What is the best priced External Hard Drive, that I can reboot from, for the MacBook Pro?

I have a MacBook Pro with 10.9.4. I am looking for a 3T External Hard Drive that I can boot from if my system goes south, that I can afford. Any recommendations?
Mike

Don't know the best priced, but the external drives I like best are the OWC, http://www.macsales.com Mercury Elite Pro quad-interface drives. I have four of the 2 TB drives for my MacBook Pro and iMac and they are terrific. OWC is a Mac specialist supplier with the best guarantees and service you will find.

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Does the time capsule work as an external hard drive that you can access from multiple lapttops

I have a mac desktop, a macbook and a pc laptop. I also purchased the time capsule. Will that functional as an external hard drive that I can use to save a share documents between. Trying to figure out the best way to work on documents between devices. new to max and trying to make the full switch but still working with toshiba laptop for a while too.
Any help is appreciated.

Hello jhettenhausen,
Yes, it can function as an external drive for all the devices. As for Windows, you just need to make sure that
it is Windows Professional or XP, as they support mapped network drives. Windows 7 Home Premium doesn't is not capable of mapping network drives. At home, I have a ubuntu laptop, Windows 7 Profesional laptop, and Macbook Pro and they all backup to the Time Capsule 1 TB. Hope this helps!!
Best Regards,
freesparks

What is the best format to use on an external hard drive so I can both back up my Macbook Pro and also put movies on it from another hard drive (PC)?

I am looking for a solution to whether if it is best to get two hard drives or one that can do two things that I want.
I am looking for a hard drive format that can both back up my 500GB Macbook Pro but I was also wondering if I could also put movies on it from another hard drive that is PC based. Would partitioning the hard drive work for this? I don't know what are the best formats to use.
If this is too hard it might just be easier having a separate 500GB hard drive for back up of my Mac and another bigger hard drive for the movies etc (the files are probably bigger than 4GB). Any help would be greatly appreciated as I need to make a decision soon!

Csound1 wrote:
Microsoft has not released the official exFAT file system specification, and a restrictive license from Microsoft is required in order to make and distribute exFAT implementations. Microsoft also asserts patents on exFAT which make it impossible to re-implement its functionality in a compatible way without violating a large percentage of them.[13] This renders the implementation, distribution, and use of exFAT as a part of free or open-source operating systems or of commercial software, for which the vendors could not obtain a license from Microsoft, not only technically difficult, but legally impossible in countries that recognize United States software patents.
Can't help with that, if one is using a Windows machine then they are subjected to their rules and control.
Limited support outside Windows and Mac OS X operating systems as of 2012, when most consumer electronic devices could only handleFAT12/FAT16/FAT32, rendering exFAT (and flash memory formats using it) impractical as a universal exchange format.
The OP said they plan to store movies on the external drive.
Many movies today are well over 4GB in size, thus exFAT has to be used and formatted on the PC, which the Mac can then read.
Older Windows NT versions up to Windows Vista without Service Pack 1 do not support exFAT.
Irrelevant, Microsoft provides a free download of exFAT for Windows XP, and Vista shouldn't be running on pre SP1 anyway.
Some distributions of Linux have begun to include support for exFAT. It is however, only available as a file system in user space, as it's not supported by the kernel.
Irrelevant, OP is using Windows and OS X, not Linux and if they did Linux can read the files at least and transfer, which is all they care about really.
Windows Vista is unable to use exFAT drives for ReadyBoost. Windows 7 removes this limitation, enabling ReadyBoost caches larger than 4 GiB.[14]
Irrelevant, the OP's is intending to use it as transfer drive between Mac's and Windows for movies.
The standard exFAT implementation only uses a single file allocation table and free space map. FAT file systems instead used alternating tables, as this allowed recovery of the file system if the media was ejected during a write (which occurs frequently in practice with removable media). The optional TexFAT component adds support for additional backup tables and maps, but may not be supported.
Some relevancy, but only exFAT can handle 4GB+ files between Mac's and PC's, so the need outweighs the possible problem.
The OP needs to follow the standard Windows practice of "safely removing hardware" before physically disconnecting the external drive. If a write is occurring, it won't allow disconnecting until the write is finished.
Support for up to 2,796,202 files per subdirectory only.[1][nb 3] Microsoft documents a limit of 65,534 files per sub-directory for their FAT32 implementation, but other operating systems have no special limit for the number of files in a FAT32 directory. FAT32 implementations in other operating systems allow an unlimited number of files up to the number of available clusters (that is, up to 268,304,373 files on volumes without long filenames).[nb 4]
Not a issue, only in extreme cases of a lot of small files. The OP plans to use it for movies which are usually large and take up a lot of space on the drive.
IMMO It looks like you just ran off and copied something to argue your point when all the points are basically irrelevant.
There is only one format that can easily share 4GB sized files between Mac's and PC's without further complications.
It's ALSO possible to install MacDrive on the PC and format the drive on the Mac HFS+, but I didn't recommend that because I know it's a hassle just like third party NTFS writing software is a hassle on Mac's.
If you so anti-Microsoft format, then you must know Paragon has to pay a license fee to Microsoft for using the NTFS format.
At least with exFAT there is no fee to Redmond, at least not yet.

