would an external hard drive be more efficient for using with two Logic machines?

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would an external hard drive be more efficient for using with two Logic machines?

Questions:

Would it be possible and a more efficient use of hard drive space if I were to purchase a 2 TB external SSD to store my Logic, Native Instruments and Samples from Mars libraries for use on two machines?
If I wanted to switch to using Logic on my laptop, could I just move the external SSD from the iMac to the laptop? Thus, one library installation for two machines? Or would that be impossible to manage?
If I bought a new collection, how would I get it installed on both machines?

Details:

I have an older iMac and a new MacBook Pro that both have the latest Logic Pro X installed on them internally. (Specs below.) I enjoy home recording. I've been using Logic for years but I'm essentially a newbie since I'm not using it every day. I recently decided to branch out a little by adding to my instrument and sample collection. Thus far, I've been using what comes with Logic. I purchased Komplete 14 Standard and Samples from Mars' "All the Samples". My iMac has a 2 TB drive but my laptop has a 1 TB drive (both SSD). I haven't been using my laptop for Logic yet, though Logic is already installed and I've only installed the new libraries (NI and Mars) on the iMac. They took up a decent chunk of space, so it got me thinking.

I bought the laptop when my iMac died but it was just the hard drive that died, which I had replaced with an SSD. Since I thought I needed a new computer, I bought the MacBook Pro. But when my iMac was resurrected, it went back into my music studio. I'm a bit worried about hard drive space since I only have a 1 TB drive on the laptop, thus I was thinking it might be time to switch to using Logic with an external hard drive. Fitting things on my iMac has been okay but I'm thinking the external drive would help keep the laptop's hard drive freed up.

iMac (Late 2015 w 2TB Internal SSD) running MacOS 12.6.1 Monterey

16” MacBook Pro (2021, M1 Max, 1 TB SSD) running MacOS 13.0.1 Ventura

Logic 10.7.5 on both machines

iMac 27″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Dec 4, 2022 11:55 AM

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Answer 1

BenB

Level 6

13,348 points

Dec 5, 2022 8:10 AM in response to Paul Oldewurtel

Yes, I put all of my Native Instruments stuff on an external drive, and it is a very fast 32TB RAID. I created a folder called Native Instruments, then when installing, specify that as the location. But, some parts of those things must be stored in other places on the system drive, and you have no control over that. IF you install third party stuff, and it allows you to specify upon installation, you can do that.
Again, yes, in theory you can do that, but the content must allow it. Like Native Instruments, the license is only for one computer, so if I connected my RAID to another Mac, even registered to my same Apple ID, NI will say it's not licensed for that machine and not load up.
Ask the vendor if they have a way to do that. The installation on each Mac will be the exact same, but you then run into license issues. Contact the vendor.

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Answer 2

Dec 5, 2022 12:37 PM in response to BenB

I just read on their site that NI allows you to install Komplete on up to three computers. You just can’t use them at the same time. I will check the rules with all my vendors before doing anything, but it looks like it might be possible. I don’t really need two computers but this would help me transition to finally using my laptop while preserving my internal hard drive space.

https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/209559469-On-How-Many-Computers-Can-I-Activate-My-Native-Instruments-Product-

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would an external hard drive be more efficient for using with two Logic machines?

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