External hard drive for iMac with snow leopard and window XP

I have snow leopard with windows XP ON MY MAC. WHICH EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE SHOULD I USE

Any make and model of any size will work. But if yoyu plan on using it for both Windows and Mac OS X it needs to be formatted FAT32 or exFAT.

Similar Messages

External hard drive not recognized with Snow Leopard?

This isn't a new problem, but I finally can't avoid solving it any longer!! When I updated to Snow Leopard, my iMac stopped seeing my LaCie external hard drive (firewire). I've gone through the steps at the LaCie site and checked for updates from Apple, but no luck. I do see an "unknown device" in "About this Mac," but I can't get it to recognize it.
Has this problem been dealt with? Thanks in advance.

monicadale wrote:
I do see an "unknown device" in "About this Mac," but I can't get it to recognize it.
LaCie support is usually excellent, you might give them a call, if you can't find enough on their site.
Look in Disk Utility... is it mounted, or grayed out?
Does it show a volume or not (the indented listing under the drive icon)
If it's not mounted, try choosing it and using the mount icon.
Have you tried reformatting the drive?
Launch/Utilities/Terminal and enter this command at the prompt:diskutil listPress return. Note the number of the disk (far left column) you want to unmount.
Launch/Utilities/Terminal and enter this command at the prompt:
diskutil list
Press return.
If it sees the disk, note the number of the disk (far left column) you want to mount.
Then, enter this command:
mount /dev/(number of disk)
Put in the number without parenthesis.
Press Return.
You may also want to run sudo diskutil repairVolume /dev/(the number of the disk)
Let us know.
-mj

2TB Time Capsule or External Hard Drive for use with Mac MINI and AppleTV

Hi,
My current setup is I have a 1TB Hard Drive linked to my intel Mac Mini via FireWire 400, the Mini shares my music and films through iTunes so that my AppleTV can pick them up.
All devices are connected to an AEBS 802.11n (early model) via Cat6 Gigabit cables.
As I have run out of space and am looking for a bigger drive, I wanted to know if I would be able to use the 2TB Time Capsule to hold my films and be able to stream them to the Mac Mini so that it may stream them through iTunes to the AppleTV.
The theory of if should work, as the devices are all Gigabit capable and connected by high quality Cat6 leads their shouldn't be network bandwith issues, I am just unsure of how quickly the TimeCapsule can read stored data from a hard drive and transmit, some of my films are HD and run 4GB plus.
The obvious answers is just to buy a bigger hard drive with FW400, however I would like to reduce the number of boxes I have under the TV, I plan to upgrade my AEBS to the latest one anyway so just thought it made sense to explore this option.
looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Hello,
It should work in theory, but the disk access time of the TC is much slower. I was setup like you are with an external drive connected to a Mini via FW and I had true Gigabit transfer between computers.
When my hard drive failed I sold my Linksys gigabit router and bought a TC to reduce the number of boxes, but I soon learned that the read/write speed on a TC is a little bit faster than on a thumb drive! Not that great. All my machines are also connected with Cat6.
It's still OK to watch a movie though, but transferring 10+ Gb is a pain.

Do you need a special external hard drive for iMac?

Do you need a special external hard drive for iMac?

Any external hard drive that will connect via Firewire 800, USB, or Thunderbolt will work.
I have a 750GB Western Digital Scorpio drive in an OWC case, sitting on a Backpack, which connects via Firewire. Western Digital Scorpio drives have 5 year warranties, the OWC (macsales.com) cases usually use the Oxford chipset which works well with macs, and the Backpack is a slick way to mount a backup drive without taking up desk space.
After you hook up whatever external drive you end up with, you'll partition and initialize it for OS X, then begin using it.
My opinion, I would not get a Western Digital pre-packaged external drive/case. While the hard drives are OK, there have been a number of people that have had issues with the electronics.

How to scan my computer and external hard drives for pictures with out importing duplicates.

how do i scan my computer and external hard drives for pictures with out importing duplicates.

iPhoto doesn't scan anywhere. It imports files offered to it. If it spots a duplicate it will warn you.

I used Roxio VHS to DVD for Mac (have iMac with Snow Leopard) and the audio does not synch with the video when playing in iMovie. Any suggestions to fix?

I used Roxio VHS to DVD for Mac (have iMac with Snow Leopard) and the audio does not synch with the video when playing in iMovie. Any suggestions to fix?

Thanks for the reply. I tried playing with detaching the audio in iMovie, but with 20+ hours of video to correct, it would take too long. After 28 hours, Corel/Roxio tech support replied that it is a known bitrate mismatch problem and they have no real fix. I strongly suggest not to buy this product.

