Recommended external hard disks for macbook??

Hey all,
I am in need of an external hard disk for my macbook, preferably one of decent size cause I wil be traveling in Europe from Sept to Dec. I was looking at the smart disk one.... ideas on what ones to look at and where to buy?
thanks!
erik

I heartily recommend the Mercury drives from OWC. They are small, bus powered and very reliable due to the use of the Oxford chipset.
If you do not mind carrying around a power adapter, then the Mercury Elite Pro drives found HERE come pre-configured up to 500GB and if you want you can buy the enclosure only and add a 750GB drive.
That's a lot of storage!

Similar Messages

  • Fastest and best external hard disks for video use with Imac?

    What is the fastest and best external hard disks for video use with Imac (I believe it is currently not possible to use Esata on the Imac).

    For DVCam. HDV etc, I'm a fan of the G-raid drives. From personal experience they
    are very solid performers. I only had one issue with a new drive that was replaced
    next day. They are not the cheapest drives to be found but the build quality
    is excellent. Check out:
    http://www.g-technology.com/products/g-raid.cfm

  • HT201250 if I used external hard disk for backup time machine, is it possible to use that external hard disk to save another else from diffrent computers?

    If I used external hard disk for back up time machine, is it possible to use that external hard disk to save another else from diffrent computers?

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    You can do this, but you should make a new volume on your external disk. Time Machine needs a volume that is only used to store backups, so you can't store other data in the same volume as the one you are using for making backups.
    If you want to create another volume on your external disk, use Disk Utility to do this > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html Anyway, you should get another external disk to store other files, but if you don't want to, you can create another volume in it

  • I cant plug in 2 external hard disks in macbook ?

    i cant plug in 2 external hard disks in macbook ?
    i have one disk 500gb and ontherwith 160 gb and my macbook just let one of them or else ehen i plug on of, its ok but 2 just appear one !
    why ? help me

    Are the drives buss powered or external powered? If their buss powered that could be a problem to run both that way.

  • Is it safe to keep downloaded movies in the Macbook Pro or do I need to use an external hard disk for those ? Please suggest.

    Is it safe to store the downloaded movies from iTunes in my Macbook Pro or do I need to store those separately in an external hard disk ? Please advice.

    It will be no better or worse than any other video file and should not be responsible for any system instability.  As I alluded to earlier, video takes up a lot of space and you can quickly use up that 200 GB of space.  Download a few files to you MBP and see what impact it has.  I have a couple of external HDDs dedicated to video files (and backups of same) due to the large file sizes. 
    If you find that space is getting tight on your MBP, then get an external for the video files and another one to back them up.  I have a couple of external HDDs dedicated to video files (and backups of same) due to the large file sizes.
    Ciao.

  • Best external hard drive for Macbook pro and Aperture

    Hi, any recomendations for an external hard drive for the macbook pro and aperture. I was looking for approx 300Gb !
    Many thanks
    macphi

    Personally I have had poor luck with LaCie Big Disk peformance and support and don't recommend LaCie. However I do recognize that my sample of one is statistically insignificant.
    The eSATA concept is interesting, but bleeding tech edge at the moment. For a solid solution that works now I recommend FW800 (forget USB) and RAID 0 technology. I have had great success with OWC and just bought their least expensive (in $ per GB) 640 GB FW800 US$370 RAID O drive setup: <http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/ME8R7640GB16/>.
    Just this week OWC introduced RAID 0 +1 drives that have RAID 0 speeds but also provide mirror backups. Perhaps the very best solution but pricey.
    EDIT: If you bought a 15" MBP instead of the 17" you forever lack FW 800. Go for a FW 800 or an eSATA Express Card solution when available. You could buy an OWC drive now and jusr run it FW 400 until you get an Express Card FW800 port. The OWC drive came with ports and cables for both FW 800 and FW 400.
    -Allen Wicks

  • Advice on external hard drives for Macbook pro

    I am looking to buy an external hard drive for my macbook pro urgently.
    I was intending to purchase a time capsule but am really concerned with the reliability concerns of the time capsules where they stop working after 6 months to 18 months as posted on various forums.
    I was considering purchasing a western digital external hard drive but they also receive a lot of negative feedback.
    I have never used firewire previously but am interested in getting feedback as to how useful forum readers find this feature.
    In terms of size am looking for 1TB approx.
    Thanks in advance for your assistance as i need to purchase one immediately and i do not have time to research fully. Make, model number and approximate cost would be very helpful as well as where i could purchase hard drive in london. I am more concerned with quality rather than cost.

