Best option for switching hard drives?

As said in previous posts, I'm going to be getting a new MBP soon. I've got a Time Machine backup of my current hard drive, but what would work better for the new MBP?
Doing a full restore of the old hard drive to the new, or keep the new hard drive 'as is' and just bring back the items that I need from the old drive's backup?
Thanks
Chris

Hi, e3gle
I strongly suggest to keep the new HDD as is (new) and then start dragging or adding data form your time-machine backup. Do not forget to install all necessary updates before transferring any data over to the new HDD.
Another tip, see that you know EXACTLY what data you are transferring, because there might be some malicious data. NOT THAT MAC GET INFECTED OFTEN but just to be safe.
Regards,
Andrew

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Best setup for external hard drive and iMac?

Just purchased a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1TB external HD for my Mac OSX 10.5.8. Would like to use it to backup all my pics/writing (I am a writer/photog), videos, and music - about 400 gigs worth at present. As an analog person, I am confused as to how best I should format the drive:
option 1 being to use drive with Time Machine (just now heard of it),
option 2 to use drive for storage and backup (what's the diff) using Memeo software,
option 3 to use for storage by reformatting with Disc Utilities.
This, no doubt, is easy language for most of you, but Japanese to me, a Nuyorican.
Again, I mainly would like to have backups for what's on my iMac, in case that dreaded day comes and it goes kaput. What would be the best option for me to simply transfer everything, unplug it and put it in a safe place? And if and when I do that, could I, two years, months, weeks later, plug it back in and add what pics or whatever I've accrued to it and replace it in that safe place once again? Looking for what is most practical for the safe keeping of my precious files.
Hope my old tactile-inclined *** is making sense.
Appreciate any and all assistance here. Thanks in advance.

I have to agree with JG, I'd strongly recommend using Time Machine as your primary backup. BTW there is a forum specifically for TM that has a FAQ section and if you need it (most never do) a troubleshooting section. You can find that forum at:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1227
Many people like myself believe in redundant backups, in other words 2 is better than one. If you decide to go that route you will need a second external HD and then use software like SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. What these applications do is create bootable clones, so if your iMac's internal HD dies you have a bootable clone that you can use to run your machine until the internal HD is replaced. Dual backups are also good if one backup's HD dies.
Below are links to 3 articles I found in MacWorld magazine, what they are is backup strategies of 3 individuals to give you some ideas so you can figure out what is best for your needs.
Operating any computer without a backup plan is a recipe for disaster. Many people put their digital life on their computer (photographs, music, movies etc..) without a backup and then cry and moan when their computer dies. These days there is no reason one shouldn't be backing up their computer.
http://www.macworld.com/article/157414/2011/02/mybackupplanlex.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/156643/2011/01/howi_back_up_frakes.html?lsrc=top1
http://www.macworld.com/article/141363/2009/07/backup.html
Roger

Upgrade Options for Internal Hard Drive on dv2000t Laptop (Installation Problems)

