Need recommendation for bootable External HD for CCC

Hi !  I recently came to the forums to get info on how to effectively back up my mid-2010 MBP 500 Gb because according to Disk Utility I need to reformat my HD  
I am currently only using Time Capsule to back up with Time Machine.  I had initially decided to drag my iPhoto library, itunes, and movies (along with some other user files) to a new Seagate 500 gb GoFlex portable External HD that I had.  But since I've done that, I've also done more browsing on the boards here and learned that I probably should be making a bootable clone of my HD (using Carbon Copy Cloner).  That sounds like a logical idea, and Im embarassed  I didn't know about it sooner.  So I plan to purchase the CCC immediately and do this before it's too late.  On their website they specifically say NOT to use Western Digital drives because some of them are not bootable.  I also saw some comments that the Seagates "go to sleep" and probably should be avoided.  I'm not sure how up-to-date those forums are so I am coming here for some recommendations/suggestions. 
Before seeing those comments I had seen a few in the local stores here I was considering (WD passport, SeaGate backup plus, Toshibo Canvio Connect)...but now I'm confused. 
Any suggestions for an External HD that I can use?  (also, I was thinking 1 TB was a decent size to get)?
Thanks so much for your help ! 
Christine

chrstene96
probably should be making a bootable clone of my HD
Bootable clone is very important to have, and MUCH more useful than time machine in general.
Forget about CCC,  Superduper does the same thing for FREE.  Download the APP SuperDuper (most use it).
Some advantages of a cloned HD:
In case of an internal HD crash and failure, there is absolutely nothing quicker to getting back to 100% operation than having a HD clone handy to either boot from, or within 20 mins. installing and removing the bad HD. Nothing to install software-wise, and a speedy immediate return to your computer use and productivity.
If you do an option key startup at boot you can directly boot to your cloned drive externally and operate from same like normal.
Sandboxing: With the help of the Cloned Drive, you can perform sandboxing, or the testing of new software, their updates and applications before they are installed on your Mac system. Moreover, if there are issues with the system, you can troubleshoot them by booting off the Clone. Many people test new APPS or experiment with a secondary clone and never worry about a failure or serious issue since the internal HD is untouched and the secondary clone can be wiped afterwards if any major issue occurs in testing. This is an invaluable tool in many instances.
If you sell you computer for purchase of a new one, you can take the clone you have on hand and install same or clone it to the new internal drive of your new Mac.
As it turns out one of the huge positive benefits of a clone is that people were seeing faster HD speeds; with APPS booting up from the clone than they had seen with the internal HD. The cloning applications in cloning the drive defragments the data to the clone and remove the “holes” in the cloning process.
With a small portable HD clone you can take your ‘computer’ anywhere to most any other current Mac and boot from your HD clone and have your entire system and its data immediately there for use. In case one is across the world and their macbook gets stolen, or damaged, with another Mac you can be up and 100% in the time it takes to boot to the new or borrowed Mac!
You can clone from your external clone to the internal HD/SSD in case of corruption.
The best thing that can be said, ideally, when your HD crashes with all its data is “so what, I’ve got a clone right here” and you can return to normal operation within seconds (by booting from the clone) or minutes (by swapping drives).
In separating out your system hub (OS) and your data hub, and storing them separately, is if you make only periodic clones (every month or so), and have a HD crash, the worst case outcome is that what is lost on your clone are some bookmarks and preferences since your data hub containing your vital files is constantly archived separately as it should be.
Disadvantages of a cloned HD:
A HD clone takes a rather long time to update since it checks all files for changes.
Ideally you would erase and create a new clone of your updated system every 2 weeks or month, which would therefore leave a gap in data integrity and OS files and system changes.
Autonomous constant data hub archiving fills this downside “gap” of HD clones, wherein which the worst that would be lost is a 2 week or one month window of application updates, or system changes irrelevant to your vital data.
best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or  $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim and perfect
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
2.5" USB portable High quality BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 2TB drive (have several of them, LOT of storage in a SMALL package)    $117
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST portable  external HD available that money can buy:
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive  
$88
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+72 00+RPM
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
macjack My Swamp 
It's usually not the WD drive
If you're handy you can "roll your own" with a bare drive and an enclosure
Its never the WD mechanical HD itself.      None of those posts on "data corrupted .....Mavericks...HD RAID arrays"  has any issue with the mechanical HD from WD
(that being said WD quality is the worst and I refuse to buy them).
Ill let you know when I find a HD enclosure that is worth more than 50 cents  and/or is reliable.
(actually this one IS reliable:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Anker-2-5-Inch-USB-3-0-eSATA-to-SATA-Hard-Drive-Disk-HDD -External-Enclosure-/321085534744?pt=US_Drive_Enclosures_Docks&hash=item4ac23072 18  )

