Want to buy an external hard drive

Hey guys,
As you can see I have a Power Mac G5 (the last of the PPC models). I only have 1 internal hard drive, and want to buy an external one so i can free up some room and also be able to use it with my soon to be MacBook Pro.
Would you recommend a FireWire 800? If so, any good ones you know of?

Since the Power Mac G5 and MacBook Pro both have FireWire 800, it would be a good choice.
I like these drives.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/MS3S7500GB16/
They can connect to anything, and also double as FireWire and USB hubs. OWC also sells other drive sizes and a version with no drive (add your own).
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/FWU2ESMSV3/

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Buying an external hard drive

I just learned that memory and hard disk capacity are not the same thing. Anyway, since I've just increased my memory from 2 to 4 GB, while since my computer is now telling me that my "Starter Drive?" is full, I've decided to buy an external hard drive for my MacBook. However, since I don't know anything about them, I'd like to read a good article or two on selecting one before making my purchase, so I came here to see if anyone has any ideas on the subject. Can anyone make any suggestions?
I don't want to spend more than $150, preferably much less. Also, I want one that is EASY and SIMPLE to use. There will probably be other considerations, but not until I get some basic information on types, features, usages, etc.

lenn5 wrote:
There's only a couple things I think about when purchasing an external drive.
1. How much space do I need.
The minimum right now seems to be around 320GB for most people. That's what I have and it's fine more my needs. I don't edit video so I don't need a huge drive.
2. What type of connection: Firewire, USB2, eSATA or a combination of them.
Mine has Firewire800/USB2. It comes with a FW 400 adapter so it works with my iMacCore Duo. I wouldn't get an external without Firewire. USB2 only is too slow.
3. Brand.
That's up to the buyer. I chose Western Digital Studio drive. I'm mostly happy with it. Nice enclosure but is alittle noisy in a quiet room.
Most of the top drives are good. OWC, WD, G-Tech, LaCie ect.
Just do a search using the brand and review. There are alot of reviews on the net.
4.Price
Individual preference.
I've probably missed something but these are what's important to me.
lenn
Thanks. I have decided to buy one, but I just have to do more thinking about what to buy. At first, being a beginner, I was just thinking in terms of capacity (bigger must be better), but now that even Terrabytes can be obtained at reasonable prices, I question that. I haven't yet read anything that completely answered the question for me, but I will be reading more comparisons and buying guides in the near future. One thing I'm still thinking about is how to use it. Will it be better to use it for storage, or do I want it to be an active part of my computer. I might add that the main reason I want to get one is to improve the speed and efficiency of my computer. I've seen many, many articles that warned of the catastrophe of crashing discs, but that doesn't worry me. The first time that happened, I felt like I had lost a child, but the second, third, and fourth times it happened it didn't bother me so much. No, I'm really most interested in doing what I can to get my computer to run as fast and with as few complications as possible. You did remind me of one thing I hadn't thought of recently: noise. That's important. In fact, that's why I bought a Mac. After doing quite a bit of research, I had decided on buying the PC that was always wining popularity contests. I was just about to buy it, and even took a PC course at my college to get ready for it, when I realized that the Mac was meant for me because of its quiet operation (the PCs at school were just too noisy for me) and and its compactness. Of course, when I bought my printer, the compactness issue went out the window. Even so, I still think I made the right decision. I only regret replacing my desktop model with a laptop.

Is is better to buy an external Hard drive or an external CD RW Burner?

I am shopping to buy an external hard drive, too, to back up all my important data.....but could I buy a external CD RW Burner to burn back-up disc and it will do the same job. Or is is better to buy an external Hard drive to save the data? Will I be able to burn CD Back-ups from my external hard drive?
In other words, I am a little confused on whether to buy an external hard drive or external CD RW Burner? What is the best route?
Thanks for any body that can help with this issue.