I need to replace a failed hard drive in my 2006 dv2000t laptop. The drive I'm replacing was already a replacement drive from the original 80GB drive that shipped with laptop. That first replacement 3 years ago (2008) was a 200GB drive, that worked well for about 3 years. But it just crashed (apparently). I was getting some "S.M.A.R.T" imminent drive failure warnings a week prior, and then it finally would no longer boot-up. Subsequent tests on the extracted drive show it as having many failed sectors.
I had no problem ordering a replacement drive the first time in 2008, restoring an Acronis backup image of original drive, installing it, etc. All went smoothly in 2008. So I assumed all would go smoothly again for yet another replacement and upgrade.
In 2008 the drive I ordered was a W.D. (Western Digital, sticking with the same brand as original) 2.5-in 5400rpm SATA drive (200GB). That was a SATA (I) drive (1.5 Gbit/s interface).
The first drive I recently ordered (Mar 2011) was a W.D 2.5-in 7200rpm 500GB SATA II (3.0 Gbits/s interface) drive (from W.D.'s "Scorpio Black" line.) Got the drive, burned the disc image to it, and popped it into the laptop. Unfortunately, upon startup, and after BIOS screen, all I get is a black screen with a fast flashing white cursor at the top of the screen. Drive apparently is not being recognized by the computer? Then I did some reading in a few on-line forums and found some references about this laptop not doing well with drive capacities over 320GB, nor with 7200rpm drives (because they run hotter than 5400 drives). And finally, references to the SATA interface speed. I ordered a 2nd drive, this one from W.D's "Scorpio Blue" line, this time a 5400rpm 320GB drive (but still SATA II). Same story, still won't work. So I decided that maybe the issue was the SATA speed. So I found someone who still had an older SATA (1.5 GBit/s) W.D. drive in stock . It's a W.D. SATA 250GB (no longer made). It should arrive in a couple days -- and I'm hoping this one works!
I would like to get some kind of confirmation about the blinking white cursor on the black screen on start-up. Is that typicalif the system not finding a bootable hard drive? Also, is this SATA vs. SATA-II issue a likely cause of my problem? I'm pretty sure there's nothing wrong with the new drives themselves, and the restored images on them , as the drives will mount and are accessible when I plug them in as external drives on my other computer.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

I have been able to solve my own hard drive installation problems. It turns out that there were no issues with any of the new replacement drive(s) I ordered (thinking I had ordered drives with the wrong specs). The solution to the problem was a simple one. The restored drives were not booting because there was no MBR (Master Boot Record) on the drives after disc image restoration.
I am using Acronis True Image Home 2011 as my disc imaging (backup) software. And I just didn't understand how to properly restore backed up images to a new hard drive. I had done everything correctly except that I had not checked the box to "restore MBR" -- at the time not understanding what that was or its significance. Once I checked that box, and reimaged the new drive, it worked fine.

Best filesystem for external hard drive?

I just bought a Maxtor Basics 1 TB external hard drive. I think the current filesystem it is using is NTFS. Should I stick with it, or should I reformat it to ext3( or something better?). What are the advantages and disadvantages?. Primary use is in linux.

xfs is great for big files, but so is ext4. xfs sucks with small files, ext4 doesn't. ext4 by default offers safer journaling, but it will be easily available only with the next kernel release, which should come soon, and might be regarded as more hazardous than well-tested xfs. Converting a filesystem from ext3 to ext4 is trivial, but you'd have to move the old files around to make them use extents.
I myself have moved my /home partition, holding mostly big files, to ext4 from xfs, but that's because of its better small file performance.

Best prices for a hard drive

Does anyone know a site that has good prices on hard drives?

I thought Newegg and OWC were quite reasonable and both offer good service!
Look at OWC... the SATA ones... http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Or
Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=20101503801309715341035907918&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=380
Hope that helps.
Alex

HT1661 My mid-2009 MacBook Pro has just died via a painful (for me) hard drive failure. I backed up a good percentage of files recently but not enough to keep me happy. I need to access the dead drive on the MBP via a 2008 iMac. Best options?

My mid-2009 MacBook Pro has just died via a painful (for me) hard drive failure. I backed up a good percentage of files recently but not enough to keep me happy. I need to access the dead drive on the MBP via a 2008 iMac. Best options?
I have ordered a 800 firewire to 800 firewire cable and am hoping to use the target mode option to copy files from the MBP.
Is this possible?
Hope so!
Any advice and or help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Neil

Thanks Ogelthorpe.
Just bought an enclosure to try that also.
Hoping the MBP isn't really dead but just feigning death
Fingers crossed.

I have one HDMI port on my television that is currently used for my hard drive/free view box. What kind of adaptor can I buy so I can have the hard drive and my apple tv device plugged into the same HDMI PORT?

I have one HDMI port on my television that is currently used for my hard drive/free view box. What kind of adaptor can I buy so I can have the hard drive and my apple tv device plugged into the same HDMI PORT? Is it a switch or a splitter? And where is it best to buy one? Thanks!

