Brian

The Dell Ultrasharp Monitors have been decent over the years, and I've always recommended them. Truth be told, I have had some members that have had issues with defective monitors, but those are rare. So whomever you decide to buy it from, make sure they have a decent exchange policy. Also, budget for a Calibration Device as well. ALL computer displays need to be Calibrated if you are editing photos. In addition, it is much better to use either a HDMI or better yet, DisplayPort cable. The difference? DisplayPort is better for 4K Displays, and has all sorts of adapter options. It really is the future monitor connection type going forward. HDMI works fine on 24" and 27" traditional displays. (Non-4k). DO NOT USE A TRADITIONAL 15-PIN (D-SUB / BLUE) VGA CABLE!! That interface dates from 1989 and was only meant for 20" CRT (Tube) Displays and NOT fancy flat-screens. As with laptop computers, if you are editing photos you must make sure that the Dell UltraSharp contains a IPS-based Display Panel. This is non-negotiable. An IPS Display ensures thing like Colors, Contrast, Sharpness, and Brightness are consistent from edge-to-edge, plus it gives you a greater viewing angle. Be forewarned, not all Dell UltraSharps are IPS based. Some will be labeled UHD but contain TN Display Panels, which is fine for video games and general computer. How to tell? It will be mentioned somewhere in the Technical Specifications. Cloud Service is a bit of a misnomer. All the "Cloud" is is someone else's Server / Computer. Personally, I don't use a Cloud Backup other than my Microsoft OneDrive to store REALLY important files. I've heard BackBlaze mentioned a lot, but unless you get the fancy plans, if you delete files from your computer, within 30 days those same files will be deleted from BackBlaze's Servers. So be sure to read ALL the fine-print on whatever Cloud Storage you choose. Is it necessary? "Eh...it depends." Yes, you do want to have an off-site backup in case of Fire/Flood/Theft (stuff like that.) Floods can come from a busted water pipe in a ceiling or leaking water heater as much as the overflowing river next to a person's property. Is Cloud Storage required? Not in a complete sense. Getting a 12TB EHD to dump all your files off of your NAS and be kept off-site accomplishes the same thing. Or you can choose a Cloud Service. Really, which path depends on your Internet Connection. I'm in an area that has Gigabit Speed Internet (well 941Mbps Down / 40Mbps Up) so it's easy to upload stuff. If you are not in an area that has high-speed, then I probably wouldn't be uploading Gigs of Data at once. Keep in mind, I really don't shoot professionally anymore so my photos tend to be of my vacation photos and such. My wife gets photo-books every year of these trips so if they go, I at least have hard copies. So I might not be the best example. That said, I also have realistic expectations and know what I'm doing and am picking my own poison. But I do have a off-site data dump that I make every few months or so and that's kept in my Climate Controlled Storage Unit that's 25 min from my house.

I'm thinking a Network Transfer is in your future. Might as well cut your losses and start it now. I've been in your shoes and it's not fun.

Computer looks fine. What concerns me is the NAS. It doesn't list any hard drives and for that price, that's the cost of the NAS unit itself. Get a 4-Bay Model. Trust me. You'd be surprised on just how quickly you kick yourself for getting a 2 bay unit. I speak from experience. I'd get at least two Hard Drives to start with and here is the Drives that are meant for NAS Units that I would purchase: 12 TB Western Digital Gold Enterprise Grade Hard Drive Here is the NAS that is on my Amazon Wishlist: Synology 4 bay NAS DiskStation DS920+ (Diskless), 4-bay; 4GB DDR4 Before you ask, no I don't like Seagate Hard Drives. I personally only purchase Western Digital Caviar Black or WD Gold Enterprise Grade Drives for my stuff.

Bad Sectors are always a PITA to deal with, especially when cloning. You might have some data loss, though it sounds like you have a handle on things. Let's see what happens after 5 hours.

Buy it Right...Buy it Once!!! Hell, I'd rather you put that $750 towards a better lens than this 2011 iMac.

If you really don't care about budget and are willing to spend around $3200, Bump up the CPU to the i9 and Video Card to the Middle Option. Still get AppleCare and increase the RAM to 64GB and you will have a sweet system for a good 7-8 years.

