Hard drive problem

[BONEDOKTER]

I am hoping someone here has an answer, apple care did not help. I have a 2011 iMac configured as below. My ssd fills up and it tells me to make room or else. I also have a 1TB HD. Shouldn't the ssd and the hdd talk to each other, and move things to the hdd when the ssd gets close to being full. When I bought the computer that's what I assumed. Why do I need to manually move things to the hd, I know OS and applications go on the ssd and the rest should go on the hd, I want things like my tunes library and iPhoto library of images on the bigger drive. I don't know which files to move, my question, is there something wrong with my computer and how do I check to see if the drives are communicating and if not how do I fix it. And yes all updates are installed and I am running the latest OS of mountain lion. All responses are welcome.

Respectfully

IMAC 27"
1
Part Number: Z0M7
With the following configuration:
•
PROCESSOR 065-0250 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
•
MEMORY 065-0251 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
•
HARD DRIVE 065-0310 1TB Serial ATA Drive+256GB SSD

 

[hfg]

No, the separate disks don't manage the data between them. That is up to the user who has more than one physical disk drive.

On the more recent models, Apple has made it easier by offering the "Fusion" drive which combines the SSD and Hard Disk into a single logical drive, and then OS X manages blocks of data so as to keep the most frequently used on the SSD for speed. This works well to simplify the management process for most users.

You can create a DIY Fusion drive with your existing system which will behave the same way. Search these forums for threads with detailed instructions (it involves 4 terminal commands, with a full backup and restore) plus links to magazine articles and blogs describing how it works and how to create your own Fusion drive.

 

[thedeske]

Or you can put the home folder on the HD - Tried and True for some of us & you can still move things to the SSD when you need top speed on occasion. You'll have lots of extra space on the SSD.

Assume you have a fresh backup and proceed

Using the Finder, navigate to your startup drive's /Users folder. For most people, this will probably be /Macintosh HD/Users. In the Users folder, you'll find your home folder, easily identified by the house icon.
Select the home folder and drag it to its new destination on another drive. Because you're using a different drive for the destination, OS X will copy the data rather than move it, which means the original data will remain in its current location. We'll delete the original home folder later, after we have verified that everything is working.
Launch System Preferences by clicking the System Preferences icon in the Dock, or selecting System Preferences from the Apple menu.
In the Accounts preference pane or the Users & Groups (OS X Lion), click the lock icon in the bottom left corner, then provide an administrator name and password.
From the list of user accounts, right-click on the account whose home folder you moved, and select Advanced Options from the pop-up menu.

Warning: Do not make any changes to the Advanced Options, except for those noted here. Doing so can cause quite a few unforeseen problems that could lead to data loss or the need to reinstall the OS.

In the Advanced Options, click the Choose button, located to the right of the Home directory field.
Navigate to the location you moved your home folder to, select the new home folder, and click OK.
Click OK to dismiss the Advanced Options, and then close System Preferences.
Restart your Mac, and it will use the home folder in the new location.

Once your Mac restarts, navigate to the location of your new home folder. The new home folder should now display the house icon.

When you're satisfied that everything is working properly (try out a few applications), you can delete the original home folder.

 

[hfg]

This method of relocating the users home directory is easy to do, and for the most part works quite well without the necessity of creating symlinks. As such, it is generally immune to problems with OS X updates "undoing" what you have set up.

The one weak point of this method is the User/library, which contains many small, frequently accessed files (user preferences, etc) which would benefit greatly from SSD speed if they were located there.

Other than that, this is a recognized and stable way to simply separate the OS X environment onto two drives, one a high speed SSD. It has been a popular method for doing so prior to the implementation and release of the Fusion CoreStorage technology in OS X.

 

[BONEDOKTER]

Hard drive problem

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. If I had known I would have to manage things myself I would have gone with one hard drive and used an external hard drive for every thing else..I had planned to use the hdd for light room and catalog all the photos there. I will figure it, thanks every one.