Welcome to the Apple Community.
You need an HDMI switch.

Best options for uncompressed HD master?

I've just finished my first feature-length project in HDV on FCP, and I have some questions about output. In the past I've always been editing SD DV under 60 mins, so master output was always easy. But between the HDV and the 90 min. run time, things are a little more complicated.
We shot and edited in native HDV 1080/60i. We've rendered our final master sequence in HD ProRes, but I don't know where to go from here. These are my main questions:
1. My primary distribution is going to be SD DVD, but I want to keep an uncompressed HD master file backed up on multiple hard drives. What's my best output option for such a file? Can I just export a self-contained QT in sequence settings? Will that apply compression I don't want? Is there a better output option in Compressor?
2. Keep interlaced or deinterlace? Again, most people will be seeing this as an SD DVD.
3. I'd also like to get a local video outfit to make an HD tape master for more secure long-term archiving. What tape format is recommended?
4. Question I should have asked but didn't? Please, do tell.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Stu

Ken Summerall, Jr. wrote:
The absolute best quality that you are going to get is by exporting a QT movie using current settings and making it self contained. Since you shot and edited in an HDV sequence this will add no further compression (remember that HDV is already heavily compressed).
Uh-oh. That's not actually correct.
HDV is relatively unusual as shooting formats go, in that it's a GOP format, as opposed to an I-frame format. In I-frame formats, each frame of footage (or pair of fields, if you're shooting interlaced) is compressed all by itself, independently of all other frames (or field-pairs). But in a GOP format, a number of frames are compressed together — that's what "GOP" means: "group of pictures." The first frame is compressed independently, then the next frame is described in terms of what's different from the previous frame.
When you edit HDV +and then export it as HDV again,+ whether to videotape or to a Quicktime, the GOPs must be "conformed." As you edit, you make cuts that break the GOP structure, so the timeline cuts from the middle of one GOP to the middle of another without including the first frame on which that second GOP depends. So when you export or lay off, Final Cut has to go through and convert a bunch of I-frames to B- or P-frames, and convert a bunch of B- or P-frames to I-frames.
In essence, exporting or laying off HDV imposes a compression hit. You will reduce the quality of your footage.
Since the question was about the best option for mastering, HDV is +definitely not it.+ Would it be okay? That depends on the footage, and on how picky you are. But it's not the best option. The best option is to master to a (ha ha) mastering format. Uncompressed 8-bit, Uncompressed 10-bit and ProRes are good choices here.
As for tape … that's tougher. You can absolutely send an uncompressed or ProRes Quicktime file to a dubbing house and get it laid off to videotape, but the question is to what format? HDV is a poor choice, because of the aforementioned compression hit you take when conforming the GOPs. DVCPRO HD would actually be a step down for you, because it would downsample your 1440x1080 native footage (or your 1920x1080 master, if you chose to upres) to 1280x1080.
That leaves HDCAM and HDCAM SR. If you've done things like color correction or compositing in a 10-bit color space — or even long-slow dissolves to or from black, which is one of the places where 8-bit really falls apart on you — choose HDCAM SR. HDCAM is an 8-bit format only, and you'll lose color precision if you go to that format. But if you stayed 8-bit all the way through your workflow, then you can go to HDCAM without any real problems.
Note that both HDCAM and HDCAM SR +are compressed formats.+ Your only option for uncompressed HD videotape is D6, and good luck finding a Voodoo recorder nearby. But HDCAM and SR are good enough for professional mastering, so they'll surely be good enough for you as well. And they're both available in 94- and 124-minute lengths, so you can master your whole feature on a single tape.
(While you're at it, consider getting your uncompressed or ProRes master file dubbed off to a data tape format as well. You worked really hard on this project, so it makes sense to be a little paranoid about preserving the fruit of your labors.)

