Brian

Start saving for a new computer. You are maxed out. 8GB is as far as your computer will go. This is very typical of laptops, and one of the many reasons I don’t like laptops for photo editing. If you do decide to purchase a new laptop, make sure you can upgrade the RAM to at least 16GB.

All DSLR cameras shoot raw; it's the little Point and Shoot Cameras you will have the most trouble with shooting RAW. When choosing a DSLR camera, you aren't just buying into a name-brand but a lens system. Both Canon and Nikon have been around a really long time and have the most choices when it comes to lenses. I'm assuming that Gumtree is similar to Craig's List here in the States. Before we go hunting, is there a local store that you can physically hold either a Nikon or Canon camera? Not to purchase, but to give it a test drive...see which feels better in your hands. Go into the menu system and play around. I personally like Nikon's Menu Structure and can't stand Canon's. Now DSLRs are not cheap. Even on the used market, you are looking at spending at least $500-$700. P&S cameras that shoot RAW are even more expensive. The good news is you can get a good deal on a entry-level camera as people tend to upgrade. As I've said before, you don't need much. So before we get ahead of ourselves, go for a test drive and report back. Then I will be able to advise you a bit better.

Good quality photos of paintings doesn't require much camera-body wise, though I do recommend using a Macro Lens and a tripod with cable release. Why a Macro Lens? Because of the sharpness that those lenses have. Cable Release allows you to fire the camera without touching it, thereby cutting down on camera shake. So what kind of budget are we working with?

You are thinking about the Acratech Viewing Angle Gauge Tool, and I'd highly recommend getting one.

Unfortunately, the Samsung ST150F does not support RAW. You’ll either need to select the highest quality JPEG option or rent a camera that shoots Raw, like a DSLR.

No. It’s the current style of laptop with a small Operating System SSD Drive. You really don’t have as much space as you think you do. 250GB, after formatting and Windows being installed, plus whatever crap the manufacturers put on their products, leaves you with around 180GB to play with. Ok, that sounds like a lot but then you have to worry about the amount that Windows will take for its cache file, what PS will take for its Scratch Disk and then there is the Windows updates; going forward, Windows 10 will take a chunk of HD space so there will be enough room for patches, updates, and feature installations. So that 180GB becomes more of a premium. Forget about mindlessly download things to the HD, installation of software will be “custom” instead of express, so the software is installed to the larger HD, which results in you having to pay more attention than ever before. Now I get it, SSD Drives make 15 second boot times possible and laptop batteries last longer due to their lower power requirements. I just wish they were at least 500GB instead of 250. The other downside to laptops is the screen. Each time you open the lid, the colors and contrast shifts because the screens angle is different. So if you edit part of a session at location A and then finish it at location B, unless you are really careful, your edited images won’t be consistent. Plus the temptation to edit in the kitchen, then a home office, then by the pool or in the car on your way to vacation is so much greater. Not to mention that you really only get 3 years or so out of fancy/expensive laptops, about 18-24 months for $1000-$1500 laptops and 12-18 months tops out of a $500-ish laptop. Which then leads to the cost of repair IF the parts are available. Laptops are cycled through every 4-6 weeks, or so it seems from my POV. Give it a month from now and these two that you linked to will be discontinued and replaced with some other model. Oh, before I forget, make sure you have a nice mouse or Wacom tablet to work with. Trackpads on laptops today just SUCK. They are usually over-sensitive and the cursor jumps all over the place. (Even after tweaking the driver software.) I speak with experience as one of my customer is laptop happy. We have tried over 10 different models and name brands...the trackpads are just terrible. So you can see why I’m so against using a laptop for photo editing. I’m very Anti-Laptop but people keep asking, and I got tired of arguing. It’s like Damien vs Lightroom. LOL!! If you must edit on a laptop, I’d purchase two different external screens, but then that opens a can of worms when it comes to calibration. Or purchase a less expensive laptop for culling and edit your images on one computer / location. You want even and consistent ambient lighting when it comes to editing and you want your screen to match your prints. Ultimately, it’s your decision. Out of the two you linked to, the one with a 250GB HD is the better choice.

