editing from an external hard drive

[KCDawson]

Hi there, I'm new here. I did a search for this topic and couldn't find anything, so hopefully it wasn't addressed already.  I have a Mac desktop I have had for a few years. I believe it has 1TB storage. I have an external that is just for backups. Then, I have two externals I use for photos. I have been putting the CR2's straight from the camera into an external. From there, I use bridge to view and edit in ACR and photoshop. Is this something you don't recommend? Working from an external hard drive rather than the actual hard drive of the computer. I just don't like the space to be used up by tons of photos. So, I figure if they are not on there, it wouldn't make the computer laggy! I'm no computer wiz, so this may be completely wrong to do.  

[Brian]

This is where Damien’s and my opinion differs. I also primarily work off and external drive, but I do not use a standard USB EHD, my EHD is a fancy Enterprise Grade HD connected via a Thunderbolt 3 port, which is extremely fast. My TB3 G-Drive feels just like I’m working off an internal, though my internal SSD is much faster regardless. If all I had was USB 3.0 to work with, I’d copy my projects / sessions to the main drive, work on them, and then move the files & images to a EHD. 
 

Some of our members are forced to work off an external, due to them only having a laptop with a Microscopic Internal HD, usually 250GB or less in total capacity. Those folks have no choice than to work off an external. 
 

it’s really a personal preference, but again, if you want to work off an external, make sure you use the fastest port on your computer and please use a high-quality EHD, not one that’s a $79 Special drive from a Big Box Store. 

[KCDawson]

I have a 10T WD one. I did get it on special, but I looked into the quality and I thought (!) it was good. What do you consider ‘bad’ brands? 

[Brian]

I like and own G-Drives. Here is the latest version of what I have:

G-Drive 18TB Thunderbolt 3

I will warn you, these are Enterprise-Grade Beefy External Hard Drives that are not cheap. I have a 12TB capacity myself.

[Brian]

On 12/9/2021 at 3:05 PM, KCDawson said:

What do you consider ‘bad’ brands? 

Keep in mind: They are ALL CRAP. Anything that is man-made can fail. In reality, you are picking the lesser out of all the Evils. With that in mind, here is what I tend to avoid:

 

• ANY HD that is $99 or $79 from a Big Box Store.

ANY HD that is "Eco Friendly or Green" - These are the drives that I really avoid like the plague. They are often cheap and have very nice buzzwords about being good for the planet because they consume less power...blah-blah-blah. Let's all sing Cum-Ba-Ya Children!! We are protecting Mother Earth!!

BULLSHIT.

These type of drives DIE ALL THE TIME. So what happens then? They end up in Landfills, so any "Green" thing that made you feel better when purchasing this crap gets tossed out the Window. The only difference between a working Green / Eco-Friendly Drive and a dead one is about 3 weeks. Seriously. E-Waste is a very real thing, and since China has stopped taking all of our crap, you'd be surprised on just how much our "recyclables" end up in Landfills. Don't even get me started on plastic water bottles and plastic shopping bags.

But it's all about feelings, right? But I'm digressing. Anyway...

• I also tend to avoid 5400 RPM Drives as well. For traditional HDs, I like mine being 7200RPM. Yes, there is a difference in speed read/write times between a 7200RPM Drive and a 5400RPM Drive, and those Eco Drives that I'm bitching about are usually the 5400RPM variety. How do you know what do you have? The easiest way, though not 100% is if your EHD has a separate AC Cable that connects to the drive, then it usually is a 7200RPM type. 5400RPM models just have the USB connection and that's it. USB will support a 5400RPM Drive but the 7200RPM Models need a little more "Umph" and require their own power source.

For me personally, I avoid Seagate HDs, I've had too many fail on me over the years. Normally, I prefer Western Digital Drives, but only a certain kind. The Western Digital Black Drives.

• Honestly? It is really tough for  me to recommend a typical EHD that's an "affordable" model. People are not used to spending $500 or more on a EHD. Heck, the one I linked to above is $850! So this is where I pay attention to the reviews. If a particular drive has lots of positive reviews, and I really do go over the reviews, ESPECIALLY the negative ones, to weed out things. When reading reviews, you need to keep this in mind: Everything is awesome when it works, but what happens when it breaks? How is Customer Service and Turn-Around Times for Warranty Claims?

Also, it's important to have multiple copies of your HDs and have them stored off-site. This way if something very bad were to happen, you are just inconvenienced and not in a full-blown panic. It happens more often than it should; people have everything on one EHD and then it dies or gets knocked off a desk and then they realize the weight of the situation. A HD Failure should be an minor irritation and a time-suck of a few hours, not spent begging for help in forums or using software to recover any possible files. Or at the very worst, forking out $1500-$2000+ for a Data Recovery Service to perform their Voodoo Chants and do major surgery to get your data back, if they can at all.