AC cords for external hard drives?

okay! everyone uses external hard drives, yes?
It's great that they connect to computers via standardized ports & cables: USB, firewire, eSATA.
but why is it that the power cords for external hard drives are completely unstandardized?
I have an external USB enclosure that I can't use because I misplaced the AC cord (my bad!)
my question: is there a chart somewhere that shows the different types of power cords for hard drive enclosures (they're the same batch of options for monitors, external CDR burners etc, optical drives etc.)
thanks
Will

I think nerowolfe was referring to the types of AC "mains" appliance power cords, specifically to the connector on the end that attaches to an AC powered device like a computer or power brick. While there are a lot of connectors used for this, there are only a few commonly used in the computer industry. The two most common are the "universal" 3 blade ones used on Mac & most PC desktops & the "figure 8" two pin ones used on many laptop power bricks, as shown below.
It would be no problem to find one of those at a Radio Shack or similar store, but as Network 23 says, most external hard drives use separate DC power supplies, & they can be fitted with one of many types of small plugs. Gumsie's advice more or less applies to these, with the following important exceptions:
• Most drives require DC, not AC power. (Thus the plus & minus polarity markings.)
• The DC power supply characteristics are not completely specified by voltage & current numbers. Some power bricks supply a well-filtered, electronically regulated voltage that doesn't vary with the current drawn from it; others a poorly filtered voltage with substantial AC "ripple" components and/or an unregulated voltage that varies from well above the rated one at zero current down to the rated voltage at the rated current. The second type is intended for devices that do not have critical voltage requirements or contain built-in filtering & regulation. They will most likely damage or cause mis-operation in voltage-sensitive devices like hard drives even if their nominal ratings are correct.
• It is not always easy to tell the two types of power bricks apart but in general the regulated types use switching supply technology & as a result are much lower in weight than the cruder ones, which use relatively heavy iron core transformers. Also, because switching supplies can easily be made that accept a wide range of mains voltages, essentially all of the "universal" power bricks rated for 100 to 220 VAC inputs use switching supplies & often are fitted with a "figure 8" type mains connector so the same brick can be sold in different countries with a mains power cord supplied with an appropriate plug for that country's wall outlets. Typically, cheap "wall wart" supplies like those sold at Radio Shack are not the regulate kind & should be used with caution with sensitive electronics. It is especially important when using them to match both current & voltage rating as closely as possible to avoid the over-voltage problem.
• A few of the more sophisticated external supplies have special features like "fold-back" current limiting. In most regulated supplies, if an over-current situation is encountered, the supply limits the current by reducing the voltage to whatever level causes its maximum rated current to be supplied. This protects the supply but not necessarily the powered device, which may be damaged by a sustained low voltage condition. (This is particularly true for electric motors.) Fold-back current limiting basically shuts down the supply until the over-current condition is corrected, which protects the powered device more completely.
• Because of all of the above, it is always safest to use the power brick furnished as original equipment with the drive or to obtain a new one as a replacement part from the vendor. If you use anything else, you do so at your own risk & you may very well damage the drive if you are unlucky enough to make a bad choice.
• A little humor to lighten this up a bit: Did you know that all electronics devices are really smoke-powered? It's true! This explains why, if you let the smoke out, they quit working!

How do you find the right replacement for a hard drive

i have a 2007 macbook and the hard drive just went out and i want to find a new one that would be combatible

For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC for regular hard drives and SSDs http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are instructions on replacing the hard drive in a MacBook with a removable battery. http://creativemac.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=45088
After you put in your new hard disk put your install DVD into the optical drive (CD/DVD drive) and reboot. Be sure to either use the disc that came with your Mac, or, if you installed a later Mac OS X version from disc, use the newer disc. As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the "c" key on your keyboard (or the Option Key until the Install Disk shows up) until the apple shows up. That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
When it does start up, you'll see a panel asking you to choose your language. Choose your language and press the Return key on your keyboard once. It will then present you with an Installation window.
Completely ignore this window and click on Utilities in the top menu and scroll down to Disk Utility and click it. You should see your hard drive in the left hand column along with your other drives. Click on the drive and select the Erase tab. Set the format value to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click the Erase button. After that has finished select the Partition tab. Type in a Name for your hard drive and select how many partitions you want from the Volume Scheme. The usual setting is one partition. Click on the Options button after you've selected a partition to make sure it's set for GUID. Then click the Apply button and after the Partitioning is done quit Disk Utility.
You can now follow the instructions on the install screen

