What is a good external hard drive to use with time machine running osx lion?

My LaCie HD quit and I need to get a new one. What is recommended to use with the Lion OS? I would like to use Time Machine and hook the HD up using Firewire.

I've been using several Mercury drives from OWC (MacSales) for years with no problems whatsoever. They are good and not expensive. Here's where you can find them. Pick one that fits your needs.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/
Rick

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What's a good External Hard Drive to use with Time Capsule

I have a MacBook and a 1GB Time Capsule, and until recently used my TC to store and access the music and video files I've purchased from the iTunes store as well as my Time Machine backups. The HD in the TC crashed a few months ago, and necessitated a long, drawn out and somewhat expensive restore to get everything off the crashed drive before restoring it. So now, I simply want to use the TC as a backup using Time Machine, but I also want a good external hard drive that is either wireless and can either be connected through the TC's WiFi base station capabilities or can plug in to the TC's USB port.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Most USB drives should work fine. But there isn't much power on the USB port, so bus-powered drives must be connected via a powered hub.
And several folks have reported that larger drives, over about 750 GB, even if they have their own power, need a powered hub, too.
And be aware that Time Machine, like most backup apps, cannot back up from any network drive. The Chronosync app may be a usable alternative.

A good external hard drive to use with Time Machine?

I am currently looking at this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Iomega-Prestige-320-GB-Portable-Hard-Drive-Compact-HD- /150635106484?pt=UK_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item23128d50b4#ht_1674wt_1156
But I don't really know, I want a fairly cheap one that is at least 320GB really :/

This also looks good but would I be able to reformat it for Mac OS X?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/320GB-Seagate-External-Portable-Drive-/160623670173?pt =UK_Computing_HardDrives_RL&hash=item2565eab39d#ht_666wt_1156

What is a good external hard drive for use with a macbook air?

I am looking at purchasing a macbook air 13". What is a good external hard drive to use with it? Should I look for an external hard drive with its own a/c power or is the usb 3.0 capable of powering the external drive.

Have a look here for the sizes and prices.
It is however, much better to get a USB external drive that comes with it's own power adapter to avoid issues when or if your USB port can't supply enough power to your external drive.
That issue however does happen rarely but it does happen. Especially when connecting other devices to your other USB port while your external hard drive is connected to your other usb port.

Quiet external hard drive for use with Time Machine?

Few questions related to Time Machine:
1- what external hard drive that would be good to use with Time Machine, that also runs relatively quietly? Since TM runs 24/7, am looking for one that is quieter than my current G-tech.
2- Please confirm what size is optimal relative to the size of the internal hard drive.
3- I currently use a separate external hard drive as my bootable disc. Is it possible/preferable to have these be on one and the same drive?
Thank you.

1. I like these (have three of them) - literally whisper quiet:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
2. You should allow 2 - 3 times your internal drive's size for TM.
3. No, it'd be best to be on another drive - you can create separate partitions, but if/when the drive fails, both of your backups would be gone. So, keep your clone on a separate disk. In fact, it's good to have two different backups.

External hard drive to use with Time Machine? Thoughts? Mac newbie.

Hello. Switched to an imac and have loved the experience. Was just about to buy an external hard drive when apple announced the time capsule. I've been holding off thinking I would purchase one but now I'm re-thinking it.
Between music, videos and pictures, I currently have about 400gb of stuff (and it will grow). My main concern is backing up (archiving) a copy of these files. Backing up other system files is a second concern after that.
I'm thinking of buying a 1TB external hard drive, firewire capable, partitioning part of it to be an archive drive, and the other part to use with time machine. Skip the time capsule.
Will that work? Other recommendations?
If so, any recommendations on a quiet, reasonably sized (i.e. doesn't take up the entire corner of the desk), 1tb external hard drive?
Thanks.