I wouldn't get the extra fancy screens. I have a tricked out 2017 27" iMac with Retina Screen and it's fine. The glare, really isn't THAT bad. If I were buying a new iMac today, this is what I would purchase, start with the $2299 27" iMac: Be sure to add AppleCare for $169. Then I would purchase this RAM Kit from B&H to increase your RAM from 8GB to 40GB: 32GB Upgrade Kit for 2019 - Current 27" iMac Systems - $134.99 Hell, for a total of $270, you can remove the existing RAM from Apple and bump your computer up to 64GB!

"Eh..." 2011 is really old, at least by today's tech standards. High Sierra is also getting a bit long in the tooth as well and the current Operating Systems are not compatible; there is no upgrade path for you and that means if things get buggy and stop working, you are kinda SOL. Current versions of PS CC also might have an issue. That said, $750 is still $750, and I get it. You just need to have realistic expectations going into it. Are you comfortable throwing away $750? What I mean is, if you get a year or so out of this system, would you be OK with spending $750? Keep in mind, today's cameras, even the low-end consumer models start around 24MP. A 2011 iMac is fine for a 12-16MP Camera, otherwise it's gonna complain, even though it has 32GB of RAM. That 512GB HD doesn't make me happy either, but it's at least a 512GB SSD and that's not as bad as a 250GB or less HD, whatever type. Here is my advice: If you make money with your camera to put food on the table or a roof over your head and you need a computer to deliver stuff to clients, then yeah, this is a stop-gap computer. If you are doing this as a hobby, keep saving. With COVID-19 all around, most people aren't taking photos or traveling much, so I'd hold off until you get enough to buy a new iMac.

Yeah, a lot of off-the-shelf computers have OneDrive installed and Activated by default. Is there anything in these OneDrive folders that is important? If so, please copy those files first to a local folder on your computer. Because when you un-link things, and basically un-install OneDrive I think it deletes whatever files are in those folders. So check those folders and get back to me.

Did you ever use the new Lightroom in the past? Or the one that works on iPads? Not the "Classic" version of LR that works locally, the new one that syncs to Adobe's Cloud Servers. That's probably how it got turned on. Edit: Son of a Gun!! I also have 20GB of Cloud Storage that I never used. Looks like Adobe changed their $9.99 Photography Plan. I personally don't have anything loaded on there, and have no idea on how to turn it off. Try that link that I gave you or give Adobe a call. This should be an easy question for them.

OK, that's not iCloud. That is Cloud Storage that is included with your photography plan. Something is turned on and it's syncing data between your computer and Adobe's Cloud Storage Space. I found this link: https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/delete-files-permanently.html You will have to call Adobe on this one, I've never used their Cloud Storage offerings. Most of the time, this Cloud Storage feature costs extra, usually $19.99 a month (or more, depending on storage capacity.) So for all we know you signed up for the Photography Plan and it included a trial period of Cloud Storage. As to why it's backing stuff up automatically, I'm sure it's some default setting somewhere that is turned on.

I do like the Windows 10 Pro recommendation! Also, it's better to get a slower CPU for the cost savings and a better Video Card instead of a fast CPU and crappy video card. 32GB RAM is a good number to shoot for. But I will tell you, if you have a high MP Camera, like 45MP or more, 64GB of RAM would be better. 100MB Raw files really tax your computer's resources.

Actually, that whole system the tech recommended is under-powered. If budget is a concern, save up more. Honestly, with COVID19 screwing around with all of the prices, computers are way more expensive now than they were a year ago. Here are my tech specs:

The 500GB Solid State Drive concerns me with today's software. At a MINIMUM, you want at least 1TB. If anyone tells you that is over-kill, they are just trying to sell you something that they have in-stock. For $120, you could have a reputable Samsung EVO 1TB 860 SSD. The Graphics Card is also under-powered. You really want a fast card that has at least 8GB or more of Video RAM. Adobe's products are relying on the Video Card more than ever to give their products a performance boost.

Here is some info from Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202351

Head to the Apple Menu and click System Preferences or choose it on your Dock Bar and head to Displays. Click the Arrangement Tab and I would set your displays to "Extend" by un-checking the "Mirrored Displays" checkbox, and arranging your Dell to be on the left. With Magnet, you get to pick and choose what goes where. Simply select a Window that you want to arrange, then head up to the Magnet Program, which installs itself next to the clock: I've logged into six different computers and had each Window arranged in a way that I wanted them. So my thinking is when you get your Displays arranged and things the way that you want, Magnet will do what you want without arguing and the Windows will stay there until you change things or reboot. Magnet isn't a permanent solution, and I don't believe any OS does this. You will have to setup your Windows each time you boot up. But after you get things situated, it will only take like 30 seconds each day to arrange things when you boot up for the 1st time.

