What external back up drive should I get?

I have a 2010 27" i7 iMac with the 256GB SSD + 2TB HDD. My current back up drive is maxed out because its only a tiny 500GB, so I need to buy a new one that will accommodate my machines drives.
I am confused on two points.
1. How big of a drive should I buy?
-I have been thinking of getting a 3TB, but I'm not sure if this is big enough. I've also though about getting a 2TB and adding on when I need it.
2. What Back-up system should I use?
-I am using Time Machine currently, but I know that is not a true bootable back up and I would like to use Super Duper in addtion to Time Machine on the same external drive if possible.
I would appreciate any advice on what set up I should get. If you can comment with your back up configuration I would appreciate it as well!
Thanks!

1. How big of a drive should I buy?
-I have been thinking of getting a 3TB, but I'm not sure if this is big enough. I've also though about getting a 2TB and adding on when I need it.
2. What Back-up system should I use?
-I am using Time Machine currently, but I know that is not a true bootable back up and I would like to use Super Duper in addtion to Time Machine on the same external drive if possible.
I would appreciate any advice on what set up I should get. If you can comment with your back up configuration I would appreciate it as well!
Thanks!
For Time Machine you should get as large as you can afford because it will eventually fill. The brands and models I recommend are:
OWC (macsales.com) Mercury Elite Pro series
Lacie Quadra D2 series
G-Tech G series
all have similar functions and are all very high quality.
For your second question many on this forum (including myself) use a redundant backup strategy. My strategy is to use Time Machine and also to create a Bootable Clone using SuperDuper (CCC will work just as well). However NEVER NEVER NEVER put both backups on the same drive even if it has enough space. The reason being is very simple if that drive crashes you have lost both backups and defeated the whole purpose of a backup! There are numerous backup strategies available depending on your needs, fear factor and budget. I would recommend reading these MacWorld articles where they talk about different strategies. I think you will see a common theme in them though.
Backup Plan I
Backup Plan II
Backup Plan III
Roger

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Thanks everyone,
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http://www.buy.com/prod/high-speed-usb-2-0-7-port-hub-powered-ac-adapter-blue/q/ sellerid/23962916/loc/101/213271959.html
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How to correctly move your media:
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Hi
I have a Macbook pro OS 10.7.5 and am looking for an external back up drive. What external back up drives do people recommend?

T4444 wrote:
Hi
I have a Macbook pro OS 10.7.5 and am looking for an external back up drive. What external back up drives do people recommend?
We don't know which MBP you have so start by establishing what ports you have on the MBP that you can connect an external drive to. It'll have USB ports, but if they're USB 2.0, a full, bootable backup could take a very long time. If it's USB 3.0, backups can go a lot quicker. The USB external HD's are common and relatively inexpensive. If you have a Thunderbolt port, that's very fast but the externals compatible with it tend to be more expensive.
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Hi, i have a Mercury Elite-AL Pro from OWC, www.otherworldcomputung.com
this is the one;
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEAQ7S1TB32M/
have had this for over two years, moved around a lot with the drive, ( to date ) no problems, they have good after sales support; give them a call if you need info.
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tehsnyderers wrote:
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yakov536 wrote:
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HT201250 Time Machine cannot find my external back-up drive when I click on the "select disk" button. No drive is found. I have run a Time Machine back-up to this external drive in the past. I'm on the latest version of Snow Leopard. Thank you!

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(29630)

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