Storage of Images
Jan 25, 2017 12:37:04 #
I am a novice in every since of the world except for the number of images I have on my computer. I have an iMac with 1TB of storage and an external hard drive with the same where I back up my computer that contains over 12,000 raw images each night using Time Machine. I use Photoshop Elements for editing and more and more I am plagued by a very slow system (opening and saving in Elements or in any other software application). I recently added RAM and went from 4 to 12GB but I still have most of my memory used up although I do have 750 GB on the hard drive that is free.
My Mac is 7 years old but the hard drive is only 3 years old. Should I buy more RAM so I can get 16GB, should I buy a new computer with a larger hard drive?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
My Mac is 7 years old but the hard drive is only 3 years old. Should I buy more RAM so I can get 16GB, should I buy a new computer with a larger hard drive?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Jan 25, 2017 13:01:35 #
conigk wrote:
I am a novice in every since of the world except f... (show quote)
If you have 750gb free on a 1tb drive, the drive is not the problem, and the ram should be sufficient at 12gb. You may want to consider taking your computer to an Apple store if there is one in your area. The problem you are having may be caused by malware that is trying to run in the background, or other programs on your computer. As for photo storage, I store all of my photos on an external drive, and keep that drive backed up. This way I am not taxing my main drive on my computer. That is just my version of workflow and protection for my photos. Have your computer checked out by an expert on your system and let them tell you whether or not you need to upgrade your system.
Jan 25, 2017 13:05:03 #
ricardo7
Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile
Unless you are just collecting numbers, I think you should spend the next 3 or 4 weeks critically evaluating your images with the goal of
thinning it down to about 100 images. Then prepare a slide show of these - presumably your best - images and show them to your
friends. If there eyes don't roll up into their heads you might be on to something.
thinning it down to about 100 images. Then prepare a slide show of these - presumably your best - images and show them to your
friends. If there eyes don't roll up into their heads you might be on to something.
Jan 25, 2017 13:05:36 #
I your system is 7 years old you might want to consider upgrading. More RAM will probably not help you at this point. One thing that will make your system much faster is upgrading to an SSD drive (at least 1Tb) that will speed you up considerably. I just rebuilt an eight year old Windows system that finally gave up the ghost and the difference in speed is like day and night. I have a 1Tb M.2 drive and additional 1Tb SSD drive in the system plus an additional 1Tb and 2Tb standard hard drives. I also have an external 3Tb drive as an extra backup plus I use the cloud to back with Acronis.
Jan 25, 2017 13:31:01 #
Jan 25, 2017 13:40:52 #
You might try routine maintenance on your computer like repairing permissions and clearing caches.
Jan 25, 2017 15:55:46 #
cmoroney
Loc: Pasadena, California
First thing to try is a complete shutdown, wait 10 minutes, and then restart. That will clear out any zombie processes that you may have. If the problem persists after that, take it to the Apple Store. I highly recommend their Genius Bar as they've sorted out some very nasty problems for me in the past.
Jan 26, 2017 05:57:36 #
I have a 10 year old iMac which slowed down and didn't support all the software I used, it was 32 rather than 64 bit, so I upgraded to a new iMac. I kept the old iMac for certain software uses. I also keep all my pics on an external drive and back up that and the new iMac onto another external hard drive. By upgrading I can use all the 64 bit software and avoid the unsupported 32 bit stuff (e.g. Chrome).
Jan 26, 2017 06:19:32 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
conigk wrote:
I am a novice in every since of the world except f... (show quote)
What I use are several 16GB and 32GB thumb drives, they work great.
Jan 26, 2017 07:50:33 #
conigk wrote:
I am a novice in every since of the world except f... (show quote)
Here are some good articles about speeding up a Mac. Something here should make a difference. Let us know how you do.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/how-speed-up-slow-mac-3636548/
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/five-tips-to-speed-up-your-mac/
http://www.howtogeek.com/228180/10-quick-ways-to-speed-up-a-slow-mac/
http://blog.trendmicro.com/how-to-speed-up-your-mac-without-spending-a-cent/
http://www.howtogetrid.org/computer-problems/how-to-speed-up-your-aging-mac/
Jan 26, 2017 07:53:56 #
Store your images on external drives. Se articles by Matt Koskoswki or Tim Grey. You won't regret it.
Jan 26, 2017 08:58:42 #
leftj
Loc: Texas
conigk wrote:
I am a novice in every since of the world except f... (show quote)
Time for a new Mac with retna, maximum GB memory, fastest processor, best video card and as much hard space as you can afford. Oh by the way, of the 12,000 RAW images you have I'm sure thousands are mediocre and are not worthy of taking up space on your hard drive. It's time to blow them away and only keep the good ones.
Jan 26, 2017 10:11:58 #
get an external drive and store all the files your NOT using on that drive, turn it off when not using it, if the Mac is anything like a pc its looking at all those pics. and consuming resources.
Jan 26, 2017 11:33:34 #
conigk wrote:
I am a novice in every since of the world except f... (show quote)
That seems to be a thing with PSE, a slow running computer. Witnessed that on 3 different computers, on 2 of them (with PSE removed), but running the full version of Photoshop, those problems are gone!
Jan 26, 2017 11:43:31 #
The advice and comments you have received so far are good. If you happen to be using the Organize in Elements, you should go to preferences there and turn off the Media Analysis, and Facial Recognition. It can be a real resource hog, especially in older versions, but even in more recent versions for that number of photos. Eventually, after indexing everything, the performance should improve. But personally, I do not use it.
It also struck me that if you have a virus, other programs and symptoms would most likely be visible as well.
FWIW
It also struck me that if you have a virus, other programs and symptoms would most likely be visible as well.
FWIW
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