External Drive replacement for iMac "SuperDrive" ?

From reading this forum, it seems some iMac SuperDrives (mine included) have serious problems with reading and/or scratching discs. Apparently the only real solution is to use an external drive.
Can anyone recommend an external drive (USB or Firewire 800) that is compatible with the Mac CD and DVD disk-burning functions, iMovie and iDVD, will download software, play movie DVDs, and music CDs? In other words, it should do everything the SuperDrive is supposed to do. Also, it should last more than 6 months!
Thanks!

only store they have is by chicago, which is also their office & where all of their tech support staff are located. they have hrs you can call in 7 days a week for help & are great about fixing or replacing anything that quits. haven't heard the same about lacie at all. the lacie drive are prettier tho, but seem more expenisve for what you actually get, imo.

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Hard Drive Replacement for iMac G5

My Maxtor 250GB HD is failing and plan to replace with a Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s or a Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s. Would either of these be a good choice or are there any other recommendations?

Quote from a Western Digital FAQ (last copied March 22, 2011) and may need updating):
Mac computers can use WD external drives to boot into the Mac OS; however, not all WD drives can boot both Intel and PowerPC Mac computers. Below is a listing of drives that have been tested with a Mac. The tables separate drives based on their interface (USB/FireWire) and capability to boot Intel or PowerPC Mac computers.
Note: While it may be possible to boot your computer to an external hard drive, Western Digital does not provide technical support for booting your computer using an external hard drive.
The following external hard drives should be bootable on Intel-based Mac computers systems through USB:
My Book Essential Edition
My Book Essential Edition 2.0
My Book Home Edition
My Book Mirror Edition
My Book Office Edition
My Book Premium Edition
My Book Premium Edition II
My Book Premium ES Edition
My Book Pro Edition
My Book Pro Edition II
My Book Studio Edition
My Book Studio Edition II
My Passport Studio
The following external hard drives should be bootable on Intel-based Mac computers systems through FireWire (1394a/b):
My Book Home Edition
My Book Mirror Edition
My Book Office Edition
My Book Premium Edition
My Book Premium Edition II
My Book Pro Edition
My Book Pro Edition II
My Book Studio Edition
My Book Studio Edition II
My Passport Studio
The following external hard drives should be bootable on Power PC based Mac computers systems through FireWire (1394a/b):
WD My Book Premium Edition
WD My Book Pro Edition
The following external hard drives should not be bootable on Power PC based Mac computers systems through USB/FireWire 1394(a/b):
All My Book (+SmartWare)
All My Passport (+SmartWare)
My Book Essential Edition
My Book Essential Edition 2.0
My Book Home Edition
My Book Mirror Edition
My Book Office Edition
My Book Premium Edition II
My Book Pro Edition II
My Book Studio Edition
My Book Studio Edition II
My Passport Studio
My Passport Elite
My Passport Essential
WD Passport
WD Passport (Silver)
The following external hard drives should not be bootable on Intel-based Mac computers systems through FireWire (1394a/b):
All My Book (+SmartWare)
All My Passport (+SmartWare)
The external hard drive must contain a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) partition with GUID for Intel-based computers or Apple Partition Map on PowerPC-based computers. For directions on how to partition and format an external hard drive, please follow the directions below:
. Ensure that the external hard drive is connected to the computer and powered on. Open the main drive (the drive that contains the operating system).
. Open the Applications folder.
. Open the Utilities folder.
. Open the Disk Utility application.
. The drives are displayed on the left side of the window. Click on the drive (the upper listing with the numerical capacity) that you wish to partition.
. Once the drive is selected click on Partition tab.
. Click on the Options button to select the partitioning scheme.
. Click on GUID for Intel-based computers or Apple Partition Map for PowerPC-based ones and then click on the OK button.
. You will see several options for setting up the drive. Once you have selected the number of partitions, the format type you want (Mac OS Extended), and a volume label, click the Apply button. Click the Partition button to confirm your selection and begin the partition operation.
. Following the completion of this process, the drive will appear on the desktop. It is now ready for installing a bootable operating system on it.
Source:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/stdadp.php?p_faqid=1787&p_created=1203707437&p_sid=dO9DFidk&p_accessibility=0&p_red irect=&p_srch=1&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19j bnQ9MjQ4LDI0OCZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3Rl eHQ9Ym9vdGFibGUgb24gbWFj&p_li=&ptopview=1
A few basic facts to consider when buying a hard drive:
http://macs.about.com/od/peripherals/bb/exthd.htm

Best external DVD writer for iMac

What is the Best external DVD writer for iMac

i use the apple superdrive its expensive but its good quality no blueray though. I love it though.

