Two laptops, Two versions of Elements and an External hard drive. Can this work?

GoldenRGuy · 08-03-2012, 03:12 PM

So I'm wondering if I'm asking for trouble. My main laptop (Vista) has my 5000+ photo library and Elements 6. I have a new laptop (Windows 7 Core i7) that I'm thinking of installing my new version of Elements 10 on. If I get an external hard drive, can I work between them? (I also have Lightroom 3 on the Vista computer) I guess I'm not sure how an external drive will work in this setup. Has anyone tried this or does anyone have any tips or advice?

imtheguy · 08-03-2012, 03:55 PM - **1 Like**

I so something like that with 3 computers and a tablet. The 80,000+ picture library is kept on an external drive but its really a very inexpensive home server, the Synology DS111. I get 60MB/sec read/write to it over gigabit connections and about 20% of that with the 300mb/s wireless. The DA111 comes with many free server apps, one specifically for photos and thumbnails. It means letting go of the PE Organizer but I could not be happier with the results. A USB external drive backs up the server each night and I keep one of the 2 USB drives off site. This works so much better than keeping the libraries on the biggest desktop and always getting duplicates on the others out of sync. Dont let the word "server" throw you. Its the size of a big external drive and you just access it through your browser or map it as a drive letter. The speed is comparable to my laptop drive such that I cant tell if I am editing a pic on the server or the new laptop.

If you merely wish to share a USB or eSATA drive between machines, you can not have it connected to both unless you set up a network and share it through one of the machines that is always on.

**jatrax** · 08-03-2012, 04:09 PM - **1 Like**

If you only want to share the drive between them (only one laptop at a time) that will work fine. Assuming no major differences in Elements 6 versus 10 when saving the file. Which might be a problem if 10 has a different file format (I have no idea I use 7 on both of my computers).

Lightroom requires the catalog to be on a local drive although the images can be on the network. A USB connected drive qualifies as local, but may be slower than an internal drive.

And you probably already know this but having all your images only on a single laptop drive is inviting disaster. It WILL fail at some point. So assuming you have a good backup strategy in place consider how the external drive fits into that. If you are going to move the library onto the external drive then how and when does it get backed up?

The ideal situation is some sort of home network with a server or dedicated file serving machine, like imtheguy mentioned. I am using Windows Home Server on a old machine I converted for the purpose. It has a RAID 5 array of 4 disks which contain the image library plus a 3tb internal drive for network backups. This is all backed up to rotating external drives one of which is stored offsite. I also use Synctoy to keep a copy of my current files on a smaller USB harddrive that goes with me on trips. I copy filled memory cards onto that drive each night and then can copy off to the server when I get back into the office.

Bottom line, unless you have two (preferably three) copies of anything you want to keep, you are living dangerously.

GoldenRGuy · 08-03-2012, 04:33 PM

Thanks to both of you! I'm a camera guy (only went digital 4 years ago..) so the computer learning curve is steep! I like the server idea. And imtheguy, I have been backing up to an external drive, but its old and only 500gb. So photos are on 2 devices for now. Thanks again.

**jatrax** · 08-03-2012, 06:22 PM

In the old days photographers had often elaborate systems to index their slides or photos, often having entire cabinets with little trays of carefully marked slides. The need to properly index, preserve and retrieve our images has not changed. But the sheer number of images we have now has made it far more complex.

I may be a little excessive about this topic but I think the most important part of a digital photographers workflow is how the files are stored, indexed, protected and backed up. I know of at least one photographer that lost his entire film collection in a house fire, over 100,000 prints, negatives and slides. An entire career, simply gone. We have the tools to prevent that but far too many people don't do it.

My son's girl friend recently asked me how to delete some images off of her camera so she could take some more. After a little confusion and discussion I finally understood that for over two years she had been taking photos and had never off loaded anything to a computer. Everything she had taken for two years was still on that memory card. I gave her the lecture about backups, and when finished she said she understood and could I now show her how to delete some pictures so she could take more. Oh well, I tried......