Similar Messages

  • Will I need to buy bigger external HD for new iMac?

    I have had my trusty iMac (the snowball one) for 6+ years now and have loved it dearly. It has an 80gig hard drive that is about three quarters full. I have other things stored on an external hard drive, and have been using a 200gig external for Time Machine.
    Anyway, I am about to splurge on a new iMac. Going for the 21.5 inch one, but putting 2T hd in it and as much ram as possible.
    My question is: what will time machine need for back up? For the past few years I have been using a 200gig external for Time Machine (I also have a 500g one for extra photos and music). It will be quite a while before I have even 100 gigs of stuff to back up with Time Machine. So can I continue to use the 200 gig external for TM? Should I use the 500gig instead? Or am I going to have to buy a new external to equal the 2T?
    For what it is worth, I plan to keep my snowball iMac and use it to store some documents or photos that I do not need to access often?
    Many thanks in advance.
    Jane

    Hi Jane,
    Pondini has made excellent FAQs for Time Machine to be found here http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html
    Quote from it:
    +"A general "rule of thumb" is, TM needs 2 to 3 times as much space as the data it's backing-up (not necessarily the entire size of your internal HD).+
    +But this varies greatly, depending on how you use your Mac. If you frequently add/update lots of large files, then even 3 times may not be enough. If you're a light user, 1.5 times might do. Unfortunately, it's rather hard to predict, so if in doubt, get a bigger one!"+
    Endquote.
    So, it seems to me that using your 500GB external HD for Time Machine should be sufficient for your useage.
    Hope it helps
    Stefan
    Message was edited by: Fortuny

  • Can anyone recommend a good external harddrive for iTunes backup?

    I would like to backup my files externally. I really dont know too much about this stuff. Can anyone make a suggestion for an external harddrive? Thanks!

    I have an AcomData 120GB, a Western Digital 200GB and a Fantom 250GB external HD. All are working well. LaCie is another fine brand. I usually buy the major brands by price. Expect to pay $0.50 or less per GB (my last ExHD was $90 for 250GB).
    If you are very concerned about longevity, then look at the Seagates as they carry a 5-year warranty (at least on the internal laptop drive that I have purchased).
    See This Link

  • Need help repairing bootable external drive permissions

    I, like some of the other posters I have read, have messed up the permissions on a bootable external drive.
    I don't have direct access to my home computer right now so I set up an external bootable copy of my personal account, so I can basically run a copy of my own personal computer from anyone elses mac. And when I get back home I will be able to copy back across any new files.
    The set up was working great till I realized that my external drive was completely readable, and writeable by anyone who turned it on as a peripheral disk while logged in on the main computer if the computer was booted up on it's own startup disk.
    If my external was set as the startup disk, then my password and account kept everything secure.
    So anyway, not really knowing what I was doing I, using the show info command, changed the group permission for the whole disk/volume from admin to my username. Now unfortunately I cannot startup using my external disk; the whole system goes straight to Kernal. And all my files are still totally assesible to any one logged in on the computer using its own start up disk.
    Can you help me with the commands, to first repair the group permission so my disk is bootable again, then second so that I can prevent anyone with out my password access to any files on the disk?
    Thanks alot!

