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  #1  
Old 02-03-2022, 10:04 AM
churk churk is offline
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Default One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

Hello, I am trying to find the best and proper way to do this. I have my main rig at an office. It has my interface, 5.1 setup, etc. I have been using my Mac mini i7 and it works great. However I now need to be able to work from home at times too (Smaller stereo and headphones setup).

I wanted to avoid having 2 work computers to avoid keeping up with applications and software updates for both. I was thinking about replacing my Mac mini with an M1 MacBook Pro so I can work from home too. My main concern is how to access projects from both locations. If I get another drive or RAID to have at home and use something like ChronoSync to keep it updated with my office RAID, would it work?

Would I be able to close a session I worked on at the office and open it at home without a problem? OR is there a better solution for this?
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Old 02-03-2022, 11:05 AM
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Ben Jenssen Ben Jenssen is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

Have you considered simply moving the Mini between home and office? Keeping sessions on the internal drive and perhaps have two externals, one at home and one at the office, for backups and other files you might need? Keeping it simple, you would also save some money, you'd need maybe a new screen and a new external drive for home. Maybe you'd need to trade the mini for one with a bigger drive, but it would shurely keep things nice and tidy.
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Old 02-03-2022, 12:05 PM
simonchase simonchase is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

I run 5.1 through my Quartet. All current work is on my 4TB internal. When I need to be on the move I just put my laptop in my bag and go. DON'T FORGET YOUR ILOK!
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Old 02-03-2022, 01:33 PM
fresler fresler is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

Hi. I usually split my time working from home or freelancing in different facilities. Most of the time I simply slip a copy of the sessions I'm running on an usb drive (either Hard drive or ssd, I usually carry both) in case of additional edits, reworks and so on.
Recently I bumped into a studio I've been part of for several years and discovered that they have moved their back up strategy to the cloud. Each session is uploaded, from each studio room, to Dropbox as soon as it's closed, then it gets copied to an onsite back up server as well. They try not to clog their cloud storage too much but, working mostly on commercials, that's not much of an issue. In the end they can keep an online back up spanning at least a month, maybe two, before moving it to sole onsite.
The plus of this strategy is that any single operator can access any recent session just by logging in.... even from home.
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Old 02-03-2022, 02:51 PM
smurfyou smurfyou is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

Bringing your hard drive and syncing it would be easy if IT allows it. I wouldn't bother with a RAID at home. But you would need to figure out how many volumes you'd need to sync. I.e. Sessions, Video, SFX Library, etc... M2's in an enclosure are getting pretty affordable.

Sessions should open and relink fine. You'd need to set a separate monitor path for your home stereo setup. Or get an identical interface if possible.

Yes and don't forget the ilok with ZDT / TLC.
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Old 02-03-2022, 05:17 PM
churk churk is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. I will research all options and see what’s the best fit for me.
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Old 02-04-2022, 01:52 PM
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reichman reichman is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

For years now, I've regularly cloned my Intel Mac Pro's boot drive to my Intel MacBook Pro. That way all prefs, plug-in versions, app versions, etc. were always identical and I would have perfect recall. But I'm worried that Apple Silicon will put a wrench in my cloning habit.
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Old 02-04-2022, 05:17 PM
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

Quote:
Originally Posted by reichman View Post
For years now, I've regularly cloned my Intel Mac Pro's boot drive to my Intel MacBook Pro. That way all prefs, plug-in versions, app versions, etc. were always identical and I would have perfect recall. But I'm worried that Apple Silicon will put a wrench in my cloning habit.

I used to do that to.

The only hiccup was sw that used machine ID for authorisation. There were a couple that would t work that id have to re-authorise.

But yes, was a great way to have an identical setup.


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Old 02-04-2022, 08:41 PM
friendlybunny friendlybunny is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

That’s my setup. I use a laptop at the studio with a couple of hubs and portable ssd drives. When I need to go portable, I take the laptop and drives and a hub with me. They all fit in a backpack and I can work on the road. I just make sure to clone my system drive every day, just in case I drop my laptop.
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Old 02-07-2022, 06:47 AM
made made is offline
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Default Re: One Laptop - 2 Locations Hard Drive Solution

The M1 generation won't allow the cloning anymore.
My setup is to use Resilio sync to keep my desktop, server and laptop project folders in sync. You need a server for this setup, but it's a nice way to have a backup at the same time.
If you start a new project with large files, I'll bring my laptop to the studio to speed up syncing.
You can use ChronoSync as well, but Resilio is easier to setup since it uses a relay server to find your server thru any network infrastructure...
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