What is the best option for tethering my IPhone 4s with my iPad? (the iPad is wifi only)

What is the best option for tethering my IPhone 4s with my iPad? (the iPad is wifi only)

#1. Understand that if you switch carriers, you can NOT take your existing iPhone with you. It won't work. You will need to purchase a new one.
#2. Your only choices are Sprint and Verizon. Decide who has the better coverage in your area. Keep in mind that you will NOT be able to get simultaneous voice and 3G data on either of these, as their CDMA networks do not support it. The U.S. T-Mobile network is not supported and is not fully compatible with the iPhone as it operates on a rarely used frequency compared to the rest of the world.
#3. What in the world are "niners"? Do you mean you want to be able to keep your existing "phone numbers"? If so, that should be no problem. Most numbers in the US are now portable.
#4. Consider WHY you want to switch. If the issue is really price, you're not going to see much of a difference. A few dollars a month at best for comparable voice and data plans.

Publish+Share best option for fast action AVI 1920x1080 29.97?

I want to play my movie on an HDTV from my laptop or USB drive. What is the best option for Publish+Share?
I don't need to preserve layers for future re-edits and smaller file size is better but not if it's at the expense of playback quality.
Should I choose Computer or Disk? Pros and cons?
Should I choose MPEG or AVCHD? Pros and cons?
Which version of 1080? Pros and cons?
Is there a detailed listing of the Publish+Share options?

Seems like there are 4 "best options" - can anyone advise further?
SubCat
Option
File Type
Frame Size
Frame Rate
Audio Setting
MPEG
MPEG2 1920 x 1080i 30
MPEG2 Blu-ray
1920 x 1080
29.97
Dolby Digital, 192 kbps, 48 kHz
MPEG
HDTV 1080p 29.97 High Quality
MPEG2
1920 x 1080
29.97
MPEG, 384 kbps, 48 kHz, 16 bit, Stereo
AVCHD
M2T - H.264 1920 x 1080i 30
H.264 Blu-ray
1920 x 1080
29.97
Dolby Digital, 192 kbps, 48 kHz
AVCHD
MP4 - H.264 1920 x 1080p 30
H.264
1920 x 1080
29.97
AAC, 160 kbps, 48 kHz, Stereo

How do i find my license key? I am switching hard drives and OS's and need my key/

How do i find my license key? I am switching hard drives and OS's and need my key/

Good Question,
I am formatting my drive, and upgrading to latest OS, but I'm not going to purchase elements again, just want to reinstall PSE10 on NEW OS, same old machine.
Looking for help with this.

How do you display the capacity/free space for the hard drive......

How do you display the capacity/free space for the hard drive on the desktop, under the hard drive icon.... I have seen this done, but I am not seeing any options to do so.... thanks.

View, Show View Options…, Show item info checkbox.

Recommendations needed for portable hard drives

Looking for a recommendation for portable hard drives -
1. I'm buying a new 2TB portable hard drive to use with my iMac for my Time Machine backups.
2. Additionally, I am buying a second 2TB portable HD for the iMac for SuperDuper back ups (I'm adding a second layer of back up and bootable clone protection to my life).
3. Finally, I need to also purchase a 1TB portable HD for SuperDuper back ups for my MacBook Air.
I'd just as soon keep life simple and buy the same brand for all 3 drives. I want things easy.
(I have Mavericks on both computers and don't want to worry about Western Digital software inadvertently being installed without my knowing it, possible causing me to lose data on my computers. So maybe it would be simplest all around to avoid WD?)
Simple and easy and reliable - that's all I ask.

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