HT201250 My 10.7.3 Time Machine won't work with external disks. Worked fine with Snow Leopard, and even Lion 10.7.1

My 10.7.3 Time Machine won't work with external disks. Worked fine with Snow Leopard, and even Lion 10.7.1
I have tried everything, even buy new external disk from different manufacture.
If I cant get a fix soon, I am downgrading back to SnowL.

Still no luck. I tried all the tricks, reconfiguring TM (remove selected disk option, and re-setting it, and trying different disks). Tried new combo updater, and the newer TM update after that. Tired two different disks too (one is my older firewire WD MyBook 1TB, and my brand new 3tb Seagate GoFlex USB... either one plugged into back of computer - no intermediary devices). I did get the TM buddy wiget and it produced the following log, from the last attempt, where I setup lots of exclusions so that backup quantity was small (under 10gb). Still it failed to complete. Here is that log, for what it is worth:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/TM-Disk/Backups.backupdb
9.56 GB required (including padding), 911.15 GB available
Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Copied 0 files (0 bytes) from volume Mac HD.
Backup canceled.
To prove a point, I will take these disks are run them on my other Tiger and Snow Leopard laptops to prove TM works fine on those with these disks. But I fear the only options are to either have my tech re-install LION... or just have him reinstall SL instead. Im at wits end.

I have a 27inch iMac with snow leopard and 1 user, and a 24 inch (older) upgraded to yosemite and 5 users. I want to wipe the 27 inch and transfer everything on the 24 to it. I do have time capsule 3tb but not sure how to do it

I have a 27inch iMac with snow leopard and 1 user, and a 24 inch (older) upgraded to yosemite and 5 users. I want to wipe the 27 inch and transfer everything on the 24 to it. I do have time capsule 3tb but not sure how to do it

Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

What's the best external hard drive for iMac?

I'm very close to purchasing a 21" iMac. I've read about the 27" model problems, but nothing negative about the 21" model. Frankly, in the space I have, the 21" model will work just fine. I'll be replacing my MacBookPro laptop, which I will move to my work station at work, replacing my PC laptop (making totally Mac driven).
So anyway, I'm going to take the external hard drive I currently have at home and bring it to work also, leaving me with a need to purchase a new external hard drive for the new iMac. My question is: which external hard drive do you think is best to get. I'm getting at least 1T, and perhaps as much as 1.5T.
I've been reading about the Western Digital My Book for Mac, but there appears to be some new issues with the software and Snow Leopard. Anyone know anythign about this?
Also, some of the online descriptions indicate some hard drives need to be reformatted to work with Macs. Anyone know have any input on that? What about Seagate? Anyone have any experience with those?
Any input is greatly appreciated.

Most any drive will work with Macs, and Time Machine.
Most drives come formatted for Windoze, but most of them can be re-formatted on your Mac to work with it. See item #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
Also note item #1 there for size considerations; and items #3 and/or 4 for using with other data and/or other Macs.
If you think you ever might want to put a "bootable clone" on it, be sure it's a bootable drive. Most PPC Macs can boot only from FireWire; most Intels can boot from F/W or USB. But some Western Digitals won't boot a Mac. Their list of which ones should and +should not+ boot: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/stdadp.php?pfaqid=1787. But note the disclaimer that they don't support it +*at all.+*.
In addition, many of them have a built-in sleep mode that cannot be disabled, and sometimes interferes with Time Machine backups: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/stdadp.php?pfaqid=1376
Depending on what ports you have, FireWire 800 is by far the fastest; FireWire 400 next, and USB slowest (F/W 400 and USB 2.0 are rated about the same for short bursts, but F/W is faster for sustained transfers. Also, your Mac's CPU has to do more of the work with USB, so actual throughput is usually less).
Many folks think USB is less reliable than FireWire. If you do get USB, be sure to connect it to a port on your Mac, not a keyboard (that may be only USB 1.0). Try to avoid hubs, too.
If you're using USB, it's usually best to get a drive with it's own power supply, as taking power from your Mac can be a marginal proposition. Portable FireWire drives without separate power supplies don't seem to have this problem.
Take any advice for or against particular makes or models with a grain of salt: all makers (of just about anything) can have a "run" of bad components, or a relatively few early failures. Plus, by the time any really good trends are noted, the model has probably been revised or replaced anyway!

