Whcih external hard drive works best with macs and time machine

I'm looking for an external hard drive preferably at circuit city since I have $100 in gift cards.
I'm looking at the Acomdata pure drive 500 and 750
The Western Digital Mybook essential edition 500 and 750
Simpletech 500GB
Simpletech redrive 500GB
or Maxtor 500GB
I don't which one to pick as there are negative reviews on all of them with crashing after only one year. If not any of these what other one to pick, would like it to be from circuit city, not matter what your opinion might be of them.
I know about the Lacie drives and the G-drive but those seems expensive and only from apple store. I have airport extreme so only need usb connection so i don't care what other ports it has.
It seems like a really tough decision and looking for some help.
Let me know

Hi,\ not sure how this translates to the USA market (brand names) Im UK;
But I've been using a Lacie external hard drive for ages without problems.
Not so sure about Western Digital, - I've heard some bad reports.
I posted a request myself, and Lacie came back highly reccomended, so thats why I chose them.

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External Hard drive help: use with mac and pc? how to backup everything etc

Hello! I need some help regarding a new external hard drive I got from OWC. It is a 500 gb firewire 400 + usb 2.0 7200 rpm hard drive. I am running it from firewire. The software suggests the first thing you do is make a clone of your macbooks internal hard drive, that way if it fails later you can use the external to back everything up. If I do this ...
1. do I have to make the drive "Bootable" ? I have software called Data Backup 3 by Pro soft I think. It came with my external.
2. Can I still back up other stuff like my audio recordings and record onto that drive to a seperate folder?
3. If I make a bootable copy will it try and boot from the drive everytime I turn it on or something?
My other question is... how can I use this drive with a pc? I have a pc as well and I heard that the only way it will work is to format it in ms-dos mode (fat32?)
If I write it to fat32 will it slow down my drive or make it worse? I heard that you should format external drives specifically for mac if you have a mac; so it will only work with macs...
(sorry this is going on and on; it's like a chain reaction of questions)
so If its formatted to mac drive format then can I do this with my current situation:
1. I have wireless internet, the router is on a pc downstairs
2. Can I send files over a network somehow from the pc to my mac
3. then store it on my external?
If so can someone point me in that direction with a link?
Thank you for reading, sorry for making this so long.

1. No, you don't have to make a bootable clone.
2. If you use the drive for a bootable backup, then you cannot use the drive for other types of storage unless you partition the drive and make more than one volume.
3. No, it will not try to boot the computer. You must designate the startup volume using Startup Disk preferences.
If you wish to use the drive on both a Mac and a PC, then either you make two partitions - one for Mac and the other for the PC or you must format the entire drive using FAT32 so the drive can be used for read//write by both operating systems. If you do this then you cannot use the drive for a bootable backup nor can you use it with Time Machine.
FAT32 is slower for read/write on the Mac than using Mac formatting.
Optimally, I would suggest you partition the drive into two volumes. One volume formatted for the Mac and the other formatted FAT32.
You can send files from a PC to a Mac and vice-versa using File Sharing. Select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for "file sharing" or "sharing" to find help articles. Also see,
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Setting up a Mac computer to share files with Windows users
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Setting up a Windows computer to share files with Mac users
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Sharing with Windows computers

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 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.

I have an older macbook pro and the hard drive is starting to go (making loud noises). i tried to back up to an external hard drive (my passport essential se) using time machine and the computer keeps shutting down. suggestions to complete backup please?

I have an older macbook pro and the hard drive is starting to go (making loud noises). i tried to back up to an external hard drive (my passport essential se) using time machine and the computer keeps shutting down. the same thing happens when just trying to save my pictures from iphoto to a flash drive. suggestions to complete backup please?

Sounds like you'll need to access that drive while it is not booted. You need to replace it anyway, so do that, then one way or another (ext enclusure, et), access it and copy files.
If you keep trying to boot it, you might kill it for good and not get your files, so just swap it out first.

