Need bootable external Firewire drive for iMac G5

I need an external Firewire drive for an iMac G5 PC with OSX leopard that I can format to be BOOTABLE. Don't know where to buy one or even if they're available. I've bought 3 different drives on eBay, thinking each was what I needed, and none were.
I'm frustrated.
Would appreciate. Any helpful info.

I use this one:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MAU4S7H20T64/
and SuperDuper for creating a bootable clone.
(But there are others too: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB )

Similar Messages

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.

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.

Need a recommendation for an external Cd drive for iMac intel

Need a recommendation for an external Cd drive for iMac intel

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Any external optical drive will work, so you can purchase the one you most like. Have a look at OWC to see some optical drives > http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/optical-drives/

Suitable external hard drive for iMac G4 running 10.4.11

      I have the original iMac with the hemispherical base and flat panel above (G4?) that I bought when it first came out,however many years ago that was,and am finally getting round to thinking an external hard drive would be a good idea.
      I understand that USB connectors have evolved,and my main concern is to buy a hard drive whose connectors will be compatible with my desktop,or is that not an issue?
      I presume any of the makes on sale in a Mac store are going to work well with Macs,but would be grateful for any advice on best make for my computer.
      Finally,until recently I have received regular Software Updates,particularly Security Updates;but have not received any for some months now.Is this because Mac are no longer bothering to do so for Macs of my age,or for 10.4? Am I being paranoid,or is this something to be concerned about?

As for security, you have to ask yourself how valuable your data on the machine is. How much financial harm could be done accessing your machine? An the other hand, there have been little to very, very few explits of Mac OS to begin with. I wouldn't worry about it but for the exceptional case.
You could install
I recommend that you get a littlesnitch. littlesnitch will track your Web traffic and tell you who is sending data from your computer. Be sure to run it awhile because it will trigger a number of alerts. In trail mode, it will run for three hours per boot for a about a month.
http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html
I 'd recommend a full backup of you harddrive. It is getting old.
You need an external Firewire drive to boot a PowerPC Mac computer.
I recommend you do a google search on any external harddrive you are looking at.
I bought a low cost external drive enclosure. When I started having trouble with it, I did a google search and found a lot of complaints about the drive enclosure. I ended up buying a new drive enclosure. On my second go around, I decided to buy a drive enclosure with a good history of working with Macs. The chip set seems to be the key ingredient. The Oxford line of chips seems to be good. I got the Oxford 911.
Has everything interface:
FireWire 800/400 + USB2, + eSATA 'Quad Interface'
save a little money interface:
FireWire 400 + USB 2.0
This web page lists both external harddrive types. You may need to scroll to the right to see both.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
Here are two utilities for making a complete backup of your internal hard drive. I've recommend using one of these so that you can create a bootable system on your external hard drive. ( PPC require a firewire connected drive. ) Once created, you can run your system from the external drive. Hold down the option key on your keyboard then power on your machine. This will bring you in startup manager click on the drive image you wish to boot then click on the arrow key to the right.
"Clone, synchronize, backup. Schedule and forget it."
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
"SuperDuper is the wildly acclaimed program that makes recovery painless, because it makes creating a fully bootable backup painless."
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
Consider using TenFourFox. It is the PPC version of Firefox 4.x.
Consider adding more RAM Memory to your machine. How much do you have?
RObert

Do i need a external hard drive for my pictures

Do I need an external hard drive for my pictures?

Generally, you should have an external hard drive to backup your system. If your internal hard drive is filling up, you certainly can move pictures to an external hard drive.

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!

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 the best external hard drive for iMac time machine?

I need to purchase 1TB external hard drive to use as a backup drive for iMac (lion) Time Machine. I currently have the Lacie little disk but I need more storage. All I need is a simple USB connection.

I've been happy with my silver FW Western Digital drives, I use two daisy chainned together (1TB, 2TB). These were the ones sold for mac's so they have a aluminum look to them. Only a bit more expensive than their black USB brothers.

Best (Reliable for the Price) Firewire 400 External Hard Drive for iMac G5?

Howdy,
I have an iMac G5 2.0 GHz (non iSight) running OS 10.4.4. I am looking for an external hard drive with around 250 GB in capacity with a Firewire 400 connection.
I am looking at the Lacie FA Porsche 250 GB, Lacie d2 250 GB and the Maxtor One Touch II 300 GB.
I have read reviews and it is a mixed bag; FA Porsche gets hot and all three don't mount at times.
Nevertheless, anyone have any first hand experience that can give recommendations (positive or negative)?
Anyone with an iMac G5 have success with a different external hard drive than mentioned here?
Anyone have any intel on the new Maxtor OneTouch III?
Cheers,
Chuck

I have heard mixed things about all those drives, but I suppose that will be the case with anything. Someone always gets a good one while others gets a bad one - LOL!
I have used drives from OWC for my Mac and PC for a while now and never had a mounting issue with them under either platform. I never have had to update firmware or drivers either when I updated the OS. Nice drives and not bad prices either.
You can save a little money by buying their enclosures and adding your own ATA drive to it. There are some great deals out there on bare drives from lots of places, and these kits are very easy to assemble.

