Old 12-12-2019, 02:30 PM   #1
Scanlon
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Default External hard drive

Hi,

Can I use my internal hard drive to run Reaper and an external (e.g. 1TB) to record and save my song sessions, save audio files, etc.?
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Old 12-12-2019, 04:09 PM   #2
Fabian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scanlon View Post
Hi,

Can I use my internal hard drive to run Reaper and an external (e.g. 1TB) to record and save my song sessions, save audio files, etc.?
Yes.
As long as the external drive is not a slow 5400 rpm connected by USB 1, it should work fine.
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Old 12-13-2019, 08:48 AM   #3
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That's actually the most common setup. The faster the drives the more you can do before it stops running smoothly (with RAM as a consideration as well, naturally). As Scanlon says, USB1 should be avoided as well as 5400RPM drives.
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Old 12-13-2019, 11:05 AM   #4
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Highest performance is an internal SSD (SATA connected or pci connected for X.2 or M.2 SSDs) with OS/apps and the free space is your high performance workspace.

Most bang for the buck is to install the internal SSD of the size you need. Use a USB connected external for backup only.

If you need mad storage space for your archives that exceeds 1 or 2 TB, get a pair of 4TB (or larger) HDDs. (One is the primary one you use and the 2nd is its backup.)

The high performance externals (thunderbolt external SSD) are expensive. If you really need it... it's an option. But the above is much more bang for the buck and still highest performance possible.

You can install multiple internal SSDs (2 in a laptop, many in a tower) if you need multiple systems and/or that kind of workspace.

But if you did something like try to run all your audio on an external USB connected HDD, you'd have a pretty low performance experience for no good reason.

Work on current projects off your SSD. Archive finished projects to your external storage (when you get to the point of needing that archive space). SSDs are cheap now too. Upgrade your internal to a 1TB or 2TB if you need more space.

Last edited by serr; 12-13-2019 at 11:41 PM.
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Old 12-13-2019, 08:22 PM   #5
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If the external drive is on USB3 it's fast enough to use as a working Reaper project drive. Things get 'iffy' if using USB2, especially if the audio interface is also USB2.

In that case, just use the external as a backup. At the end of every session, cooy the working project folder(s) to the external drive. This utility from Cockos.com is a great tool for that:

http://cockos.com/pathsync/
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