Honestly? Neither. If I was forced to choose... The 15.6" -- Number 2. The larger main OS drive 256GB is more desirable, though that is still quite small. After the formatting and the OS / Bloatware that comes with computers, you will probably have about 180GB, give or take, to play with. You should only install programs on the main OS SSD Drive. (Photoshop, Bridge, etc.) EVERYTHING ELSE NEEDS TO BE PUT ON THE LARGER 2ND HARD DRIVE.

Because it's a laptop meant for Gamers. Besides, I just use a card reader anyway as those manufacturers never really put the best card readers in their systems. Plus, on my camera, I have a CF and a XQD slot. I have usually seen SD card readers in laptops, never CF readers or anything else. So for me, this is actually a good thing. I'd rather have the space not taken up by something that I would never use, in exchange for an extra USB 3.1 Port or something similar. Yeah, it's another way of saying Matte.

Using it will force you to be creative. Look for all sorts of places to put it. From a rock, to an old pier, to even some driftwood. Just be sure to wear clothes that can get dirty, since you might be on the ground. Or bring a wireless trigger so you can fire your camera without rolling around in the sand.

A member did configure a Dell Alienware 17 R5 Laptop which meets my recommendations. Check the bottom of this thread:

Sounds like they are trying to do a BIOS upgrade. Since the video card is part of the motherboard, that's what will be replaced. Unless it's a separate component, which is doubtful as that method costs the manufactures more money to implement. The funny thing with laptops, if you ask me...I DON'T RECOMMEND LAPTOPS. LOL!! I hate laptops but people are obsessed with portability and I got tired of arguing. Anyway... Yeah, I get what you mean about your head spinning. Mine does as well. The main concern that I have these days with laptops is the stupid small SSD boot drives. A 128 / 256 SSD drive is microscopic by today's standards. You want at least a 500GB SSD. The reason is that not only will you lose a chunk after formatting and the Windows OS, but going forward with some future update is that Windows 10 will reserve a chunk of your HD so it can push down new features / updates. With a 128GB SSD drive, that leaves you no room other than just the operating system itself. No programs, no files, just Windows. OK, maybe you can install PS but hopefully you get what I'm saying...with a 128GB / 256GB SSD drive, you have to be ANAL on what is installed on it at all times. There is no "nextnextnext...ok-ok-ok..nextnext...finish" when it comes to installing things. The ability to just dump everything on your C Drive goes away as well. With those smaller drives comes more inconveniences, and you having to think things through. So while you might find a laptop that has a great display, be sure to take a look at the HD configuration. More than likely it will have a 256GB + 1TB HD combo. For example: See that 256GB NVMe SSD + 1TB? That's what I'm talking about. I'd like to see at least 500GB and that is tough to find in a pre-configured laptop / off the shelf laptop. You really are going to have to go the custom route in getting what you want. That ROG Mothership GZ700 looks very interesting. They are taking the Microsoft Surface Line and putting their spin on it. What's holding up the release date is the Intel i9 CPU. Good luck finding one. As far as availability, Asus says April 2019 but I'm thinking more like August. At the very least June. Oh, that mothership has two power bricks to run that thing, so it's not as "portable" as one might thing. It's more like the "Luggables" back in the 1980's were. As far as which ROG Laptop, good question. Your guess is a good as mine. I did find one that checked all the boxes, well ASUS did some fiddling, but the cost is $3499. That's MacBook Pro money. I can not justify spending $3500 on something you will get 3-4 years out of. I did some checking and it's not only the Display Panel you need to be concerned about, which makes things difficult to begin with, now it's the stupid small main drive problem. I can't find an Asus ROG laptop to recommend. The ones I find are a few years old and are discontinued.

You should be able to turn off the lights via some sort of control software. That was smart to increase the size of the SSD Drive. 16GB is fine and you can always upgrade it later. Upgrading a SSD after the fact is a bit more of a P.I.T.A. RAM is easy. Couple of screws, remove access panel, unplug battery, wait about min, install new RAM, hook battery up and put access panels screws back where they were. Total Time: about 10-15 min Max. New HD? That's a whole other ballgame. BUY IT.

