Using a flash drive for data storage - questions

I take video clips whenever I travel and when creating DVD videos, want to intermix the clips with still images. Over a long trip, so many videl clips are created that it is required to download these to free up space in the camcorder. For me, a flash drive (or pen drive) is an ideal medium. However, I have found that even with a "fast" drive having a spec of 20MB/sec read and 18MB/sec write, the data transfer slows significantly when the transfer is of either video (.AVI) or music (.mp3).
For example, I have a Sony flash drive with the above specs. Transferring straight data files such as word or spreadsheet documents, I measure the speed at approximately 12MB/sec. But, when I transfer video or audio, this drops to about 4MB/sec.
When I look up transfer rates on the net, it gives one figure specifying this as "data transfer". I could find nothing to indicate the change, if any, in this rate if video or audio files are transferred.
Does anyone have experience with this? Basically, I am trying to find the fastest 2 GB minimum flash drive at a reasonable price, but will I lose all of the speed as a function of the type of file.
Thanks

Yes, if these are normal data files and the flash drive is formatted for Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or FAT32.

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Going from xp to windows 7 64 bit using an external drive for music storage

Greetings Techies!
I hope you all are well.
I need to move my iTunes from an XP machine to Windows 7 64 bit. On the XP machine I am using an external drive for music storage and the iTunes database is stored on the internal drive. I am looking for advice on how to transfer all of this over to my new Windows 7 64 bit machine. I know iTunes can be picky about everything and I don’t want to take and chances and loose my playlists or music.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Blessings,
paul

You are right about it being picky. I just upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 and was forced to format my drive. I had all the music backed up, but when I imported it, I have 2 or 3 copies of some songs, art work missing, and have lost my playlists. I hope someone responds to your question, because I could use similar help! Best of luck to ya . . .

I have the G Drive 1 TB (GEN4 1TB) external drive purchased in 2010. I need to connect to my new MacBook Pro. I'm using the external drive for media storage of my video editing projects. Will a 800fw to thunderbolt adapter cable work?

I have the G Drive 1 TB (GEN4 1TB) external drive purchased in 2010. I need to connect to my new MacBook Pro. I'm using the external drive for media storage of my video editing projects. Will a 800fw to thunderbolt adapter cable work? I understand that using a USB port connection is not fast enough for video editing. I read somewhere the G Drives don't connect well to MacBook Pro.
thanks
larry

I doubt this can be relocated or moved so you might want to just repost in the macbook pro area.
MacBook Pro
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os?view=discussions
Can you afford a new Thunderbolt case and cable? any case with FW800 is going to be slow 72MB/sec and less, and any new 1TB drive is capable of 75MB/s minimum up to 125MB/sec.
Thunderbolt storage can of course when setup properly reach 100's of MB higher using multiple drives.
Use what you have for a system backup or for secondary backup storage.
you might be able to take the drive - most cases allow you to open and swap drives - and use this:
G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mini High-Speed Portable Hard Drive
or this:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/HB137VC/A/g-technology-4tb-g-raid-professional -high-performance-dual-drive-hard-drive?fnode=5f

How to use a 2nd partition for data storage?

The 40 GB hard disk on my satellite L10 was delivered with two 20 GB partitions (drive C and D). I now understand (by reading this forum) that it is preferred to use one partition for data storage.
Until now there was no need to use the D-drive. But by now I need the extra space.
How can I use the folders structure in windows XP home (My Documents etc) and put the data on the D-drive.
We work on this computer with several accounts.
I tried to move one folder out of My Documents to the D-drive, but then it can be reached by the other users. Should I use shortcuts towards the D-drive? I hope there is a simple solution.
Thanks in advance.
(I tried my best to write this in English....)

Hi
I didnt tried it before but you can try to make your personal folder on D partition. The notebook administrator should set the security settings that can be found under folder properties. Go to Security tab and check all permissions for other users. Choose Deny option for all of them.
I believe that on this way you can use your data folder alone and be sure that other users can not read or execute any of your private data.
Please let me know if it works properly.
Bye

Use time capsule drive for mass storage instead of time machine

I'm considering buying a new Airport Extreme with the time capsule drive. I'd interested to know if I can use the built in drive as an additional HD verses using it for a back up drive with time machine? I'm aware I can plug in a USB external drive for network storage, but would like to use the built one for storage as well. Anyone know if this is possible?