GoldenRGuy · 08-03-2012, 06:31 PM

Agreed jatrax! I have shoe boxes full of slides and negatives. 45 years worth. I used to take my colour shots to a lab (developed the B&W's myself) and somehow they developed my pics into beautiful images. Now I have to develop them myself and I'm useless at it. Still practicing but PS and Lightroom ask me to use sliders to develop the images and it sucks... I have lots of books, but the technology seems to be beyond me. Think I'll get a safety deposit box on Monday and put my ext.HD in it for safekeeping. It won't fit the shoe boxes though.. Thanks!

**jatrax** · 08-03-2012, 06:52 PM

Originally posted by GoldenRGuy

I used to take my colour shots to a lab (developed the B&W's myself) and somehow they developed my pics into beautiful images.

I helped my dad in the darkroom many times. Drove my mom crazy as dad had it set up in the downstairs bathroom and every time she had anybody over she had to fight with him to clean it up and put it all away. But we had lots of fun making images out nothing. There is nothing like watching that piece of white paper slowly turn into a print.

I've been using Lightroom almost daily for two years now and I finally think I am starting to figure it out. The learning curve is very big. I have read a couple of books and watched dozens of videos, the ones on Adobe TV by Julieanne Kost are especially good. The trick (at least in my opinion) is to start at the top of the develop module and work your way down. So exposure is first and you finish under the detail tab with sharpening. I don't bother with PS, it is too complicated for me. I do use GIMP if I have to to something that requires layers but 95% of my work is in Lightroom. I just do not have the time to learn PS so I have focused on getting as good as I can with Lightroom.

GoldenRGuy · 08-03-2012, 07:06 PM

My mentor was my big brother (14 years older than me) A Pentaxian until he went Nikon 5 yrs ago.... He built a darkroom in our basement after Dad died. I, like you, loved to see the images magically appear from a white sheet. When we got our 1st house, the ONLY bathroom got blacked out and I went to work for hours. Wasn't long before I put a toilet in the basement! I'll keep playing with LR. I don't need to PS images, just organize and develop them! Thanks man.. Lots of memories remembered!

08-03-2012, 03:12 PM	#1
GoldenRGuy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kingston, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 154	Two laptops, Two versions of Elements and an External hard drive. Can this work? So I'm wondering if I'm asking for trouble. My main laptop (Vista) has my 5000+ photo library and Elements 6. I have a new laptop (Windows 7 Core i7) that I'm thinking of installing my new version of Elements 10 on. If I get an external hard drive, can I work between them? (I also have Lightroom 3 on the Vista computer) I guess I'm not sure how an external drive will work in this setup. Has anyone tried this or does anyone have any tips or advice?

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08-03-2012, 03:55 PM - 1 Like	#2
imtheguy Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,950	I so something like that with 3 computers and a tablet. The 80,000+ picture library is kept on an external drive but its really a very inexpensive home server, the Synology DS111. I get 60MB/sec read/write to it over gigabit connections and about 20% of that with the 300mb/s wireless. The DA111 comes with many free server apps, one specifically for photos and thumbnails. It means letting go of the PE Organizer but I could not be happier with the results. A USB external drive backs up the server each night and I keep one of the 2 USB drives off site. This works so much better than keeping the libraries on the biggest desktop and always getting duplicates on the others out of sync. Dont let the word "server" throw you. Its the size of a big external drive and you just access it through your browser or map it as a drive letter. The speed is comparable to my laptop drive such that I cant tell if I am editing a pic on the server or the new laptop. If you merely wish to share a USB or eSATA drive between machines, you can not have it connected to both unless you set up a network and share it through one of the machines that is always on.