Yep. CS6 works fine on Windows 10. As far as a computer, I'd get the latest version of the Dell XPS line, which is the Dell XPS 8930. As far as Windows 7, Microsoft is killing ALL support for Windows 7 on January 7, 2020. So to be blunt, Microsoft is taking Windows 7 behind the proverbial barn and shooting it dead with a shotgun on that date. Just like it did with Windows XP and Windows Vista. No updates, no fixes to vulnerabilities, etc after Jan 7, 2020. So I'd budget for a Windows 10 Upgrade for your current computer in addition to a 2nd computer. Or look to purchase two computers. The good news is, I'd keep your current monitor. As to which versions? The "Home" Edition will work for most people, but if you are looking to connect the computers to your job in some capacity, then opt for the Windows Pro version. Heck, I'd just get the Windows 10 Pro version for both and be done with it. It's cheaper to upgrade at the time of purchase than after the fact. $60 vs $100. Now, I have expensive tastes. So what kind of budget are we looking at?

With the Mac OS, think of every file that is in a list is the actual file. So if you delete a file from the "Recents" folder, you are deleting the actual file. It's not like a Windows computer in where you are just deleting it from a Menu. Personally, I don't pay attention to my "Recents" folder. I dive into where my things are store and start pruning. One folder to pay attention to is your Downloads folder. Every downloaded file, whether it's a program or update or .pdf file is stored in there. Often you will find multiple GB of "stuff" that serves no purpose other than when it was first downloaded and used. So dive into that folder and really take a look at things. Those folders have to do with the images you see when using a iTunes App on your Apple Device. I'd leave them alone. You are chasing the wrong thing. It's the 75 photos of your lunch from 3 years ago you need to be worried about. Not iTunes Artwork. The latest versions of CleanMYMac X help with this sort of thing. Keep in mind that if you delete an App in iTunes that is no longer on the App Store, there is a chance that you may not be able to re-install it on a device at a later date. If it were me, I'd leave iTunes alone. It gets really cranky when you go moving stuff. I have my ITunes Library on my Main Mac HD. If you no longer use LR, you can safely delete those files. Adobe's ACR creates XMP files, LR creates catalogs. Two sides of the same coin. Those Catalog Files keep track of what you do in LR (edits, file locations, etc.) This is an issue with OS Mojave. Give this link a read. It's not only Programs that use memory, but background processes like your Wacom Tablet, the Operating System, Calibration Software...all those little bits and pieces that are taking a "slice" of the pie called RAM. Browsers, like Google's Chrome Eats RAM like nobody's business. Each browser tab you have open also consumes more RAM. So if you are anything like people I know in real life that have 20-30 browser tabs open at any given time, even 4-5...with your limited RAM at 8GB, that will definitely cause an issue. Combine that with PS being told to access 70-80% of your RAM, be sure to check it's preferences, will cause issues. Bottom Line: You really need more RAM. 8GB is a Minimum these days with 16GB being preferred. That said, let's start with getting you a 4TB EHD first.