Advice on what might be the best networked external hard drive to create my own cloud storage?

Anyone have any advice on what might be the best networked external hard drive to create my own cloud storage? That way I can have access to all my stored files, songs, pictures and most of all movies on lets say my laptop or iPad. Since there is not very much storage on the iPad. I want to be able to access my hundreds of movies that I have from in my home on my network or away from my home as long as I have an internet connection. I know there is a Seagate one and a Western digital one, does anyone else know of any others or have any advice on which is the best? A plus would be for an external storage device that I would be able to access my movies through my apple to tv? Please help been looking for almost a year and cant make up my mind on what product to buy for what I am trying to do and create my own personal cloud storage.

SM66 wrote:
Or, I might have to do the old technique of using the Pen Tool in Illustrator and tracing over the filligree.
That's probably what I would do. If you're not well-practiced in Illustrator, this will be a good exercise. Just place the image you have, lock it down (either the object, or you can put it on it's own layer and lock the layer) and start with the pen tool.
Everyone probably has their own method, but I like to start by placing all the points I think I'll need as corner points (click, but don't drag to make the point curved). I then pick the Direct Selection tool (white arrow) and then the Convert Anchor Point tool. If you click on a point, you can drag it to be curved, but if you hold the Command key (on Mac OS) it will temporarily switch to the Direct Selection tool, which will allow you to move the point if necessary. Others would just make curved points as they go, but this is how I like to do it.
For the pointy shapes on the end, you could probably make one then rotate a copy. For the curvy parts in the middle, you may be able to make one and scale copies, or use the blend tool. As you go, you can switch the visibility of the placed graphic on and off to see how your creation looks on it's own, and when compared to the original.

I have an external hard drive that I have been using for years. All of a sudden my mac will not recognize the external as a "save as" device location. But the external does show up on my desktop and I can open it to drag and drop items. Help.

I have an external hard drive that I have been using for years. All of a sudden my mac will not recognize the external as a "save as" device location. But the external does show up on my desktop and I can open it to drag and drop items. What happened and how do I get my mac to rerecognize the device?!?!?

Hi,
Check Finder>Preferences>Sidebar, is it checked there to show external drives?

I have iMovie 09. I just erased my external hard drive, but it is still formatted for the mac. However, iMovie will not recognize the hard drive. It shows the only hard drive available is the computers. How do I get the external hard drive to show up?

I have iMovie 09. I just erased my external hard drive, but it is still formatted for the mac. However, iMovie will not recognize the hard drive. It shows the only hard drive available is the computers. How do I get the external hard drive to show up?

In Finder's Menu, select Go menu>Go to Folder, and go to "/volumes". (no quotes)
Volumes is where an alias to your hard drive ("/" at boot) is placed at startup, and where all the "mount points" for auxiliary drives are created for you to access them. This folder is normally hidden from view.
Drives with an extra 1 on the end have a side-effect of mounting a drive with the same name as the system already think exists. Try trashing the duplicates with a 1 or 2 if there are no real files in them, and reboot.
If it does contain data...
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2474

My WD external hard drive will no longer show up on my Macbook pro.

My WD external hard drive will not longer show up on my macbook pro. The light turns on and you can hear it running but it won't show up either in finder or in the disk utility. This happened a while ago but I really want to get all my photos off the hard drive. Is there anything I can do to get my computer to read it again or get my data off of it?
I don't have access to another Mac to test it.
Thank you

dead sata bridge card. very common problem.
see all about it here:
Your dead external hard drive is likely fine! Great hope for your 'faulty' external HD
verify HD on another Mac however, if same, dead SATA card most likely

I have an Acer external hard drive 500GB. Is it compatible with Apple MacBook Pro laptop?

I have an Acer external hard drive 500GB. Is it compatible with Apple MacBook Pro laptop?

There are only a handful or Hard Drive mechanism manufacturers left. Acer is not one of them, although they may make the enclosure (but probably not that either). So in essence you have a Brand-X enclosure with some sort of Hard Drive inside.
Most of those work fine once they are re-Initialized for use on the Mac. For me, I prefer to use the Re-purposing of a drive as an opportunity to re-write every block with Zeroes (which can take several hours but can be done in the background), assuring that every block is good.

What to do? coudn't open my toshiba external hard drive that I can open before

I have a Toshiba external hard drive that I've been using without any problems before I upgraded my OS to Mavericks...Now I couldn't find the drive anymore but it seems that my mac detects it but it just is not opening it anymore...couldn't find it in my finder window....Anyone who knows how to fix this? Thanks.

