Currently have old iMac and Mbp with full hard drives with a full prior generation apple time capsule.
Going to buy a new iMac, and give old iMac to kids. Will also buy a refurbed Mac mini to act as always on I-tunes server.
1) First I need to free up space on my hard drives as both iMac and mbp are slow running......
Qn - is there an easy way to identify large size files and delete ( or move to an external USB drive), so that my current machines are usable.
Qn - Is there anyway I can remove entire iPhoto or iTunes library to an external USB drive, and have the respective applications read and even write to these
2) second I need to decide on an a central storage and backup solution. I recognise that best backup is a carbon copy of data to an external hard drive and then keep offsite or in safe location.
Qn - am I best off having a large external hard drive (USB or thunderbolt....tho feel that TB may be overkill for me re speed) directly connected to my new Mac mini and have this as a central storage for all devices....and as long as Mac mini is on will applications on all devices all be able to read and write to this external drive...almost seamlessly...or any issues? ( I will use a new time capsule as the router)
Qn - would I be better off just having a separate external hard drive connected directly to my new iMac ( which will be my main machine....other iMac and Mbp would likely use central storage via Mac mini.
3) I quite like the idea of having access to media outside of home, and hence a NAS capability appeals to me, but I also believe that the Mac mini will give me this capability if I buy the $30 OS server application.
Qn - assuming a NAS (synology for example) would be overkill if I already have a Mac mini.....what type of external drives should I look to buy
Qn - is there any real benefit in buying enclosures with swappable drives or do I just have a single or multiple drives directly connected?
Ultimately.....I am looking for advice on approach, and then help with the shopping list.
Appreciate all and any advice please.
Thank you.
Going to buy a new iMac, and give old iMac to kids. Will also buy a refurbed Mac mini to act as always on I-tunes server.
1) First I need to free up space on my hard drives as both iMac and mbp are slow running......
Qn - is there an easy way to identify large size files and delete ( or move to an external USB drive), so that my current machines are usable.
Qn - Is there anyway I can remove entire iPhoto or iTunes library to an external USB drive, and have the respective applications read and even write to these
2) second I need to decide on an a central storage and backup solution. I recognise that best backup is a carbon copy of data to an external hard drive and then keep offsite or in safe location.
Qn - am I best off having a large external hard drive (USB or thunderbolt....tho feel that TB may be overkill for me re speed) directly connected to my new Mac mini and have this as a central storage for all devices....and as long as Mac mini is on will applications on all devices all be able to read and write to this external drive...almost seamlessly...or any issues? ( I will use a new time capsule as the router)
Qn - would I be better off just having a separate external hard drive connected directly to my new iMac ( which will be my main machine....other iMac and Mbp would likely use central storage via Mac mini.
3) I quite like the idea of having access to media outside of home, and hence a NAS capability appeals to me, but I also believe that the Mac mini will give me this capability if I buy the $30 OS server application.
Qn - assuming a NAS (synology for example) would be overkill if I already have a Mac mini.....what type of external drives should I look to buy
Qn - is there any real benefit in buying enclosures with swappable drives or do I just have a single or multiple drives directly connected?
Ultimately.....I am looking for advice on approach, and then help with the shopping list.
Appreciate all and any advice please.
Thank you.