Wiki: Using multiple hard drives, LVM & encryption

I have lately found myself with the issue of having multiple hard drives and wanting to do LVM stuff & encryption with while retaining maximum flexibility. After scanning through wikis, manpages and forum entries I came up with a solution for myself. The only thing I don't cover with it is mounting while booting as I don't need and can't test it.
I want to share the knowledge I gained and help other people find a solution faster and so I wrote a Wiki entry (first on my user page). I would now like to hear the opinion of the community regarding the following questions:
Do you see any security risks with my solution (especially the part on storing the unencrypted keyfile on a ramdisk)?
Do you think this text is worthy for a wiki entry or should I keep it in the forums?
Do you spot any errors (typing or else)?
Would you improve this article anywhere?
Of course, if you have further comments, I would like to here them as well. And now without further ado: Using multiple hard drives, LVM & encryption.
Regards,
javex
P.S.: As a small side question: Is my user page a good playground for article creation or would you recommend some other area where to do this (since here noone else could improve the article while in this early stage)?

mwmmartin wrote:
I have a 1 TB hard drive; but I have a 500GB and 250GB usb external hard drives.
Wouldn't it be cool if I could make the two external hard drives a RAID drive and use Time Machine to use all the 750GB of external memory to do my backups???
You can, but I would +*strongly recommend against+* it. See +Concatenated RAID+ in the Help for Disk Utility.
There are several potential problems:
Depending on how much data is on your 1 TB drive, 750 GB may not be enough to back it up. See #1 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
To set up a +Concatenated RAID+ set, both drives will be erased.
When (not if) either drive fails, you'll lose all the data on both.
Both drives must be connected any time you do a backup or want to browse your backups.
Especially with USB, if one drive wakes from sleep, or spins up, quickly enough, but the other one doesn't, the backup may fail and/or your backups may be corrupted.
For now, it looks like my only solution is to go buy a bigger external hard drive and spend more money,,,
That's your best solution +*by far.+* Anything else is taking a large risk with your backups.

Similar Messages

  • Is it possible to use multiple hard drives with iphoto?

    I am pretty new to Mac's so bear with me, I used to use multiple hard drives on my pc with my photos seperated by catagory in different hard drives. Is it possible to run iphoto with multiple hard drives without the photos loading onto my Imac? If so, How do I set it up. I have tried importing to a external drive, but when I check the file path of the photos it shows my Imac hd in the address. I seriously dont know why I cant just add the external hard drive as a library and have Iphoto work, Help

    There are instructions - and not the caveats - on how to do what you want below.
    However, you'e not quite grasping iPhoto:
    I used to use multiple hard drives on my pc with my photos seperated by catagory in different hard drives.
    When you do this, you're using the Finder (or file manager) to categorise the photos. All well and good, but why? That's exactly iPhoto's job. iPhoto is a database designed to help you manage your pics - including categorising them.
    Anyway:
    *How to do it:*
    Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
    *What Happens:*
    Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
    *Some things to consider:*
    1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
    2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
    3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
    4. *Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.*
    My own opinion:
    I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers
    If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    If you're concerned about accessing the files, There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
    *For Users of 10.5 and later*
    You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
    Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
    You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
    Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
    *For users of 10.4 and later* ...
    Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
    To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
    This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
    If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
    If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
    *If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running*:
    For users of 10.6 and later:
    You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu. Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
    For Users of 10.4 and later:
    Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
    Other options include:
    1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
    2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
    3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
    If you really want to spread your photos across volumes like this, Aperture would be a better fit.
    Regards
    TD

  • 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.)

  • How to use multiple hard drives with RnR??

    I am backing up my T61p's 500GB internal hard drives to an 750GB external USB. I just got a 1.5TB FreeAgent Seagate. I want to use that drive too to backup. I want to keep the backups that are currently on the 750GB. I simply want to *also* make a full backup to the 1.5TB. Is there an easy way to create multiple backups on multiple drives with Rescue & Recovery?
    Once you choose an initial destination (USB drive), there does not seem to be an easy way to start backing up to another drive. Did I miss something?
    Thanks,
    Michel

    Hello,
    Sorry you're having problems. Assuming you've already mounted the drive so that an external drive icon appeared on the desktop, what DO you see when you open it? ANY files?
    Did any of those "weird things" include okay/cancel windows?
    Is your external drive fat32, NTFS, or something else? OSX doesn't play nice with all types of partition types, so this information could help us help you.