    Can you help me with the commands, to first repair the group permission so my disk is bootable again, then second so that I can prevent anyone with out my password access to any files on the disk?
    On another machine, open the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder, select your drive in the list of disks, and then click on the Repair Permissions button; other solutions are available if this doesn't work.
    Your two goals are mutually exclusive; there is no way to restrict access to an entire disk to yourself while maintaining the ability of that disk to boot Mac OS X. Your home folder can be protected in this way by changing the permissions on the item inside /Users/ with the house icon, or by turning on FileVault in the Security pane of System Preferences.
    (11310)

  • What is the maximum resolution for an external monitor for a 13" BMP

    I have a new MBP 13 and a new Samsung LED 23" monitor that is spec'd at 1920x1080 resolution. However the maximum resolution I can get (using Display) for the external monitor is 1600x900 (or 1600x1200 stretched). What could be causing this limitation?

    Are you guys able to resolve the issue with the Samsung HDTV LCD monitor? I just bought the Samsung B2230HD but having some image issue. I am connecting to the LCD from my macbook pro using Mini Display Port -> DVI -> HDMI but the image on the LCD is very grainy where the text is not sharp at all. The mac is able to detect the correct resolution of 1920x1080 though

  • Apple physically replaced the HD on my Imac.  I backed up everything on a Seagate Go Flex Desk for Mac external drive for Mac.  I went through the motions to restore my Iphoto Library back to my computer. Can't find them!!!!!

    Apple replaced my hard drive on my Imac.  I'm lucky I backed up everything on a Seagate Go Flex Desk for Mac external drive via Time Machine .  I followed directions in order to restore my iphoto library , but I can't seem to find it on my computer.  Are the files locked?

    No reason to assume they are locked. The library will be restored to the location it was backed up from, unless you specified somewhere else. Have you looked in your Pictures Folder?

  • Best bootable external HD for Power PC iMac

    Hey guys, first post. I'm looking to purchase an external hard drive, preferably a 1 TB one that I can set up in RAID 1 format, as well as be able to boot from. I was about to buy a WD My Book Studio Edition II, but then realized I wouldn't be able to boot from that as I have a Power PC. Any suggestions? I'd really like some suggestions for RAID 1 AND bootable, but if that's getting too specific, RAID 1 isn't necessarily a deal breaker.
    Another problem I may run into is that I'm looking to upgrade from Tiger to Leopard soon, to take advantage of Time Machine, among other things. What's the best way to go about backing up data when an OS update is on the horizon? Back up with Tiger, do a clean install of Leopard, and then boot from the external? Then wipe the drive clean and set up Time Machine?
    By the way, is the option to boot from my external HD of critical importance? If I have my hard drive cloned on there, and my system crashes, what are the options that I have if all the information is on the external drive, but it is non bootable?
    Ahhhh, so confused. Sorry I have so many almost-unrelated questions, but I'm not really sure what I should be buying and what I should be doing with it. Basically, I want to upgrade to Leopard, not lose anything in the process, and then have everything backed up. Hope someone out there can help.

