RAM and external hard drive

[Lucia]

Hi Brian,

It will probably be a long post. I can tell that I am a dummy regarding the computers, hard drives and the rest... Can you please direct me to the right direction as well as help me to get more RAM and external memory drives. 

Here is the info about my computer health.: I have a Mac desktop running Mojave and Photoshop CC. It is over 2 years old, and has 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3GB of RAM. Its hard drive has 213.85GB free out of 1000GB. The last time I shut down was last night. I run a cleanup program about once a month.

I can tell that I am guilty of not cleaning my Mac since I bought it about 5 years ago. I just recently purchased Clean My Mac X and ran it since my Mac started to run slow. Guilty.

So, is it still ok to buy more RAM if my MAC is 5 year old? If yes, what shall I get? I just tried to run the Scanner tool from crutial.com and have this:

 

I currently have 4TB Seagate external hard drive and I manually copy-pasted pictures from my MAC to it sometime ago. So, the back up is not even up to date. Is there a way to set it up so everything will backup to hard drive automatically? Also, I was thinking to make a back up of the current external hard drive. Do you have any recommendations on how it can be done without manual copy-pasting? Also, which hard drive would you recommend to buy, what brand? I am just lost what is good when it comes to this type of hardware. It’s so much easier when a pro tells buy this and do that. 

Thank you so much 

[Brian]

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.

[Lucia]

Yes, I have 21.5” one. That’s really unfortunate that I cannot upgrade RAM but it is what it is LHopefully my current one will serve me another couple – several years and I will have time to save for a new baby.

Huh. Yes those EHDs are pricey but as you say you get what you pay for. Hopefully you are getting commissions from BandH when people purchase stuff from them. 

I don’t really have file structure and routine when it comes to back up. I mean I do keep my pictures by Years and then I have Months folders inside. Here is the struggle: I don’t edit pictures right away and may do it even 2 years later. So I have, for example, a folder of 2016 on EHD and on iMac. I then may edit some pictures from that folder. Do I just need to locate the XMP files and PSD files and copy them to EHD. Or, it’s Ok to delete the whole folder from EHD and copy-paste one from iMac with all edits. Let me know if the last option is too crazy. 

Also, I have some photographs on EHD that I would like to edit sometime and they are not on iMac. Do I need to copy-paste the whole folder to iMac to view the pictures in the Bridge and edit or there is a way to open them in Bridge from EHD?

As regards to the budget. Well I don’t have one right now but hopefully with taxes back I will buy the G-Drives. I am thinking maybe as starting point to go with 4TB G-DRIVE with Thunderbolt you mentioned and later on get 12TB one. Is it ok to use 4TB G-DRIVE with Thunderbolt as a main backup?

I have never used the Time Machine., btw. As I understand it will duplicate/copy my files from Mac to EHD, right?  If I delete some files on Mac will it automatically delete the same file on EHD and vise versa?

I just worked on cleaning up my Mac and have 348 GB available so far.  I deleted what I don’t need and moved some stuff in the Documents Folder. So I have couple working folders on the desktop and several shortcuts for ROES apps. 

There is “Recents” folder in the Finder. I noticed when I delete something from there is deletes the actual file. So, does this folder weigh anything or it’s just to look up files I recently opened? There are literarily over 2000 items.  

I need help with some folders, please. I have Music – iTunes – Album Artwork – Cache and there are several folders with files inside. Files have name like this CFAB4113C961F45D-3AE85F2D0CFB4EA0.itc. Is it something valuable? I have no idea what is that and maybe you too since it’s on my computer. But I thought maybe you know it by the file name. I am thinking maybe to delete it?

Music – iTunes – iTunes Media – Mobile Applications has lots of files with ipa extensions. The whole folder weighs 21GB. By the file names I see it’s applications I purchased/downloaded from the Apple Store. If I delete this folder will I loose all my apps? Or maybe it’s Ok to move this folder to EHD?

I also have Lightroom Folder (almost 11GB) in my Pictures folder. Inside is the Backup folder with lrcat extension files. I no longer use Lightroom. Is it ok to delete this folder?

I just ran Clean My Mac and the System Junk in the Cleanup Log has yellow triangle. When I click it says This Item was cleaned partially. Is it normal?