  • Help with using multiple hard drives

    Is there a way to install the OS on an "external" (expresscard SSD) drive, but have all of the library and data files on the primary hard disk? I LOVE the speed on my SSD, but it's a pain finding stuff now. Is this something a RAID configuration could help with?

    mwmmartin wrote:
    I have a 1 TB hard drive; but I have a 500GB and 250GB usb external hard drives.
    Wouldn't it be cool if I could make the two external hard drives a RAID drive and use Time Machine to use all the 750GB of external memory to do my backups???
    You can, but I would +*strongly recommend against+* it. See +Concatenated RAID+ in the Help for Disk Utility.
    There are several potential problems:
    Depending on how much data is on your 1 TB drive, 750 GB may not be enough to back it up. See #1 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
    To set up a +Concatenated RAID+ set, both drives will be erased.
    When (not if) either drive fails, you'll lose all the data on both.
    Both drives must be connected any time you do a backup or want to browse your backups.
    Especially with USB, if one drive wakes from sleep, or spins up, quickly enough, but the other one doesn't, the backup may fail and/or your backups may be corrupted.
    For now, it looks like my only solution is to go buy a bigger external hard drive and spend more money,,,
    That's your best solution +*by far.+* Anything else is taking a large risk with your backups.

  • Using multiple hard drives

    Is there a benefit to using more than two hard drives for Logic Express 8?
    Right now the program and all libraries are on the start up disc and I use an external FW drive for recording and storage of song files. Would there be a benefit to having more than 2 HD's? Use the start up disc for just Logic Express 8, another for sound libraries, and another for the actual recording?

    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.)

  • Hard drive is full, how to make iTunes span multiple hard drives?

    My mp3 drive is full. How do I tell iTunes to use multiple hard drives? It seems to only want to deal with one.

    Hi, Mister Beefy.
    All you have to do is go to the iTunes Edit menu > Preferences > Advanced tab > General sub-tab and change the location of your iTunes Music folder.
    New files added to your Library will go to the new location, old files will remain in the old location.

  • Multiple hard drives question

    Hi:
    I have multiple hard drives on my Mac Pro and I also have an iMac.  I currently have Photoshop CS5 loaded on both Macs using the Snow Leopard operating system.  Does anyone know if I try to load Photoshop CS5 on another hard drive on my Mac Pro swith Lion as the operating system, will that be considered like another "computer" and go beyond the two computers normally allowed?
    Herman R

    Does anyone know if I try to load Photoshop CS5 on another hard drive on my Mac Pro swith Lion as the operating system, will that be considered like another "computer" and go beyond the two computers normally allowed?
    To my knowledge the restriction for PS activation is per computer and not per drive or operating system. At least I was able to have an old and a new system on separate HD in my MacPro  with both CS5 able to run while also installed a version on my MacBook. All using Snow Leopard but I have no reason to believe this has changed for Lion.
    But you are always able to install PS on more then two computers, the only downside is that you first have to deactivate one of them and activate the version on another computer. And activating and deactivating is not much work, just select it in the  Help menu

  • Automated deployments of Windows 7 on systems with multiple hard drives

    Last week I helped a customer use MDT2010 to deploy Windows 7 to ThinkStation systems with multiple hard drives.  The customer has multiple HDDs in the system and wants Windows to be installed to the HDD that is connected to SATA port 1.  Unfortunately Windows does not always assign "Disk 0" to the HDD on SATA port 1 - in fact it is completely random what disk ID gets assigned to which SATA port.  The bug is documented by Microsoft in KB937251:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937251
    MDT2010 uses hard-coded disk IDs (0, 1, 2, etc) to specify where Windows gets installed.  And because of the bug, sometimes Windows gets installed to the HDD on SATA port 1 and sometimes it gets installed to a different HDD.
    The solution is to install Windows to the HDD identified by the "SELECT DISK SYSTEM" command of DISKPART.  This will always return the disk that is connected to the lowest SATA port.
    To configure this in MDT2010, use the following steps (refer to the attachment):
    1. copy "FormatPartition.txt" and "SystemDisk.vbs" to your Scripts folder in the Deployment Share. 
    2. in your Task Sequence, disable the existing step called "Format and Partition Disk" (see TaskSequence.jpg)
    3. create a new step at the same location called "Format and Partition Disk (custom)". The type is "General -> Run Command Line". The command line is " cmd.exe /c "diskpart /s %SCRIPTROOT%\FormatPartition.txt" "
    4. on the main screen for Deployment Workbench, right-click on the Deployment Share and select "properties", then click on the "rules" tab
    5. under section [Default], add the following entries (see Rules.jpg)
        - UserExit=SystemDisk.vbs
        - DestinationDisk=#DiskID#
        - DestinationPartition=1
    Hopefully this info will help someone else!
    Attachments:
    MDT2010.zip ‏261 KB