I migrated info from a hard drive to a new mac under time machine. It says I have shared files, but I don't see the old info on the new machine. Where do I look for it ? How do I make the old backup the base for my new macbook ?

I migrated info from a hard drive to a new mac under time machine. It says I have shared files, but I don't see the old info on the new machine. Where do I look for it ? How do I make the old backup the basis for my new macbook ?
The old OS was Mac X 10.5.8. I think the new one is 10.7.2 Lion.

Have a read here How do I set up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC?
Stefan

I had to reformat my OSX 10.5.8 and i can't restore my emails from my time machine backup from an external hard drive - only the latest (post backup) time machine back ups are available to restore. Please can any help

I had to reformat my OSX 10.5.8 and I can't restore my emails from my time machine backup from an external hard drive - only the latest (post backup) time machine back ups are available to restore. Please can any help? I can find the mail folder in my libraries, but the Restore Button is grayed out

OSX treats the reformatted drive as a different one; it's the same as replacing it, and the old one is no longer connected.
See #E3 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting to see and restore from the "old" drive.
And, you may not want to restore via the Finder; see the blue box in #15 of Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

When using Time Machine, if I delete items from my computer, will they still be backed up to access later on my external hard drive? In other words, when time machine backs up again, will it delete the files from the back up?

When using Time Machine, if I delete items from my computer, will they still be backed up to access later on my external hard drive?
In other words, when time machine backs up again, will it delete the files from the back up that I have deleted from my computer?

No, I do not believe so. Time Machine would keep all those now-deleted files in previous backups, and as time goes by those backups might be deleted if you needed room, but it would still keep one backup from each day in last month, as well as one from each week forever, as long as you don't start running out of room, then just the oldest would be deleted to make room if needed.
I use a backup drive about double the size of my drive to be backed up, so I would guess it will never get to the point where deleted files being replaced by new ones being backed fill up that drive to the point where backups actually have to get deleted.

HT201250 Is there a possibility to recover erased files from an external hard drive that was reformatted by the Time Machine?

Is there a possibility to recover erased files from an external hard drive that was reformatted by the Time Machine?

Basics of File Recovery
Files in Trash
If you simply put files in the Trash you can restore them by opening the Trash (left-click on the Trash icon) and drag the files from the Trash to your Desktop or other desired location. OS X also provides a short-cut to undo the last item moved to the Trash -press COMMAND-Z.
If you empty the Trash the files are gone. If a program does an immediate delete rather than moving files to the Trash, then the files are gone. Recovery is possible but you must not allow any additional writes to the hard drive - shut it down. When files are deleted only the directory entries, not the files themselves, is modified. The space occupied by the files has been returned to the system as available for storage, but the files are still on the drive. Writing to the drive will then eventually overwrite the space once occupied by the deleted files in which case the files are lost permanently. Also if you save a file over an existing file of the same name, then the old file is overwritten and cannot be recovered.
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

Viewing External Hard Drives on both PC Mac and in Parallels.

If someone could give me a clear answer on how to use an external hard drive b/w my Mac, Parallels and my work computer (PC) that would be most helpful.
I bought a external hard drive overseas and was having no problems with it on a PC but when i bought this Mac Book Pro i could only view and retrieve data and not write to it. I then partitioned it in the disk utility (master boot record) and am now unable to see the drive on a PC where all my files are, but it works perfect with the Mac.
I figured it was my dodgy hard drive from indonesia so i just bought a LaCie and i can't see it in the Parallels where i need to use a PC program even when i disconnect and connect when parallels are loaded. I haven't tried it on my work PC yet.
Is it possible to use a EHD between all 3 (Mac, Parallels and a PC)? if so how? and if not what are my options to maximizing the ability to access data on all three?
Thanks would appreciate any insight.
Mac Book Pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi and welcome to Discussions,
the reason why your MBP could not write to the HD was, because it was most likely formated using NTFS as file system, which OSX can read from, but not write to.
The best file system for all three is FAT32, which is read- and writeable for all three.
Two problems with FAT32:
1. single files can not be bigger in size as 4GB
2. Windows can not format partitions with FAT32, that are bigger than 32GB.
The first limitation can not be overcome with FAT32.
The second can be overcome, when using Disc Utility from OSX with MBR as partititon scheme and MS-DOS (OSX name for FAT) as file system.
Or you can use command-line program to do this with your PC: http://www.heise.de/software/download/h2format/40825
(Sorry, link is in german).
That way all three should be able to see and use the external HD.
Although it is a fact that Parallels can be picky sometimes with USB-connected drives, but with the newer versions of it, this problem has become less evident.
And since up to now Parallels does not support FireWire, you must USB with it.
Regards
Stefan

