What is best hard drive to use with Time Machine?

I was using a WD Passport 2TB external drive for my Time Machine backup for iMac which has a 3TB drive.  The drive is almost 1 year old and only bought it to for backing up with Time Machine.  The drive failed when I tried to restore a iPhoto database to my iMac on Sunday. Today on Tuesday evening. Time Machine said it could not perform a successful back up due to Disk Failure. I ran the disk utility and it gave me error. I had to erase and reformat the drive. 
I was able to erase and reformat the drive and ran the disk utlity again. And it says it is working fine. I dont plan to use these portable drives for backing.
I think its time to get a better Hard Drive for my Time Machine backups. Any suggestions? 

WD commercial drives for consumers are the worst,  as meant their "green / blue / red" series.
The best are Hitachi and Toshiba both statistically and otherwise.
BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 15mm thick  2TB drive (have several of them, lots of storage in tiny package)    $100
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48     /ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1390020791&sr=8-3&keywords=toshiba+2tb
best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or  $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim perfect for use with a notebook
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s     r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
*This one is the BEST portable external 2.5" HD available that money can buy:
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive $88
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr     _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+7 2 00+RPM
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
Hitachi is the winner in hard drive reliability survey:
Hitachi manufacturers the safest and most reliable hard drives, according to the Storelab study. Of the hundreds of Hitachi hard drives received, not a single one had failed due to manufacturing or design errors. Adding the highest average lifespans and the best relationship between failures and market share, Hitachi can be regarded as the winner.

Similar Messages

  • Best hard drive for use with Time Machine

    Hi,
    Has anyone determined what the best external hard drive is for use with Time Machine? Is there a particular one that works exceptionally well with Time Machine, or is it much of a muchness?
    I'm looking for a Firewire 400 & Firewire 800 drive that STAYS ON all the time, and doesn't automatically spin down or spin up like the rubbish WD My Book drives do.

    I can't tell you if it is the "best" hard drive for you to use with TM, but I'm quite happy with the 500 GB Buffalo Technology DriveStation Combo TurboUSB I bought recently. It is quiet, quite inexpensive for the capacity (I paid about $120 for one on sale at Fry's), & completely compatible with OS X & TM.
    Best of all for me, it automatically powers down when my iMac sleeps. It also spins down after a time if the Mac's Energy Saver preference "Put hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" is checked; otherwise it remains spun up until the Mac is put to sleep or switched off.
    It comes with "Turbo" USB & Memeo "AutoBackup" software, neither of which I installed. (The box didn't claim these extras came in a Mac version but both Mac & Windows versions were included on the CD.) Out-of-the-box, I reformatted the drive with the Apple Partition Map scheme & two partitions, a 160 GB one for cloning my internal drive & the rest for TM. The drive works perfectly for both uses & seems quite fast, as one would expect from a 7200 rpm SATA drive.

  • Perfect Hard Drive To Use With Time Machine?

    Hi,
    Has anyone found out what's the perfect External Hard Drive to use with Time Machine?
    I have experience with a few of WD's My Book models (Essential, Pro and Studio). The problem with all of them is that they automatically keep switching themselves off (spin down) and on (spin up) throughout the day, in an effort to save power. But it's actually quite annoying. The My Book drive will automatically turn itself off, and then turn back on again within the space of one minute. Also, going to use Spotlight (even if you've excluded Time Machine Backups from being indexed) will automatically prompt the My Book drive to turn back on, which introduces a small delay to using Spotlight.
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    I'am using a 500Gb Freecom Pro Hard Drive connected on USB via my Cinema Display. I so forget about it that I often forget to disconnect it from my laptop before leaving the office... Never complained about it
    Btw, it does not implements the energy saver Auto turn off/on feature which I don't need cause the time it could mostly be really useful is by night. As it stops when I disconnect the USB and start again when I connect it back.. this is perfect to me.
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  • Quiet external hard drive for use with Time Machine?

    Few questions related to Time Machine:
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    2- Please confirm what size is optimal relative to the size of the internal hard drive.
    3- I currently use a separate external hard drive as my bootable disc.  Is it possible/preferable to have these be on one and the same drive?
    Thank you.

    1. I like these (have three of them) - literally whisper quiet:
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    3. No, it'd be best to be on another drive - you can create separate partitions, but if/when the drive fails, both of your backups would be gone. So, keep your clone on a separate disk. In fact, it's good to have two different backups.

  • External hard drive to use with Time Machine? Thoughts?  Mac newbie.