    Last week I helped a customer use MDT2010 to deploy Windows 7 to ThinkStation systems with multiple hard drives.  The customer has multiple HDDs in the system and wants Windows to be installed to the HDD that is connected to SATA port 1.  Unfortunately Windows does not always assign "Disk 0" to the HDD on SATA port 1 - in fact it is completely random what disk ID gets assigned to which SATA port.  The bug is documented by Microsoft in KB937251:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937251
    MDT2010 uses hard-coded disk IDs (0, 1, 2, etc) to specify where Windows gets installed.  And because of the bug, sometimes Windows gets installed to the HDD on SATA port 1 and sometimes it gets installed to a different HDD.
    The solution is to install Windows to the HDD identified by the "SELECT DISK SYSTEM" command of DISKPART.  This will always return the disk that is connected to the lowest SATA port.
    To configure this in MDT2010, use the following steps (refer to the attachment):
    1. copy "FormatPartition.txt" and "SystemDisk.vbs" to your Scripts folder in the Deployment Share. 
    2. in your Task Sequence, disable the existing step called "Format and Partition Disk" (see TaskSequence.jpg)
    3. create a new step at the same location called "Format and Partition Disk (custom)". The type is "General -> Run Command Line". The command line is " cmd.exe /c "diskpart /s %SCRIPTROOT%\FormatPartition.txt" "
    4. on the main screen for Deployment Workbench, right-click on the Deployment Share and select "properties", then click on the "rules" tab
    5. under section [Default], add the following entries (see Rules.jpg)
        - UserExit=SystemDisk.vbs
        - DestinationDisk=#DiskID#
        - DestinationPartition=1
    Hopefully this info will help someone else!
    Attachments:
    MDT2010.zip ‏261 KB

  • Combining Multiple Hard Drives

    If I have a lot of data that needs to be split between multiple hard drives, is there any way of installing the drives but having the OS treat them as a single drive? The idea being that my file system would be just as easy to manage but I could have a huge amount of extra storage.
    I've read a bit about using a RAID 0 array in order to do this, but apparently this splits up individual files between the drives to make the system faster, so if one drive fails, you've lost everything.
    Is there a way of setting up the drives so that one drive is filled to capacity, then the second is filled and the third and so on? So it's just treated as one big hard drive without any file separation taking place?
    Any help appreciated,
    Thanks,
    Adam
    Message was edited by: AdColvin

    what drives & capacity do you have? are they the same - match with one another?
    RAID 0 "stripes" your data between a pair of usually matched drives - capacity, brand, model. 1TB drive + 1TB drive = 2TB of total storage. This makes things go fast, but isn't safe.
    RAID 1 "mirrors" the data between a pair of usually matched drives - capacity, brand, model. 1TB drive + 1TB drive = 1TB of total storage. This isn't fast but keeps data safe.
    RAID 10 combines both qualities above. it takes at least 4 drives, all identical, & is half of total storage. 4 x 1TB = 2Tb of total storage.
    SPAN is when you take a group of disks & "add" them together to make one big pool of storage. it's not safe nor fast. a drive falling out of the array can create data loss.

  • Fromat External WD hard drive versus encrypting it

    I bought new WD external hard drive ( written on it formatted NTFS, requires formatting for Mac OS X. As soon as I connected it to my mac , I got the window asking of I would like to install time machine in which I was interested I clicked ok  with encrypting option, I started the process.  However I realised need to use the hard drive with my mac book pro and my pc , so 
    1- can the time machine be used on PC and mac ( as I transfer work between both computers often)?
    2- Should I (2.1) format first or (2.2) I can install time machine and encryption and then format?
    3- if option 2.1 above does that mean when I will format , it will erase the setting for time machine and can I re-set it once formatted ExFat or Fat32?
    3- if I should format  which one I should choose Fat 32 or ExFat?
    4- what the repartition part of the process useful for? when I clicked the sign + it devised the disk in to two section .... does that mean  it will format only half of the disk?
    I would be grateful if you can answer my questions

    Time Machine will only work on a volume formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).  If you want to use that WD HDD on a PC as well, you will have to partition it and format one partition for Time Machine and the the other with a common format for Mac and a PC.
    Fat32 has a 4 GB file size restriction.  ExFAT does not.
    Use these instructions to partition the HDD:
    osxdaily.com/2011/04/26/partition-hard-drive-mac-os-x/
    I am of the opinion that Time machine should have a HDD dedicated solely to it and you should have a separate HDD set up to work on the Mac and a PC.  Take into consideration where and how you will back up the data on the PC//Mac volume/drive.
    Ciao.

