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using files off an external hardrive

alieNDNalieNDN 2,181 Posts
edited November 2007 in Strut Central
just a basic question that im not sure about when it comes to external harddrives. say you have music files on it, is it okay to play them directly off the external harddrive? or i was editing a photoshop file, is it okay to directly edit a file that resides on an external hard drive?the reason im asking is i always understood external drives as being for storage purposes ONLY and NOT for running/using a file. does the drive get damaged faster if you're using the data on it? thoughts/suggestions?muchas gracias

  Comments

  • don_gigantedon_gigante 259 Posts
    i used my xtrnal for a gig one time thru surato...no problems no damage...worked great...diggin thru 60 gigs of unorganized mp3s was a test though....
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    It shouldn't be that much of a problem. Internal drives are just stationary and can't be removed, but are basically the same as an external. They use different cables, but it's the same principle. It's hooked up to power and a cable. Internal or external, it still sends a signal through the cable, so it shouldn't make a difference whether it's inside or out. There may be some speed differences, but with usb 2 and firewire it should be fine.

    I'm not a computer pro, but I've tinkered around enough. At least it's worked for me in the past. I'm sure someone can prove me wrong. It probably all depends on how much ram you have and how much of a buffer there is.
  • CBearCBear 902 Posts
    I keep a bunch of music on an external drive, and i started up a separate library on itunes for it so it's on its own library. You can do that on a mac by pressing option when you start up iTunes. I've never had any problems running it directly off the external.
  • alieNDNalieNDN 2,181 Posts
    thanks for the thoughts guys.

    a question dont know if any of u can help me with, i just got a WD Mybook hardrive and backed my whole hardrive up. its apparently finished. but now when i browse through the external drive, there's a bunch of files with the extension .NBZ instead of my files. i know the thing worked because the external drive as taken up as much space as my original hard drive. but how do i access the files? do u unzip them or something? this is my first time using an external.
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