- Home /
using more than one computer to work on
hi i switch from my laptop and desktop very often depending on comfortibility and how much screen space i need, what is the best way to share a project from each computer???
i did think about using file sharing, but this would be slow and my main computer would have to be opened,
i did at one point have my project running from a powered external hd (usb2) but as the project got bigger it started to run slower my project is over 3gb of stuff. but this is mainly because of the usb speed.
i have thought about useing usb3 as its about 4x faster but only my laptop supports it which means my main computer will still be slow, there is firewire but i have never trusted it due to them easily braking, and if the port on the external hd brakes then ive just wasted a load of money
anyone got any decent suggestions which are quick without haveing to recopy, basically something like an external hd where i can just plug it in and carry on working
and nobody suggest buying the server extension as im not always online and is a waste of money as i am the only developer
how about dropbox?
of course if the comp is not on, you'd need to wait for the download still.. but it should only need to update changed files
(I guess you rejected file-sharing though, so maybe not)
You could work off a USB flash drive (i.e. key / keychain style drive). It's not going to be super fast, but it's very portable, and very cheap.
yh i did think of dropbox but my space will eventually run out, and i dont like the idea of having my work stored online.
i was looking for a way to instantly start working without waiting for downloads or transferring between computers, at home its fine because i do have an internet connection and can use sharing briefly (i dont leave it on, im paranoid.. in fact if i didnt need an internet connection for research and help i would probably completly disable it from any connections).
sometimes though if i take my son to a play zone or something where the parent is always sat in the corner counting flys because he is not allowed to run wild like a child, i like to work a little, so really it does need to be on some sort of external hd but with faster speeds and preferbly powered via the computer.
so in short im looking for an external drive solution which i can keep my project on and work from
hah it took me over 8 $$anonymous$$utes to write this
Answer by reptilebeats · Aug 16, 2012 at 01:46 AM
ok i think i may have found a soloution its not perfect but it does what i need quicker.
i am using a normal portable usb 2.0 hd to store my entire project folder including other projects and what not in all its 16gb and its hard to keep track of what i change. so using a free program called get backup 2 i can sync a project with another one and it will only delete/replace changed files. it will also create a backup in a compressed format to another drive which is handy and clone a hd.
so at the moment i use my portable hd to store my current project, when i plug it in i sync my work to my computer updating it and then work from the main hdd. when finished i sync my project on my main hdd back to my portable drive and vice versa on my laptop.
this is very quick if a lot isnt changed and can save a template to do this, i will still upgrade my portable hd to usb3 or thunderbolt but with out it it still works very fast, the first sync will take the longest as it has to copy everything and i would make backups regulary just incase, but i have time machine running every hour so its no real concern if something goes tits up. now if only there was a way to auto matically sync them when you turn your computer of so it postpones the shutdown until its synced
i suppose when i buy a thunderbolt hd i will only need to sync on the main computer
Answer by DaveA · Aug 15, 2012 at 07:03 PM
Get an external hard drive with USB 2.0 or better and just swap that between machines.
yh thats what im using at the moment, or was using but the project ran a bit slow. im buying a new portable hd with usb 3 and backwards capability of 2, his will make it faster on the laptop which is brill, but will run a bit slower on my computer.
i doubt there is a way to install a usb 3 port on my computer// apple stuff very annoying for expansioins.
i will have another go with a different hd i have here maybe the one i used was slower
Sorry missed that in the Q. That's a big project. I would try to keep that drive unfragmented too.
yh its only so big because literly everything is in it, all my logic files, music used multiple exports of sfx made and then all the images, textures,models, and so on probably 500mb is never used and is just components, raw audio files and what not.
i just did a quick check and its actually 1.93gb for the project itself the rest is from other little things i have like fonts and models not releted to my current project, just all the little things that may be used.
Answer by gruby320 · Aug 16, 2012 at 01:09 AM
Did you think about git? (e.g. github.com) I've just set up one project on this and looks promising. Wonder about size of your project, but maybe with handling just changes it will be quite ok? I can give you some details about configuring it if you want.
only problem with this is its online, im not always online or at least when im out with my laptop