Clayton, if you're only backing up one Mac, then you can purchase any good, reputable 750 GB or 1 TB external drive.
Considerations:
1) Reliability is key here. You want a drive that works. Various people have complained about Western Digital (me included), so take that into consideration.
2) Quiet is important. You have a quiet computer -- why louse up the working environment with a noisy drive?
3) FW (Firewire) 800 is faster than FW400, which is faster than USB. But once you get the initial backup done, it really doesn't matter how fast the drive is, because it works in the background and doesn't hamper your work. And if you DO need to restore your entire computer via Time Machine (I've done it), speed is less important than reliability. Even if it takes 3 hours, you'll be grateful. So while some may counsel you to get a 'fast' drive, reliability is more important.
4) On FW versus USB, you'll hear many claims. Again the key is reliability versus speed. A good USB drive is fine for what you are doing; FW is faster. Some folks have had problems with one or the other, so hear what they have to say.
5) Every drive dies. That's true for any electromechanical device. Don't think you've solved your backup problems by plugging in a drive and walking away. Your most critical files need a second backup, be it to a DVD, CD, thumb drive, network drive -- something. The more critical it is, the more backups you need. If you're writing your Ph.D. thesis, by definition you can't have too many backups
6) Convenience matters. You can 'roll your own' drive if you have experience -- buy a case, buy a drive, assemble, etc. But it's many times easier, particularly for a Time Machine backup drive, to just buy a reliable (there's that word again) external HD off the shelf.
7) Finally, follow directions. Apple tells you how to set up a TM drive. Do it their way. That means, format the brand new drive and make it a 'GUID' partition. Use the Apple Disk Utility. Follow directions.
Good luck,
Steve

Which format for external hard drive to use with time machine backup and connect to windows laptop?

Hi! I have an external hard drive on which I have transferred my iTunes library (just mine - not others). I have also a folder containing just films (some but not all of which are in iTunes too) Everything has been working just fine until yesterday I noticed that Time Machine was not including the external hard drive in back up as it wasn't formatted. So I have moved everything back to the Mac hard drive and and ready to format the external hard drive - but understand that if I do the contents cannot be opened from a windows laptop ... is that right? Is there are format I could choose that would allow Time Machine to back up and allow Windows to open as well (the idea being that I take the external hard drive with me on holidays etc!!) Many thanks for any advice.

ok - I understand. I have managed so far to format the drive (on windows) to exFAT file system - which apparently works with both Windows and Mac - but you're correct - it will not be included in time machine backup as I have checked the back up files and Samsung is not showing. Reckon I'm onto having to buy yet another portable hard drive just for windows - or of course buy myself a new mac book!! Can I ask you please - does the drive have to be clear of everything before I change the format - or can I change it with the files still in there? Also, got any quick ways duplicating the files onto another External Hard drive (for use on the windows laptop) At the moment the files are taking 2/3 hours + to copy over! Thank you!

Perfect Hard Drive To Use With Time Machine?

Hi,
Has anyone found out what's the perfect External Hard Drive to use with Time Machine?
I have experience with a few of WD's My Book models (Essential, Pro and Studio). The problem with all of them is that they automatically keep switching themselves off (spin down) and on (spin up) throughout the day, in an effort to save power. But it's actually quite annoying. The My Book drive will automatically turn itself off, and then turn back on again within the space of one minute. Also, going to use Spotlight (even if you've excluded Time Machine Backups from being indexed) will automatically prompt the My Book drive to turn back on, which introduces a small delay to using Spotlight.
Does anyone make an External Hard Drive, with a Firewire 400 or 800 connection, that stays on ALL the time and doesn't automatically make decisions about when it should spin down or spin up?

I'am using a 500Gb Freecom Pro Hard Drive connected on USB via my Cinema Display. I so forget about it that I often forget to disconnect it from my laptop before leaving the office... Never complained about it
Btw, it does not implements the energy saver Auto turn off/on feature which I don't need cause the time it could mostly be really useful is by night. As it stops when I disconnect the USB and start again when I connect it back.. this is perfect to me.
I must say I'm quite happy with every Freecom product I bought and this one certainly don't break the rule

What brand external hard drive is best with time machine

what brand of external hard drive works best with time machine?

Contrary to the other two replies, I will relate what I've read here: WD drives are fine, but their (cheap?) enclosures are subject to failure. Some buy a bare WD drive and install it in an Oxford Chip external enclosure (OWC / macsales.com would be one source). And, I have two LaCie Quadras and one OWC Mercury Pro - both are generally recommended here. If you want it bootable, most WD drives do not support it:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1787/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvd GltZS8xMzUxNTIzMzIwL3NpZC9ueUFYc1g5bA%3D%3D
Please note: it's good to have an external hard drive which has its own power supply and, as mentioned, FW 800 or USB 3). You also do not need any software that comes on the external - you will most likely need to format it anyway because most come formatted for Windows, but that is easy using Disk Utility.

Partitioning an External 320gb drive for use with Time Machine and...