You can upgrade the RAM, the main issue is you can not do it yourself. You will need to take your 21.5" iMac to a Genius Bar and have them do it. I'm not sure of the cost but it won't be cheap. I estimate around $400 or more. Since you are around 2.0GB free, I'm thinking you should get your computer upgraded to at least 16GB, or find out how high it can go since you are keeping it for a few more years. When you do decide to upgrade please only look at the 27" models. Even if it's the stock 27" $1799 model. Nope! I do not receive any kick-backs or compensation from the products I recommend or the resellers I link to. That said, I do have a "Buy Brian a Beer for his trouble..." PayPal.Me link for those inclined: paypal.me/BrianHermans Everything I link to I personally own or would purchase them with my own money. I HATE-HATE-HATE wasting money on this sh*t. In years past, my budget was quite limited and I wasted my money on the "Just as good as..." / less expensive products only to find out the hard way that they weren't that great and just fell apart. Not to mention resale value was non-existent. So you will often see me recommend the "Good Stuff" (aka Expensive Products) as I'm a huge proponent of "Buy it Right...Buy it Once." Take your 21.5" iMac for example, I'm sure you spent around $1499 or so on it? Now you have to fork out another $400-$500 to get the RAM upgraded after the fact. That puts the cost of your 21.5" iMac to be more than the "Expensive" 27" $1799 iMac. See how that bugs me? You'd save money by spending just a little more in the long run, AND you would have a computer which has user upgrade-able RAM, plus has way better/faster components in it. Better HD, better motherboard, better CPU, better graphics card, etc. etc. For just $300 more... Actually, you do have a system, it just needs some tweaking. For my photos, I have a "Business" and "Personal" Main Folder, then have years, and then contained within the year is the month, and then projects. It doesn't have to be that detailed, just easy to find/navigate. For example, EHD 12TB >> Personal >> 2018 >> October >> Fall Vacation. Within the "Fall Vacation" folder, I will have a folder called Negatives and within that folder I will have one or more folders labeled XQD1, XQD2, XQD3. Before I had XQD Media, I created folders called CF1, CF2, CF3. From there I will copy and paste via a card reader directly to the folders on the EHD. Also within the Fall Vacation Folder, I will have a PSD Files folder which is where...you guessed it...the PSD files go. I will also have other folders, like JPEGS or Social Media (depending on how I feel that day) which contain JPEGS...which get deleted after I'm done with them. Since I have a new iMac with a Thunderbolt 3 HD, I edit and save files from the EHD are rarely copy / edit things on my main HD. Of course the main exception is when I do large Panorama photos, which are quite large and can be 30 photographs or more combined in one photo. Now, I realize that this will not work for everyone, especially if your computer doesn't have Thunderbolt 3 ports and you use a EHD that's fast and has a Thunderbolt 3 port as well. That's why you will see Damien recommend editing from your main HD, and backing up to an external, which is fine. I'm just saying if you have the technology...you have more than one option. I'm trying to wean myself off of Lightroom and am using Photomechanic to cull images and hope to use ACR exclusively in 2019. Yes, you always want to copy --> never cut <-- and paste your files. This way if something goes horribly wrong during the data transfer, you can cancel the process and start over. What concerns me is your thinking of deleting things as they get shuffled back-and-forth. Since you don't have an existing file-structure system in place I'm afraid you will delete the wrong folder at the wrong time. Personally, I'd copy over EVERYTHING to your new external HD and create an organizational method that works for you before you start deleting stuff. As far as the XMP files, copy those over with your RAW files that they are associated with and I'd put any .psd files in their own separate folder. Apple makes it very easy to copy items from a Windows Computer and allows you to read/edit those files. Even if the EHD or device is Windows Formatted / Partitioned. The hard part is when you want to write said files to a Windows-based HD. So If you do want to keep things simple, hook up that EHD and copy those files to your Mac EHD. Then edit / save. As far as viewing the images on your EHD, you just select the EHD instead of the internal Macintosh HD. Easy-peasy. That's the ONLY extra step. Don't over-think this. You do not need to have things on the Main HD in order for Bridge to "see" them. You can plug in multiple external HDs if you want and navigate through Bridge. If it were me, I'd copy things over 1st and then use Bridge. That's what I did. Purchase the 4TB G-Drive Thunderbolt. It comes with all the cables that you need. If your Mac has a Thunderbolt Port, use it. Then as your budget allows, purchase a 12TB or whatever and use the 4TB HD as a Time Machine Drive. Speaking of Time Machine... You are half-right. Time Machine is VERY EASY to use and is one of the things that Apple has perfected. I wish Windows had a backup routine like TM that was as easy to use. Yes, Time Machine will backup everything on your internal HD to an external. And then does incremental backups every hour or so. So if you accidentally delete something, you can go into your TM backups, locate the missing file and copy it back over. The ONLY time that your files will be lost on the TM drive is if it runs out of room and deletes that particular day. So say you delete something yesterday and the copy of the file is in a TM backup from 9 Months ago...say May 28, 2018. Your TM drive is running out of room, so it deletes that day and the file that is needed along with it. That is really the only way you can "lose" things...by having a full TM drive. But it's not as dramatic as it sounds. I usually recommend a TM EHD to be at least twice the size as your Internal Mac HD. The more room the better. For me, I have a 12TB G-Drive for my Photos and re-purposed the 4TB drive to be my TM drive. I have a 1TB internal HD, so 4TB is more than enough and can have years of backups without having me to worry. Oh, how to recover from a failed HD? You boot into a Diagnostic Mode and tell it to "Restore from a Time Machine Backup..." Go make a cup of coffee and in about 20-30 minutes, boot from your Mac HD like you always have. Of course there are minor tweaks like signing into Adobe CC App to your Adobe Products phone-home to the Mothers hip and other things like that, but to get your computer back to 99.999% of where it was before your HD failed is priceless and beats multiple days of re-installing / updating a Windows Computer. Yes, for those people reading this thread, there are cloning programs like Acronis that does the same thing, but I'm talking about something that is built-into the Operating System. Those "Working" Folders should only be TEMPORARY, as those folders / files on the desktop are treated as "Open" files. So if you have 1000 photos from the Smith-Jones Wedding? That's 1000 things that the Mac OS treats as a open file. So the more crap you have on the desktop, the slower your Mac runs. So what do you do? Create those working folders that reside on the Macintosh HD, the right-click on that folder and select "Make Alias." Alias Files, which is Mac-Speak for shortcut are meant to be on the Desktop and will work just like if you had the folder on the desktop. Want to move a file to the "Transfer" Folder? Just drag it to be on top of the Alias and boom! It's in the Transfer Folder.