    You can buy single drives that are 1TB externals, so I would not go with a dual drive external just to get a RAID. A single drive is more reliable than a RAID (as long as you back it up) and RAIDs still need to be backed up. Any speed advantages will not be worthwhile, since your iMac G5 and FireWire 400 ports will be not be able to take advantage of the RAID.
    Any FireWire external drive should be bootable for your iMac. If you want to future-proof a bit, you can get a FireWire 800 drive and use a 800 to 400 adapter (or an 800 to 400 cable). And there are drives that have FireWire and USB 2.0, for better flexibility down the road.
    OWC (macsales.com) has good external drives. If you want to build-your-own to get the exact drive mechanism you want at the price you want to pay, OWC sells most of their drive enclosures empty.
    Another problem I may run into is that I'm looking to upgrade from Tiger to Leopard soon...
    I think the best (in my opinion) way is to first clone the internal drive to a FireWire external drive. Then test boot from that external drive to ensure it works properly. That clone is your backup. While booted from the external, run Disk Utility and use +Repair Disk+ (not +Repair Disk Permissions+ ) on the internal drive; make sure there are no errors, or any errors are reported as being repaired.
    Start up from the Leopard installation disc. Select to do an +Archive and Install+ option installation. You can do so by clicking the Options button. An +Archive and Install+ will give you a fresh Leopard system (instead of installing Leopard over your Tiger system), but retain your user accounts and settings. So your data and settings should be there when you boot Leopard, but in case something bad happens, your external clone is your backup. Make sure the internal drive is selected as the installation target and proceed. Installer will put the old system components into a folder called +Previous Systems+. After ensuring you do not need anything from the old system, you can delete that folder to free up space. After you start up into Leopard and go through the setup screens, be sure to run Software Update a few times to pick up all the updates. Then, run Disk Utility and use +Repair Disk Permissions+.
    If something goes wrong, or you want to revert back the old system, start up from the external with your clone. Then clone the clone back to the internal drive. You should have your old system back, as it was before the Leopard upgrade.
    Also, if the +Archive and Install+ option does not produce good results for some reason and you want to do an +Erase and Install+ (install Leopard onto a newly formatted volume), you can do so and use your clone as the source for migration of your personal data.
    By the way, is the option to boot from my external HD of critical importance?
    If you use Time Machine after upgrading to Leopard, you will be able to re-create your internal volume to within one hour of internal drive failure. You do so by booting off the Leopard installation disc, then selecting the command to restore the volume from Time Machine (I forget the exact wording) from the Utilities menu (go up to the menu bar at the first Installer screen). You can also run Disk Utility from the same menu, and run repairs on the internal drive.
    So while it is nice to be able to boot from the external FireWire drive, it is not critical. I use an old FireWire-based iPod with a failed screen as my emergency/maintenance boot drive. My FireWire external drive can be made bootable, but I don't have any system installed on it. It's basically my personal data drive. If I did not have that iPod boot drive, I would definitely have some external drive that I can boot from for maintenance and emergencies.

  • Recommend me a External HD for Video editing + backing up.

    I just purchased a 1 TB seagate freeagent pro and the thing will not mount, disk utility does not see it and it's a bit annoying.
    1. Can you guys recommend me a good 1tb external HD with firewire 800 for under $250? I've only only seen the firewire 400 at this price.
    2. Can I use the same drive I use for video editing for Time Machine as well? Sorry for the noob question but I'm a noob.
    Thanks.

    Hello again Dave
    I forgot to address your second question re Time Machine.
    Time machine sets up a folder on your external drive called Backups.backupdb. This is where all the backups that Time Machine makes are stored. On one of my OWC Mercury drives I have a partition the same size as my internal drive set up for this folder and that partition is what Time Machine uses. The rest of that drive is used for a bootable backup of my internal drive which was made using SuperDuper. So I have two distinct partitions, one of which is exclusively for TM. I've seen posts elsewhere on these forums that state that as long as you don't disturb the Backups.backupdb folder on your external drive you can put other things on it, such as your video editing files, without making separate partitions. That's assuming that your drive has plenty of room available for both. I personally think it's safer to have separate partitions for these purposes.
    Rick

  • Need compatible 16bit bootable CD drive for Portege R100

    Hi All.
    I have a Protg R100 which I need to run the recovery cd on.
    I have thus far discovered that I need a 16 bit bootable pcm cdrom (usb not supported).
    My problem/query is that I cannot find anywhere to establish:
    A) an approved, preferred or compatible device
    B) the best place to get it.
    Would be most grateful for any info....
    Thanks in advance.
    Chris

    Cheers JayJay
    Thanks a lot, you did help, I know I'm not crazy ;o)
    For information:
    The drives specified are no longer manufactured (checked with Toshiba, Topas and Freecom) and it seems it is almost impossible to get hold of one, with each company recommending I search eBay!!!
    Looks like I'll need to buy a second hand one from somewhere....
    Thanks again

  • Need 10.6.8 External Drive for Back Up

    My external hard drive died just this week, right before I need to upgrade my OS from 10.6.8 to something newer that's fully compatible with Adobe's new version of Connect (9.3).  So I can't use my old backup drive to back up my iMac before I upgrade from 10.6.8.  I was looking at new external hard drives, and I noticed that one of them specifies that it's compatible with 10.7.  I don't know if that means it's NOT compatible with 10.6.8, but does anyone know of an external hard drive that IS compatible with 10.6.8 so that I can backup my iMac before upgrading?  Thanks.

