Multiple Hard Drives - which are best for what?

[ChrissyJay]

Hi all! This is a topic to see which location of hard drives are best to keep samples / factory packs / live projects etc

So, it's unanimous that the installation goes on to your 1st (op / system) drive (whether Windows or Mac)

THEN, it's a case of keeping your samples separate from your audio drive. So we have a 2nd drive and a 3rd drive (lets also take it they are all good speeds whether internal or external!), Ableton advise for your 2nd drive to be 'samples and libraries' and your 3rd drive for 'Audio Recording and File Caching'. This also is best advice from many other sources, which makes sense as the samples are being read from the 2nd drive and audio is being written to the 3rd drive. Efficient, yes!

BUT the question is, Ableton advise (link below) to keep your projects saved on the 3rd drive (Audio drive) also. Now, if you 'collect all and save' to the 3rd drive, am I right or wrong in thinking that when you fire up that project, it'll be reading the samples and audio saved in your project from this (Audio drive) as well as writing new audio to the same drive?

If anyone can help on this one that'd be appreciated, I want to know if the audio drive is best kept free and only used to write to, or if it is fine that you save your projects and write audio to the same drive?

https://www.ableton.com/en/help/article ... ive-setup/

[Danny_DJ]

Now, if you 'collect all and save' to the 3rd drive, am I right or wrong in thinking that when you fire up that project, it'll be reading the samples and audio saved in your project from this (Audio drive) as well as writing new audio to the same drive?

that seems reasonable to me.

but why begin to use multiple drives in the first place at all if you havent experienced any space and/or speed issues so far?
usually and once loaded, everything runs from the RAM and if you're not recording an orchestra w/ dozens of realtime audio streams, then there's no actual need for that. instead, it adds lots of administrative headroom and lots of occasions for confusion.

[sana48]

SSD for the win?

[Danny_DJ]

It is almost 2016. SSDs are around for about 5 years and prices drop. except for backups and huge storage, I see no use for conventional drives anymore.

[kitekrazy]

It is almost 2016. SSDs are around for about 5 years and prices drop. except for backups and huge storage, I see no use for conventional drives anymore.

For storage. 1TB drivers are $50.

[ChrissyJay]

but why begin to use multiple drives in the first place at all if you havent experienced any space and/or speed issues so far?

Good point, I have noticed some glitches when recording audio. Just would like a heads up on other people multiple drive set ups and what they've found works well. Like I said, it's not a so much about what drive's to use, it's about which drives for which content. If you want to know, I've got a 120GB SSD for the system drive, 1TB 7200rpm for 2nd internal and a 1TB 7200rpm USB3 external....