The reason we have those type of combos, small SSD and larger traditional HD, is manufacturers have a boatload of them and they are trying to get rid of them. Which is both good and bad. SSD drives are FAST and their power requirements are less than a traditional HD, which results in laptop batteries lasting longer between charges. These are all good things. That said, a fancy SSD Drive will not do you any good if it’s full. Bottom Line: I personally like a 1TB for my main HD. Less headaches down the line.

Yeah, I like a bare minimum of 500GB on a main HD. (Boot / OS Drive) Going forward, Windows 10 will be reserving a chunk of space to push downloads and updates to. So in addition to what the OS and programs take, there will be a reserved section AND we also have the Windows Swap File / Adobe Scratch Disk to deal with. So you don’t have as much space to work with as you think you do. Watch out for the 128GB / 256GB SSD and 1TB traditional HD. If you do get something like that, you will need to be ANAL on what is installed on a SSD that small plus you will need to do a custom install on each program do that it gets put on the D Drive.

"Meh..." Is how I feel about the 2-n-1 laptops. Touch Screens can be a real P.I.T.A. to calibrate. Plus, I've held 2-n-1 units, it's a laptop that is pretending to be a tablet. It's still not a iPad or Samsung Tablet and they aren't as light as one either. If you want a tablet, get an actual tablet. LOL!! Spec-wise, it's not THAT bad. It hits a lot of the marks, though you are locked in at 16GB of RAM. Now, while that is perfectly acceptable for what you want to do, being locked in might have consequences a few years from now. That said, you are still using CS5, and 16GB is fine. My recommendation: You are "THIS CLOSE" but I feel you need to keep looking. The good news is that $1500 is a healthy budget for the laptop you are after and I feel that you can get one for less than $1200. Yes, you are looking at "Gaming" laptops. I know you aren't going to need all of the stuff that they come with but Photoshop and Bridge will like those features. Of course, if you go with a Alienware Laptop, $2000+ isn't out of the question. Key Things to look for: Intel i5 or i7 (Since you are running CS5, a i7 will only make a 5-7% difference in terms of speed.) 16GB RAM (Minimum) with the ability to upgrade to 32GB. Granted, 16GB is fine for you but I like options. 1TB HD - Going forward, Windows 10 is going to grab a chunk of HD space in order to have room for upgrades / patches. Do not be tempted by small 128GB / 256GB Main Hard Drives. These days 500GB HDs is pushing things and I feel 1TB at a Minimum is your best bet. Video Card with dedicated Video RAM. 2GB or 4GB is fine. Of course more is better. Windows 10 Home is fine for you. Power / Advanced Users should get Windows 10 Pro. 1920 x 1080 IPS Screen with a Matte Coating / Non-Glossy Finish or a true Matte Display. The reason I'm recommending 1920 x 1080, is that if you cram 3800 pixels into the same physical area, things are going to be smaller which defeats the purpose of a 17" screen for you. Of course some may suggest for you to lower your resolution, but why bother wasting all that money for a 4K screen if you aren't going to use it? So as you can see, you are headed in the right direction. Thanks for taking time to look at other threads.

