Troubles with PC: Because my troubles with my HP Probook 4530 PC have required 3 hard drive reinstalls in a little over 2 years I'm wondering about getting a Mac. My Dell Latitude...

judrob13 Loc: Grass Valley CA

Because my troubles with my HP Probook 4530 PC have required 3 hard drive reinstalls in a little over 2 years I'm wondering about getting a Mac. My Dell Latitude wasn't such a problem as the HP.

Here's what I'm thinking (correct me if I need it) if I bought a more stable computer I wouldn't have so much trouble with my backups. I have spent hours tagging and organizing my photos, and some of this gets lost when I reinstall.

OK, if my standards for photos are so high why am I still using Picassa? Probably my age. I do own a copy of Photoshop Elements. Tell me to buckle down and learn it.

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SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

3 hard drives in 2 years must be some sort of record! Have you tried backing up your files on an external hard drive leaving the internal one free to just do routine stuff? When my hard drive started getting full I bought a 3 terabyte external drive and put literally everything on it I could. The computer is MUCH faster now as a result.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

I use Picasa for simple fixes and Elements for more difficult PP. As far as computers I have a Compaq and a Gateway. Both laptops and except for some malware sneaking in I've never had a problem. Both are a few years old and are running Windows 7. I use 1 TB Passport external drives and do a mirror image of the entire system then scheduled back-ups. So far no problems. After saying that they'll both probably have HD crashes tonight. Just joking. I hope. :shock:

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

SonyA580 wrote:

3 hard drives in 2 years must be some sort of record! Have you tried backing up your files on an external hard drive leaving the internal one free to just do routine stuff? When my hard drive started getting full I bought a 3 terabyte external drive and put literally everything on it I could. The computer is MUCH faster now as a result.

Sony, I'm wondering if you ran into the same challenge as I did ..... it seemed to take "forever" to transfer all those files to the USB drive, and this was using USB 3.0. I literally had to download a piece of software that would ensure my file transfer would continue through a power-save shutdown. Off and on, it took 3 days. I have purchased a 4TB USB drive as a backup, but so far, I've not transferred anything to that disk specifically because it takes so much time.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

Bob Yankle wrote:

Sony, I'm wondering if you ran into the same challenge as I did ..... it seemed to take "forever" to transfer all those files to the USB drive, and this was using USB 3.0. I literally had to download a piece of software that would ensure my file transfer would continue through a power-save shutdown. Off and on, it took 3 days. I have purchased a 4TB USB drive as a backup, but so far, I've not transferred anything to that disk specifically because it takes so much time.

When I did my system mirror I disabled all power save options so the system would just keep running. Then I left it alone overnight. The next morning everything was fine. :thumbup:

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

I have been using an HP Pavilion G60 for at least 3 years now with NO problems. I have 2 external USB drives that I use to store data on, only programs are loaded on the internal drive. When I change computers I will be able to just unplug the externals and plug them back in after reinstalling the software!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Can't help with the computer, just seems like bad luck, we used a HP desktop for ten years before the hard drive failed, by that time the only thing on it was my wife's e-mails and word docs, which I had backed up to an external. Everything else was on my semi-custom gamer set up for photo editing, and two backups on externals.

As to PSE, there are free tutorials, paid tutorials, For Dummie's books etc. etc. etc. Since LR doesn't alter the original there is also trial and error. You don't like the results dump the copy and go back to the original and try again.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

it seemed to take "forever" to transfer all those files to the USB drive, and this was using USB 3.0.

Yep, it took a while but I figured it was worth it. Now it constantly backs up new files. Love that.

Psergel Loc: New Mexico

When you say 3 hard drives do you mean that the hardware itself has actually been replaced or that you had to reinstall windows 3 times?
If the actual HD has been replaced more than once....who's doing the replacements?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

judrob13 wrote:

Because my troubles with my HP Probook 4530 PC hav... (show quote)

A friend had an HP laptop with lots of problems, and she got a Macbook Pro and loves it. The most important thing you can do is backup every couple of days to external drives - plural. I have three, and I use SyncBack Free to backup several folders of data.

For processing, I would suggest Lightroom. The price is reasonable, it's works wonders on images, and there are thousands of hours of free instruction available, including excellent videos from Adobe.

Jbat Loc: Charleston, SC

I went through two brand new I7 HP computers within 5 months last year, each suffering a breakdown on the mother board. That caused a significant amount of work for me as you know. After 30 years on Windows PCs, I moved to a MacBook Pro and could not be happier. I would caution that there is a learning curve as there are many differences between the Mac and Windows systems but after getting through that, everything runs smooth and easy. I do store all my photos on an external hard drive and have a second eternal HD to back up the first one.

Brandmic Loc: Alabama

After multiple issues with Dell HP, etc I switched to the MacBook Pro about 3 years ago and have never regretted it. My daughter had one for 7 years without the first issue and if not for accident would still have it. I bought her a Mac air and 2 years and no issues. No pop ups, free upgrades, easy downloading software, hundreds of inexpensive and free apps. Less worry from malware and viruses. It just works and works. Not to mention free advice at apple stores (I have one close by) or by phone even when out of warranty at Genius Bar. Never going back!! More expensive initially but you buy it once and it last for years and no expensive Microsoft upgrades.

I use the WD passport for Mac external drive for back up (2TB) and Time Machine and entire system backups are a breeze. Plug it in and leave it until it's finished. I also create folders in PP for saving all my photos individually.
One of the best purchases I've made in a long time. I use my dell for a boat anchor.

judrob13 Loc: Grass Valley CA

Reinstalling windows 7. But I followed the advice of my son who has an associate's degree in electronics. Bad idea. He isn't trying to preserve a photo collection. I am reading the advice here very carefully. Seems like an external hard drive is the right way to go. Wish I were an engineer!

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

judrob13 wrote:

Reinstalling windows 7. But I followed the advice of my son who has an associate's degree in electronics. Bad idea. He isn't trying to preserve a photo collection. I am reading the advice here very carefully. Seems like an external hard drive is the right way to go. Wish I were an engineer!

I recommend the Passport for an external drive. I got the 1 TB for about $80 but the 3TB is a good price. I think about $150. It's small so I carry it in my laptop bag when I'm on the road just in case something goes wrong. :thumbup: I don't leave it in the laptop bag because if someone steals the bag I've lost everything. So when I get to a destination I separate it and store it elsewhere.

Brandmic Loc: Alabama

I believe the passport by WD only comes in 500gb, 1tb and 2tb. WD makes a 3tb but it's not the smaller passport. I wish they did. I have the 2tb and would love to have a 3tb passport. Seagate I believe makes a smaller 3tb for Mac and maybe a 4tb even.