Installed GoFlex 1.5 TB external drive on my iMac running OS X 10.7.4 and error says Time Machine can't create a backup folder. Any solutions?

Installed GoFlex 1.5 TB external drive on my iMac running OS X 10.7.4 and error says Time Machine can't create a backup folder. Any solutions?

Well, to unmount the drive, you can use the Terminal application.
Start in Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
When the Terminal window opens, type - without the quotes and with the space at the end - this:
"diskutil unmount "
Then drag the icon of the unmounted drive from the desktop into the Terminal window - the drive location will be added to the end of the command above. It should look something like this:
diskutil unmount /Volumes/volumename
Then press enter (return).
That should unmount the drive. Now you can try the Time Machine process again with perhaps a different interconnect cable for the GoFlex.

Making a new external drive available for Time Machine over wireless network

I connected a new Seagate 2T external drive to my iMac to increase backup capacity using Time Machine. I have a 1T Time Capsule. I am backing up to the Time Capsule wirelessly to another Mac in the house.
The Time Capsule is full.
How do I make the new Seagate available to be used for wireless backup? It does not show on the other Mac as being available in Time Machine?

See #22 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

Music Server Can't See External Drive Formatted for WIN with Disk Utility.

Is there any reason an external drive formatted for WIN (MS-DOS(FAT)/FAT32 or NTFS w/ NTFS-3G/MacFUSE) with Disk Utility would not work for intended purpose? I have a music server (Bryston BDP-1) that uses an attached USB drive for storage/playback of music and can only read FAT32 or NTFS formatted drives. I've tried both and neither is readable by the BDP-1, yet I have no problem reading/writing to the supplied 2GB Thumb Drive (FAT32), as well as another 2GB Thumb Drive (FAT32). Get Info shows; "FAT32" for all drives formatted as such.
Note: From what I'm told the BDP-1 uses a scaled down version of Linux for it's OS. Isn't that UNIX? Shouldn't it be compatible (Read/Write) with other platforms (i.e, Mac)? Bryston says the reason they use it because it's Open-Source. Does Linux only work FAT32 or NTFS?
I do have Fusion/XP, also access to WIN PC's, but I just hate to use it when I shouldn't have to. It makes no sense why the drive can't be read by the BDP-1 when formatted for WIN under OS X.
And there was one other issue, after the third try to format fro WIN the external drive suddenly began making faint clicking sounds instead of a spinning drive sound only when plugged into BDP-1 USB port. But it works fine when connected to iMac FW.
HW Specs:
Drive: G-Drive Mobile USB/FW 750GB

Exchanged drive. Works now.

Transfer iTunes files from external drive onto new iMac

I had all of my iTunes files on an external hard drive with an old eMac. I want to transfer the files to my brand-new iMac.
It's easy to copy the iTunes Library folder from the external drive onto the iMac hard drive, and change the preferences so that new songs are stored onto the iMac, but it doesn't change the settings for iTunes. Then, if I "Add to Library" I get two copies of everything: the file that's on the external drive PLUS the file that's on the new iMac. If I delete all of the "old" duplicates, it will mess up my playlists.
Isn't there an easy way to point iTunes to the new Library on the iMac and have it change the location setting for all of the songs?

okay, let me rephrase my question:
when you moved your files from the old Mac to the external, did you
(a) drag the entire iTunes folder from <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music to the external
or
(b) use the +consolidate files+ command to move the files to the external
if (a), connect the external to the new Mac and launch iTunes while pressing option on your keyboard. when prompted, click on +choose library+ and select the iTunes folder on the external.
if (b), copy the iTunes folder from <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music on the old Mac to <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music on the new one, overwriting the iTunes folder in place there. connect the external to your new Mac and fire up iTunes normally.
if you want to move the media files from the external to the internal disk of your new Mac, go iTunes > preferences > advanced and point +iTunes media folder location+ to the iTunes folder in <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music. also on the advanced tab, make sure there is a tick in the boxes next to +keep iTunes media folder organized+ and +copy files to ... when adding to library+.
then file > library > organize library > consolidate files. this will copy all your media files to the location you specified earlier in the advanced tab. when done, you can (if you want) erase the external and use it for other purposes. or keep the files there and use the external as your backup.
JGG

Fusion Drive option for iMac 21.5" late 2013

Fusion Drive option for iMac 21.5" late 2013 will upgrade main SATA HDD to 7200rpm model? Or just add SSD to standart 5400 rpm HDD for 21.5"?
Thank you for your attention.

