Drag images from internal drive to external…
Relocate Masters…
Locate Referenced Files……
I realize these options are available, but I'm wondering which way to do this. Out of 160 GB of images that I keep on my internal drive, about 1/2 of them are imported into Aperture (as referenced) while the remaining 1/2 are on the Mac but not in Aperture. The rest are just waiting for me to import them into the Aperture library.
I need to make space on my internal drive and need to move all images (those already imported and those not yet imported) to an external. Given my current set up (1/2 imported 1/2 not), which option is best for a clean move to the external w/o messing up Aperture?
Thank you,
Jerry
Jerry,
1. Import the rest of your images into Aperture as referenced
2. Relocate all referenced originals to your external drive.
The nice thing about a relocate is that you can modify the folder structure in the Finder when you do that. My preference is a series of yyyy > mm > dd folders, but that’s up to you.
@PhotoJoseph
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Will relocating mess up my folder structure in the Finder? I always move the images off the card into folders in Finder, then I import into Aperture from there. Some have a solid structure in place.
Jerry,
Ah, OK. Here’s what happens when you relocate. You choose a folder structure from the “subfolder format” menu [screenshot] and that’s how the files are organized. If you can’t recreate your structure there, then you will want to move manually and reconnect.
It doesn’t matter if you import the rest of the photos before or after the move
1. Move all the photos to wherever you’ll be moving them, in the folder structure you currently have. Do NOT alter your folder structure at this point, or you’ll spend all day reconnecting originals
2. Once moved, open Aperture and go to the Photos view (so you see ALL photos), select them all and open the Locate Referenced Files… command. You will need to manually match at least one file, and the rest should fall into line.
-Joseph
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While I have you here, Joseph, could I ask one quick question related to moving the images? I’m at a point where I have to decide how to move forward from here with all the images I’m accumulating. I’m deciding between a new iMac with LOTS of hard drive space to keep storing them internally or just store them all on an external (content of my post). Do you advise going with something like a Drobo system or Raid? I already have 4 external hard drives and will need yet another for this movement of images, so I’m thinking that my setup needs to change. Do you still use Drobo or do you recommend a Raid setup (which I know nothing about and would have to educate myself).
Thanks so much, Joseph! Your help is greatly appreciated.
Jerry
Jerry,
I swore off Drobo last year. I know others have had great experience, but even Scott Kelby just swore off Drobo. The CEO responded to that post, you can read all about it on Scott’s blog.
I know people who really, really know this šit, and they are not a fan of the Drobo… and that’s saying it politely.
I moved to the Pegasus system last year. It’s not cheap but it’s rock solid, and comes with very, very good recommendations from “those in the know”.
All my drives in the RAID are from Seagate. I’ve had probably eight to ten Western Digital drive failures in the last several years, and never a failure with Seagate drives.
This is not a cheap way to go, but I think it’s worth it. You still need backup (my RAID 5, which is self-protective, also is backed up to Time Machine and also to Backblaze) but the performance and reliability is what it comes down to.
-Joseph
@PhotoJoseph
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