    You don't need to worry about whether an external drive is compatible with your operating system. Given that you have 10.6 right now your computer can use a USB 2 or USB 3 external drive. (If you buy a USB 3 external it will operate at the slower USB 2 speeds but it will be compatible.) Windows and Mac computers don't use the same drive format so unless the drive specifically says it is formatted for the Mac you'll need to format it. See this Apple support document for instructions on formatting the drive.

  • Need Recommendations on Best Used Mac for Logic Pro

    Hi --
    I am running Logic 8 on a mirrored door G4 (dual 1.25 GHz PowerPC), and am starting to run into some limitations on number of tracks and plug-ins. There is a used Mac outlet near me, and I am considering doing a trade-in, but wanted to know folks opinions on what might be the best bang for my buck on a newer used Mac.
    I typically run about 10-15 audio tracks, and a typical/reasonable number of plug-ins (eq, compression, reverb). I was also thinking about using a tower versus a notebook, as I am set up that way now, with my G4 isolated in a closet and cabled out to my mixing station. Fan noise from the computer is a factor, though. (Though I have put up with the noisy G4 for quite awhile!)
    Current used market includes"
    - Power Mac G5/2.0 GHz dual processor (around $1500)
    - Mac Pro 2.66 GHz Quad Core (around $2200)
    - Mac Pro 2.66 GHz Dual Core (refurb for $2000)
    Assuming same RAM, any experience-based opinions on what might be a good price-performance choice? Thanks in advance.

    blayzay wrote:
    To my knowledge G4 1.25 is far superior than a G5 2.0 any day except for the noise of the fan, which is way better on that G5.
    Fr.BlayZay.
    As an owner of both a MDD 1.25x2 and a G5 2x2.0 I have to disagree with blayzay and say that the G5 will give you far far more DSP power than your current G4. The G4 is a good machine but the G5 is in a different league.
    You might also want to be aware that the G5 2x2.0 PCI will work happily with your Powercore PCI...you will need to purchase a new Powercore card if you plan to use this with one of the Intel machines.
    One other thing you should consider is that you will also have to update all of your apps & plugins if you go for one of the Intel machines. This can be a real pain if you rely on plugs such as Spectrasonics or some of the more esoteric music apps...
    Chris

  • Recommendations for good external mouse for Lenovo X200

    Hi
    I would like a mouse that connects via a usb port. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.

    i understand....much more that you think...
    I buy since 1993 ThinkPads ....and in all the years I have spent well over 120,000 euros ....and I think I'm right to judge....and i am loyal to ThinkPad ...my last is the 2015 Carbon...
    anyway...
    I just do not understand a thing....why people never believe...what some people after years of professional experience want to make them a gift.....and want to spare them all the hassle and trouble...etc...they do not want to believe it..what is good and what is bad...please in the future ...try first ...and then judge...
    the MX Revolutions runs more than 14 days.(contained electric motor)...without having to load it...
    (inide is one Li-Ion Battery)
    my english is bad sorry for this...
    and I watch also here on the Lenovos Community Forum site
    what some Administrators writes....
    My message to them is ......you still have much to learn.....and learn and learn again...
    the goal from Lenovo is to be worldwide absolute number one  ....and I appreciate  that very much...
    Knowledge is Power...
    Lenovo For Those who Do...
    dear Lenovo Forum Administrators..
    here are these people who will help you...
    if you have to ask how you can be better...etc.
    http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/hk/en/management.shtml
    Thank You...for the understanding...
    Best Regards from Germany

