MacBook Pro 128GB and Google Drive: Suggestions please!!

[OceanFrog]

I just got a new MBP 128gb (yay!!). I’m upgrading from an older MBA 256gb and have files of around 200gb which I use frequently.

This obviously gives me a problem as the new MBP doesn’t have enough space for everything.

I also have Google Drive unlimited space. Does anyone keep files on Google Drive on a 128gb machine? Any tips or suggestions on how best to use?

Or should I just but a big external drive?

 

[ryanmillercg]

Congrats on your new computer! 128gb can be rough but depending on your needs, you can definitely make it work.

This is exactly the use-case for Google Drive File Stream https://support.google.com/a/answer...ive&utm_content=getstarted&utm_campaign=en_us which is unfortunately only available for business. It allows you to browse files in your drive as if they were on your computer, and only download the ones you need (on the fly).

We used this at our company for a few months, storing over 1tb of game development assets on it. We had a number of sync issues, and when we finally went to another solution, it took over a week for the Google Drive Trash to empty. I was not impressed.

OneDrive offers this same kind of 'file stream' solution and I've been using it happily for about 6 months now. If you pay for Office 365 (or are willing to) you can get 1TB of storage bundled with it. I suggest you have a look at OneDrive!

Low-Profile USB drives used to be a great option for offline storage that you can take with you on the go (for example: https://www.amazon.ca/Sandisk-Cruze...s=usb+flash+drive+small&qid=1583417368&sr=8-7). I haven't seen USB-C versions of these yet, unfortunately.

 

[jeyf]

iuse about 80GB on a local computer, i mean a really small#. I keep most of my projects data on a home network NAS box but encrypted cloud storage would work too. Just me tho.

you might up front research a macOS app that scans your MBP and gives you metirics on file size and how many times you read write to them.

good luck on your new MBP, look into weather you can get the mbp kb replaced. They also replace the battery. keep a sales reciept.

 

[ryanmillercg]

iuse about 80GB on a local computer, i mean a really small#. I keep most of my projects data on a home network NAS box but encrypted cloud storage would work too. Just me tho.

you might up front research a macOS app that scans your MBP and gives you metirics on file size and how many times you read write to them.

good luck on your new MBP, look into weather you can get the mbp kb replaced. They also replace the battery. keep a sales reciept.

Thanks for the reminder - Disk Inventory X is a lifesaver for freeing up drive space http://www.derlien.com

 

[EmmEff]

I second the recommendation for a cheap external USB connected SSD. I picked up a Samsung T5 500GB SSD for less than $50 USD on a sale a few months ago. Performance is excellent (~500MB/s) and it's small enough to carry with the notebook.

 

[NoBoMac]

Will ditto an external drive, as will be easier to deal with.

Less easy and free method would be to upload all your extraneous files to Google via web browser, and then access from there (aka. download what needs to be downloaded when it's needed) and don't install Google Drive program for Mac as that will just keep the files on the Mac ala Dropbox, iCloud, etc.

 

[mj_]

OneDrive offers this same kind of 'file stream' solution and I've been using it happily for about 6 months now. If you pay for Office 365 (or are willing to) you can get 1TB of storage bundled with it. I suggest you have a look at OneDrive!

Does OneDrive for macOS finally support this feature? I remember back when it was first introduced it was only available for the Windows version of OneDrive.

 

[ryanmillercg]

Does OneDrive for macOS finally support this feature? I remember back when it was first introduced it was only available for the Windows version of OneDrive.

Yup. I use it all the time!

 

[mj_]

Awesome, thank you @ryanmillercg