On Jan 30, 2009, at 11:33 PM, Profile fretted:
A couple questions. Is it a good idea to store the files and all items under the "Documents" fold on the Mac to a Firewire drive? Is this done by simply dragging the documents folder to the firewire and then directing future items to that location for storage?
That will work, but, if you're thinking of using it that way you'll have to keep it connected all the time. If you're going keep it connected all the time, you could replace your Documents directory with an alias to the external version so you don't have to remember to go there.
The correct "Unix way" to do this would be to force the original Documents directory to be the mount point for the external drive. That way, when the external isn't present, the Documents directory reverts to being just an ordinary directory on the internal drive. When the external drive is present, the Documents directory "becomes" the external drive.
Will this mess up the backup software (TimeMachine or SuperDuper) where some of the items are on the Mac's internal hard drive and others are on the external firewire?
I think both will handle it.
If this is doable then should something go wrong with the unit and it has to be shipped to Nashville or taken to the Louisville store I would not have any concerns. Other than the documents files are there files stored elsewhere (such as the Library file in the root) where important info. such as passwords, keychain info. etc. would be exposed to someone with wrong motives? If so, I am assuming that these can't be moved as the OS will want them on the internal drive?
Most of the private information is stored in your keychain, which is encrypted. As long as they don't have your password, even the NSA can't get to it without a lot of trouble and time.
Thanks for any suggestions on how best to accomplish this.
Apple provides FileVault to solve this problem. I use TrueCrypt because it gives more granular control.
<http://www.truecrypt.org/>
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