You can't add an internal drive, but you can add as much storage as you want via Thunderbolt.

I have been backing up iMovie 08 files to my external drive, but for some reason I can't open these files in iMovie. I used drag and drop to copy them.

I have been backing up iMovie 08 files to my external drive, but for some reason I can't open these files in iMovie. I used drag and drop to copy them.

You really should be doing backups with an actual backup application, especially one that will work automatically, and, if your external HD is large enough, back up your entire system. These can automatically back up only what's changed since the previous backup, and some will keep "archive" copies of things you've changed or deleted, also.
Too many things can go wrong, such as your internal HD failing, and you'll have a major project to reinstall everything.
You already have Time Machine, built-in to OSX. You might want to review the Time Machine Tutorial, and perhaps browse Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
#27 in the second link mentions some alternatives, too.

HT202807 I have a MB Air 128gb and a Time Cap.802.11AC. My HD is maxed out because of 30GB of photo storage after migration to 10.3.3 Photos. Please recommend an external drive best for connecting to TC and moving the iPhoto Lib off my HD

I have a 13" mid 2011 MB Air 128gb and a Time Cap.802.11AC. My HD is maxed out because of 30GB of photo storage after migration to 10.10.3 Photos. I have reduced apps and files as much as possible so the only thing left is to move the photos. Please recommend an external drive compatible for connecting to my TC 802.11ac and moving the iPhoto Lib off my HD which will free approx 15 gbs. of space. I don't plan on using it for any other purpose so a small capacity drive will suffice. I know the "optimization" is supposed to adjust for this condition but I don't trust that assertion.I only have 2gb free space remaining.

I don't plan on using it for any other purpose so a small capacity drive will suffice.
If you really only want such a small capacity drive.. what about just buying a 32GB or 64GB USB memory stick.
You should still have a back up to the internal hard disk of the AC TC.
Or just buy a WD Passport.. don't waste your money buying 500GB as it is only a bit more to buy 1TB and a bit more again for 2TB.. For future use if you do buy a USB hard disk buy 2.5" type.. and buy 1TB or if the budget stretches 2TB..

External Driver Configuration for Process Integration 7.10

Hello colleagues,
I need connection the External Driver Configuration for Process Integration 7.10. Where is the how to?? The PI is 7.10 and bbdd is Oracle.
Regards.

Hello Victor
You will easily find the answer to this by searching the forum. Use the search terms "jdbc driver 7.10".
Please search the forum first before opening a thread. If you don't find the answer then open a new thread.
Regards
Mark

How do I download OS 10.6.7 to an external drive? For some reason it gives me an error when I try to download and install directly to my MacBook Pro.

How do I download OS 10.6.7 to an external drive? For some reason I get an error message when I try to download directly to my MacBook Pro from Software Update or from the Apple Downloads site.

brandonfromcharlton wrote:
I just had this issue as well. A work around is to manually install all of the updates, one-by-one. This may take a while and be a pain, but after this it's freesailing for future updates. Not sure what the issue is but don't worry, that will fix it.
BF
Instead of downloading one by one simply download the 10.6.7 'combo' update from Apples support site, it contains all previous updates in one package.

What is the best hard drive replacement for a first generation mac mini 1.25 mhz 40gb hard drive 1gb ram year 2005

What is the best hard drive replacement for a first generation mac mini 1.25 40 gb hard drive 1 gb ram year 2005?

You posted this same question 24 hours ago, which has a reply. Did you have questions on that answer or did you want further discussion? You could reply to that thread, there's no need to start a new thread.

What are the best affordable external drive options for my iMac ?

