2 TB internal drive -- best to partition or not? 1 TB safer?

[mhschmieder]

OK, so I'm going to be buying the new iMac 27" i7 model with an SSD and a regular HD. It seems to make sense to go for the 2 TB drive vs. the 1 TB drive, to maximise what is internal SATA vs. external FW800 or USB2.

I have steered clear of anything over 1 TB so far, as I have read that FW800 and even FW400 degrade quickly beyond that point, and certain drives larger than 1 TB are not recommended by OWC for FW or USB use.

Thus, my awareness of whether 1.5 GB or 2 TB drives are generally recommended for internal drives is rather scant. Are there caveats I should be aware of?

Finally, is it better to partition such a drive or not, given that the SSD will be the System Drive and that the additional hard drive will be for sample libraries?

Believe me, I need almost 2 TB for all of my libraries by now, as VSL takes over 700 GB, BFD takes a few hundred, and my Kontakt libraries also add up to a few hundred GB at this point.

If partitions are best, does it matter how many? Is it related to the number of platters in the drive mechanism? Is it best to break it down by VSL, BFD, and then Kontakt, and maybe even PLAY, as they are all four different formats and might be referenced at the same time by simultaneous VI's in a project?

Ironically, I ordered an additional 1 TB external drive on Friday, thinking new Macs were a couple of months away. Mostly because I am within 40 GB of my limit on every external drive by now, having held out so long for the Mac updates, and have project-required libraries that I have not been able to install yet as a result.

I suppose the $200 wasn't wasted money, as it's always good to have additional backup drives -- especially once I start using Time Machine.

[FMiguelez]

I have steered clear of anything over 1 TB so far, as I have read that FW800 and even FW400 degrade quickly beyond that point, and certain drives larger than 1 TB are not recommended by OWC for FW or USB use.

I've heard similar things, but I'm not too eager to trust the sources I've heard that from.

I'd be interested to read where you got that info... my OWC cases support 2 TB drives, with FW800/400, USB and eSATA, but there's no mention of any 2 TB caveats.

I'll be following this thread closely. You just asked some stuff I want to know about too

[bongo_x]

The way I’ve always understood it is that you should never partition a drive if you’re going to be using the different partitions at the same time. Thats’s the rule I follow. You’d just be making the heads jump around more, and if it’s not making things slower and causing more wear, it’s certainly not going to help anything.

I do partition drives that I use for different backups and such.

bb

[mhschmieder]

Bongo,

Thanks so much -- that pretty much answers the question in one fell swoop.

It's always nice when someone provides the philosophical and/or technical underpinning behind the answer.

Early in my career, I wrote device drivers. That was back in the day of 8" external floppies! I simply don't know much about how these multi-platter multi-terrabyte drives operate! You've helped demistify that.

As for the notes about staying at 1 TB or lower for external FW drives, that information is added by OWC to their sales notes on the various newertechnology ministack V3 enclosures/packages. I think OWC added the note, not newertechnology, and I think it followed some bad user reviews.

[mikehalloran]

If the drive is 7200rpm, no reason not to. Slower than that, some functions of DP might take a speed hit.

The only reason to partition a drive anymore is if you want to run DP on a dedicated portion - you would do a separate OS install, load your VIs, effects etc. - any resource that DP would use. Frankly, I haven't partitioned a main drive in years and no longer think it's necessary.

Many will disagree on the above but that doesn't mean I am wrong.

You want a separate drive for Time Machine, not a separate partition. If you had a mechanical failure, you'd lose the data and your backup by running TM on a separate partition on your main drive. The low power, slower "green" drives are perfect for this since speed is not an issue and they run cooler. For an iMac, any good external works but I like the Newertech since they have great power management features (on a tower, you would dedicate one internal drive for this).

I do partition my backup drive - there is a small, bootable partition where I keep a copy of the OS, DiskWarrior, TechTool 5, Disk Utility and a few other useful tools. If my system ever went down, booting from this external and restoring to Time Machine is faster than booting from the System or TechTool DVD to restore from Time Machine. In addition, every once in a while, I will boot from this partition and run system checks, rebuild directories and optimize the main HD. I do that about once every 6-8 months.

If you are running TM on a Time Capsule, you cannot partition that drive. In that case, creating a small partition on the Main drive for maintenance utilities isn't a bad idea. The eDrive function in TechTool 5 works as well as anything for this.

[mikehalloran]

I think I found the source of the 1T/2T issue.

Because of the way that Apple senses temperature on some models of iMacs, 2T drives aren't always compatible. In fact, 1T Seagate can't be swapped out for 1T WD on these machines. The issue is an internal temp sensor on some drives and the iMacs that use them.

If Apple installs the 2T drive it's not an issue as they will use the correct cable that plugs into the proprietary internal temp sensors.

So, if you want an internal 2T drive on a new iMac, spend the $150 and order it with the computer. The one you buy from OWC might not work. OWC is working on a solution.

This issue does not affect the Mac Pro.

[mhschmieder]

Thanks for all the info and tips -- it was a big help.