Copying the entire content of an external HDD to another
 

Hi there,
I am editing HDV with FCP5 (still!), and now have to perform a task I have never done before.
As I constantly download new media from tape, edit on projects, and make data DVD's for backup, my 1TB LaCie disk has become too fragmented to operate properly with 250GB of free space left. The used memory content on the drive is 667GB. So I bought a new one at 2TB, and, according to info in the FCP manual, it would be the best and least time consuming way to transfer the entire content to the new disk, as this gets rid of all fragmentation, and, apparently, is safer than the defragmenting process via software.
I usually copy by drag and drop, not through the menu, but I don't know if this works here. I would feel a lot more comfortable, if someone, who has done it before, would kindly advise me. The transfer would probably take a long time, to burn a DVD takes about 30 minutes at 4x.

I just have this crazy idea, that it would be very advantageous not to do it wrong !! :-)

Any help is very much appreciated,

Thanks, Gerd

I do that all the time. No issues. Been using macs for over 20 years.

You can also use Carbon Copy Cloner for this. I can't recommend CCC enough. I use it for backup & I've used it on set to keep duplicate backup drives synced with my main capture drives when shooting P2.

Thanks Robert and Arnie,
Especially Robert sounds very confident and reassuring. I'll try with some less important files first, and see how I go.
I appreciate your response.
Gerd

Carbon Copy to my knowledge does a bit for bit clone which would not be useful for this situation. If your having fragmentation issues, it will clone the drive and you will probably have similar issues.
It's been a while since I've used CCC so correct me if I'm wrong. A simple copy via finder would be preferable.
I totally get why you'd want to use it for backup of a shoot and I used it to duplicate my laptop which has a boatload of software on it. Worked great for that when I upgraded the drive in my laptop.

I use a couple of WD 1TB externals for backing up while I am away. The only real frustration is that USB drives are so slooow. You don't say what your new drive is but if it is not FW800 (or better) I would suggest going shopping for one with a faster interface.

Charles

Unless you are needing to copy O/S files then drag & drop is all you need. I do it all the time for FCP projects and footage.

Thanks Dave, a second opinion on my question by someone with experience in this matter makes me feel better. I yet have to backup on a few more DVD's before I go ahead with it.
Yes, I only need to copy project files, media files etc., simply, whatever is created by downloading media onto the LaCie and editing them. No software download whatsoever.
One more thing: can you give me an educated guess, how long a drag and drop of 650GB to the new LaCie HDD may take time wise?
Thanks for your opinion and info.

Cheers, Gerd

One thing to be aware of is that when you move your projects and/or footage there is a chance that FCP won't know where to find things. In this case, right click on the sequence (or clips) and tell it to reconnect the media. This will bring up a dialog asking you where to find the files. Once you tell it where the files have moved to everything will be good to go again.

Thanks for your last message, Dave. Have completed the job, 700GB took 18.5 hrs to transfer (copy) to another external HDD. Only folders, whose description had to be altered (e.g. 'render files' and 'render files 1'), as they were from yet another HDD, had to be connected in the RF window. Everything else connected up automatically after the selection of the new Scratch Disk.

Cheers, Gerd