Hmm...It sounds like it is a 21.5" iMac. Bummer. You can not upgrade (easily) the RAM on a 21.5" iMac. An Apple Authorized Repair Facility or the Apple Store will need to do it. The reason is that they have to completely disassemble the whole flippin' computer in order to get to the RAM slots on the back of the motherboard, as there isn't an access panel to get to the RAM like the 27" models. After late 2011 / early 2012, Apple removed the DVD Drive and took away the access panel to upgrade the RAM. Since Apple's RAM is extremely over-priced, by the time you would upgrade (at the time of purchase) the $1499 21.5" iMac to 16GB, you are at $1699 plus Shipping and Tax. That puts you $100 shy of a stock 27" iMac at $1799...which has an access panel that enables you can upgrade the RAM yourself. Combine that with better faster / components it makes a stock 27" iMac a MUCH better buy overall. So my advice? Start saving for a new 27" iMac. Personally, I wouldn't invest a dime into a current 21.5" iMac, they are a waste of money. Truth-be-told...I'm typing this on a 21.5" model from 2009. LMAO!! (The 2009-2011 models let you upgrade to 16GB. Heck, Apple printed instructions telling you how to do it!) Now Apple has really crippled the current-era 21.5" iMac computers and really wants you to "Go Big or Go Home." Translation: Spend more money!! Now for the hard drive. What EHD do I have? I use a 12TB Thunderbolt 3 G-Drive for my main backup EHD and a 4TB G-Drive USB 3.0 External that I use for Time Machine ONLY. Oh, the actual 4TB G-Drive that I actually own is no longer available, so I linked to a current model. Anyway, I don't mess around when it comes to my externals and have learned the hard way to not rely on the $79 special at a local Box-Store. I like G-Drives with my Mac computers. Yes, they are expensive but are fast and usually have decent components on the inside. I truly believe you get what you pay for, in both computers and photography equipment. Bonus: They come Mac-Formatted, though it's pretty easy to partition and format a HD to be used with a Mac, so this is just a small perk and only saves you about 5-7 minutes of time in the real-world. Honestly, I'm old school; I manually copy and paste and don't use a program to automatically backup stuff. The toughest part is setting up your file structure and routine...then sticking with it. Once you get that nailed down, copy/paste is quite easy. The "Set-It-and-Forget-It" method I'm not too keen on; too easy to become complacent and if the software fails, you won't be made aware that something is wrong until you go looking to restore things. Though there are several programs that do take care of things for you. Here is one article to give a read, and here is another. There are also ways to have the Mac OS do it for you but it's a really Geeky & Technical and requires command line stuff. I wouldn't bother going this route as it's meant for advanced users. I have current projects only stored on my main hard drive, and manually copy those files (via a copy and paste) to my external. I never have long-term backups of photos on my main internal HD. I also have critical files duplicated on another HD and stored off site. The really-really critical files on that duplicated drive are then stored on a Cloud Drive. So your idea of thinking about cloning the external is a good one. Now before we get all sorts of crazy, what kind of budget do you have to work with? Because I'm going to tell you...that you need to clear off more stuff on that Internal Macintosh HD. I'm talking getting at least 30% of space. Which puts you to around 300-400GB...Free at all times. Oh, one more thing? How much CRAP do you have on your Mac Desktop? The more files and folders you have stored on the Mac Desktop, the slower the thing runs. So in addition to your downloads folder, I want you to clean off your desktop. NOTHING should be on your desktop. (Ok, the current photos and stuff that you are uploading to FB, IG, your website, printer, whatever is fine...just don't leave them on the Desktop as their permanent home.) Truth be told, if you want to speed up your Mac for FREE, clear off the friggin' files and folders that reside on your desktop!! You don't need to spend ANY money on special "Memory Optimization" programs, etc. Save that money to put towards your new Mac.