Have you reset power on both the Mac and hard drive?
From time to time, during sleep/wake cycles, my network attached drive wouldn't show up in my Fiinder. When I would click to Connection, they would come up grayed out. Cycling power on the Mac didn't really help much. But cycling power on the hard drive unit did.
KOT

Hallo ,why is it that when I delete a photo ,which is backed up by time machine and western digital external hard drive , that I am able to restore the photo okay but not the titles and descriptions . I have a Macbook 4.1, mac osx 10.5.8 . Iphoto 7.1.5 ,

QUESTION.
Hallo , my question is ;whenever I delete a photo and restore it through Time machine and Western digital external hard drive , I am able to restore the photo but not the titles and descriptions . Western Digital inform me that it isn't their external hard drive problem and suggest that it is an Apple software problem ?
I am using a Macbook 4.1 , with Mac OSX 10.5.8 . I photo 7.1.5 , last modifie4d 01/05/2010 -universal . Should I be upgrading Iphoto ?
I hope that someone is able to help in this matter , as i have to restore 12000 photos !
Thanking you in anticipation.
Alan from Wigton

Hallo Kieth ,
I am not quite ready to restore the full iphoto library , as I have days of work re - imputting titles,descriptions and enhancement . I hope that your suggestion works , as I use my Macbook basically to work with digital photography. Through time , I will need to delete my library to recover more disc space and I would hate to have to spend more time re - imputting titles and descriptions all over again .
Thanks for your interest and advice.
regards - Alan

HT4848 Is it possible to partition an external hard drive that is already being used for Time Machine backups without it being erased?

I'm want to use my current external hard drive, which I use for Time Machine Backup, as a recovery disk for Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2. From what I have read, the recovery disk assistant will erase all data on the external drive unless it is partitioned. Can I partition my current backup drive without erasing it, even though it is already being used for Time Machine?

It's very simple to test. Turn off your computer. Have your time machine backup plugged in. Hold option and turn it on, keeping option held. Do you see your time machine drive? If so, select it and press enter. You'll end up in recovery. If it works, there you go. Then just click the apple and restart to get back to your regular desktop. Then you'll know for when you're ready to do the deed.
Edit...
I'm not sure if time machine will think it's an entirely different computer, though, when a hard drive changed, making an actual restore not doable. Either way, you could still reinstall mt lion fresh and then just migrate after, skipping the need for SL.

MY Hard Drive says_"YOU CAN READ ONLY" for the OWNERSHIP AND PERMISSSIONS!

I cannot add anything to my EXTERNAL (SimpleDrivePS) hard drive. When I try to copy something to it, it says "The item cannot be moved because SimpleDrivePS cannot be modified."
Upon control-clicking this external hard drive's icon, under "Get info" it says "You can read only" for it's "Ownership and Permissions."
I have used this hard drive with Windows-based computers, but not with this new Apple yet.
What do I need to do so that I can move or copy things to this external hard drive?
Also, is there a discussion room for just general questions? - There are many little things that I wonder how to do from time to time as I am trying to become accustomed with Apple, like shortcut key for desktop, or where is control panel or link to "my computer" or other shortcut keys - things like that.

Hi newsppler;
Since I have never had a disk that was formatted NTFS, I am not absolutely sure exactly how you can discover how it is formatted. I think if you look at the disk with Disk Utility that should tell you.
Yes. If you reformat you will lose everything that is currently on that disk.
To reformat open Disk Utility and then select the disk. You then click the partition tab. This will allow you to select what format you wish to use. I would suggest Mac OS Extended +
Allan

How do I reformat my Seagate Expansion external hard drive so I can use it for Mac

I recently purchased a 3TB Seagate® Expansion® external hard drive for PC. My plan is too reformat it so that I can use it, but it has been acting wierd on me. It says on Disk Utility that it is 4 gbs but I have a 3TB one. Im on OSX mavericks by the way. Thanks!

akostainsek,
the diskutil output shows that the disk has no Apple-recognized partitioning. Try the following commands in Terminal to establish the partitioning, and to see if it takes effect:
diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ Seagate disk1
diskutil list
Again, please include in your reply the full output from these commands.

I want to unhide files on my external hard drive that used to be used for windows

I have a Western Digital external hard drive. I was using it with a windows 7 computer and had certain folders (and their contents) marked as hidden. I have now upgraded to a iMac desktop. I am using Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.4. I used online instructions to use "terminal" to show all the hidden files. However, I want to change these files back from being hidden but I can't find how to.

Applications > Utilities > Terminal
chflags nohidden /path/to/the/file/to/change
See the chflags manual page for more info
man chflags

My simpletech external hard drive shows up in disk utility on one macbook pro but not my other one. how do i fix this???

I have two macbook pro computers. My external HD was reformatted on one of them from a PC to MAC. It shows up just fine on this macbook. The other macbook, I cannot find it. Ive tried in disk utility and Ive tried to see if it was hidden. Cannot access it. What can I do to make it show up?

Mac's with OS X 10.6.4 or earlier can't read exFAT, so if it was formatted with that (or OS X Extended J) ) and the other Mac is running 10.6.4 or earlier or is even older, it can't read the exFAT format or HFS+ format, perhaps only HFS.
You'll have to settlle for FAT32 (MSDOS) with a MBR Partiton map to be fully compatible with all computers, but you can't have over 4GB sized files with FAT32.
You can try OS X Extended, no journaled, just for the Mac's, but MBR with FAT32(MSDOS) would be preferred. PC and Mac of all types.
Before you change anything, remove all the data off the drive first.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3044
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

What is the best priced External Hard Drive, that I can reboot from, for the MacBook Pro?

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