    Hello. Switched to an imac and have loved the experience. Was just about to buy an external hard drive when apple announced the time capsule. I've been holding off thinking I would purchase one but now I'm re-thinking it.
    Between music, videos and pictures, I currently have about 400gb of stuff (and it will grow). My main concern is backing up (archiving) a copy of these files. Backing up other system files is a second concern after that.
    I'm thinking of buying a 1TB external hard drive, firewire capable, partitioning part of it to be an archive drive, and the other part to use with time machine. Skip the time capsule.
    Will that work? Other recommendations?
    If so, any recommendations on a quiet, reasonably sized (i.e. doesn't take up the entire corner of the desk), 1tb external hard drive?
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    Clayton, if you're only backing up one Mac, then you can purchase any good, reputable 750 GB or 1 TB external drive.
    Considerations:
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    2) Quiet is important. You have a quiet computer -- why louse up the working environment with a noisy drive?
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    4) On FW versus USB, you'll hear many claims. Again the key is reliability versus speed. A good USB drive is fine for what you are doing; FW is faster. Some folks have had problems with one or the other, so hear what they have to say.
    5) Every drive dies. That's true for any electromechanical device. Don't think you've solved your backup problems by plugging in a drive and walking away. Your most critical files need a second backup, be it to a DVD, CD, thumb drive, network drive -- something. The more critical it is, the more backups you need. If you're writing your Ph.D. thesis, by definition you can't have too many backups
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  • What sort of external drive to use with Time Machine

    Hi all,
    I was wondering if there are requirements to the sort of external drive Time Machine can use: does it have to be a FireWire drive or will an USB drive suffice? Additionally, what would be the best type?
    Wil Dieteren

    Time machine will per default do incremental backups on an hourly, daily weekly and monthly basis. Therefore you need an external harddrive that is larger than the harddrive you are backing up. Depending on how many changes and large files you work with, the requirements for the right size may vary.
    I'd suggest getting an external HD that is at least 150% of your HD. 200% would be more generous.
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  • Which format for external hard drive to use with time machine backup and connect to windows laptop?

    Hi!  I have an external hard drive on which I have transferred my iTunes library (just mine - not others).  I have also a folder containing just films (some but not all of which are in iTunes too)  Everything has been working just fine until yesterday I noticed that Time Machine was not including the external hard drive in back up as it wasn't formatted.  So I have moved everything back to the Mac hard drive and and ready to format the external hard drive - but understand that if I do the contents cannot be opened from a windows laptop ...  is that right?  Is there are format I could choose that would allow Time Machine to back up and allow Windows to open as well (the idea being that I take the external hard drive with me on holidays etc!!)  Many thanks for any advice. 

    ok - I understand.  I have managed so far to format the drive (on windows) to exFAT file system - which apparently works with both Windows and Mac - but you're  correct - it will not be included in time machine backup as I have checked the back up files and Samsung is not showing.  Reckon I'm onto having to buy yet another portable hard drive just for windows - or of course buy myself a new mac book!!  Can I ask you please - does the drive have to be clear of everything before I change the format - or can I change it with the files still in there?  Also, got any quick ways duplicating the files onto another External Hard drive (for use on the windows laptop)  At the moment the files are taking 2/3 hours + to copy over!  Thank you! 

  • What is a good external hard drive to use with time machine running osx lion?

    My LaCie HD quit and I need to get a new one. What is recommended to use with the Lion OS? I would like to use Time Machine and hook the HD up using Firewire.

    I've been using several Mercury drives from OWC (MacSales) for years with no problems whatsoever. They are good and not expensive. Here's where you can find them. Pick one that fits your needs.
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  • HT2477 what is the best external drive to use with time machine?

    I already have an external hard drive that I use to backup anything I want to then delete from my macbook air. I also use Carbonite to back up everything on my mac. I am looking to switch to Carbonite to Time Machine because it's free. Can you recommend a drive? How do most people use TM? Do you manually back up once a day or do you set it to constantly back up your files?
    Thanks,
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    Use Time Machine on OWC:
    ttp://eshop.macsales.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=adwords& gclid=COCM8O3uuLsCFSUOOgodVBEAOwuuLsCFSUOOgodVBEAOw
    IOMEGA:
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  • A good external hard drive to use with Time Machine?

    I am currently looking at this:
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Iomega-Prestige-320-GB-Portable-Hard-Drive-Compact-HD- /150635106484?pt=UK_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item23128d50b4#ht_1674wt_1156
    But I don't really know, I want a fairly cheap one that is at least 320GB really :/

    This also looks good but would I be able to reformat it for Mac OS X?
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320GB-Seagate-External-Portable-Drive-/160623670173?pt =UK_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item2565eab39d#ht_666wt_1156

  • I just installed a larger hard drive, and used my Time Machine Backup to transfer my info back to the new hard drive. When I open Iphoto, my thumnails are there, but they aren't linked back to the actual photos.I see the photos in my HD. What should I do

    I just installed a larger hard drive, and used my Time Machine Backup to transfer my files back to the new hard drive. When I open Iphoto, my thumbnails are there, but they aren't linked back to the actual photos. I see the original photo files in my HD. Is there a way to link the Iphoto thumbnails back to the original files?

    Use the Firewire cable and t boot the old Mac's hard drive to the new Mac's desktop and transfer your entire iPhoto folder.
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