Hi,
Welcome to Apple Discussions
I suggest getting a external hard drive over getting an external CD-RW or DVD-RW. One of the major reason is that its great for backing up your internal hard drive; you can do it all in one place. One should always backup their hard drive just incase anything happens to your computer. One can't predict the day when a friend trips over their own feet; knocking your iBook on the floor with a huge crash. The most annoying thing to carry around when traveling is the Mac OS X install discs. I hate bringing them with me because I am in constant fear that I will loose them. The reason I bring them with me is because if something happens while I am away, I can troubleshoot my problem. I can startup from the install disc and then run Disk Utility, Archive and Install, Erase, and partition my hard drive. Once someone has a problem on the road; they will never leave their house without the discs. Instead of carrying around those discs, I partitioned one of my external hard drives into three sections, one for backup (140Gb), one for Mac OS X Tiger (10Gb), and the last one is for Panther (10Gb. I gave my girlfriend an iBook and she has Panther on it). This means I am equipped to startup my computer without using my internal drive.
Have you ever lost your iTunes library or your TurboTax data? Well, by backing up your hard drive (internal to external), you can save all your vital data incase something happens. You will find it a life saver if anything ever happens.
If you are looking into external hard drives, I suggest anything from LaCie, SmartDisk, or Western Digital
I recommend the LaCie D2 Hard Drive Extreme w/ Triple Interface, SmartDisk CrossFire, or the WD Dual Option.
I use a SmartDisk CrossFire for both my iTunes library as well as my iPhoto library. If you need help moving your iTunes library you might want to look at Knowledge Base Document #301748 explains How to Move Your iTunes Library.
I don't think you want an external burner of any kind for backing files because it will cost you a lot more in the end. You will have to use multiple discs for one big folder like iTunes. It is a pain and is also expensive. You can easily loose a disc or scratch it up.
Jon
PS Duane brings up the a really good point.
Macbook 2.0 White (100Gb HD 2Gb RAM) Mac Mini 1.42Ghz, iPod (All), Airport (Graphite & Express), G4 1.33Ghz iBook, G4 iMac 1Ghz, G3 500Mhz, iBook iMac 233Mhz, eMate, Power Mac 5400 LC, PowerBook 540c, Macintosh 128K, Apple //e, Apple //, and some more... Mac OS X (10.4.7) Moto Razr, iLife '06, SmartDisk 160Gb, Apple BT Mouse, Sight, Minolta 5D...

Greeting, I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the in

Greeting,
I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the information on it so could you tell me what kind of encryption will be used or is there any way to recover the information?
Thanks!

I think FileVault is used to encryp internal hard drive but I wanna encrypt an external hard drive with Mac OS Extended Journaled Encrypted which is completely different!

I connected my external hard drive to my new imac to put all of the information from my macbook onto it. i have been working on the macbook now and want to reconnect the external hard drive so my imac is updated with the work. How is that done?

I connected my external hard drive to my new imac to put all of the information from my macbook onto it. I have been working on the macbook now and want to reconnect the external hard drive so my imac is updated with the work. How is that done? or is it possible?

As I said, I don't use Time Machine, so it'd be best to wait for an "expert" answer, but, with my very limited knowledge, I'd say: probably not - so, for now, I'd suggest you read up on Time Machine:
http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Home.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&src=support_site.home.search&local e=en_US&q=time%20machine
And, you might be attracting more knowledgeable answers if you were to post this question in the Time Machine Forum (part of the Snow Leopard forums).

I use an external hard drive as a Time Machine back up, but I want to use another external hard drive to save movies, photos on it, but it won't give me the option to save anything on the new external hard drive. Nothing is wrong with the external hard.

I use an external hard drive as a Time Machine back up, but I want to use another external hard drive to save movies, photos on it, but it won't give me the option to save anything on the new external hard drive. Nothing is wrong with the external hard.

Hi Clarkett99,
To use an external hard drive for your iTunes library, see the steps in this article -
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
iPhoto can be used in a similar way, follow the steps in this previous discussion -
how do I save photos and their albums...: Apple Support Communities
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3744259
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

My logic board has failed, and I'm having to buy an external hard drive. Can someone walk me through thr process of how to do this?

My logic board failed, and I need to buy an external hard drive. Can someone walk me through the process of doing this? Will the Genius Bar do it for free?
Also, I have a borrowed Mac right now. If I put the new hard drive on this computer will it erase the computer's current hard drive? Do I have to put the hard drive on another Mac?
Any help is greatly appreciated!

if your logic board failed then connecting an ext. drive will be non productive.
if you take your hdd out of the failed mac and replace it into the borrowed mac you can then extract everything from that hdd. simply connect the external hdd, go into time machine preferences select your new ext. drive as the destination.
the external drive has to be formatted to mac os extended journaled. however you can purchase ext. drives already formatted for mac.
if you are having the logic board replaced then just put the old hdd back in, it will boot up normally.
you can rest easy knowing that if anything goes wrong, you have the ability to use your fresh backup to produce the same operating environment that you were using before things went wrong.

I have a TC for my backups but now I want to add an external hard drive

I have a TC for my backups but now I want to add an external hard drive to my TC and share what is on it within my own network. I can see the hard drive from airport Configurator but I cant acces it. What should i do?