  • Multiple hard drives, user folders and SSD's

    I thouhght I would ask for advice here before I even start.
    OK first a bit of background.
    OSA X 10.6.8
    When I bought my Mac, I fitted extra 1TB hard drives,  setup like this:
    Drive 1 Mac OS  500gb
    Drive 2 User home folders..moved from MachintoshHD/users 1TB
    Drive 3 Data Folders, used for import of video, music and data before inport to Aperture/iPhoto/ Final Cut etc  1TB
    Drive 4 Time machine backign up Drive 1 and 2 1TB
    All drives as stndandard from Apple Caviar Black
    Drive 3 is backed up via ChronoSync to a remote NAS box.
    In the need for speed I removed the 500gb drive No. 1 and fitted a 120Gb SSD drive...and although it is quicker, it is not as good as expected, no doubt in part to the fact that the User Home folders are on a standard drive
    I can't jsut move the user Home folders back to the SSD, due to space of the Aperture, iPhoto and iTunes  Librarys in the User Home folders. 
    Iphoto 110Gb and Itunes 440Gb
    So I was thinking Use my Drive 2..that is currently the 'Home Folder drive" as a shared data store for the iPhoto Itunes and other librays.
    But need help to do this and advice on how to go about it
    I will leave this post here for now as I have just had an energency work callout.  But any suggestions or advice before I start will be very much appreciated.
    I do not want to risk the iPhoto database/faces etc with a move form one drive to another and have it all go sour
    Thanks
    Neil

    "Leave just the /Users/my_account/Library on the SSD" Yes...that is what I want to achieve...at the moement it is not on the SSD it is on the seperate Users HDD ( No. 2) I want the User folders back on the SSD No luckily did not buy from Apple..just bought the same type as fitted...Think I bought them from Dabs.  but itwas 2009, so can't remeber now "Use preference to tell iPhoto etc to use another hard drive, same for iTunes media " So can i just copy the iPhoto and iTunes bundles across from one drive to another ? or are permisions etc going to get screwed, depending on the permissions of the drive I copy too? I do not liek to stripe drives , create arrays ..OK HDD space is relatively cheap now so the loss of space caused by using a RAID array ios not a major issue, but OI like to keep individual drives as individual drives...so no re build is needed if there is a crash.  I rather keep three indepant drives ..all with same data on them and rotate the drives on a weekly /monthly basis.. I have two FreeNAS boxes with identicla drives in them and use them as indepandatnbackups...Backup is not the iissue here, it is the moving of iPhoto librarys etc and the possible confusion the databases get into when moved with permissions etc

  • My external hard drive is 'seen' by my iMac and I can go into the Finder and open files and folders. I am using the hard drive for Time Machine back up. However Time Machine says it can't find the drive. Same thing has happened with Final Cut Express.

    My new LaCie external hard drive is 'seen' by my iMac and I can go into the Finder and open files and folders. I am using the hard drive for Time Machine back up. However Time Machine says it can't find the drive.
    The same thing happened recently between Final Cut Express and my other LaCie external hard drive used as the Scratch disk. It fixed itself.
    I've run out of ideas. Help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

    have you done some searches on FCPx and time machine? Is there a known issue with using a TM drive with FCPx? dunno but ...wait...I'll take 60 sec for you cause I'm just that kind of guy....   google...." fcpx time machine problem"  Frist page link 
    http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/fcpx-bug-best-practices-for-using-external-hard- drives-and-final-cut-pro-x/
           You cannot have time machine backups on your hard drive if you intend to use it in FCPX.
    booya!

  • Using external hard drive connected to desktop as time machine disk for laptop

    I recently purchased an external hard drive for the purpose of backing up my laptop and desktop macs. Both are running Mountain Lion (10.7.5). The desktop is physically connected to both the hard drive and to my modem. I have enabled pretty much every sharing option on both the laptop and desktop. When my router crapped out I began just using the internet sharing capabiilty.
    I have been able to chose the desktop as the disk for backing up my laptop, but I want to use the hard drive (connected to the desktop) as the disk. I cant figure out how to do this yet. I can easily access the hard drive by using either the "connect as user" option. I thought that perhaps I could broadcast the connection somehow as an airport connection, but I don't know how to, or if this is even possible.
    The desktop is a mac mini, and the laptop is a macbook pro. Both were purchased in mid 2011.

    This may assist you:
    http://pondini.org/TM/4.html
    Ciao.

  • HT201250 If I use Time Machine on my MacBook can I use the hard drive on the same MacBook as the back up drive ?

    I want to use Time Machine but instead of using a hard drive outside of the MacBook, would I be able to use the hard drive that is in the computer? 
    Would I be able to use a memory stick ?

    It defeats the purpose of having a backup if you keep it on the same drive. That's your safety if your drive fails.
    Also, you should allow about double the space of the volume you are backing up.
    EDIT: Time Machine does keep local snapshots on your drive
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4878
    See this for more good TM tips...
    http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html

Maybe you are looking for