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QUESTION: best external SSD drive to use for Logic-iMac ?


T0nt0

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I currently use an external Lacie spinning drive to store my Logic Project files. I have to be very careful to always dismount / eject the drive before sleeping my iMac otherwise I will often (not always) get the spinning ball of death when I wake up the computer. This procedure is annoying when I am sleeping and waking the computer multiple times each day.

 

I have read that using an external SSD drive may solve the sleep problem.

 

My QUESTIONs:

 

1. Can anyone confirm in to confirm that an external SSD drive does not have to be dismounted/ejected when sleeping an iMac.

 

2. I was thinking of buying this Apple storage accessory : LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD High‑Performance External SSD USB-C USB 3.0. Anybody using these ? Is it a good buy ?

 

Thanks for any feedback

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I don't store my Project files on my external ssd but I do store all my third party plugins like Hollywood Orchestra etc.

I leave it plugged in and running all the time and have never had an issue with a beach ball or any delay or hiccup when my mac goes to sleep.

 

I'm not sure if its the same situation but I hope it helps.

 

Drew

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Drew: thanks for the reply.

 

I think the issue is when you access project files from an external drive. The best practice is I believe to store Logic project files on an external drive as this means the Logic programme is not simulataneously reading and writing to the same drive, which can cause issues.

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I agree that you should both unmount and shut off the external drives after you're done working. I've been having an odd situation in which if the external drives (ssd, Thunderbolt) are already powered on and I turn on a shut-down iMac, I get the flashing question mark. For whatever reason, the iMac isn't finding the startup disk, i.e. the internal ssd. If I start up the iMac first and then power on the external ssds there is no problem. And if I simply restart the iMac with the drives already powered and mounted there is no problem. From a shut down state, though, I have to start the iMac first.

 

This may be specific to my iMac and external drives. As far as I can tell there have been no problems related to this circumstance.

 

Jim

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I was thinking of buying this Apple storage accessory : LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD High‑Performance External SSD USB-C USB 3.0. Anybody using these ? Is it a good buy ?

 

I would get this one instead:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA1T0B/dp/B073H552FJ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2R75GYX1EHJIN&keywords=samsung+t5&qid=1585618700&sprefix=samsung+t%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-2

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If I still have to eject/dismount the Samsung T5 every time 'sleep' my iMac then I have no workflow improvement over my existing Lacie external drive. I will therefore continue to use the Lacie external drive.

 

The only reason I was going to switch to an external SSD was if it solved the sleep spinning ball of death issue.

 

I have found Lacie drives to be very reliable. I have a 12 year old Lacie 500GB Firewire 800 model which is still working fine.

 

Side question: If eject + dismount mean the same thing, why do Apple persist with having both options available when you do right hand mouse click in "Disk utility' ? - it indicates that they are different actions?

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You don’t have to eject a drive when the computer is sleeping, just when you want to physically disconnect it. Why are you constantly moving the drive? If you need the drive for other tasks then definitely consider another drive dedicated to the iMac. And not a LaCie if possible, their enclosures have a higher failure rate than many others.
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To prevent the spinning ball of death scenario I have to "grey out" the external drive by selecting it in Disk utility and right-clicking the drive and either selecting "unmount" or "eject" which greys out the drive. I can then sleep the iMac without the spinning ball issue happening when I un-sleep the computer

 

To be clear, I do not physically remove the drive by disconnecting the cable.

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