I want to be able to use my Western Digital 320GB external drive for use with Time Machine and to use as extra storage space on both my Mac and when I boot into Windows Vista.
Is this possible?
I was playing around in Disk Utility and would I partition the part I want to use for Time Machine with the Mac OS Journaled, and whatever I want as space for windows, use a MS - DOS format?
Has anyone done this before?
Cheers-

Unless you are using 64 bit version of MSWindows (64 bit XP/Vista), it won't be able to handle a disk with GUID partition table (GPT). Disks with Apple Partition Map (APM) or GUID partition table are the only ones that Time Machine will work with (not MBR disks). Note also that the MBR/APM/GPT are at the DISK level and not the partition level, so don't mix the format with partitioning scheme. Time Machine disks are meant to live in the Mac universe (for now, anyway) and sharing with the MSWindows 32-bit universe is not possible.
See http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=macpcdiskdd06sv8.png for some additional background.

Best hard drive for use with Time Machine

Hi,
Has anyone determined what the best external hard drive is for use with Time Machine? Is there a particular one that works exceptionally well with Time Machine, or is it much of a muchness?
I'm looking for a Firewire 400 & Firewire 800 drive that STAYS ON all the time, and doesn't automatically spin down or spin up like the rubbish WD My Book drives do.

I can't tell you if it is the "best" hard drive for you to use with TM, but I'm quite happy with the 500 GB Buffalo Technology DriveStation Combo TurboUSB I bought recently. It is quiet, quite inexpensive for the capacity (I paid about $120 for one on sale at Fry's), & completely compatible with OS X & TM.
Best of all for me, it automatically powers down when my iMac sleeps. It also spins down after a time if the Mac's Energy Saver preference "Put hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" is checked; otherwise it remains spun up until the Mac is put to sleep or switched off.
It comes with "Turbo" USB & Memeo "AutoBackup" software, neither of which I installed. (The box didn't claim these extras came in a Mac version but both Mac & Windows versions were included on the CD.) Out-of-the-box, I reformatted the drive with the Apple Partition Map scheme & two partitions, a 160 GB one for cloning my internal drive & the rest for TM. The drive works perfectly for both uses & seems quite fast, as one would expect from a 7200 rpm SATA drive.

What external hard drives work well with time machine?

I'm a new mac user - trying to decide what to buy for an external hard drive. Thoughts on features to look for?

yes, there are compatibility issues. TM drive has to be formatted Mac os extended journaled with GUID partition scheme for use with intel macs. you'll need to reformat the drive for that as most new drives are formatted FAT with MBR partition scheme. also, Mac os extended format is not readable by windows without special software. so what you need to do is reformat the drive on your mac for TM and make a partition on it which you can format FAT. you can use that partition to get stuff from windows and the other partition for TM.

What external hard drives work best with time machine

What is the best external drive that is compatible with time machine?

I see a lot of people on the Apple Discussion boards mention Time Capsule. The experience I've heard from folks with the First gen units was terrible. Poorly designed, poorly manufactured (sorry Apple!). They suffered all kinds of heat stress failures etc. The follow up devices are supposed to better, but I don't think it's mandatory you buy Apple product to run Time Machine. In fact choose based on price/capacity, then possibly on Manufacturers reputation. I use a external USB dock that has a Serial ATA connector on it. That way I can swap drives out when/if they fail or get full. That way I KNOW who manufactured the actual drive itself. Often times if you get a Time Capsule the drive manufacturer is the "flavor of the month" so to speak. There's a number of outfits that make these bare SATA style docks, and you can connect them through USB (which I have) or higher speed connectors like FireWire 800 (for faster reads/writes/backups). My best recommendation is to buy one of those SATA dock devices, then buy a bare hard drive from a reputable manufacturer. Then setup Time Machine and use the left over space that it doesn't use for your growing iPhoto collection? Use your best judgement, as there's no real right/wrong way.

What is the best external hard drive to use with a macbook?

I am looking to buy an external hard drive for my macbook pro (2010). I understand that some hard drives have issues when used with Lion.
Does anyone have any suggestions for which is the best to buy?

Any hard drive should work. I don't know of any issues caused by a specific brand of hard drive for working with Lion.
Now as far as the hard drive itself goes there are a few options. Most external drives run at 7200 rpm. Some however still run at 5400 rpm (rpm is the speed of the disk in layman's terms). Faster is better in most cases, however they do produce slightly more sound and run hotter, but not by much.
Then there is also the choice between USB and FireWire (thunderbolt is still to pricy). FireWire runs faster, but is more expensive.
Those are your choices.

What is the best external hard drive to use with a mac

I have heard there are lots of issues going on with WD and Mavericks? I am scared to try mine, I just got a new my book and it won't work with my mavericks, any suggestions?

People seem to like OWC drives, among others.
Other World Computing
I use Time Capsules from Apple as my drives are network attached storage. They just work, especially with Time Machine. If you buy a refurbished one, they are less expensive and come with the same warranty.

What is a good external hard drive to use with time machine running osx lion?

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