Hello,
I am a fairly recent newcomer to Macintosh as my primary personal computing platform. I have recently installed Adobe CS4 Design Premium Student Edition on a late 2006 20in iMac and have several important questions about external hard drives. First of all, everyone knows that using any personal computer (whether you its a Macintosh, or a PC running Windows and/or Linux) without an acceptable way to backup critical data is no different than driving in your car without your seat belt fastened. I need advice for a good external hard disk solution for backup and several other important computing tasks given the following realities
1. Contrary to what I to originally thought, I do not have Firewire 800, but instead have access to dual firewire 400 ports in addition to USB 2.0. My concern over connection speed in regards to Adobe's recommendation to use RAID 0 arrays for scratch disks used by Photoshop CS4. Adobe also recommends that scratch disks for photoshop CS4 are assigned on a hard disk that is not your startup disk. Nontheless, Adobe has no objection to use your startup disk assuming it has plently of Free space (and mine does w/ 189.53 GB available)
2. Do really need RAID 0 to achieve the performance I would need? I had prior Mac based training with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesign, in High school. I have not used this software in 4 years and am not only trying to refresh my skills but to learn the software. In other words I am still in the beginner stage With practice and patience, I will certainly learn the software and use it to the best of my creative energies. Given the situation if my work becomes complex enough over time how important is RAID 0 when I make purchase of an external hard disk? I known that the disk utility in Mac OS X allows the user to create a Raid array. This seems like the cheapest way to accomplish the job. However, the purchase of an external Hard Drive must be able to safely backup my system and also provide adequate performance.
3. Speaking of backup, I am one of those users who is still stubbornly clinging to Mac OS X Tiger. However, updating to a new OS has been required ritual for my previous two PCs. That said given that Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard will be out in mere months, I do not see the wisdom now in upgrading to Leopard. After all as a higher education student, money is tight and see Snow Leopard as far more compelling and future-proof upgrade. Snow Leopard is getting better plumbing and will also include Microsoft Exchange Server support (possibly the biggest selling point). I also have interest in using Boot Camp in 10.6 (or 10.5) for running windows software (that are useful for my academics) and games (particularly Half-Life 2 and other Steam games that can run well within my Mac's fairly limited gaming capabilities. If I decide to use Boot Camp I have to partition my internal hard disk. This further complicates finding a very reasonable, affordable, and reliable external disk solution given everything that I have mentioned. Any help is highly appreciated.
Thanks.

I don't think you should worry about the RAID stuff. The only way you could create a RAID is by using external drives, or one those external enclosures with two drives inside. Any speed advantage of such a RAID would be mostly negated by the FireWire 400 connection.
Use your internal drive space for speed critical functions. Use a FireWire 400 external drive for additional storage space, where speed is important but not critical, such as storing your existing media (including your things like your iTunes library files). Use a separate cheaper USB 2.0 external drive for your Time Machine (or whatever method) backup archive, where speed is not that important at all (some people even use a network connection for their Time Machine backup).
You can get a FireWire 800 drive and use an adapter to connect to FireWire 400. The connection won't be any faster on your iMac, but you can use the drive later with a Mac that does have FireWire 800. There are drives that have FireWire 400 and 800, and USB 2.0.
I like the drives sold by OWC
http://www.macsales.com/
I often buy the drive enclosure empty and find a good deal on the hard drive mechanism that I want. OWC sells most of their drives empty. My current Time Machine drive is actually one of these USB adapters
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NV2SPATA/
connected to a Western Digital 750GB SATA drive that I got for about $70. Found that deal through dealmac.com. Couldn't think of a cheaper way to add that large amount of backup space, and it works very well. The internal drive in my iMac is only 160GB, so most of my personal data is on an external FireWire 400 drive; both drives are backed up by Time Machine.

External Drive Recommendations for iMovie '09 and iMac Intel Core Duo

I just got a new iMac Intel Core Duo, and loading up on 4 gig of Ram. Going to get an external drive to house video footage, and wondering if this model might be ok. I understand firewire is usually better than usb drives, but am looking at one that is USB 2.0 with of speeds up to 480 Mbps and transfer rates up to 1.5 Gbps. Claims it's almost twice as fast as FireWire 800.
Would this work well for iMovie, editing HD footage?
Thanks in advance for your replies.

LOVE this Fantom drive. Very quiet and an amazing price for 1TB with all interfaces.
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?Redir=1&description=FantomDrives%2DG%2DForce+Quad+Interface+1TB+External+eSATA%2FFireWire+800%2FFireWire+4 00%2FUSB+2%2E0+Hard+Drive%2DExternal+HardDrives&dpno=7350333
Or check out this deal for their 2TB version
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?Redir=1&description=FantomDrives%2DG%2DForce+MegaDisk+2TB+External+Triple+Interface+%28Firewire+800%2F400+ %2B+USB+2%2E0%29+Hard+Drive%2DExternal+HardDrives&dpno=7304498

External Drive replacement for iMac "SuperDrive" ?

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