I just got a 2TB time capsule a few days ago to use as a "poor man's file server" for my iTunes library. Bob makes valid points, and I am aware of the limitations, but I think it will meet my needs for awhile. I am in the process of ripping a large DVD collection and my iTunes library is over 350gb which was starting to feel crowded on my MBA's 512gb SSD.
I have plenty of external USB and thunderbolt drives, but I wanted wireless access to the libary anywhere in the house. With the AC wireless on my 2013 MBA, I wouldn't really classify the time capsule as "quite slow", I'm seeing about 30MB/s for FInder file copies. I have a 1TB USB2 WD Passport drive and the speed is very comparable - about 35MB/s. Sure, it's not as fast as my thunderbolt drive at 190MB/s or SSD at 700MB/s, but it seems to work well for my content (I don't use HD video in iTunes).
The only noticeable issue is that the TC disk spins down almost immediately if it isn't in use, so you get a lag of a few seconds if you pause a movie for a minute. And it takes longer to start iTunes of course. For me, these were acceptable trade-offs to allow my library to grow to 2TB without any directly connected external storage.
I wanted an AC router regardless and the TC gives me a wireless disk for $100 more. In the future I can always add a "real" media server and let the TC do backups. But for now I'm happy with the way it works.

Using Multiple Hard Drives for iTunes Storage

I am running out of room on my current hard drive and want to use a new external hard drive to add space. My problem is I want to use both hard drives for storage (not the same music). Is this possible as I have only been able to direct iTunes to one hard drive? Thank you.
Dual G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5) 400GB Raid set

When you change the location in iTunes preferences what you are doing is telling iTunes where ripped music should be put. It isn't changing where iTunes should look for music that is already in the library. So go ahead and change the location to where you want music to be stored from now on. iTunes won't lose the other music. (At one times my iTunes library was spread over 4 drives.)

Best use of disk drives for data transfer

I have three different data "disk" drives on my system and I timed transferring 13 GB of data between. The drives are a standard 7500 RPM disk, a pair of 7500 RPM disks in RAID 0, and a solid state flash drive. The times in minutes and and seconds were as follows:
To:| Standard | RAID 0 | Flash
From: | | |
Standard | 6:39 | 2:43 | 3:22
RAID 0 | 2:46 | 4:41 | 3:33
Flash | 2:41 | 1:51 | 16:58
The first thing to notice is that if the source and destination drives are the same then times are much longer. The Flash drive was particularly bad.
The best time was from Flash to RAID 0, but in the reverse direction the time was poorer than a standard disk, suggesting that the flash has a fast read but a slow write.
Conclusion: for disk bound operations, such as transferring DV AVI files with little or no processing use different drives if practicable. In other words, set the scratch files drive to be other than the drive with the source files on it. If possible, put your source files on a flash drive and your scratch files on a RAID 0 drive.
Edit: Sorry for the poor table layout. Two or more consecutive spaces get converted into a single space for some reason.

You can use the error-cluster to detect the end of your queue. The erroroutput of the shared variable will return a -2220 Warning, if it reads a value it has read already before. I attached a modified example and saved it for 8.2 I hope you can open it.
Attachments:
readbuffered82.zip ‏51 KB

Creating Recovery Media using USB Flash Drive for Windows 8.1

I followed all the instructions to create a USB Flash Drive Recovery Media (insert 16 GB USB Flash Drive or >) and it said it will be created now (after I clicked on Create), however the next screen said to insert > 7.5 GB flash drive, then it said it was cancelled. I was attempting to use a San Disk Flash Drive and I am wondering if it is because it has some time of application on it. I was under the understanding that it would just "delete/erase" this (format it) and then create it, but it wouldn't. Any suggestions?

In Windows 8, one can create a "recovery drive" (called a System Repair Disc in Windows 7) that does not contain the recovery partition. (When you install Windows 8 yourself, there is no recovery partition.) It contains just the recovery environment.
Create a USB recovery drive [edited to repair the link]
Not sure what Shirley did, because it shouldn't take even that much space.
-Jerry

Creating multiple libraries and using an external drive for data

I'm a recent switcher and new to iphoto. On the windows platform, I used adobe album. I have a around 10k of images that I put on an external drive which is attached to my new imac. I deleted the iphoto folder and redirected it to my images on my external. All is working great. I'm looking for some advise on work flow of file/iphoto management. i.e. I'm assuming the more images I accumulate, the slower I photo is going to run? I hear you can create multiple iphoto libraries. Will that only load the photos that are associated with the library and I'm assuming optimize iphoto's performance versus always loading every photo you have taken every time you work in iphoto? If adding libraries is the way to go, can someone direct me to instruction on how to do this?
This may be beyond this threads scope but I plan to put all my data (iphoto, imovies, itunes) onto an external drive in order to keep the imac main drive as clean a possible. Is my thinking correct in doing so. Any negative repercussion in doing so?

