Portable External Drive functions

Hi to all, i am scouting for external hard drives.
I know there are some hard drives that need power and some that are portable.
questions:
1. on portables, can I remove the external drive (i.e. WD pocket drives) from my home desktop (given that it is configured as back up via time machine?) and use it as an external drive to back up other files like in any notebooks?
2. when i plug in again the external drive to my home desktop, will i be required to do the initial set up again? or will the mac recognize it as an existing back up via time machine?
3. should i partition the drive> if yes, when do i partition it? before setting up time machine at home? and how do i partition?
Thanks for any reply.
Message was edited by: iSphere

A portable drive that runs on bus power is the [OWC Mercury On-The-Go|http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go]. If you are using Time Machine you don't have to do any partitioning and just plugging it into a computer will cause Time Machine to start backing up automatically. However, if you are backing up multiple machines you are going to want a 500GB drive if you are going to portable 2.5" HDD route.
If you get a 3.5" HDD enclosure then you can get a much higher capacity drive for less price. However, it will require power from an outlet and won't be portable. For that, I'd recommend the [Mercury Elite-AL Pro|http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATAFW800_FW400USB].

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Portable external drive recommendations

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I buy memory and mass storage from OWC at
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/.
Plenty of 7200 rpm choices available including 1-TB size, and yes I consider 7200 rpm worthwhile. I recommend drives that allow FW800, eSATA and USB for flexibility. Slow USB-only drives for backup only can save a few bucks, but drives are cheap and I like to be able to repurpose drives instantly if the need arises so I pay extra to maintain multiple connectivity choices.
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[email protected]

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At the Apple Icon at top left>About this Mac.
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No idea why Mobile me is popping up.
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
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Just like the title says folks. I bought a new MBP a couple of weks back to use for work. For work, it will be used via Windows 7 and any other time I'll be using it via OSX. On a budget right now (150 or less), otherwise I'd be investing in a Synology NAS system to back up my Mac at home as well as the MBP. Looks like most people recommend a Seagate or Western Digital. I'm thinking of just getting a 500g to match the one in the MBP, unless someone thinks I should go for a TB and have some extra room. Just wondering what you folks think? Is there one better to backup both operating systems? It looks like the Seagate would do both. I just don't understand all the difference between the different models of the Seagate as well the Western Digital.
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http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
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huge storage, low cost, high quality, very small and portable.
BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 15mm thick 2TB drive (have several of them, lots of storage in tiny package)    $100
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48    /ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1390020791&sr=8-3&keywords=toshiba+2tb
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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 perfect for use with a notebook
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
*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+7 2 00+RPM
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
Hitachi is the winner in hard drive reliability survey:
Hitachi manufacturers the safest and most reliable hard drives, according to the Storelab study. Of the hundreds of Hitachi hard drives received, not a single one had failed due to manufacturing or design errors. Adding the highest average lifespans and the best relationship between failures and market share, Hitachi can be regarded as the winner.

USB 3.0, fast, portable, external hard drive for HD video editing

I'd like a 1TB or 2TB, bus-powered, fast, portable, external hard drive for HD video editing on MacBook Air i7 (2013).
Any recommendations?
Thanks!

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
$75
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Touro-Mobile-External-HTOLMX3NA10001ABB/dp/B0062FZ2WS /ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379185002&sr=1-1&keywords=hitachi+extern a l+hard+drive
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What's the "best" external/portable hard drive for a Mac Notebook?

I've gone through 2 completely different kinds of WD external hard drives with my Mac Notebook (late-2011, OS X Yosemite 10.10.2), and both literally burned out after only about 18 months. The disk itself completely died and even when I took it to a computer repair store and they cracked the case open to extract the disk itself to hook up to another drive, it was still dead or wouldn't work. I had to have it shipped out to a 3rd party data recovery service both times to have some/most of the data salvaged and recovered (and each times it cost me between $700-$1,000!).
I use my external drive as my main data source and store all of my files there due to it's portability advantages, so I probably do run these external drives pretty hard, especially when running iTunes.
Unless told otherwise, I'm getting away from the WD products for obvious reasons.
So which brand of portable external drives are the most reliable and/or "best" for Mac Notebook users? I'm looking for something that's at least 1 TB and connects via Firewire 800.
Thanks in advance.
- Rob

Given the low cost of an external HD compared with the expense of data recovery services it might be an idea to buy two HD's and duplicate the data across both drives, then if one fails you still have all your data on the other which can be quickly and easily copied across to a new drive to replace the failed one - so you always have two copies of your data.

