Macbook, external HDD, best set-up?

[megaphone]

I plan to use my MacBook Air (2013) as my main 'desktop' computer, I have an Apple Thunderbolt Display that the MBA plugs into and will use the display's USB for the external HDD. . MBA SSD is 256GB which is nearly full. Plan is to run the OS and apps on the SSD and use an external HDD to store documents and iPhotos, is there a 'best practice' for setting this up? Any advice? I'll want to save docs and iPhotos direct to the external HDD if possible. I'll also run a separate Time Machine HDD which will back up both drives.

I will be taking the MBA out with me when required, then plugging back in to use as a 'desk-top'. Essential docs will be stored in the cloud. It needs to be plug and play if possible, what about ejecting the drives and reconnecting?

I'm retiring my ageing 2009 iMac which has about 1TB of used storage, so I'll need to shift a lot of this to the new external HD

I will get a new M1/M2 Macbook this year or next, but likely will have a 'small' SSD.

Any advice?

[LunarOne]

It depends how precious your data is, but I would go for a 4-bay NAS minimum fully populated with disks (say 2TB each). With RAID5 that will give you about 5TB of usable space. That might sound like a lot of faff when you can buy a 5TB external drive for £99, but your data will be safe and secure and you can get your NAS to copy the data off to the cloud as a form of backup. This means that if your home is burgled and they take the NAS and your computer, your data is still safe. I use Backblaze for this. And if a drive fails, you can replace it cheaply and easily without losing data. Make no mistake. All drives fail, eventually. The trick is to plan for it and mitigate against it. An additional benefit is that you can have access to your data from wherever you have WIFI in your house, and you can also run VPN software on your NAS and have access when travelling without taking the external disk.

I'm an IT Pro, but I wanted an off-the-shelf system, so I went with a Synology 8-bay NAS and populated it fully. You might be able to get away with a 2-bay NAS with RAID1 (mirroring). I strongly recommend against using an external USB or thunderbolt drive to store your data. One drop or one fault and you could be saying goodbye to your data.

[megaphone]

Thanks, yes I did think about a NAS, but I think it's overkill for my use. I've been running my iMac and Air for years with regular Time Machine back ups, I have a Time Capsule hidden away, and I do secondary back-ups using Super-duper, plus important stuff is in the cloud.

Having access to files would be nice though. I would say my use is 80% 'desk-top', I don't really need access to all my files when out and about, I can take what I need on the laptop, or keep I the cloud.

[Jenny Tailor]

megaphone said:

I plan to use my MacBook Air (2013) as my main 'desktop' computer, I have an Apple Thunderbolt Display that the MBA plugs into and will use the display's USB for the external HDD. . MBA SSD is 256GB which is nearly full. Plan is to run the OS and apps on the SSD and use an external HDD to store documents and iPhotos, is there a 'best practice' for setting this up? Any advice? I'll want to save docs and iPhotos direct to the external HDD if possible. I'll also run a separate Time Machine HDD which will back up both drives.

I will be taking the MBA out with me when required, then plugging back in to use as a 'desk-top'. Essential docs will be stored in the cloud. It needs to be plug and play if possible, what about ejecting the drives and reconnecting?

I'm retiring my ageing 2009 iMac which has about 1TB of used storage, so I'll need to shift a lot of this to the new external HD

I will get a new M1/M2 Macbook this year or next, but likely will have a 'small' SSD.

Any advice?

Get a bigger SSD. It is a game changer.
Unless you are doing some mental video editing etc - the M1 is all the processing power a mortal needs. It really does blow me away at how ludicrous it is. The M2 is 10%??? faster - Get the cheapest M1 with the biggest SSD you can afford.

Or just get the best spec you can afford.

[Craikeybaby]

I went from iMac to MacBook with smaller drive, and my solution was a Synology NAS.