Best External Drive

[Lynne]

Brian, I currently save my images on a WD external (and back up on same).  I've just had my third one go out on me and, unfortunately, this one I don't have backed up.  It primarily just has all the images I've edited with Damien along with entries for local camera club.

So, my question is, in your opinion, what is the best external to purchase.  I do work off a MacBook Pro and don't have the desktop area as my husband hogs the desk.  That being said, I'm not opposed to purchasing a desktop external if that is what is best.

Thanks for always helping with these matters.

 

Lynne

[Brian]

What year is your MacBook Pro? Do you have a Thunderbolt 3 port? (It looks like a USB-C with a Lightning Bolt above it.)

[Lynne]

I don't see a lightning bolt above it but I'm sure it probably is.  It's a 16-inch, 2021, Apple M1 Chip, 64gb memory.  I have 3 USB-C ports.

Is there something else I could look at to be sure?

[Brian]

Those USB-C Ports are the Thunderbolt Ports. In fact, they should be the Thunderbolt 4, but those devices are hard to come by and TB3 works just fine on a TB4 port. 

This is the drive that I currently have sitting on my Desk, holding my data:

Thunderbolt 3 - G Drive - 12TB

Now if you are looking for something more portable, I'd either recommend a SanDisk 4TB SSD External or this Thunderbolt 2TB 3 G-Drive. Those drives are Flash-Media based, either a SSD or a m.2/NVME Drive, so there isn't a spinning HD inside. The benefit to this is lower power consumption and there isn't a spinning HD inside, so if the drive drops off a desk, it's not a major deal as it would be with a traditional spinning HD.

So which one? Both, maybe? If you plan on doing editing at a desk using an external monitor, then I'd recommend on that 12TB (or 18TB if you want to go that high) external. If you are on the go and want to edit by the Pool, in the Car on the way to Vacation, at the Airport (Please don't, and yes...people have stated they do this,) then go for the Flash-Media Based Externals.

[Lynne]

Thanks Brian, I've ordered the 12TB for now.  Still working with the smaller externals but will order one of the more portable ones you recommend next.

I really appreciate your help and your knowledge in this area.  I was just totally lost.

[Brian]

The cool part is, the G-Drives have all the necessary cables in the box and come Mac Formatted. So all  you need to do is plug the EHD into a AC outlet, and then hook the drive up to one of those Thunderbolt Ports. Oh, do this for me:
 

1. Open the Finder
2. Then click the Finder Menu (Next to the Apple Menu) and click Preferences.
3. Put a Check-Mark next to External Hard Drives, it should look like this:
   
   
    
4. Click the Close Button (Red Circle) in the top left corner. Now your new EHD will appear on the Desktop.

[Lynne]

Great!  Mine looked like that except the HARD DISKS was not checked.  It's checked now.

 

[Lynne]

Brian, one more quick question.  I got the G-drive and it showed on my desktop.  But is it suppose to make a grinding noise when you first turn it on.  I have not yet copied anything to it.  I am assuming it's ready to go for me to copy to since it shows up on my desktop, but was concerned about the noise.  It's the noise my portable drives make before they go out.

 

[Brian]

I’d have to hear this noise. If it’s normal HD chatter, it’s probably fine. If it’s a Ka-Thump…click-click-click….ka-thump (dramatic pause) ka-thump…

Then I’d say you have a bad HD that was damaged in shipping and I wouldn’t trust it. My G-drives are a bit noisy and chatter when they first mount. Remember, these are 7200 RPM Enterprise Grade HDs, they are loud. Maybe take a video with your phone and try to post it here? I’d like to hear these drives. 

[Lynne]

Okay, I think it is probably normal.  I'll wait til Nancy gets hers and compare.  Thanks for responding so quickly.

[Lynne]

Brian, I am so frustrated.  I am trying to cull my photos from 2020 to current and I have them currently on two external portable HD's.  Apparently, I must have some corrupted files on both of these drives, however, different files.  I am having all kinds of problems with Bridge which I think is partly these drives.  At any rate, I have culled 2020 and copied it to the new G-drive with no problem.  I culled 2021 and tried to copy it over and my computer (the 2016 MacBook Pro) shut down and restarted 3 times.  So now I'm rebuilding my 2021 again onto my newer MacBook Pro (2021) and will try again.  

I'm curious what would have made my computer shutdown and restart during the copy/paste process?  What the heck did I do or did I not do correctly.  I just plugged the G-drive in and it worked perfectly when i transferred the 2020 files.

Thanks,

 

Lynne

[Lynne]

I'm still curious about my above post but I copied my 2021 files from my newer MacBook (2021) and used the thunderbolt plug in on the G-drive and it transferred seamlessly.  I'm assuming that even though my 2016 has the thunderbolt-3 ports, it doesn't quite play with the thunderbolt-3 on the G-drive like it should???

[Brian]

It’s possible. You could have issues with your older MacBook and the Thunderbolt ports. It wouldn’t surprise me. MacBooks…I’m not a fan, but people have this love-affair with them. 

I’d use the USB 3.0 ports on your older laptop. It will take longer to transfer data, but it should work. If you still have issues, I’m wondering if there is unknown issues with your older computer.