Size limit on an external hard drive?

I recently bought a Maxtor 200Gb hard disk and, using Intech's ATA driver, partitioned into 128Gb and 60Gb so that it could be used internally. I have now moved it into a USB2 drive enclosure and have formatted it as a single partition 200Gb drive.
My question is, is this a safe configuration? Is the 128Gb boundary irrelevent when using an external drive? I have copied 50Gb worth of files to the external drive with apparently no problems but wondered if I would run into problems in the future.
Thanks in advance.
P

Thanks for the reply; it's put my mind at ease!
Yes, I should have gone for a Firewire enclosure as I've been copying overnight from my internal drive to the USB external. Estimated 30 hours to copy 50Gb!

Similar Messages

I need recommendations in purchasing an external hard drive, to back up everything in my computer. What brand and Size?

I have a mid 2010 iMac, version 10.8.2, memory 4GB, 1TB sata disk.
Apple sent me an e-mail last year stating that my imac maybe affected to a recall. They said I have to back up my computer before sending it in to them. So its a great excuse to purchase an external hard drive.
But I am clueless. I would like to know what brand and size of memory is recommened for my imac and my needs. I will be mostly be backing up homevideos and alot of pictures, music, and some documents.
If someone could also explain about time machine? I guess its a whole separte thing from your media. I also would like to keep it affordable. I just purchased an external hard drive from www.macmall.com Seagate Backup Plus 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Drive - Black (STBU1000100).
But I don't know if that was a really great choice because for it to work with time machine I have to reformat certain things, and Im not sure if I would like to have that hassle.
I also wanted to know whats the difference between usb 3.0 and firewire. I read some forums saying that if you are to transfer videos you need to use firewire, and some agreed disagreed. Is that true?
Please help!?
I definitely would like to know what brands of external hard drives are highly recommended and good at price. The one I purchased is it any good?
Thank you!
-wjrlelidepaula

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10554
http://www.newertech.com/storage/

I moved my entire iPhoto Library to an external hard drive, which seems to have worked. But now my Mac Pro shows a backup of the same size in the storage info and has not freed up any space. help!

I moved my entire Iphoto Library from my Macbook Pro to an external hard drive. (Prior to this, I also copied the entire library to a different ehd, plus I have 2 other ehdrives with backups). I was trying to get more space on my hd. It has a capacity of 500GB, but was down to 70GB usable, with about 300GB used up by photos. I moved the library by going to Finder, using Command+Drag+Drop onto the new Seagate ext hard drive icon. The move seems to have worked, as the library shows up on the ehd, plus will open from there. My problem is that now my Macbook Pro shows that I STILL have only 70GB available out of the 500, and that 300GB is used up by "Backups", which it did not indicate before.
I cannot find this 300GB "Backup" in the Finder, only in the Storage info when I check "About This Mac".
I have restarted my computer, but the information remains the same. How do I reclaim the use of the 300GB? Why is it showing up as "Backups" when it used to indicate "Photos"? Are my photos safe on the external drive?
Thanks for any and all help!

I cannot find this 300GB "Backup" in the Finder, only in the Storage info when I check "About This Mac".
You are probably using Time Machine to backup your MacBook Pro, right? Then the additional 300 GB could be local Time Machine snapshots. Time Machine will write the hourly backups to the free space on your hard disk, if the backup drive is temporarily not connected. You do not see these local backups in the Finder, and MacOS will delete them, when you make a regular backup to Time Machine, or when you need the space for other data.
See Pondini's page for more explanation: What are Local Snapshots? http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
I have restarted my computer, but the information remains the same. How do I reclaim the use of the 300GB? Why is it showing up as "Backups" when it used to indicate "Photos"? Are my photos safe on the external drive?
You have tested the library on the external drive, and so your photos are save there.
The local TimeMachine snapshot probably now contains a backup of the moved library. Try, if connecting your Time Machine drive will reduce the size of your local Time Machine snapshots.

How do I organize photos in DVD size folders, by topic, by date, etc? I plan to set up a new archive on an external hard drive (1 TB) for about 7500 photos. Some from a series of XP files, the rest from iPhoto. I use iPhoto11 on Lion with a 2011 MacBoo

I need to know several answers, and I don't feel I can do it without the basic folder system. Also, I understand burning folders instead of individual photos or albums gives you more space on a DVD. How can I keep the captions on my photos (not events) when I print or transfer to a new folder? I have been using computers for 20+ years for photos, and have scanned some on Windows and transferred some but not all that I wish to archive in new compositions, albums, whatever that are not all on iPhoto. i also am concerned about overflowing my capacity on MacBook Pro 2011. Tne only way I know is to copy photos from the Windows to folders on my HD, then copy and paste photos or albums or events to HD, then create a new folder and fill it to the appropriate DVD size. Is this my only option? I also thought I should download future photos to my Canon programming that comes with EOS cameras and edit and then decide which photos to save to iPhoto library and which to save only to my archival HD?