08-03-2012, 04:09 PM - 1 Like	#3
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	If you only want to share the drive between them (only one laptop at a time) that will work fine. Assuming no major differences in Elements 6 versus 10 when saving the file. Which might be a problem if 10 has a different file format (I have no idea I use 7 on both of my computers). Lightroom requires the catalog to be on a local drive although the images can be on the network. A USB connected drive qualifies as local, but may be slower than an internal drive. And you probably already know this but having all your images only on a single laptop drive is inviting disaster. It WILL fail at some point. So assuming you have a good backup strategy in place consider how the external drive fits into that. If you are going to move the library onto the external drive then how and when does it get backed up? The ideal situation is some sort of home network with a server or dedicated file serving machine, like imtheguy mentioned. I am using Windows Home Server on a old machine I converted for the purpose. It has a RAID 5 array of 4 disks which contain the image library plus a 3tb internal drive for network backups. This is all backed up to rotating external drives one of which is stored offsite. I also use Synctoy to keep a copy of my current files on a smaller USB harddrive that goes with me on trips. I copy filled memory cards onto that drive each night and then can copy off to the server when I get back into the office. Bottom line, unless you have two (preferably three) copies of anything you want to keep, you are living dangerously.

08-03-2012, 04:33 PM	#4
GoldenRGuy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kingston, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 154 Original Poster	Thanks to both of you! I'm a camera guy (only went digital 4 years ago..) so the computer learning curve is steep! I like the server idea. And imtheguy, I have been backing up to an external drive, but its old and only 500gb. So photos are on 2 devices for now. Thanks again.

08-03-2012, 06:22 PM	#5
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	In the old days photographers had often elaborate systems to index their slides or photos, often having entire cabinets with little trays of carefully marked slides. The need to properly index, preserve and retrieve our images has not changed. But the sheer number of images we have now has made it far more complex. I may be a little excessive about this topic but I think the most important part of a digital photographers workflow is how the files are stored, indexed, protected and backed up. I know of at least one photographer that lost his entire film collection in a house fire, over 100,000 prints, negatives and slides. An entire career, simply gone. We have the tools to prevent that but far too many people don't do it. My son's girl friend recently asked me how to delete some images off of her camera so she could take some more. After a little confusion and discussion I finally understood that for over two years she had been taking photos and had never off loaded anything to a computer. Everything she had taken for two years was still on that memory card. I gave her the lecture about backups, and when finished she said she understood and could I now show her how to delete some pictures so she could take more. Oh well, I tried......

08-03-2012, 06:31 PM	#6
GoldenRGuy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kingston, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 154 Original Poster	Agreed jatrax! I have shoe boxes full of slides and negatives. 45 years worth. I used to take my colour shots to a lab (developed the B&W's myself) and somehow they developed my pics into beautiful images. Now I have to develop them myself and I'm useless at it. Still practicing but PS and Lightroom ask me to use sliders to develop the images and it sucks... I have lots of books, but the technology seems to be beyond me. Think I'll get a safety deposit box on Monday and put my ext.HD in it for safekeeping. It won't fit the shoe boxes though.. Thanks!

08-03-2012, 06:52 PM	#7
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	Originally posted by GoldenRGuy I used to take my colour shots to a lab (developed the B&W's myself) and somehow they developed my pics into beautiful images. I helped my dad in the darkroom many times. Drove my mom crazy as dad had it set up in the downstairs bathroom and every time she had anybody over she had to fight with him to clean it up and put it all away. But we had lots of fun making images out nothing. There is nothing like watching that piece of white paper slowly turn into a print. I've been using Lightroom almost daily for two years now and I finally think I am starting to figure it out. The learning curve is very big. I have read a couple of books and watched dozens of videos, the ones on Adobe TV by Julieanne Kost are especially good. The trick (at least in my opinion) is to start at the top of the develop module and work your way down. So exposure is first and you finish under the detail tab with sharpening. I don't bother with PS, it is too complicated for me. I do use GIMP if I have to to something that requires layers but 95% of my work is in Lightroom. I just do not have the time to learn PS so I have focused on getting as good as I can with Lightroom.

08-03-2012, 07:06 PM	#8
GoldenRGuy Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Kingston, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 154 Original Poster	My mentor was my big brother (14 years older than me) A Pentaxian until he went Nikon 5 yrs ago.... He built a darkroom in our basement after Dad died. I, like you, loved to see the images magically appear from a white sheet. When we got our 1st house, the ONLY bathroom got blacked out and I went to work for hours. Wasn't long before I put a toilet in the basement! I'll keep playing with LR. I don't need to PS images, just organize and develop them! Thanks man.. Lots of memories remembered!