Hard drive getting full or near full?
Here are some of my tips for deleting or archiving data off of your internal hard drive.
Do a search for and downlaod and install OmniDisk Sweeper and OnyX.
Have you emptied your iMac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Other things you can do to gain space.
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive older emails you want to save to disc, Flash drive/s or to ext. hard drive.
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, Flash drive or ext. hard drive and/or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Uninstall apps that you no longer use. If the app has a dedicated uninstaller, use it to completely uninstall the app. If the app has no uninstaller, then just drag it to the OS X Trash icon and empty the Trash.
Also, if you save old downloaded .dmg application installer files, you can either archive and delete these or just delete the ones you think you'll never install, again.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it do its thing initially, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run all of the processes in the tabs. Let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be thinned out, moved, also, to the external hard drive and then either archived to disc, Flash drive or ext. hard drive and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

Want to use an external hard drive for my photos, iMovie, music and documents for use on my MacBookPro and iMac, can I do it and how?

I want to use an external hard drive to store my photos, imovie, music and documents, how can i do....Thanks

There are very good external drives available...I bought one when I got this MBP in September from OWC, http://www.macsales.com they are Mac specialists. Bought their 2 TB Mercury Elite Pro since it was eSATA, Firewire 800/400, and USB interface...use the Firewire 800 now. Partitioned into a 1.5 TB partition for Time Machine backups and 500 GB for extra storage. Both show up on the desktop, you just set the destination for you application to be the external drive volume you want to use.
If you want to discuss further, just ask what you want to know.

I have some stuff i want to put on external hard drive when i drag the file or files it just puts them back

i have some stuff i want to put on external hard drive when i drag the file or files it just puts them back

Did you format the external disk on Windows? If you did this, probably the external disk is formatted in NTFS. OS X can't write on this format, so it's normal that it doesn't allow you to copy the files.
In this case, you have three possibilities:
1. Install Paragon NTFS. This program allows you to write on NTFS partitions.
2. Copy the hard drive content to your internal disk and format the external disk with Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Do it only if you are going to use the external disk only with OS X.
3. The same as the last one but formatting it with exFAT. This filesystem is compatible with Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8) and OS X (10.6.5 and newer), so you can write and read files on external disks formatted with it on Windows and OS X, but you may have problems on Linux

Is there an application where I can back up all my info that I have on my computer so I don't have to buy a external hard drive?

Is there an application where I can back up all my info that I have on my computer so I don't have to buy a external hard drive?

Yes, but off-site storage (i.e. Mozy) is more expensive in the long-run than an external drive, however, off-site storage is safer (not sure if I trust the security though), and even with a fast connection, the inital backup can take days

How do I figure out if I have usb 3.0? I am trying to buy compatible external hard drive (western digital my passport for mac) and I can not figure out if it will work with my mac book.

how do I figure out if I have usb 3.0? I am trying to buy compatible external hard drive (western digital my passport for mac) and I can not figure out if it will work with my mac book.

Dont buy a Western Digital, get a Hitachi or Seagate (Toshiba is made by Hitachi). These are the most reliable, and the HD used inside Macs.
ALL HD can be made compatible with your MAC (including a WD if you already bought same), ......they just need to be formatted for the Mac platform, format them in Disk Utility as Mac OSX extended journaled.

If I wanted to connect an external hard drive to my iPad, what can I use? Do I have to use the Mac mini??

If i wanted to connect an external hard drive to my iPad, what can I use? Or would I have to purchase a Mac mini?

Sorry, I DO NOT RECOMMEND the camera connection kit for what you are asking!
I was trying to say that as I have the connection kit (bought for camera use so no loss for me)
I often WISH it could do more.
So sorry for the confusion.
The camera connection kit only allows you to send photos and video (that are correctly formatted I might add) to the photos app.
Other people have had success with it connecting to keyboards, but that us not so useful.

Buying an external hard drive that works on both!

I am looking to buy and external hard drive that can be accessed by my pc and mac book pro. Using mac drive or the like is not an option. This is because I am looking to go over to a mac full time. At we have a windows network. The techies won't install mac drive, so I need one that works on both.
Do they exist?
I had bought a fujitsu. Formatted it on the macbook and doesn't work on the school network. Is there anything I can do with that so it can be accessed by both?

I use Mac OS X (10.6) as my primary OS with Windows 7 under Boot Camp for games. Pretty much any USB drive will do, I have WD Elements 500GB 3.5in one partitioned approximately 300/200 between HFS (the partition scheme for Mac OS) and NTFS. This allows me to do my Time Machine backups and still have a usable amount of extra storage for windows. Under Snow Leopard I can read both partitions from windows, no problem, but beware, in my experience, Mac OS won't see the windows partition on the external drive if you're using one of the partitions for Time Machine.
Hope this helps,
lambda.

I want to buy a mac book air what it's better upgrade the flash drive to 512gb or to buy a external hard drive of 1tb?

What do you recommend me to do upgrade from 200gb flash drive to 500gb flash or for chepear a good external hard drive of 1 tb this is on the macbook air

Go with the upgrade. Buying an external drive as a primary source of storage would defeat the purpose of buying a MBA, or any notebook, in my opinion.

Want to buy an external hard drive

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