Paragraphs help the reader, just saying.
What are you actually trying to do? Why do you need "DVD size" folders if you're creatng an Archive on an external hard drive?
Also, I understand burning folders instead of individual photos or albums gives you more space on a DVD.
It makes no difference at all.
How can I keep the captions on my photos (not events) when I print or transfer to a new folder?
You can export while writing the metadata to the file in most cases.
Tne only way I know is to copy photos from the Windows to folders on my HD, then copy and paste photos or albums or events to HD, then create a new folder and fill it to the appropriate DVD size.
HD? Another HD? You use HD there in a way that makes no sense. What's the point of 'DVD size'?
I also thought I should download future photos to my Canon programming that comes with EOS cameras and edit and then decide which photos to save to iPhoto library and which to save only to my archival HD?
Does this have any relation to the previous questions? You know you can delete from iPhoto, right?
You're somewhat confused and you need to
1. Decide what exactly you want to do
2. Then go about it.
If I understand you correctly - and there's no guarantee that I do - the easiest thing is to bring all your Photos into iPhoto and do everything from there.
You can have an archive on an external disk, you can sort and select and edit with or via iPhoto
Regards
TD

What size external hard drive should I purchase

What size external hard drive should I purchase? I'm not tech savvy, so please speak slowly. I'm looking at OWC Mini Stack Classic to match my older Mac Mini. Do I need 500 GB, 1 TB or more? Plus, I have to add memory to upgrade to Snow Leopard. How much memory do I need and should I have an expert install it ?
Mac OSX version 10.5.8
Mac mini 3.1
Processor 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 2GB 1067 MHz DDR3
1 Processor
2 Cores
L2 Cache 3MB
Memory 2GB
BUS Speed 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version MM3.1.0081.B06
SMC version 1.35f0
Hard Drive
Format MAC OS Extended
Capacity 297.77 GB
Available 238.69 GB
Used 59.08 GB on disk

Good points raised by all.
In my mini configs - both older and newer flatter model - I have kept their ministack external drive on top of the mini; with 3 or 4 little rubber feet added to the mini's base to give it a bit more elevation from the surface they are sitting on and a bit better chance to breathe. I'm not impressed by the very small air intakes on the bottom and the hot air that often comes out the back or how warm the case feels. Especially in the heat of summer.
I do turn the ministacks on/off as needed (primarily for backups once a week) as they're not entirely quiet and sometimes seem to have a low hum vibration. Nothing crazy. I just like it as dead quiet as possible sometimes. Plus the fan does not turn off even if the mini and ministack drive have shut down. The newer wide & slim model does seem a bit quieter than the older model.
Check through system profiler to see if your system has 2x1GB or 1x2GB. Most likely it is 2x1GB and you'd need to remove both to double your ram. On the off chance it has a free slot; a single 2GB stick would get you to 4GB. Check on the cost difference between the 2x2GB kit and a 2x4GB kit. I have an older core duo mini that functions fine with 2x2GB of RAM and 10.6.8. But, if you plan to continue to use the mini for several more years as a primary machine including upgrading the OS to Yosemite; it might not be a bad idea to just max it to 2x4 8GB. Yosemite really likes RAM to maximize performance.
Along the lines of keeping the same mini and doing upgrades. The biggest speed improvements are made by replacing the original internal hard drive with a flash drive. Of course this is a more technical upgrade, you really need to take the mini apart more and you have to weigh the cost of the upgrades and possibly paying somebody to do them; vs the cost of a newer system which would have a significantly faster processor and other improvements.

What size external hard drive do i need to backup my macbook pro?

I know I need to backup my computer, especially since I have been experiencing some problems with it and will need to take it into a store to get looked at, but I do not know what size external hard drive I need to back my computer on.

Drives are so low in cost today, go for something that will meet your needs for a while...if you are going to use Time Machine, get a drive large enough that you can have a partition double the size of the internal drive for TM backups, and a partition you can use for more storage and work space.
A decent drive like the Mercury Elite Pro 2 TB drive OWC sells goes for less than $200 (US) now. Has a fast interface and is easy to setup.

What size external hard drive do i need for Time Machine

What size external hard drive should I get to be my Time Machine backup? My iMac is 1TB. (also, I have MBP that is 250gb and will need one for it as well)
Thank you.

It is better to buy an external drive that has 3 times the storage capacity
as of the computer's internal HD.
Best.

Maximum partition size for external hard drives with G4 MDD?

I have a Maxtor 300GB external hard drive. When I initially formatted it, I did so with 4 partitions because I knew there was a limit that G4s recognized with internal hard drives. Is that the case with externals as well or can I reformat it to be one large external drive?

