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External hard drive?


Gibbo

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Currently I edit my photos in Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC on my PC or in Lightroom Mobile on my iPad and iPhone. I have a MacBook Pro with the same Adobe CC software loaded on to it but never used. I would like to start using it in addition to the other devices. The issue, as far as I can see, is the location of the Catalog and the photos. They are currently on my PC or, via collections, on my mobile devices. 

 

I think the way forward would be to move them onto a fast external hard drive which can be plugged into either my PC or my MacBook Pro. 

 

Firstly, does this make sense and is it practical?

 

Secondly, if the answer to the first point is yes, which hard drive would get a recommendation?

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For LR it doesn't matter where location of the file is. The path just needs to be consistent.

 

Instead of switching external HDD in between, it could be NAS. They are not very expensive, or big, could be build on used hardware and free OS, yet, faster and/or redundant comparing to single HDD.

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1. If you use Lightroom CC on iPad - you could also use Lightroom on the web (lightroom.adobe.com).  This version of software utilises cloud computing and has some advantages (picture rating, etc.)  Thus - you can use you MacBook Pro for editing on the web without any hard drive. 

 

2. NAS is a slow solution for Lightroom.   Lightroom itself is a slow software, and NAS + Network will slow it down again.  I'd go for a (pair of ) external drive(s).

 

3. PC uses Windows OS,  MacBook Pro normally uses (Mac) OsX.  Both operating systems use different (native) file systems. NTFS for Windows and APFS for latest OsX.  These file systems are not compatible. There are special drivers, made by Paragon Software, but risk of file system damage is higher with 3rd party driver.  If you have a new MacBookPro and an older PC - switch to Mac and attach external monitor of PC as a second monitor for Mac.  It is very frequent hardware setup.

 

4. For external drive you should look for a USB-3, 7200 RPM  unit.  LaCie, Seagate, Western Digital - are good manufactures. Check speed and interface.  Good solution is 3,5" single disk unit with 7200 RPM and USB-3.   Please, purchase immediately a second unit and make a backup.  For backup purposes you should get an app like ForkLift or Pathfinder to make a mirror of your disk.  Please, do mirroring of you disk with pictures frequently. 

Edited by Genn
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Using one catalogue with two instances of the software sounds like madness. What happens when you do an upgrade of Lightroom which includes changes to the catalogue? I don’t know how often this happens but at some point you will attempt to open an upgraded catalogue with a yet to be upgraded software.

The new Lightroom CC is designed for an edit-anywhere workflow but of course it involves storing your images in Lightroom’s cloud.

When I want to use a laptop on a trip or day out, I create a new catalogue for it and merge it with my desktop when I get home. With iPad used in the field I move the images within Lightroom classic to my local disc when I get back home. This is ok if you can live within the 20GB limit of the standard Lightroom photographers’ CC subscription for the duration of the trip (I seem to have 1TB but don’t think I’m paying for that, at least not deliberately).

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The new Lightroom CC doesn’t suit me as it is light on functionality compared to Lightroom Classic CC. Plus I’m not sure I want all my images on Adobe’s Cloud.

 

I keep my software up to date and always upgrade so the instance of oe device being on a different version is remote.

 

What reading I have done so far on this seems to virtually always advise having just the one catalog. That’s why I’m trying to facilitate this.

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FWIW I keep all my files on multiple external hard drives and use numerous LaCies which have proved to be very reliable over the last couple of decades (I've been using them for as long as I can remember). I prefer a filing system independent of software so all my images have a single numerical reference which is unique. That way I can easily locate any that I need and can database their references when needed. I don't use PCs any more and find that keeping the images in folders of 100, then ten of these folder then ten more, etc., works well (so that I can work down from each 100,000 > 10,000 > 1000 > 100 > an individual file very easily) - I don't suppose that running two drives with such a file structure for both PC and Mac would be very onerous. Drives are cheap - keep backups!

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FWIW I keep all my files on multiple external hard drives and use numerous LaCies which have proved to be very reliable over the last couple of decades (I've been using them for as long as I can remember). I prefer a filing system independent of software so all my images have a single numerical reference which is unique. That way I can easily locate any that I need and can database their references when needed. I don't use PCs any more and find that keeping the images in folders of 100, then ten of these folder then ten more, etc., works well (so that I can work down from each 100,000 > 10,000 > 1000 > 100 > an individual file very easily) - I don't suppose that running two drives with such a file structure for both PC and Mac would be very onerous. Drives are cheap - keep backups!

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0a/documents.png
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<snip>

I keep my software up to date and always upgrade so the instance of oe device being on a different version is remote.

<snip>

THINK! Your catalogue is connected to one computer at a time. You upgrade the software on the connected computer. Will you always update the other software before switching the catalogue disc over? Really?
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THINK! Your catalogue is connected to one computer at a time. You upgrade the software on the connected computer. Will you always update the other software before switching the catalogue disc over? Really?

 

 

When I log on to Lightroom I do so through the Adobe CC app, always. If there is an update it tells me and if I don't update it won't let me get into the software. So yes, really  :)

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To keep things portable and safe do you run the catalog off the PC hard drive or external. i'm thinking of keeping everything external, then an additional external drive and keep the PC as clean as possible - this allows for PC upgrades without and concern. 

 

is this a good idea ?  

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My catalog is located at the internal drive due to speed issues. From time to time I perform a "save settings" operation to write down image settings and keywords to image files.  

Edited by Genn
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Beware if you use Western Digital network accessible storage - your disks are completely open and vulnerable to external attack:

 

http://gulftech.org/advisories/WDMyCloud%20Multiple%20Vulnerabilities/125

 

And please don’t think “well, no-one would ever be interested in my images” - malicious actors will have automated scans in place searching for these devices, and placing malware, locks or simply wiping everything automatically, hitting thousands of ports a second right now.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Like Simone, I have a Samsung ssd, a T5 1 Tb for the photo’s. Even with my USB-c it is not as fast as I though though. And another 1 Tb of pictures is located on a NAS. I back up that T5 on the NAS .

One central LR catalogue on the HD.

Problem with the NAS is: everytime I want to go to the older files on the NAS I first have to ‘mount’ that disk. That means: show LR where that root is. Takes about 20 secs. For the rest this is very efficient.

I have C1 too (which I use for loading sessions only and it allows very quick discard of files) without a catalogue. C1 in thies mode still takes up about 25% of my storage (all the local files), and I plan to discard that.

_. I have a SYnology drive, they all have their vulnerabilities, but at least i dropped all non-regular networking capabilities such as php if i am correct.

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All of my photos & LR catalogues are on a 3Tb La Cie external drive connected to my iMac by Thunderbolt.  Backups are on an Airport Time Capsule (and a good thing too - my two year old iMac has just been returned after being away for a month being repaired).  If/when I need to use my MacBook Air I can connect it to the La Cie .  

Edited by Keith (M)
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