I currently have just couple programs opened and PS is not even on. When I click on Clean my Mac icon it shows 2.5 GB available. Why that less? Very often it shows even less 1GB available, again when PS is not even open.

I hope it’s ok to ask those questions and that many questions. Again, thank you a lot for your time and valuable responses. 

 

[Brian]

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

That’s really unfortunate that I cannot upgrade RAM but it is what it is 

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.

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

Hopefully you are getting commissions from BandH when people purchase stuff from them.

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...

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I don’t really have file structure and routine when it comes to back up. I mean I do keep my pictures by Years and then I have Months folders inside. Here is the struggle: I don’t edit pictures right away and may do it even 2 years later. So I have, for example, a folder of 2016 on EHD and on iMac. I then may edit some pictures from that folder. Do I just need to locate the XMP files and PSD files and copy them to EHD. Or, it’s Ok to delete the whole folder from EHD and copy-paste one from iMac with all edits. Let me know if the last option is too crazy. 

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.

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

Also, I have some photographs on EHD that I would like to edit sometime and they are not on iMac. Do I need to copy-paste the whole folder to iMac to view the pictures in the Bridge and edit or there is a way to open them in Bridge from EHD?

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.

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I am thinking maybe as starting point to go with 4TB G-DRIVE with Thunderbolt you mentioned and later on get 12TB one.

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...
 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I have never used the Time Machine., btw. As I understand it will duplicate/copy my files from Mac to EHD, right?  If I delete some files on Mac will it automatically delete the same file on EHD and vise versa? 

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.

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I just worked on cleaning up my Mac and have 348 GB available so far.  I deleted what I don’t need and moved some stuff in the Documents Folder. So I have couple working folders on the desktop and several shortcuts for ROES apps. 

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.  

[Brian]

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

There is “Recents” folder in the Finder. I noticed when I delete something from there is deletes the actual file. So, does this folder weigh anything or it’s just to look up files I recently opened? There are literarily over 2000 items.  

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.

 

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I need help with some folders, please. I have Music – iTunes – Album Artwork – Cache and there are several folders with files inside. Files have name like this CFAB4113C961F45D-3AE85F2D0CFB4EA0.itc. Is it something valuable? I have no idea what is that and maybe you too since it’s on my computer. But I thought maybe you know it by the file name. I am thinking maybe to delete it?

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.

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I also have Lightroom Folder (almost 11GB) in my Pictures folder. Inside is the Backup folder with lrcat extension files. I no longer use Lightroom. Is it ok to delete this folder? 

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.)

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I just ran Clean My Mac and the System Junk in the Cleanup Log has yellow triangle. When I click it says This Item was cleaned partially. Is it normal?

This is an issue with OS Mojave. Give this link a read.

 

On 1/25/2019 at 9:19 PM, Lucia said:

I currently have just couple programs opened and PS is not even on. When I click on Clean my Mac icon it shows 2.5 GB available. Why that less? Very often it shows even less 1GB available, again when PS is not even open.

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.

[Lucia]

Brian, thank you a lot for your responses. I will carefully read them and get back if I have more questions. 

[Lucia]

Brian,

Sorry, but I need your help. I tried to use your PayPal link for the beer and I am not sure how it is working. It doesn't bring me to the window when I can send the money. May I send it via email? 

I also have a question regarding the hard drive. The one you recommended is https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1024614-REG/g_technology_0g03050_g_drive_4tb_7200_thunderbolt_usb3_sata3.html. I was just looking around at the website and saw this one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1333860-REG/g_technology_0g05363_professional_hard_drive_4000.html. Is there a big difference ir not worth to spend extra $$?

Thank you.

[Brian]

The cheaper one is Thunderbolt 2 and last year’s model. The more expensive one is Thunderbolt 3, which is faster. If your iMac is from 2017 or has a Thunderbolt 3.0 Port, yes...it’s worth getting Thunderbolt 3.0. With Thunderbolt 3.0, it's hard to tell if you are working off your Internal HD or an EHD. It's that fast. If your iMac is a few years old or only has Thunderbolt 2.0, you can get the cheaper drive. 

For a donation try this link:

https://www.paypal.me/brianhermans