    Opinions vary and people have different experiences ...
    I'd recommend the LaCie 1TB Quadra drive at £134 it has eSATA, USB2 and FW400 and FW800 Interfaces (it comes with all four cables) and I've found them reliable and rugged.
    http://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?pid=11158
    http://www.lacie.com/uk/wheretobuy/index.htm

  • External hard disk for Time Machine

    I'm considering baking up my iMac. I have a Lacie external hard disk with a Master Boot Record partition type. On it, there are already some data files from both Windows and Mac machines.
    I understand that, for Time Machine to work, the partition type needs to be changed to GUID (for Intel based Mac). Obviously, I will need to copy these data files to somewhere, then use Disk Utility to change the partition type, partition the hard disk (one partition to be used for Time Machine back-up).
    My question is, will it be safe to copy the data files (previously from Windows and Mac machines) back to another partition of the hard disk which will then has a GUID partition type? Will the files (including those from Windows machines) be usable?

    KenWong wrote:
    I'm considering baking up my iMac. I have a Lacie external hard disk with a Master Boot Record partition type. On it, there are already some data files from both Windows and Mac machines.
    I understand that, for Time Machine to work, the partition type needs to be changed to GUID (for Intel based Mac). Obviously, I will need to copy these data files to somewhere, then use Disk Utility to change the partition type, partition the hard disk (one partition to be used for Time Machine back-up).
    My question is, will it be safe to copy the data files (previously from Windows and Mac machines) back to another partition of the hard disk which will then has a GUID partition type? Will the files (including those from Windows machines) be usable?
    You're slightly mixing terminology.
    The *+Partition Map Scheme+* applies to the whole disk, whether it has one or multiple partitions. That's what needs to be GUID or +Apple Partition Map+.
    The Format applies to each partition, and may be different for each one. Your TM partition needs to be +Mac OS Extended (Journaled),+ the other one can be +MS-DOS (FAT)+ for use with Windoze.
    You can copy those files anywhere temporarily, while re-formattng the disk. It doesn't have to be a separate partition. It could even be CDs/DVDs. As long as you can copy and read back, it doesn't matter. If you put them on your boot drive, Windoze won't be able to read them while they're there, but once you get them back on a +MS-DOS (FAT)+ partition, it will.
    See the instructions in item #5 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
    We usually recommend putting the Time Machine partition first (at the top of the diagram that Disk Utility will show you), so you can more easily expand or contract it later on, if you need to.

  • Using ipod as external hard disk between macbook and PC

    Hello
    I have formatted my ipod mini to the mac, but I also have a PC at home which I want to transfer files to and from. Can the ipod still be used as an external hard disk between the macbook and the PC or is that not possible?
    Thanks

    If your iPod is formatted for Mac it won't run natively on a PC because the Windows OS does not support the HFS Plus file system and therefore will not see the drive. XPlay for instance gets good reviews and has the added functionality to let you copy your songs back to iTunes. MacDrive from the same company is not iPod specific it's for connecting any Mac formatted drives, if you want to use your iPod as a removable storage device it will work for that. You can get XPlay and MacDrive at these links:
    XPlay 2
    MacDrive
    You can read another user's experience of using XPlay at this link: iPod on Mac and Windows

  • External hard disk for general storage?

    I'm considering buying an 80gb iPod. Just
    wondering if it can be used as an external
    hard drive, for example, to store movie
    files created with Final Cut? Or just
    as a back up drive for a MacBook?

    Yes, you can "enable disk mode" on it and it will show up in the Finder as a normal hard drive. Any space not being used by iTunes to store you iPod playable music, vids, etc. can be used for anything you want just like a normal hard drive.
    I recently backed up my digital photos onto my 80GB in the disk drive section.
    Patrick

  • What is the best external hard drives for macbook pro?

    I am looking to buy an external hard drive for my macbook pro urgently.
    I was intending to purchase a time capsule but am really concerned with the reliability concerns of the time capsules where they stop working after 6 months to 18 months as posted on various forums.
    I was considering purchasing a western digital external hard drive but they also receive a lot of negative feedback.
    I have never used firewire previously but am interested in getting feedback as to how useful forum readers find this feature.
    In terms of size am looking for 1TB approx.
    Thanks in advance for your assistance as i need to purchase one immediately and i do not have time to research fully. Make, model number and approximate cost would be very helpful as well as where i could purchase hard drive in london. I am more concerned with quality rather than cost.

    Welcome To  Discussions CJMCJM!
    I have requested that a Host relocate your Topic to a more appropriate Forum.
    As it will be transferred it is not necessary for you to repost elsewhere at this time.
    But for future reference, please review the first entry How To Post A New Topic, on Feedback About Discussions.
    That is the Forum where you erroneously posted your issue.
    Enjoy Your Stay In  Discussions!
    ali b

  • Best External Hard Drives for MacBook

    I have been doing some research on the External Hard Drives for the MacBook and have been getting mixed advise about the best one for the Macbook. I'm wondering if anyone with actual experience and knowledge with External Hard Drives and the MacBook could offer any advice on one I should look into.

