Hard drive space?

[pixelperfect]

I'm not sure if this is the right area for this question but for all you computer savvy IT types out there, I have a Dell Inspiron (P4 3.2 processor) Notebook with a 80G hard drive that is filling up fast. I'm trying to figure out what's the best way to increase my storage. I was thinking about purchasing an external hard drive to store all my photos & projects on. I don't know how big of one to get. I also want to make sure it will work wireless.

Will moving all my photos to a separate hd help Elements run faster?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!:)

[PaulH]

I'm not sure if this is the right area for this question but for all you computer savvy IT types out there, I have a Dell Inspiron (P4 3.2 processor) Notebook with a 80G hard drive that is filling up fast. I'm trying to figure out what's the best way to increase my storage. I was thinking about purchasing an external hard drive to store all my photos & projects on. I don't know how big of one to get. I also want to make sure it will work wireless.

Will moving all my photos to a separate hd help Elements run faster?


Any advise would be greatly appreciated!:)
Probably not run any faster. I also don't know of any wireless external drives. There are network (wired Ethernet) drives that you just install anywhere on your network.


You could replace your internal and get a external USB "box" for your existing drive. If you replace yours with a faster one it will load programs faster. You could use your old 80 for backup or external. I just changed one - from http://www.drivesolutions.com/ - and went from a 4200 rpm to a 5400 and was quicker loading. It took me less than an hour to move data to the new one - swap the drives and re-load the data. I now have an external 40 gig that will fit in a pocket. There also are 7200 rpm drives - just depends on your wallet.


Otherwise just get a 200 or so USB external.

What you could do is replace

[pixelperfect]

Thanks Paul.

My network is wireless so If I connect an external HD to the router I should be good....right? I'm going to look into replacing the internal as well, all the photo & graphics work seems to take waaaayyyy to long to process. Is it easy to change a hd in a notebook or should I have a professional do it?

[troush]

Couple of things...

1. Make sure you clear out your TEMP directory (Start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Disk Cleanup). It can get full surfing and doing PSE stuff.

2. Can you archive your older stuff to CD/DVD?


-Trish

[pixelperfect]

Thanks Trish. I do try to clean up the temp directories pretty often. I also have to remember that recycle bin!!

As far as archiving to CD/DVD, I've always been afraid that I'll either lose the discs or they will somehow get scratched or damaged. Not to mention the multitude I will end up with. :eek: I think part of the problem is I have multiple copies of the photos (the orginal, an edited and project file). But I like having everything in one place where I know I can get to it.:)

[Brad]

I'm not shure how you plan to connect a hard drive to your router. The external hard drive should be plugged in to the computer your using by way of a usb port. That computer will see it as an additional hard drive and assign it a drive letter. As far as storage goes..well if your external hard drive ever failed you will loose all pictures ever stored on it. So a DVD is not a bad idea. I would opt for the recordable dvd player.

[pixelperfect]

Hi Brad, at work here, we have an external hard drive (Buffalo Link Station) that we use as our "server". It is plugged into our router and mapped as a network drive. I was thinking of maybe a setup like that.

I understand the CD/DVD is a good idea but I could end up with hundreds of them! Just the thought of storing and keeping them organized scares me!

[PaulH]

Hi Brad, at work here, we have an external hard drive (Buffalo Link Station) that we use as our "server". It is plugged into our router and mapped as a network drive. I was thinking of maybe a setup like that.

I understand the CD/DVD is a good idea but I could end up with hundreds of them! Just the thought of storing and keeping them organized scares me!
There are many network HD's, many are sold as a empty box and you add 2 or more drives of your choice. 100+ for a box, 100 for a 200 gig drive.

Backup to dvd is not too bad.

I have everything structured so all my data files are subs of 1 directory. All pics are subs. etc. I can use Roxio to create backups of ea. sub. All one needs to do is number them - start it and go.

I have one set of pic files that takes 10 dvd. But these are ones that I have also copied in 2 other spaces. SLow though it takes me 20 min per dvd. So I start it - start a timer and do something else.

Someday I'll add a terebyte to the network and keep multiple copies on the network.