Joe:
I'm assuming the more images I accumulate, the slower I photo is going to run?
You'll have to get quite a lot of photos into iPhoto before you start to see a real slowdown in performance. Users have reported libraries of 40K files and they perform just fine. However, do not keep all of rolls open as that will really do a job on the performance. Just open the rolls you need and close them all before quitting.
Yes, you can use multiple libraries and only load what's in each. I use iPhoto Library Manager to manage and move quickly between 10 libraries. With the paid version of iPLM you can move albums and/or rolls between libraries as needed and keep the keywords, ratings, and comments intact.
Using an external HD in order to maintain sufficient free space (10G minimum is what I recommend) on the boot drive to help optimize performance is a very good idea.
As far as any negative aspects, it would be a good idea to have a second external HD as a backup to the working external HD. You can't be too careful with those image files (and other important files) that can't be replaced.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

How should I partition a new hard drive - for data storage

My original drive was failing, so I installed another one, with the operating system on it, so that when that one failed, it was not a problem. Now I have a 2nd one that's failing (or has possibly failed, though I do have it backed up using Time Machine . I bought another drive today - a 2 TB one and want to install it, possibly partitioning it - maybe with a partition that holds the operating system and some of the software, (though don't know if that's a good idea or not), and part for the data backup of videos I've made, and slideshows from Aperture, etc. - just "stuff". What is the best way for me to partition it?

Unless you have very specific requirements, such as wanting to install more than one OS, there's no advantage to creating multiple partitions.

I have a 13gig c drive that is almost full my pc is a 2001 sony vio so windows takes up the most of c, but I also have an 80 gig hardrive I installed itunes on that and I believe I made itunes use the d drive for media storage.

I also have an 80 gig hard drive, so I installed itunes on that,
I think and I think I have itunes pointed to have its library on the as well.
If I had to reinstall itunes because I did it all wrong,would the music I have bought from itunes be retrievable?
What would be the right way to make the itunes install, and all it constituents(i.e.media library) go on the 80gig D drive instead of the C drive?

To get a better idea of what is being stored where download and run the script iTunesInfo which should output something like this:
I'm interested in the block of 4 results starting ITL location. If your profile name shows up somewhere replace it with <Name>. It is also worth checking under Edit > Preferences > Advanced to see where iTunes thinks your media is supposed to go. My script estimates the setting based on the location of the first media file it can actually find.
tt2

Can I use my external hard drive for additional storage on my ipad?

can I use my external hard drive for additional storage on my ipad

With the Camera Connection Kit you can input data from an external USB device to the iPad, but you cannot write from the iPad to the connected drive.

Use an external HD with Airport Extreme to access it for data storage from computers connected to the WiFi network?

Can I connect My Passport HD into my Airport Extreme's USB port to access it from my computers (27" iMac 2012 now using Yosemite) on that Wifi network for data storage and retrieval purposes?

Yes, if the AirPort base station's hardware supports 802.11n. The drive needs to be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), FAT16, or FAT32, and may need to be connected through an USB hub with its own power supply.
(117777)

Can I use more than one flash-drive for ready-boost on Satellite L650/0ed

Hi,
I have a toshiba Satellite L650/0ed, is it alright if i use more than one 8gb flash-drive for 'ready boost' - what is the maximum number of flash-drives use can dedicate to 'ready-boost'.
In addition, if i use a 16gb flash-drive, will this dedicate more memory to 'ready-boost'.
Why is the seagate 1tb 3.5 expansion drive not compatible for ready-boost.
Thank you,
-Brent907

Hi mate
Please check this Microsoft page which describes the ReadyBosst
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/readyboost
There you can find this statement:
+ReadyBoost works with most flash storage devices. In Windows 7, it can handle more flash memory and even multiple devices *up to eight* , for a maximum 256 gigabytes (GB) of additional memory.+
Hopefully this can be helpful!

I have a hard drive for CD storage that needs to connect to the Ethernet router. sInce my router is not in this room, and in another room, I want to use my Mac as a router for the drive, and share the wifi. Ho do I do this

I have a hard drive for CD storage that needs to connect to the Ethernet router. sInce my router is not in this room, and in another room, I want to use my Mac as a router for the drive, and share the wifi. Ho do I do this? I gace tried the System Preferences -> Sharing, shared internet to Ethernet, but can't se ethe device on Finder

Djembe wrote:
UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface) boot requires Global unique identifier Partition Table (GPT) as opposed to the older Master Boot Record (MBR). If your existing drive is formatted in MBR, you will need to adjust BIOS settings to enable legacy boot in order for it to work properly.
Is there a performance difference between GPT and MBR? If GPT is better, I do not mind formatting the drive with it.
5. No special drivers are needed.
Thanks. What about the thunderbolt port?
7. I think Lenovo estimates 6 hours.
Lenovo says 6 hours with the 6-cell battery on its website.
BrendaEM wrote:
Hi,
There was a serious BIOS/UEFI problem with that SSD . Perhaps this thread will save you some headaches. Someone is recomending shutting off Rapid Boot in the setup, which would probable mean little with a SSD, anyway.
I read through this, and it looks like the problem was fixed in a BIOS update, which I plan to do. However, it also seems like Intel Rapid Start is not even worth it in the first place, as sleep consumes almost no power at all.
W540: i7-4700mq, K2100m, 8 GB DDR3L, 512 GB SSD
T510: i7-620m, NVS 3100m, 8 GB DDR3, 512 GB SSD

Using a flash drive for data storage - questions

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