One more thing! To make a Macintosh Window work more like ones you would find in Microsoft Windows, I also use this program as well. Right Zoom This program is free and now works with Catalina.

I have three screens corralled in this example: Photoshop is in the top left, Lightroom is the bottom left, and Firefox is on the right as a full vertical. I don't have two displays, but if you set your screens to "Extend" and use this program, it will do what you are looking for and not give you any grief.

Would you like to know the easy way? Or at least the one that I use? Spend $3 on this program from the App Store: Magnet on the Mac App Store. That program is awesome and totally worth the $2.99 (Plus Tax).

@cara4562 - Here are your instructions. No need to "quote" me, you and I are the only two that are allowed to comment on this thread. Just let me know how things go.

Now for Part 3... First select the EHD that you want to Format for use on the Mac in the left column: Then click the Erase Button at the top: Your Window should appear similar to this. At this point, give your new EHD its official name. Make it something Obvious, like WD 3TB or Client File EHD 3TB. Something recognizable and simple. You can only have so many characters for the name, so keep it short and simple: Then click the UP/DOWN arrows on the right, in the Format Section. If this was originally a Windows EHD, it will more than likely say, Windows NT File System (NTFS) A list will appear as follows: For a Traditional Spinning Hard Drive, ONLY SELECT THE "MacOS Extended (Journaled)" DO NOT SELECT the "Encrypted / Case Sensitive" Options! For a Flash Based Hard Drive (i.e. SSD, m.2) choose APFS. DO NOT use APFS for a Traditional Hard Drive! DO NOT SELECT the "Encrypted / Case Sensitive" Options! For the majority of users doing this, your new External HD will most likely be the "Traditional / Spinning" type/kind, as SSD/m.2 Drives tend to be extremely expensive for capacities over 1TB. As time goes on, this will definitely change, but for now your Disk Utility Window should look something like this: Simply Click the Erase Button and let the MacOS do its thing: When finished, you might get a message from the MacOS asking if you want to use the EHD for Time Machine or not. If this is a Data Drive, tell it NO! Of course, if this EHD is meant for Time Machine, tell it Yes. If everything goes as expected, and followed all of my instructions, you should see your new EHD mounted on the Mac Desktop: You will also see it as follows in the Disk Utility Module of the MacOS: That's it! That is all it takes to make your Windows Hard Drive and convert it for use on your Mac. Keep in mind that with the MacOS and the way its designed, is it treats both Internal and External Drives the same. So don't go over 75% - 80% capacity on either drive, Internal or External. The more full your hard drive is, the slower your Macintosh runs.

OK, you seem to have two external drives hooked up. Make sure you Eject and Remove the one you do not want to erase. Clicking on the wrong EHD and then doing a Erase / Partition is a VERY BAD THING. Macs are a real PITA when it comes to data recovery. Which is great if you are trying to get rid of things, bad for when you do something stupid, like I did...and delete pictures from the years 2007-2011. I still haven't gotten everything back. You can Eject the EHD from Disk Utilities, just click the little up-arrow/line next to the drive you want to remove.

Now for Part 2... First, plug in new Western Digital External into a USB Port directly on your Mac. It should appear on the desktop, though it may not. Here is an example of what you should see: Next, Open Disk Utilities. Head to Applications Menu >> Utilities >> Disk Utilities. This is where your Disk Utilities might look slightly different. Anyway, here is mine: At this point, you are going to have to work with me. Post a Screenshot in this thread of what your Disk Utility Window looks like and we will continue.

It's pretty straightforward. Currently, I'm on MacOS Catalina, so your screens might look a little different than mine. But the theory is the same. More than likely, I will ask you for some screenshots. This process takes about 5 minutes to do. So without further adieu... The first thing I want you to do, if you haven't already, is turn on the feature that allows you to see HDs and other "Mounted Devices" on your Mac Desktop. Open the Finder. The easiest way is to click the Smiley Face on your DockBar: Then head to the Finder Menu and select Preferences: Once there put checks next to these items and change the bottom to "Macintosh HD" if you want: From there, just click the Red Circle in the upper left corner to apply the changes.

I just checked. Glary Utilites Pro is currently $19.95, which is 50% off. That's not a bad price. It seems to act more like "CleanMyMac" with the One-Button interface. I'd pick it up for $20. You'll spend more than that getting coffee every morning at the Coffee Shop on the corner over the course of a week.