Multiple Hard Drives, External Hard Drive

I'm not sure exactly how to phrase this question. I've been using Apple's Aperture program, but now that I'm subscribed to CS Cloud, I want to try Lightroom.
I installed Lightroom. During the installation process, I created a new folder for storing information about photos @ Users/myname/Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom 4 Catalog.lrcat
Then I read an article about exporting images from Aperture to Lightroom that said you should set things up on an external hard drive, because your image collection is eventually going to be too big for your internal hard drive. That makes sense.
So before I continue, let me explain my situation. I'm not a photographer (yet), but I have thousands of images that I use on several different websites. My biggest project is an online encylopedia of life that will feature countless images of plants and animals.
So let's say I have six websites, and I decide to create a library for each of the first five, plus half a dozen libraries for the biology site (Mammals, Birds, Plants, etc.). And let's also say I set up shop on an external hard drive.
Will the information for all these libraries be stored in the folder Lightroom 4 Catalog.lrcat on my computer? Or do I need to create a new .lrcat folder on my external hard drive? Will I need a separate .lrcat folder for each library?
I'd prefer to export all my images from Aperture into Lightroom in a library (or libraries) in my internal hard drive - for now. When it gets too big, then I can move it to an external hard drive. Is this possible?
The instructions I've read for exporting images from Aperture are kind of confusing; I think I just need to do it and clean up the mess later.
Thanks.

Lirghtroom 4 Catalog.lrcat is not a folder. (Or at least, it shouldn't be a folder) It is a file which contains your Lightroom database. Everything you do in Lightroom, all of the editing, all of the metadata, and everything else you create (but not the images themselves) is stored in the database. Thus, Lightroom (via the database) must know where your photos are at all times. If you move or rename a photo outside of Lightroom, then Lightroom cannot work with this photo (although you can fix this very simply). The recommendation for beginners is to do all photo management inside of Lightroom. This is a crucial understanding to your proper use of Lightroom.
Your .lrcat file(s) can be on any hard disk, external or internal. The usual recommendation is to put your catalog(s) on the fastest hard disk, which is the internal disk.
Some people (including me) think one large catalog is the way to go. There are many advantages. But other people think multiple catalogs is the way to go. In your case, in a photo is going to be used on multiple web sites, then I would recommend a single catalog. If a photo can be used on one (and only one) web site, then multiple catalogs probably works, one for each web site.
I'd prefer to export all my images from Aperture into Lightroom in a library (or libraries) in my internal hard drive - for now. When it gets too big, then I can move it to an external hard drive. Is this possible?
To me, this sounds like you are creating extra work for yourself. If you think that at some point you are going to want your photos on an external drive, just put them there to begin with. Then you don't have the extra effort of moving photos from here to there (but yes it is possible). In my opinion, there is almost no performance penalty for having photo on an external drive.
You might want to consider watching some introductory videos about Lightroom, for example
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-4/lightroom-4-imp orting-and-organizing-your-images/
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/creative-suite-podcast-photographers/lightroom-dude-where-are-my -photos/
I can't answer questions about Aperture.

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maxhardie wrote:
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G-Drive external hard drives change to unwritable. Anybody have this problem?

Using IMac intel 27" with 10.8.3.
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How to maintain a Mac
1. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times. One backup is not enough. Don’t back up your backups; make them independent of each other. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.
2. Keep your software up to date. In the Software Update preference pane, you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis. This is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible.
3. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, this stuff is useless, or worse than useless.
The more actively promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage. The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam.
As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for — such as creating, communicating, and playing — and does not modify the way other software works. Use your computer; don't fuss with it.
Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.
The free anti-malware application ClamXav is not crap, and although it’s not routinely needed, it may be useful in some environments, such as a mixed Mac-Windows enterprise network.
4. Beware of trojans. A trojan is malicious software (“malware”) that the user is duped into installing voluntarily. Such attacks were rare on the Mac platform until sometime in 2011, but are now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous.
There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it — the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness — not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.
Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must be acquired directly from the developer. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from a web page without your having requested it should go straight into the Trash. A website that claims you have a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with your computer, is rogue.
In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.
Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.
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Uhhhhh
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Good afternoon!
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Cartaphilus1946 wrote:
Thanks for the prompt reply. I was hoping that since the USB drive will be mapped to a drive letter that it could be shared. But I guess not. I may just invest in a NAS interface like the one from Iomega for my USB drives.
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How to move Steam games to flash drive/external hard drive?

And also, how do you move the save files?

Short version: use the itunes consolidate command
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Hi dalbatross,
Welcome to the Support Communities!
Did you set up your new computer by creating a Time Machine backup and restoring from it?
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http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov3fa25bae7
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Cheers,
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Help freeing up disk space on external hard drive

trying to copy itunes library to external hard drive only to find i have insufficient space (need 100GB). deleted prior two itunes libraries and try again, but fail because external hard drive space is still insufficient. empty trash. eject external hard drive and reattach the thing. it still has insufficient space. make a new folder on external hard drive and copy all folders to this folder to see how much space all the files consume--the entire folder is 100GB, it is a 500 GB external drive, and it has only 21 GB free.
Why is the external hard drive which should have 400GB free, not freeing up the remaining space?
imac mac os x version 10.5.8 (free on hard drive about 20GB, so can't copy 100 GB back to hard drive and format or do whatever to external drive)
external hard drive is G-DRIVE mobile USB, purchased from apple I think.
OmniDiskSweeper used and just showed 100 GB used and 20 some Free. No huge files in trashes or temporary files.
Used DiskAid , and disk is normal, tried to repair but nothing to repair.
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It sounds like there are multiple partitions on the drive, or perhaps only a small one with a lot of unallocated space.
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See if there's more than one partition (indented under the main line).
Also see what's shown for the Total Capacity.

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Hello,
I have a G Technology G-DRIVE External Hard Drive, that until now has worked perfectly.
I plugged it in today to try and back up my macbooks through Time Machine, like I have done for the last year - and on ether of the computers, the Hard Drive is not appearing in Time Machine or Finder. Having browsed online, I found that it is showing in Disk Utility and in System Information - but other than that I cannot do anthing with it. I even tried to Repair the drive, by erasing it and reformatting it - and I cant do it - I keep getting the messgae 'Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.'
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At best, it sounds like this HD is flakey so even if you were able to get it working again, I would not trust it.
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I want to use my second external hard drive as a "flash drive"

Forgive my ignorance, but I would appreciate any input before I purchase and set up a second external hard drive....
I have a MyBook that I use with Time Machine and it has been great. However, it's approaching more full than I want it to get and I need to dump all my pictures and music that I would like to keep forever onto a second external hard drive that I can access easily, take with me to friends houses to share music/photos, etc.
My question is: do I want to set up Time Machine on the second "flash drive" external hard drive, or should I only use Time Machine on MyBook and use the manufacturer software on the second drive?
I envision connecting both very frequently -- as I load new pictures, loading them quickly onto the second drive, but then back up on MyBook and Time Machine as I do know, every few days or so.
How do other people navigate this?

Well, you can certainly keep using one for Time Machine and use the other one to back up just your photos, files, videos, etc.
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Multiple Hard Drives, External Hard Drive

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