JessicaSalazar Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I've seen you recommend several times the G Drives for EHD, including for time Machine. Would you recommend the 4TB Professional level as the main Time Machine and then a regular grade for the back up or vice versa or 2 professional grades? Seems as though I'm updating/upgrading all my electronics this year. Thankfully my iMac is a 2015! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaSalazar Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 Just to show you storage... And while I'm asking, I only have 2 out of 4 memory slots installed. Would you recommend another 8GB? If so, which ones? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 I'd use a G-Drive for your important stuff, like client images and such. I'd use a regular EHD for Time Machine. One thing you need to do is to make sure your Main Backup EHD (Where your photos are) is disabled from being backed up. You really don't want a 4TB EHD, and your Main Mac HD being backed up to say a 2TB Time Machine EHD. LOL!! That would be bad. But in your case, you seem to be fine. You have 2TB free on your main external and your time machine backup seems to be happy. So unless you are looking to upgrade to a 4TB or larger EHD (aka: spend/blow money,) then I'd hold off for now. For the RAM, do you have a 27" iMac or 21.5"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaSalazar Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) Actually, last week my Time Machine EHD icon disappeared from my desktop. When it came back a few days ago, now I'm getting an error - "Backup Failed: Time Machine couldn't back up "TimeMachine". I honestly don't remember how old it is, so I wasn't sure if I should get a new one anyway. And I was thinking of making the 4TB the Time Machine because the My Mac EHD is fairly new. Your thoughts? I have a 27" iMac. Edited March 28, 2017 by JessicaSalazar misspelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaSalazar Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 I went back and reread your comment: 1 hour ago, Brian said: One thing you need to do is to make sure your Main Backup EHD (Where your photos are) is disabled from being backed up. How do I know I'm NOT doing this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 8 hours ago, JessicaSalazar said: How do I know I'm NOT doing this? Head to settings, then look for Time Machine. From there click the Options button and make sure your main EHD that you use for backups is in the EXCLUDED list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 8 hours ago, JessicaSalazar said: Actually, last week my Time Machine EHD icon disappeared from my desktop. When it came back a few days ago, now I'm getting an error - "Backup Failed: Time Machine couldn't back up "TimeMachine". I honestly don't remember how old it is, so I wasn't sure if I should get a new one anyway. And I was thinking of making the 4TB the Time Machine because the My Mac EHD is fairly new. Your thoughts? I would purchased this 4TB G Drive with Thunderbolt and copy all of your files on your Main EHD to it. Then reformat the current main EHD and when the Mac OS asks, "Use for Time Machine?" tell it yes. So we are replacing the main EHD with something that is MUCH faster (has a 7200 RPM and is Thunderbolt based,) and is a little larger. It is possible that the current TM drive went into a "Sleep State" and didn't wake up, or it could be failing. Hard to say. 8 hours ago, JessicaSalazar said: I have a 27" iMac. Fantastic!! You probably are still at 8GB with two slots occupied by 4GB sticks. YES, I WOULD UPGRADE YOUR RAM. Though, I would purchase two 8GB sticks, upgrading you from 8GB to 24GB. There are multiple editions of your iMac for 2015, so I would head to crucial.com and download & run their scanning tool. (It's harmless.) After it completes, it will take you to a web page with your options, You are looking for a 16GB KIT, which consists of two 8GB sticks. It should be around $125, plus shipping and applicable tax. Before you buy, take a screenshot and post it here in this thread. Please do not ask about the SSD drives offerings, we are talking about RAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaSalazar Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Ok, G Drive ordered, here is the screenshot: I'll chose free shipping since I'm going out of town this weekend when it would've arrived. Do I need anything else before I place the order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaSalazar Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Just for shits and giggles, I checked Amazon. Looks the same to me. Should I save $20? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Look at the part numbers. Amazon is different. They aren't the same. The Crucial Scan Results typically pick the best RAM to match the specs of the current RAM that's installed in your computer, which results in better performance, though most people probably wouldn't notice. While the Amazon RAM would probably work, I personally would purchase the RAM from Crucial, the 16GB Kit for $123.99. Spend the extra $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessicaSalazar Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Good eye! Thank you for catching that! Anything else I need to order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Nope. RAM is pretty straightforward to install on the 27" iMacs, there are YouTube Videos demonstrating the process. G-Drives are already Mac Formatted, so you are good there. With this 16GB kit, you will have 24GB to play with, which is "fine" for most folks. Unless you would want to max it out to 32GB, in which case you'd purchase two of the 16GB kits, but in reality, 24GB is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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