    You are going to get a bazillion answers and little agreement so be prepared.
    An external drive is two components, case and drive. If you buy a generic no-name you have no clue about what's in the case or what the drive is. Even if you buy a name brand like Western Digital or Seagate you still can't be totally sure. Would WD put a Toshiba drive in their external case? Probably not but you still don't necessarily know which model WD you are getting.
    I approach it two ways. For archival backups I build my own buying the case and drive to meet my needs. OWC is my usual source. For expansion and usage I tend to buy name brand externals. At the moment I have several Seagate FreeAgent drives. What I don't do is make drive purchases based on price - that's a great way to buy a drive that will fail just when you need it.

  • FAT or exFAT for external hard disk for MAC and Windows

    Hello, could you tell me which format I have to format an external hard disk to use with Time Machine in order to recover data on MAC or Windows.
    Thank you very much for your answer.

    Like Kappy says, TimeMachine only works on Mac's and it formats the drive itself, then it's files are mosly a pain to get at via anything else but TimeMachine on a Mac.
    If you want something to backup the entire OS X side of the Mac and that can also be later accessed by a Windows PC (with MacDrive installed to read te HFS+ format), like if your not going to get another Mac again and want to get at your files, then you need a bootable clone drive.
    If you want something that backs up only your user files to a external exFAT drive, (to be read on Windows, Mac or Linux machine) then there is plenty of software to do that, one is free called SyncTwoFolders and it does that, it makes sure both folders are Synced in ethier or in one way directions.
    Most commonly used backup methods
    Drives, partitions, formatting w/Mac's + PC's

  • Recommended external hard drive for R&R?

    I just got my new T420 and I want to get an external hard drive for Rescue & Recovery backups. I used R&R to back up and recover all the time with my old T60, but it's too small. I'm looking at a couple of Seagate hard drives. Does anyone know if I need to re-format the external hard drive to get rid of any software on it before using R&R? Or does it even matter? Any experience with Seagate for R&R backups?

    Just get a large enough drive. I recommend a drive or drive enclosure that supports eSATA for fast backup speeds.
    When asking for help, post your question in the forum. Remember to include your system type, model number and OS. Do not post your serial number.
    Did someone help you today? Press the star on the left to thank them with a Kudo!
    If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"! This will help others with the same question in the future.
    My TPs: Twist 2HU: i5-3317U Win 8 Pro, 4GB RAM 250GB Samsung 840 | T420 4177CTO: i5-2520M, HD+, Win 7 Pro x64, 8GB RAM, Optimus, 160GB Intel 320 SSD, Intel 6300 WiFi, BT 3.0 | T400 2764CTO: P8700, WXGA, Win 7 Ult x64, AMD 3470, 8GB RAM, 64GB Samsung SSD, BT, Intel 5300 WiFi | A20m 14.1" PIII 500 (retired). Monitors: 2x Dell U2211h IPS 100% sRGB calibrated w/ Spyder3.

  • Why can't I use my ipod classic as an external hard disk for my ipad?

    Seems a no brainer to me that I should be able to use an ipod as an external hard drive for my ipad. Hec, it's all apple but apparently not.
    Does anyone have a solution? if not, come on Apple, support your own products! I thought compatibility and interconnectivity were bywords for apple products.

    rortiz77 wrote:
    When I plug in my iPhone 5 into my PC, I should be able to see a new external drive connect.  I can do that with my older iphone 4/4s...but not with my iphone 5.  Why?  Is that feature gone???
    Appearing as an external hard drive was never a feature of any iPhone model or iOS version.  The only way your older phones could do this is if they are jailbroken. 
    I'm just trying to backup my photo's and videos onto my own hard drive...now I can't.  *****!
    That's easily done as descibed here:
    iOS: Importing personal photos and videos from iOS devices to your computer
    If  you have a problem inporting photos/videos, see this:
    iOS: Unable to import photos to computer

Maybe you are looking for

  • Mac / Adobe Compatibility Issues with Reader X1 & Acrobat X1

    I'm using Acrobat X1  11.0.10 and Reader 11.0.10 with Mac OS X ( 10.8.5). In Reader, when I click the "show next page" down arrow, it takes around 5 seconds to jump to the next page. (scrolling to the next page via the scroll bar works fine). In Acro

  • Query - Stock Value (On a Selected Date)

    Hi all I came up with the below query to display the stock value at a given date in the past.The total value is correct as per the Inventory Audit report. However, it displays the total value for the two warehouses that we have, yet I want it to disp

  • Jclient error: java.sql.SQLException: OALL8 is in an inconsistent state

    Dear all, who can help us about java.sql.SQLException: OALL8 is in an inconsistent state. Our application system is build for Jdeveloper 10.1.2 with JClient+BC4J and be deploy on 2-tier application architecture(through Web Start) , and the database i

  • Refurbishment order

    Dear Experts, Please suggest which route is better for capturing the repair cost of a material send outside for repair. 1. Through external services ( Control key PM03 ) 2. Through sub-contracting ( Control key PM02 ) Kindly explain the pros and cons

  • Excel crashes every time I try to save to .pdf

    Help!  Every time I attempt to "save as" .pdf in Excel (Office 2011) Excel crashes, saves some sort of empty .pdf file.  Anyone know anything about this?