RebeccaWaldock

OK, we are so down deep in this rabbit hole. I was looking at the G-RAID unit you mentioned above. They have a 36TB option, so 2 - 18TB drives, with only 18TB of space. (Only 🤣) I could set that up as a RAID 1 system with mirroring drives. My understanding is that could eliminate the NAS option and is a hardwired unit like my current tiny 4TB EHD that is constantly physically connected to my computer....just bigger and uglier. The RAID system would just require the fancy pants RAID set up (probably by someone smarter than me....so if you make house calls, that'd be great.) But this setup, as I have imagined it, comes with it's own issues. It isn't portable, so I would have to find a solution for traveling. You nailed it when you said that most people have a bunch of smallish EHDs around their house and just keep adding to the collection as they fill up. That is me. I am most people. I want to consolidate, and have TONS of space for the future. I want to get my data off of spinning/unstable EHDs. So I am leaning toward the big a** G-RAID. Is that stupid? Or do I continue with the madness of just buying big EHDs? Hey....some good news. I have upgraded my OS to Catalina and I am about to get the CleanMyMacX cooking.

https://media.giphy.com/media/H4zeDO4ocDYqY/giphy.gif I need a minute with all of this. How the hell do I connect 4 drives with a MacBook Pro? Am I adding some kind of octopus adapter to plug them all in to? I do have Thunderbolt. It is a 2018 MacBook Pro. Do I want all of that crap on my desk? This sounds like a great option to work around the NAS issues. OK, so NAS is intersting, but do I really want to mess with my WIFI system? It would be slow with my current WIFI. It would be loud. It would be hot. Or do I just bite the bullet and buy 2 or 4 of the G drives you have and set up RAID with that? I feel like RAID1 or RAID10 is the way to go.

Or is NAS more appropriate? A little more info. I currently have a handful of EHDs, totaling 10TB, I'm guessing. I'd love to streamline them and have a safe, dependable storage system. Obviously, I need room for new content as well. (You can never have enough storage). I want to set it up and not think about it. Also, there are 5 of us that live here. 2 adults that work from home, and 3 teenage kids that love their devices. So, our wifi network gets a serious workout. So, would NAS be incredibly slow? I love the idea of being able to access my files remotely, which I think you can do with a NAS system, if it is set up correctly. Bestow your wisdom.

Or is NAS more appropriate? A little more info. I currently have a handful of EHDs, totaling 10TB, I'm guessing. I'd love to streamline them and have a safe, dependable storage system. Obviously, I need room for new content as well. (You can never have enough storage). I want to set it up and not think about it. I love the idea of being able to access my files remotely, which I think you can do with a NAS system, if it is set up correctly. Bestow your wisdom.

While we are on the topic, thoughts on EHD brands? I am thinking of getting some new SSD. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/crucial-x6-se-4tb-external-usb-c-usb-a-portable-solid-state-drive/6457936.p?skuId=6457936#tabbed-customerreviews And can someone explain the whole RAID system thing to me? I want to understand it. Storage is such a crucial part of what we do. I want to get it right.

Brian, This is all so helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to break this down. I will do as suggested and go with Catalina vs Monterey. I am glad I asked. I will get CleanMyMacX. I am probably way overdue for software like this. I will turn off the stupid graphics card. 🤣 I will set up my updates as you have. It is smart to wait a few days to let others jump on any potential grenades in updates. I will follow your lead there. OK, stay tuned...we will see how this all goes. I am going to do a solid backup before I jump into this. My plan was to connect a clean external drive and backup that way. What do you like for full system backups? I am open to any advice. I was thinking of using TImeMachine. Thoughts? I don't want to do anything until I know I won't be living in the despair of regret. Really....thank you. It is funny how much I do not know about this computer I spend so much of my time on. I am beyond grateful to have your expertise here.

Brian....Damien sent me to you on this. It is out of his wheelhouse. Trying to get started from the beginning with the Bridge class, but I am hitting roadblocks every step of the way. I am running MacOS HighSierra 10.13.6. Apparently, Bridge (and most of the Adobe CC suite) is not compatible with that. So, I am now in the process of backing up my machine before upgrading to Monterey. Is Monterey the way to go? Any pro tips? I think I am clear on the steps of the upgrade. Backup, download new OS, install, use backup if the whole plan goes to crap. As a general rule, do you suggest keeping up with OS updates? As you can see, I stuck with what my system came with in 2018. Now, it is coming back to bite me. I was of the thought, if it isn't broke...don't fix it. Which I see your theory for Adobe updates is in line with that (turn off auto updates, etc). But do you think operating systems are different? This is a big change...making the leap from LR catalogs to Bridge. From what I am reading, it will make my life easier, but change is scary and hard.