My Book drives are traditionally 3.5” hard drives and Passports are usually 2.5” hard drives. Both are usually 5400 RPM, though the My Book Drives that get power from a AC Adapter could be 7200 RPM drives. It’s hard to say unless it’s spelled out on the box Basically, it comes down to physical size, Passport drives are more portable and are meant to be shoved into a laptop bag. My Books are geared towards sitting on a Desk somewhere and not moved often. Sometimes the utility software that does some sort of auto backup can also be different. That said, those programs that come with HDs usually aren’t THAT good at all; I personally never install those programs. They never work right. As far as capacity, the old “better not have all your data on one drive, that’s like having all your eggs in one basket!” mentality isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. The most vulnerable time for a EHD is when you connect it and eject it. Power surges as well. It doesn’t mean a damn thing if you have a 12TB or 1TB, if the drive fails, it fails. If you keep all your externals in your house and there is a fire or a pipe bursts and it damages your drives, and if you don’t have a duplicate of that HD at another location then it doesn’t matter. You still are paying for data recovery. Same thing with CF/SD/XQD/CF Express cards. Better not get a large card! You could lose too many images!! Then why do we have such large cards these days? Why not everyone go back to 1GB cards that hold 36 images? Let’s go back to the film days of 12, 24 and 36 exposures!! ? Personnally, I have a 12TB EHD. It never gets moved and my data sits on it. My critical/important files are duplicated to another EHD and it’s kept at a 2nd location. Some are backed up to a Cloud Service. Now if you want to only purchase 3TB HDs, that’s fine. If you do go larger, the partitioning process has an extra step since there is a 3TB limit with a MBR (Master Boot Record) partition type.

Notebook? You mean My Book? I'm not understanding.

Yes. Though I would set your slider to 15 min or turn on a screen saver. (Just like my screen shot above.) You don't want your display idling. While LED based displays aren't as prone to burn-in as older plasma-based displays, it is still good practice to either let them go dark or at the very least display a screen saver for long periods of inactivity. Head to your System Preferences and click on Desktop & Screen Saver. Click the Screen Saver Tab at the top. I usually choose "Flurry" in the left column for my Screen Saver. Then set the time to "Start after 10 Minutes or even 20 Minutes" if you prefer.

Head to your System Preferences. Click on Energy Saver and uncheck the box "Prevent Computer from Sleeping Automatically when the display is off." at the top. Also make sure "Wake for network access" is checked as well. If you have a laptop, this option may not be available. Here is a screen shot from my iMac:

You ordered the correct kit. The problem is the existing RAM in your computer. In order to get 32GB (or more if you have a 2017 iMac) you need two 16GB kits. So just buy the same exact part number and remove the existing RAM (the 4GB Sticks) and you will have a quantity of four, 8GB sticks for a total of 32GB of RAM. Most people will work fine with 16GB or 24GB but for those working on large files, like 16-bit images, editing video, or those people that have three browsers open with 50 running tabs each will benefit from 32GB RAM. So just find your receipt from your Crucial Order and purchase the same part number. It usually starts with "CT" or something along those lines along with a 8 or so digit code. If you want to keep file sizes manageable, don't flatten during editing. Honestly, Damien has been doing this a long time and I'd follow his directions, 16-bit before delivery. Editing in 16 Bit has it's place, but not for the normal 99% of editing. It's used when we need to work with more data / stuff in the image file to fix specific problems, like banding among other things.

I’m thinking your problem is one of two things: 1. MacOS Mojave. That OS seems to have a lot of quirks when it comes to PS. There isn’t any fixes that I’m aware of but Adobe has released a few updates 2. The Wanker that Damien mentioned. I’m thinking your techniques of creating your files is causing issues. Especially if your images come from a camera that has a 24MP camera (or more.) Your Files might already be huge and then you are working in 16 bit. ————— For your EHDs...I’m not liking how both of the externals are setup to be used with Time Machine. You don’t want to backup an external to another external while backing up your main drive. Pick a single External HD to be used for Time Machine and ONLY use that EHD for Time Machine Backups. Never-ever store regular data files on your Time Machine Drive. Life is too complicated as it is to have potential data corruption on a TM drive. Since you are working in 16-bit, we also might have to replace your two 4GB stick and install 8GB sticks to get you to 32GB. Run a scan from Crucial.com or find the box / receipt for the 16GB upgrade. RAM works the best if it’s all the same speed and type.