I have a 2TB time capsule-my imac(10.5.8)has 234.36GB left on it-when it is full-  how large an external drive do I need?do I attach to imac or the TC

Answer

People talk about reserving at least 10% of hard disc space. Personally, I'd NEVER allow my system to get to that. It depends on what you are using your computer for. For example, do you edit video or use memory-intense apps that utilise all available ram? You'll want more space on your HD.

If you have any other devices connected to the same network, a solution is a HD connected to your TC's USB which can share files, stream movies etc. wirelessly. This frees up your main drive from media files, which are the bulk of many people's storage needs these days, allowing more space for working files, apps, etc. The main disadvantages to this approach are that this drive will not be backed up automatically by Time Machine, and also it's not a good solution for editing larger files as the transfer rate will be much slower than a directly-connected external drive. If you're just using it for bulk storage, it works well as you can just backup the entire disc manually if/when needed.

If you connect your additional HD direct to the iMac then this drive can also be automatically backed up by TC as normal.

• Answered by Chris R from Goonellabah
• Mar 15, 2013
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