New Macbook

[cara4562]

I just purchased a new MacBook Pro based off of your recs.  My old iMac was ten years old and I want to try and get as much life out of this new computer as possible.  I know that you shouldn't save to the desktop, but are there any guidelines for how to setup where and how to save photos to get the best and longest life from the computer.  I am so not a computer person and organization is not my strong suit.

[Brian]

Well the first thing you should do, if you haven't already, is turn-on right-click in the mouse preferences. It's listed as "Secondary Click" or something similar. You want "Click Right Side." 

The second thing, is to make HDs, External HDs, Memory Cards, etc. to show up on the desktop. To do this, follow these instructions:

(These were created on an older macOS, so the pictures might look a little different, but it should be familiar.)

• Open the Finder. The easiest way is to click the Smiley Face on your DockBar:

 

• Then head to the Finder Menu (Next to the Apple Menu) and select Preferences:

• Once there put check-marks next to these items and change the bottom to "Macintosh HD" if you want:

• Finally, Click the Red Circle in the Upper Left Corner to save the new changes and close the Preferences box. Now when you insert an External HD or Camera Memory Card into a Card Reader, they will appear on the Mac Desktop. For example:
   

 

Third, when people buy fancy / expensive MacBooks, they really want portability and to use them as Desktop Replacements. Laptops are Laptops and should be treated as such. Meaning, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR MAC LAPTOP PLUGGED IN ALL THE TIME!!! It's a Laptop, not a Desktop. Leaving it plugged in all the time will kill the battery prematurely.

Sure, it's OK to have it plugged in if you are doing something intensive and want all the horsepower the laptop can give...but it's best practice to charge it to 100% and then un-plug it for normal / everyday use. I'd recommend getting a Powered Thunderbolt 4 Hub that you can hook external HDs up to, this will help save your battery. Speaking of which, getting a Thunderbolt 4 (or Thunderbolt 3) Large External TB HD would be something that I'd look into. At least 12TB headed into 2025.

Fourth, I'd get a separate, external Hard Drive for your Time Machine Backups. You want at least double the capacity of your internal HD. So if you have a 1TB Macintosh HD, then a 2TB External should be what you are after at the very least. It can be a normal USB 3.0 EHD, the Thunderbolt EHD is meant for your main photo storage. Personally, I use a 4TB External USB 3.0 Drive and it's "fine." When you do setup Time Machine, be sure to EXCLUDE your larger 12TB/18TB/22TB Thunderbolt Drive!!! You DO NOT WANT TIME MACHINE ATTEMPTING TO BACK UP YOUR 'PHOTOS & DATA' EXTERNAL DRIVE.

Fifth...The Storage Organization....

*SIGH*

THERE IS NO 1 TRUE ANSWER

I personally set Four Main Folders up and even have a "Private" Folder that requires a password to access on my 12TB External Thunderbolt G-Drive.

From there, folders are sorted by project name or year. Whatever you decide on, make sure your file-structure makes sense to you. More importantly, make sure you stick to the format and resist the urge to treat your EHD as a Dumping Ground. I wish I had better advice to give you, but there isn't a "one-size-fits-all" method. If this seems overwhelming, I'd write something down on a piece of paper and create some sort of map. I have a Client / Personal Folder then something like "Vacation Photos" & "Day Trips" contained within the Personal Folder. From there it's by Year and then the Trip/Location/Event Name...something that I can dig through easily and get where I need to in under 2 minutes. That's the goal. If you are going through folder after folder to find something, then you need a better file-structure / tree.

[Brian]

Now why do I make such a big deal about Thunderbolt Drives as your primary external? The Throughput / Speed that data transfers. Thunderbolt 3 is 40Mbps, compared to USB 3.0's 5.0Mbps. Big difference. Thunderbolt 3 / 4 (or even Thunderbolt 5) is just as fast as using an external drive as it would be using an internal, conversationally speaking. Sure, it's good practice to edit files and such with them stored to the Main HD, then after your done with edits, move them to the external, but with TB3/TB4...it's so fast you almost don't need to. Now, if this was a USB 3.0 Drive, then hell no...work on your files on the main internal drive, THEN back them up to an external.

Speaking of backups, you want to utilize the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy

3 Copies of your files on 2 different devices / storage mediums, with 1 of the backup kept off-site. So I would buy that TB 3 EHD, but then have a slower USB 3.0 Drive that it gets cloned to on a normal basis. Data loss should be no more than a royal pain-in-the-ass and not catastrophic. You should be able to recover your lost data within 48 hours at most. Again, with this "Clone Drive" kept off-site. Fire / Flood / Theft / Cats knocking HDs off of Desks which kill them...I've heard it all. Also, you can use Cloud Storage as one of the "Different Mediums;" the whole point to the 3-2-1 backup strategy is to have "Backups for your Backups." Or to put it another way, have a "Plan B" and a "Plan C" for when things go sideways.

Since you have a new computer, you have a clean slate...so put some thinking into it. How would you organize a Book Base? How would you organize a Filing Cabinet? Hell, how would you organize a "Junk Drawer" in the Kitchen, or even Pantry? Coming up with a strategy is easier than one would think...you just have to do SOMETHING.