> Since this is a new 2TB drive it will need to do a new complete download and index of the blockchain.
This is why I decided not to buy a pre-made node. None of the options I looked into allowed for external storage of the block directory.
I'm never ever in my life ever again going through the initial download and synch. I'd rather stop running a node altogether.
Why? It's not that it needs babysitting. You just have to be a bit patient.
Or I can simply plug in my external SSD and have everything in order in seconds.
I just bought a 1TB SSD and put in it an old laptop. Took the laptop about one week to download and sync the whole chain. It did this without me standing there and watching 😂
It took me more than that, and I had to restart a couple of times. Not doing that ever again.
Now I can use *any* computer I want (right now, a 2016 one), and simply plug it in and be online in seconds.
There are literally ZERO arguments against keeping the block directory on an external SSD, or advantages of using an internal one.
You know you can copy over the existing data?
Or I can just have my own copy on an external drive and simply plug it as needed without having to copy it and risking errors.
Once I got past the hurdles to configure the data directory to the external drive, setting up an running the node was trivial even for me, a totally non-technical person. There are no positives to buying a pre-made node as they are now.