Hi, what G4 model do you have? Only the Quicksilver 2002's and MDD's + MDD FW800's don't suffer from the 128GB capacity. In fact, in any of the above G4s, you can put up to 144 petabytes.

When importing from external hard drive, photos appear as thumbnail size. How do you edit. Working on imac- snow leopard

I have photos on an external hard drive. When I try to import them to iphotos they appear as a thumbnail (?), small in size. How is the photo restored to its original image. If I try to print, it comes out pixelated. I have many photos on hard drive and would like to restore to original size. Using Leopard OS

and the only time I see the pixellation problem is when the original photo's file size is small.
What did you expect? Of course if the file size is small it won't print well. There isn't enough data to create a reasonable quality print.
Web Photos are - typically - very heavily compressed to speed up downloading. I've seen Facebook photos - for instance - lose 90% of their file size after being "processed". There is no way that a 20kb file is going to print well at any size greater than a postage stamp.
So, basically, the problem you have is the photos you are importing, I'm afriad.
Regards
TD

External Hard Drive Size

I'm looking to get an external hard drive for my MacBook Pro. I am basically looking to save my school work from University and to save my music & pictures. I don't have an exceptional about of music, less than 2000 songs, and my pictures aren't too bad either. I'm just wondering what I should consider for size. Would 500 GB be enough? Or 750GB? Or? Suggetions.

Hi m,
I don't know if I've ever heard of anyone who was sorry they had too much storage. And files just keep getting bigger, and we just keep collecting more of them. I wouldn't go under a GB.

When I download videos (from an external hard drive), they appear to be downloaded (file sizes look correct) but they all stop playing a few minutes in!

When I download videos (from an external hard drive), they appear to be downloaded (file sizes look correct) but they all stop playing a few minutes in!

Try the following in the terminal
ls -alh filename
du -chs filename
And what happens if you play the files directly of the external drive?

What size external hard drive for cc?

I want to have Br, Ps, Ai, Ac and perhaps a few others on an external hard drive.
Any suggestions what size?

Hi doppelganger,
Each of the mentioned softwares will require around 1 GB or more disk space. All the softwares can be accommodated within 20 GB.
You can go ahead and purchase a 500Gb or 1TB Hard Disk as these are the most commonly available external hard disks used these days.
Regards,
Rave

What size external hard drive needed for Time Machine?

Can someone offer advice? What size external hard drive do I need to back up my system with Time machine? Hard drive is 232 GB but I'm only using 40 GB of the 232.
Thanks.

beach bum51,
Hard drive space is cheap, so I'm going to recommend that you get something with at least 500 GBs capacity. 500 GBs would be twice the capacity of your internal, which is apparently the "recommended" size, so I have no hesitation recommending it. The larger the drive, the lower the cost per GB.
What's not so cheap is speed. You'll be happiest with a drive capable of using the fastest bus provided by your computer. If your iMac has a Firewire 800 port, you'll get the best experience from using that port, and a drive that will use Firewire 800 transfer speeds.
Scott

External Hard Drive Maximum Size for HAP-Z1ES

You have no category for your new line of DSD players, and in particular, the Sony HAPZ-1ES. You should get on this, because it sends the wrong message, mainly that you are not putting much effort into this new product, which is not exactly the message Sony should be sending.
It's clear that this is a good product, and one that many are going to be interested in, once they learn about it. It's already beginning to create a lot of buz online, and people are asking a number of technical questions about it that are not answered in the current Sony manual for it. In particular, no one seems to know what the maximum external hard drive can be for the HAP-Z1ES. People have successfully formated a 2TB drive, but what about a 3TB drive or a 4TB drive. In looking at the format instructions for the Sony format software (the HAPZ-1ES can only be formatted with Sony software), it doesn't say anything about this issue. DSD files take up a lot of hard drive space. It would be useful for many to know if they can buy a 3TB or 4TB drive for the HAP-Z1
ES. I suggest someone from Sony help answer these questions for all the folks who are buying this excellent unit.

Hi,
I have AIFF files, but have not copied them over yet. I have a 2tb harddrive installed and have had no problems. The questions I would ask are: I assume your trying the Sony format system on the HAP-Z1ES. Maybe you can take the drive and reformat it with your computer and then try re-formatting it with the Sony. You can also see your files on your computer network if the Sony is part of the network.
John

What size external hard drive

I'm thinking I want a 20G external hard drive for my computer just for music. Anybody know where to find one and how much? I can only locate 80G or more at retail stores and they're over a $100.
What's the least expensive way to keep these files off my regular hard drive, but still manage them easily?
Thanks

80GB drives (Seagate) at Walmart for $69. Best Buy has Western Digital 80GB drives for $29 (if any are left). A hard drive is the cheapest way to manage your music files.
Regards,

Size limit on an external hard drive?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for