Buying external hard drive for iMac

I need some extra hard drive capacity to tide me over until I buy a new computer. The Internet has a tremendous selection, but I'm afraid to place my order until I can be sure that what I purchase will work with my iMac, and I can't get any company to answer my request for buying information, even though I state that a purchase will be made as soon as I receive a reply.
I have USB and Firewire. Some people say not to worry because any and all external hard drives will work with my computer. Other people say to be careful because only certain ones are compatible with my computer. Some say that any external computer will work, but to get a guarantee that it will work "just in case". What is the truth? I have downloaded information on selecting a hard drive. It has information on rpm, capacity, price,etc, but I see nothing about Macs versus PCs, which is really what my question is. Put another way, what do I need to know when the issue is compatibility?
iMac DV (Special Edition) Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Hello,
Most drives are going to work with either a PC or a Mac. There is very little difference in the requirements for newer drives. Basically, the computers are designed to work with drives that meet certain standards. And, as long as the drive is built to those standards, then any computer should work with it (provided it has the right port to plug it into).
So, basically, you can buy the drive you want, and it should work with either computer.
The main exception is going to be drives with specific features that require software drivers. For example, if the drive has a button that you press to activate an automated backup of another drive, then that feature is going to require software to make it work. So, your ability to use that feature is going to specifically depend on whether there is a version of that software for the machine you want to use it with.
As for specific models. I can recommend two models:
My favorite so far, is the Other World Computing "Neptune".
I have a "Neptune 120 GB" FireWire drive from OWC (Other World Computing)
They are at:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/owc-neptune-drives/
They are great, low-cost drives and work very well.
I got it with a 7200 R.P.M. Hitachi / IBM DeskStar drive. It is 120 GB in size.
The enclosure provides two FireWire 400 ports, and also provides it's own on/off switch.
The performance is great. It outperforms the internal drive installed in my Mac Mini. I haven't had a single complaint about the drive. So, that's pretty good
The drive does come with it's own power supply. So, you can use it with any computer (most computers don't provide enough power to run hard drives solely from the FireWire ports).
Mine is quiet.
It uses a fan-less design.
The inside chassis is made of steel, and is able to help dissipate heat from the hard drive.
It sometimes gets warm. But, I've never felt it being hot. Just slightly warmer than room temperature.
I had it running for over an hour yesterday (backing-up my main hard drive to it), and after a full hour of running constantly and writing files, it was just slightly warm.
I'd say it's a very good design, and dissipates the heat from the 7200 R.P.M. drive quite well.
Otherwise, I can hear the drive spinning if I specifically listen for it. But, don't ever hear it unless I am trying.
I have used the drive with Windows XP Home, and then later with my Mac. It's been used with both OS 10.3.x through 10.4.6.
It has been used with 2 different iMac G5 systems, a Compaq PC, a Hewlett Packard PC, a Mac Mini G4, and an iBook G4.
So, compatibility should be fine with just about anything.
If you want a drive with more options (multiple connection interfaces, etc.), then I would be comfortable recommending any of the models OWC sells. They know their stuff, and you can be certain that their products will work with a Mac. If you're looking for guarantee's, you'll find them on their sales pages for everyone to see.
For example, scroll down to the bottom of the sales page for the 80 GB drive here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/NPFW7080GB/
And, you'll see that they clearly list both Windows and Macintosh computers as being compatible. You'll find similar statements on the pages for every product they sell. They point out specifically what each device works with or needs on their sales pages.
And they are great on the phone. So, if you have any questions, just call them. They are very helpful.
The other model I have used is not as nice, but I can say it is built very, very solid.
That one is a Maxtor Personal Storage 3100 External USB 2.0 hard drive.
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.5d2b41d3cef51dfe29dd10a1913460 68/?channelpath=%2Fen_us%2FSupport%2FProductSupport%2FExternal+Storage%2FPersonal+Storage+Family%2FPersonal+Storage3100
It has a 7200 R.P.M. Maxtor hard drive with a 2 MB cache in it. Mine is 80 GB (but it is available in larger capacities).
It is a good performer. But, it is slower than the FireWire Neptune that I mentioned above.
The durability of this particular unit is amazing though.
I purchased it used, and when I got it out of the box, my hands slipped and it fell about 6 feet onto a hard vinyl floor. No padding at all, a good solid and firm drop.
At that point, I knew that I had probably just wasted my money. I knew that if I plugged it in and it didn't work, that I would never know if it was defective when he sold it to me or if I damaged it.
But, I plugged-it in, and ran a full diagnostics on it. And, to my pleasure it worked great.
It didn't even suffer a single mark.
And, it is still working reliably today (on my wife's iBook G4).
I would personally recommend the FireWire "Neptune" from OWC the highest. But, I am impressed with the survival of the Maxtor. But, the Maxtor drive is noticeably slower due to the USB interface.
I hope this helps.

External Hard Drive for iMac - Firewire or USB?

I need an external hard drive for my new iMac. Can you clarify the difference between a firewall connection and a USB connection? I assume you use one or the other, but not both. If I use firewall, will that free up a USB port (which I'd like to do)? Also, some USB hard drives require 2 USB ports; this I do not want!
Also, do these hard drives work like a zip drive.....no more complicated?
Beyond this, do you have any other advice about which hard drive to purchase?
Thanks.