Difference between portable external hardive & powered external hard drive

I have read many post discussing buying external hard drives, either portable or with a power cord. what is the pro and cons of choosing a portable external drives versus non portable ext. drive. My wife has almost filled up my imac with movies and tv shows. I recommended a 1TB external drive with a power plug that sit next to my computer. We just purchased a macbook pro 2009 for her and now I'm learning it a slightly different world with her having the ability to move around the house or take her computer to work. So maybe my suggestion is not the best. Can anyone share some suggestions for us?
Austin

Austin Smith2 wrote:
Is there any problem/cons with the bus powered ext drive using the laptop for power and also backing up data? does the laptop need to stay awake so the bus powered ext drive can backup, since it drawing it power from the laptop?
No problems, no. The limitation is that bus-powered drives are usually smaller/slower for the price than AC-powered drives. You can't get a 3.5" 2 TB, 10000 rpm diameter bus-powered drive, for example.
Yes, the MBP needs to be awake to power the drive. But that's not a 'problem' since the MBP itself needs to be awake for a backup to run, too.

Using existing external drives (am a new iMac user) & photos

I am a new convert to iMac from PC this weekend. Have searched support questions but not finding a match.
What I have is two portable external drives - a 160 gig for all my photos (all sorted into annual folders then monthly folders, close to its limit around 140gig), and a 300 gig drive for "everything else" ie movies, music, documents etc etc.
I have always kept everything on these drives - never been a fan of keeping anything on actual computers.
Anyway - today I downloaded photos from camera to the "finder".
Then I plugged in the 160 gig drive and in a separate Finder screen I have tried to create a Feb sub folder in my 2012 folder. So I can drag or copy todays photos into it from the mac.
But a) its not letting me create a new folder - actually I cant see any options to do so.
b) its not letting me drag or copy paste the photos into any folder on the external 160 drive.
Any tips - please in really plain english as after 20 years of Window use I feel like I am learning Apple english today. Its all a bit foreign !
A few people on facebook suggested "reformatting" the external drives but to be honest that scare the heck out of me as to me reformatting basically means risking losing everything on those drives.
Another problem to do with the photos I downloaded off the camera today:
What is known as "properties" in Windows usually shows me exactly what date and time the photo was take, when it was uploaded, and when it was edited.
Half the photos I downloaded today off the camera do show their Info as that - but half show their info as "today" and I know they are several weeks old.
As I rely on the integrity of the photos "properties for all my sorting - I am not sure how or why it is removing the correct information and replacing it with "today".
Any help for a real newbie is appreciated.
Thanks

NTFS (New Technology File System) is the standard file system of Windows NT, including Windows 2000,Windows XP, and all their successors to date.
NTFS supersedes the FAT file system as the preferred file system for Microsoft’s Windows operating systems.
SW = software. Do NOT use software to convert your data.
The Mac operating system uses HFS Extended (Journaled), and until you reformat your external hard drive to that (using Disk Utlity) you will not achieve full functionality.
Obviously that should have been done before you installed anything so you now need to clear all data off the external hard drive (by copying to another hard drive already formatted correctly) and then copying back. Easier still, format a new hard drive correctly, copy existing data to that, reformat the older hard drive and keep for further backups.
Kinda wished they had mentioned all that before I spent so much cash!
A little bit of reserarch and preparation before purchasing would not have gone amiss!

How to store photo's on external drive and still use Time Machine and secondary back up plan

So, My Macbook Pro is now going on 4 years old and I've accumulated around 15,000 photos in iPhoto now. I would like to move everything (or at least everything older than 12 months) onto a portable external drive, but i'm not sure the best way to do this and still keep a good back up plan. My current process is the following -- I have external HD same size as my current internal drive on the MBP, which is formatted that i use Time Machine. I also have a paid subscription to Crash Plan online cloud back up that is connected to my laptop drive (CrashPlan is constant and easy, so I just USB plug in MBP to EHD a few times a month and that's it). If I were to move most of my picture/video's/important docs to an external drive, how would I back that up with Time Machine, and if I did, how would I back up my laptop drive with Time Machine also, and what drive would I assign my Crash Plan online account too? Cant seem to wrap my brain around the easiest and best method. (In short, I want most pics/video's stored off the laptop so that my HD is not consumed; but still easy to access if needed, and easy to back up) Also driving this need for a solution is the fact i would like my next lap top to be an Macbook Air, which I know I can't keep my current set up would not work. Any thoughts are appreciated.

if your internal drive has 250 GB and the external drive with the iPhoto library as well, your TimeMachine should have at least 1 TB.
I have read over some of CrashPlans support docs and it sounds like it will be able to back up and restore the iPhoto library, and as long as you restore the entire library and not single photos, it will save and restore all metadata as well.
I studied their documents to. They are saying they can backup any filetype. And they are saying the iPhoto libraries or Aperture libraries will be backed up automatically, when they are in in the Pictures folder, because the Home folder will be backed up.
On their screenshot you can see, that the libraries are backed up as a nested set of folders, and not as a package. That let's me doubt that the dependencies within the package will be treated correctly. To restore from the backup they recommend to restore the set of nested folders. What I could not find anywhere in the documentation is any information on the filesystem they are storing the backup on. If it is not Apple's MacOS Extended (Journaled, not case sensitive) the restored library may be corrupted, because the internal links in the databases may not work. Try to find out something about the filesystem on the backup servers, before you entrust your iPhoto library to that servers.

Portable External Drive functions

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