  • Pismo w/panther needs to create bootable OS9 partition for firmware update

    Hi guys -
    I have the original software install and software restore cds that came with my pismo, and I'm sure there must be a way to install OS9 onto a partition on my pismo from there without erasing any of the data or OSX10.3 on the other partition. Years ago when the original hard drive died, I simply bought and installed Panther and didn't install os9 anywhere.
    Now I've picked up a MBP and am unable to complete the Migration Assistant data transfer from the pismo to the mbp using FW (it recognizes the info on the pismo, but stalls during transfer at 8.1 hours to go!) because (it seems) I never installed the 4.1.8 firmware update on the pismo when the update came out. The update requires a boot from a local Mac OS 9.1 writeable partition.
    So, essentially, I'm looking to install os9 off of one of the original powerbook install/restore cds onto an empty partition I've prepared on the pismo so I can update the firmware and then complete the migration to the mbp.
    1. Is there a way to check the pismo's current firmware (in case I've already installed it years ago and forgot?)
    2. Is there a simpler way to get OS9 onto the pismo?
    3. Is there a simpler way to migrate my data to the MBP? (Other than pick up a 2.5" FW enclosure, remove the hd from the pismo and do it from there?)
    4. If no, to the above questions, How do I do this?
    Thanks for any help!

    Hi Tom -
    Thanks for replying so quickly, and the tip on how to find the current firmware info !
    I just checked and my pismo is also running Boot ROM Version: 3.2.4f1
    However, my concern isn't how well or whether it can run Tiger - it's the machine's ability to run in Firewire Target Disk Mode. And the update in question is intended to address the pismo's shortcomings there (it's mentioned in the ReadMe file that comes with the update). It's in the apple document for troubleshooting Migration Assistant that I discovered the existence of this update. The process for me freezes...
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25773
    Nice to hear that Tiger runs well on the pismo though, I'll bear it in mind for the future.
    Here's what I've done since posting my initial question:
    I inserted the Software Restore CD and copied over all the files from it onto my partition. System Preferences<Startup Disk recognized an OS9 system file on the partition, and I selected it as my startup disk. Unfortunately, on restart I got the question mark flashing over the folder, and the pismo booted up from the Software Restore CD still in the drive. The CD did not identify my HD as viable to be restored to, something like there was nothing to restore and I must install software instead.
    I am very wary of doing an install because I doubt the partition will be detected and of course the Install CD will erase the contents of my hard drive during the install. I'm tempted to pick up a cheap hd and install OS9 on that for the update, but there must be a way to get it onto the partition without wiping everything out!
    Any additional help would be appreciated!
    Best
    Steve

  • Is there is common format for an external harddrive for Mac and a PC?

    I'm planning to have some 8mm film digitized, and would like the result to go on an external drive that could be used on both a PC and a Mac.
    I think that FAT 32 would work, but that it has a file size limitation that might be a problem with video files.
    My questions are:
    First, is there a way of formatting an external hard drive which that it would work both both a Mac and a PC for transferring/working with video files?
    And two, what codex should the film to video be saved in, to work with iMovie?
    And three, does it matter now is the hard drive is USB, or must it be FW?
    Thanks,
    Hal

    First, is there a way of formatting an external hard drive which that it would work both both a Mac and a PC for transferring/working with video files?
    FAT32, unless the drive needs to contain files which are 4GB or larger, in which case, no.
    And two, what codex should the film to video be saved in, to work with iMovie?
    DV.
    And three, does it matter now is the hard drive is USB, or must it be FW?
    It doesn't matter.
    (55447)

  • Vga to dvi? for an external display for an ibook

    does anyone know of an adapter that allows you to use the apple cinema displays (the 20' one)? any suggestions would be great
    thanks

    btw, it just an adapter. I am not sure it compatible
    with your screen or not.
    I believe that adapter is for DVI-A displays. DVI-A displays accept analog signals. Since Apple's Displays are DVI-D, and only accept a digital signal, this adapter wouldn't be compatible. You need a converter box that converts the analog signal to a digital one.
    Check here to read the reply I left for you in your previous thread.
    Brian

Maybe you are looking for