I think you are starting to put the cart before the horse. Back up (pun intended) and think about what your goal is. Is it your intention to back up just your user documents, photos, and music? When disaster strikes (note that I didn't say if) are you okay with installing the OS from the DVD, reinstalling all your software, reconfiguring your printer, your scanner, your internet, and setting everything up the way it was? Notice that I'm really piling it on here! I don't know about you, but it took me about a week to fully move into my new computer and if my hard drive died tomorrow, I don't want to spend (I don't have) a week putting it back together again.
My backup plan, in the nutshell, consists of three parts. 1) a clone of my hard drive; an exact duplicate so if my drive dies I can reboot and get right back to work. So that when I install the new drive I can immediately repopulate it as it was. 2) an incremental backup, especially of my data. If I discover I deleted a file I didn't mean to, I can go back a few days to a pre-delete backup and restore that file. 3) a backup of crucial material that leaves the house so if file destroys my computer or a thief makes off it with I haven't lost the most very precious information.
I believe everyone should adopt a plan similar to mine. The particulars of how you achieve the plan will vary but I think all three steps are vital. If you agree then your hard drive needs to be large - 120GB probably doesn't come close to cutting it. To estimate how big a drive you'd need to implement this plan, determine how much of your drive you are currently using. Double it. That is once for the clone and once for the complete (non-bootable) backup Time Machine will make. Now, at the very least, add the full contents again. That is for a couple weeks worth of incremental backups. Now add another 50% for growth as you add new programs, music, photos, and data.
So if you are currently using 30GB of your computer's hard drive, 105GB is the very smallest drive you want. The 120GB drive you are talking about is okay. Barely. When you get it make a 40GB partition and a 80GB partition. The 40GB is for the clone you'll make using SuperDuper! and the 80GB is for Time Machine. Of course, if you are using more than 30GB then you need a bigger drive for your backup. And if you know you intend to add a goodly amount of stuff to your drive soon, then plan for it now.
Now if you are okay with getting the computer back together more slowly - maybe being without it complete if the drive dies - you can dispense with keeping the clone. In that case, you will want to determine your current disk usage and buy a drive about 150% to 200% of that. It'll take about an hour to reinstall the OS on the hard drive and depending on how much you have in data and other programs, another half hour to a couple hours to restore that.

Best Recommended External Hard Drive For IMac 3.1Ghz i5 Core

Hi Guys!
I'm in need of a external hard drive for my iMac,
I have never used a external hard drive for a Mac but i have for Windows PC's
I need something Fast & Easy to use,
Thanks in advance!

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
Before you buy, find out what brand drive is installed. Stay away from Seagate. They appear to be turning out junk now. An external drive is not specific to any iMac model.
You can also just buy the same empty enclosure from OWC and get a decent deal on a bare drive from Newegg.com. Takes twenty minutes or less to DIY. How to video on the OWC site. Needs just a phillips screwdriver.
You want a 3.5" SATA drive. If from Newegg, it will need to be reformatted for Mac. Mac OS extended Journaled. Partition Map Scheme: GUID.
http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html

What is a good external hard drive for use with a macbook air?

I am looking at purchasing a macbook air 13". What is a good external hard drive to use with it? Should I look for an external hard drive with its own a/c power or is the usb 3.0 capable of powering the external drive.

Have a look here for the sizes and prices.
It is however, much better to get a USB external drive that comes with it's own power adapter to avoid issues when or if your USB port can't supply enough power to your external drive.
That issue however does happen rarely but it does happen. Especially when connecting other devices to your other USB port while your external hard drive is connected to your other usb port.

Partitioning an External 320gb drive for use with Time Machine and...

I want to be able to use my Western Digital 320GB external drive for use with Time Machine and to use as extra storage space on both my Mac and when I boot into Windows Vista.
Is this possible?
I was playing around in Disk Utility and would I partition the part I want to use for Time Machine with the Mac OS Journaled, and whatever I want as space for windows, use a MS - DOS format?
Has anyone done this before?
Cheers-

Unless you are using 64 bit version of MSWindows (64 bit XP/Vista), it won't be able to handle a disk with GUID partition table (GPT). Disks with Apple Partition Map (APM) or GUID partition table are the only ones that Time Machine will work with (not MBR disks). Note also that the MBR/APM/GPT are at the DISK level and not the partition level, so don't mix the format with partitioning scheme. Time Machine disks are meant to live in the Mac universe (for now, anyway) and sharing with the MSWindows 32-bit universe is not possible.
See http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=macpcdiskdd06sv8.png for some additional background.

Purchasing external hard drive before upgrading to Snow Leopard

I have an early 2009 iMac running OS X 10.5.8. We are planning on purchasing Snow Leopard to upgrade to 10.6 and beyond but would like to back up what we have on an external hard drive first. Is there anything specifically we need to watch out for or be aware of when buying an external hard drive? Thanks in advance.

I second rkaufmann87's recommendation of OWC's external hard drives. I have 6 and have had no issues.

External hard drive for iMac with snow leopard and window XP

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