What is the best external hard drive for iMac?

The two external hard drives I am looking at are the Seagate GoFlex 500 G for Mac and the Seagate 500G formatted for Windows, but can reformat for Mac.
The first one is formatted for Mac at the factory and has both USB and firewire connectors, is upgradeable plus it is ready to use with Time Machine. ($139). The second is very similar, but does not say anything about firewire and would have to be reformatted to work with Time Machine/iMac. ($59, Costco). I want the external hard drive mainly to back up my iMac program data and to store photos and other media. I have put off getting an external hard drive, but feel I need one to keep things backed up. One that would automatically back up would be great. Other suggestions than the above two would be fine, too. I know so little and am looking to this group for some knowledgeable feedback. Thank you.

Just setup a USB GoFlex with my Son-in-Law's new iMac and it seems like a fairly sturdy drive. However it is hard to tell at this point how reliable both the drive and enclosure hardware will be long term.
I use both FireWire and USB drives and while USB drives are slower, they will work just find for both Time Machine and bootable clone backups
Personally I suggest using 2 External HD's, one for Time Machine (if you like using Time Machine) and one or both for cloning with either CarbonCloner or SuperDuper.
In addition see > The no-worry backup plan | Business Center | Working Mac | Macworld
Other highly recommended External HD's here in the forum's are, OWC's and LaCie's

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....1 or 2?

I've decided to add an external hard drive to my new iMac after much help on a previous post. I want the external to store my media files (mostly music and video), but I would also like to use it for a "time machine backup".
Here are my questions...
I was originally thinking about a 1TB or 2TB external drive...to take care of both jobs (media storage and time machine backup). Is it wise to use the drive for both or should I have 2 different drives? If I can use 1 drive, does the drive have to have multiple partitions?
I have a 500GB HDD in my iMac...should I plan on allowing that much space for the Time Machine? Being new to Macs, I'm not sure what to expect from the backup. If I need 2 different external drives, then so be it. I just wanted to hear that from the experts.
Thank you!

Hi,
If you don't mind I'd like to offer a different point of view. I think moving your media to an external HD is a great idea, I also think having a Time Machine drive is a great idea however they _should not_ be on the same drive. The rationale is pretty simple, if that drive crashed you would not only lose your media you would also lose it's backup. I would recommend investing in a high quality external HD for your Time Machine drive. I would then recommend you get a less expensive 2nd HD for your media. That way if either drive crashes you have a backup to your media which for most people is the most difficult to recreate.
The reason I mentioned getting the largest HD you can afford for the TM drive is it will eventually fill up, so the larger you go the longer it will last. Your iMac has a 500 GB drive, the question though is including the media you are going to offload currently how full is it? Take that number and a good rule of thumb is you need something 2-3 times. I think anything in the 1 -1.5 TB size should be OK.
The strategy many on these forums use is something like this:
1. Internal HD on computer is used primarily for the OS and not critical files.
2. External HD #1 is for media (photos, music and video) and critical files.
3. External HD #2 is for backup using TM.
4. External HD #3 is for a bootable clone of the HD. *This is a backup to the backup and is also bootable, so if the internal HD crashes you can be up and running in minutes not days.*
There are many backup strategies out there, what is right for me isn't necessarily what's right for you. I'd recommend reading this article from MacWorld that discusses backup strategies so you can help find what will be right for you.
Roger

Moving a TC sparsebundle to an external Firewire drive on iMac

Hi
My 1 TB TimeCapsule is full. I share the drive with my kids and wife for backups only - wirelessly. I just bought a 2TB external drive to hang off my iMac with the idea of using it as my dedicated Time Machine disk. (letting the others keep using Time Capsule)
How can I move the iMac TC sparsebundle to the Firewire drive and resume using that existing backup via Time Machine on my iMac?
I've read many posts and solutions for going from Firewire to TC, but not the other way.
thanks

A. Heimert wrote:
So this is scenario #2. Is it really as easy as copying the sparsebundle from the TC drive to the external attached to the TC?
How does one tell Time Machine where the sparsebundle has been moved?
By selecting the new location via +Time Machine Preferences > Select Disk.+
Note that if you copied the entire sparse bundle, it should be used only on a network. If you want to connect the drive directly to your Mac and continue backing-up to it, you need to copy the Backups.backupdb folder from inside the sparse bundle to the top level of the HD.

Best 1 tb external hard drive for imac intel?

Hi, any recommendations for an external hard drive that is really compatible with the imac? I'm considering the Western Digital My Book. Many thanks.

Most external hard drives should be compatible with your iMac however you may need to reformat the drive if it comes pre-formatted for Windows(which is easy enough to do). Also know that some drives are designed with auto power features where the drive does not have a power switch and is just supposed to power on/off automatically with your computer. However these are the drives that most people have complaints about. My recommendation is to get one that has a power switch instead of the auto power feature. I would also get a FireWire drive over a USB only drive. The Mercury Elite drives from OWC are of excellent quality and are designed primarily for Mac users: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/400+USB2/
George

Need bootable external Firewire drive for iMac G5

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