SOUND ON SOUND

[DigitalMusicProduction]

Hi

I recently bought the Samsung T7 touch SSD to connect to a MacBook Pro as a dedicated drive for the use of a VI sample library, however I'm not sure if it's necessary to install the software that came with the T7 as it seems to plug and play straight out the box.. therefore do i need to install the software?

Thanks.

[Agharta]

The software may offer encryption support or some such but it won't be needed for general usage.

[Sam Spoons]

Yup, just plug it in and go :thumbup:

[rACed2]

Hi

I recently bought the Samsung T7 touch SSD to connect to a MacBook Pro as a dedicated drive for the use of a VI sample library, however I'm not sure if it's necessary to install the software that came with the T7 as it seems to plug and play straight out the box.. therefore do i need to install the software?

Thanks.

I would recommend checking what type of formatting the disc has 0 if its ExFAT then I suggest reformatting it to an Apple native format.

[ConcertinaChap]

What he said. If that takes out the software, you're almost certainly missing nothing.

CC

[Luke W]

I got a standard T7 today, the installer on the drive is indeed for the encryption software. Another shout for checking the format and reformatting if necessary, some libraries can be a bit fussy about the drives they're running from.

[DigitalMusicProduction]

The T7 is brand new, why do i need to format the drive when there's nothing on it apart from the software. If its recommended? How do i go about it? There are different options in disk utility for reformating, APFS, exFAT etc, without harming the T7 drive which format option should i choose?

MacBook Pro, OS Mojave 10.14.06

[Sam Spoons]

There are several disk formats Windows and OSX have their own. A new drive will be formatted but probably to a generic format so, if it's internal, reformatting to your OS's preferred format will maximise performance. If it's in a USB caddy you may want to leave the format as delivered so it can be read by both Windows and OSX.

[Luke W]

As Sam says there are various drive formats each with different intended uses, and Windows/Mac OS both use different file systems that require particular formats.

The T7 is brand new, why do i need to format the drive when there's nothing on it apart from the software.

It's important to remember that formatting a drive isn't just about clearing the data, that's just something that needs to happen for the task to be carried out. It's about telling the drive how it reads and writes data, and the choice of format depends on the machine(s) it's connected to, and what they need to do with it.

How do i go about it? There are different options in disk utility for reformating, APFS, exFAT etc, without harming the T7 drive which format option should i choose?

MacBook Pro, OS Mojave 10.14.06

Disk Utility is indeed the way to go. You won't harm the drive, the worst thing you can do is use a format that your sample library doesn't like and that's easily resolved by just formatting again. If you're only ever going to use the drive on that one machine then APFS would be my suggestion, it'll likely give you the best performance.

[DigitalMusicProduction]

Thanks, i get it now, after some research it seems NTFS is the standard file format for Windows, and MacOS extended being the standard for Mac, whereas of 2017 APFS is a new file system format for SSDs on the Mac.

I'm wondering if its optional to choose between MacOS extended and APFS for formatting the T7 SSD, or would it be exclusive to APFS?

[rACed2]

Unless you are planning on using the disc with a preSierra (or was it High Sierra that brought APFS?) macOS system you might as well use APFS.

[Luke W]

Unless you are planning on using the disc with a preSierra (or was it High Sierra that brought APFS?) macOS system you might as well use APFS.

Yep, it is indeed High Sierra that started using APFS (or so Google tells me anyway). So the only reason to go for Mac OS Extended is for compatibility with an older OS, which doesn't seem to be needed here.

[DigitalMusicProduction]

The software that came with the T7 SSD is for creating a password, finger print recognition and encryption, therfore when formatting the drive to APFS for better compliance with the Mac, am i correct in saying it will delete everything including the software? Therefore not having the option to use any future passwords?

[Jumpeyspyder]

, am i correct in saying it will delete everything including the software? Therefore not having the option to use any future passwords?

Yes, if you reformat the disk you will lose the data. I always take a copy of the software that comes included but in 10 years + I've never needed to put it back on.

[DigitalMusicProduction]

Yes, if you reformat the disk you will lose the data. I always take a copy of the software that comes included but in 10 years + I've never needed to put it back on.

Therefore i could make a copy of the software before formatting the T7 and simply move it back after formatting, i take it the software would then be possible to use on the T7 after it has been formatted?