and do not use my small HD for FCP... how do I tell FCP where all my files are?
    I can create a new library on my HD but if I try to move it to the external drive, it is copied and if I delete the original, FCP creates another one on the HD...
    Getting lost and confused as there appears to have been a wholesale change of the basic way in which FCP functions.
    I don't want to use my HD library as a 'working' library, not least because I don't know how to then find the files, to transfer them to the external drive to back them up.
    Also, the HD is far too small for this purpose.
    How do I go about persuading FCP to set up and then use libraries on my external drives?

    tootallTV wrote:
    Yesterday, I blithely updated my Final Cut Pro X to version 10.1. Now I am totally lost...
    I have gradually got used to the way FCP operates and now, all my Events and Projects are on an external drive, organised in a series of folders; current, finished etc.
    How do I go about persuading FCP to set up and then use libraries on my external drives?
    You have to let your projects and events sit in the expected folders in order to have FCP X 10.1 update them to new libraries. If 10.1 sees old events and projects in your external drive (they need to be in the places older versions required them, i.e. at the root level in "Final Cut Events" and "Final Cut Projects" folders) it will offer to update them to a new library.
    You should heed Philip Hoggetts' advice about using Event Manager X (now free) to help with managing the transition. You probably don't want to gobble up all your previous projects and events in one mega-library, but give it some form of organization. See here: http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorials/1304-upgrade-your-events-and-projects- to-fcpx-10-1-libraries-the-smart-way

  • How can I move an iMovie Project to an external drive in latest version (10.0.7)

    I am trying to transfer an iMovie project from my desktop to my laptop to work on it anywhere. I have seen ways to do this in earlier releases but they do not work for the current version (10.0.7.)
    I have a Mac OS Extended (journaled) USB drive. Previous threads have said that the external drive will show up in the "Events Library." This version of iMovie does not have an "Events Library" and the button to make it visible in previous versions is gone. I have looked at the Apple Support link iMovie '11: Copy or move a project to an external hard disk, but this won't work on the latest version release.
    I can't seem to find any way to move my project to the external drive.
    Any thoughts? Thanks

    To make sure that all required media is in the library contain the project you need to "Consolidate media"  see:  http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov882dee351
    You can then copy the library to your laptop with the Finder and open it with the same version of iMovie.  The last phrase is important since Apple has made changes in the project format several times even between minor updates of iMovie 10.  Earlier versions may not be able to read the library and later versions (not possible in this case) may cause the project to be updated so that it is no longer readable by the desktop version.   iMovie on the laptop will not at first find the copied library - you will have either to double click on it or File - Open library - Other and navigate to its location.
    Geoff.

  • Archived an iDVD project to an external drive but can't access it

    My DVD player on my MacBook Pro is broken so I'm trying to transfer an iDVD file to my Mac mini so I can burn DVDs. I tried archiving my project to an external drive and everything seemed to work normally but the project doesn't appear in the finder window for the external drive on my ProBook or mini. I tried changing all permissions to "read and write" but still doesn't work. The only place I can open the project is in iDVD on the ProBook.
    Help!

    Freeing Up Space on The Hard Drive
      1. See Lion/Mountain Lion/Mavericks' Storage Display.
      2. You can remove data from your Home folder except for the /Home/Library/ folder.
      3. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on freeing up space on your hard drive.
      4. Also see Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
      5. See Where did my Disk Space go?.
      6. See The Storage Display.
    You must Empty the Trash in order to recover the space they occupied on the hard drive.
    You should consider replacing the drive with a larger one. Check out OWC for drives, tutorials, and toolkits.
    Try using OmniDiskSweeper 1.8 or GrandPerspective to search your drive for large files and where they are located.

  • Cannot open project file with write access...

    I have seen that this problem has been reported before but have yet to find a solution.
    I have my project file in an external hard drive.  When I plug the hard drive to another computer and want to save it I get this message:
    "Cannot open project file with write access.  The file may be locked or you don't have permission to write to this location.  Select Save As..."
    I don't want to Save As because other projects make reference to this file and also my Encore file will be messed up.
    FYI both computers use Windows 7.
    Any solutions?

    Right click on the folder in Question and select properties. Then select the security tab. Make sure you add everyone to the user list. You do that by selecting edit and then add. Type in everyone in the object section and hit ok. Then select the everyone user and checkmark the Full control. Hit Apply and it will adjust the permissions for the folder and subfolders and files.
    Eric
    ADK

  • How can I export a project on an external drive in the latest version of iMovie?

    Before the latest release of iMovie I easily managed to export a project on an external usb drive and re-import such project on a different Mac... In the latest iMovie version, however, I cannot see my drive any more..
    So, how can I export a project on an external drive in the latest version of iMovie?
    Thank you in advance

    I'm not sure this is the best way, but you could create a new iMovie Library, move your project to that Library, then close the library. Then move the Library to your USB drive. Then, on the other Mac, in iMovie open the Library.

Maybe you are looking for