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Move Home Folder or no?

M

MrMJS

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 11, 2014
69
2
Ohio
Hello,

I am installing an SSD in place of my SuperDrive on my iMac. I will keep the 1Tb drive for date and run the OS and Apps on the SSD. Should I move the home folder over to the 1Tb drive or just save documents to the 1Tb drive and leave home folder on SSD? [what is the best practice?]

Also, will time machine backup both HD's?

Thanks...
 
MCAsan

MCAsan

macrumors 601
Jul 9, 2012
4,587
442
Atlanta
Suggestion: leave the superdrive alone and replace the HD with an SSD for boot/cache/apps and basic data like contacts, email, notes...et. Install an USB3 or thunderbolt drive (7200rpm) as a Library drive. Install the second external drive for TM backups (if you do not use a Time Capsule. With a USB 3 enclosure or docking station that supports UASP you can get read/write speeds that are as fast as using thunderbolt as the transport.


My rMBP setup: I left my home folder on the rMBP SSD. I simply created folders (Pictures, Music, Videos, Documents...etc) on my external library drive. All my music, videos, documents, pictures...etc. sit on the external library drive. When I do a photo shoot or field trip the images are imported to the SSD, culled, edited, and them moved to the subfolders under /Pictures on the library drive. My Lightoom catalog is on the SSD. It is backed up the library drive /Pictures folder. All my raw images (100k+) are on the library drive.

At home TM backs up both the internal SSD and external library drive to a separate 6TB drive. When I am at a shoot or field trip, I have a 1 TB drive to do TM backups of just the SSD.
 
Last edited:
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,171
15,691
California
MrMJS said:
I am installing an SSD in place of my SuperDrive on my iMac. I will keep the 1Tb drive for date and run the OS and Apps on the SSD. Should I move the home folder over to the 1Tb drive or just save documents to the 1Tb drive and leave home folder on SSD? [what is the best practice?]
Click to expand...

IMO don't move the home folder. Seems like every time I see this done it causes problems because certain apps expect the home folder to be in the usual location. I would just move your big folders like Music and Pictures etc to the other drive.

Also, will time machine backup both HD's?
Click to expand...

Yes it will. When you set it up look in Time Machine options to make sure the second drive is not on the "excluded" list.
 
M

MrMJS

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 11, 2014
69
2
Ohio
Weaselboy said:
IMO don't move the home folder. Seems like every time I see this done it causes problems because certain apps expect the home folder to be in the usual location. I would just move your big folders like Music and Pictures etc to the other drive.



Yes it will. When you set it up look in Time Machine options to make sure the second drive is not on the "excluded" list.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your help!
 
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