HT201250 I want to add another external hard drive to be backed up by time machine how can I do this?

I recently had an external hard drive die on me. It had all my work files on it, so it was really important to me. When I went to retrieve the lost files from time machine, it didn't appear to have backed up anything from that external drive (and before anyone asks it's a different external drive to where my time machine files are backed up onto). I sent my old hard drive away to a data recovery company, and luckily they were able to retrieve all the data. Now I want to check that my new external hard drive does get backed up this time, but I can't seem to find out how to include this in the back up as it doesn't appear to be doing this automatically! Any ideas on how? Many thanks

Check System Preferences/Time Machine/Options to make sure the external drive isn't excluded.

Mac air with external hard drive - not being found on Finder, Time Machine, Migration Assistant

I have been using an external drive (Imation Apollo) to access only, old files from previous computer (PC) on a new Mac Air. I had not transferred them across to new computer (didn't want to do that) just accessing them from the HD. It had been working fine until recently. Each time the external drive had been connected Time Machine would come up and ask if i wanted to use this drive for back ups, and I always chose 'Decide later'. So, as yetI hadn't as yet configured Time Machine to do back ups.
Recently I noticed that the extrnal HD was no longer showing up on Finder. Slight panic as i have 5 or 6 yrs of work saved on that HD
Further investigations - it's also not showing up either on on Disk Utility, or on Migration Assistant.
I've done the following:
Tried HD in each of different USB ports - made no difference, HD still not showing up
Tested different Hubs in each port with HD attached - no difference HD not showing up
Tried USB flash drives in the USB ports - These are working fine and show up on finder
Tried the HD on other comptuters (a PC though, don't have access to another mac to do this test)- working fine, the HD is showing up and is accessable
Interrogated the Console logs to try to see if the act of attaching the HD creates a log entry - couldn't find anything
Rebooted computer via shut down, power disconnect - no difference
Reset PRAM - no difference still not showing up
Reset SMC - no differnce still not showing up
So I think I have established that all the USB ports are functioning correctly and able to access other external drive devices, using hubs with external powersource is not the issue, identified that the external hard drive is working OK, and it appears that the Mac itself is functioning normally.
What would be the reason the Mac now does not allow this specific external HD to be identified and accessed. The only possible things I can think of are
if I had in fact pressed 'Do not use' when Time Machine asked 'do you want to use this drive for back ups'. Would that mean that the Mac now totally rejects this HD from being a source of accessible files - I hope not!
I also think that my husband may have disconnected the hard drive from my computer to access some stuff and he just yanked it out rather than use the safe eject method. Could this create an issue? The Hard drive works fine on his PC.
Why is my Mac Air now rejecting this HD and what can I do to access my historical files now.
Any assistance anyone can provide would be very greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Anna

I can't answer why it isn't accessing it, but I have a slightly related issue w my back up drive starting to get noisy.
Realizing that redundancy is safety for critical data. I talked to my brother about my situation the other day & he said he has 3 small Western Digital portable HDs that he rotates for backup. He even keeps 1 in the safe deposit box.
I have read for some time that we should have multiple back ups & also have our critical stuff backed up off site. Amazon HD reviews had a woman telling about how she was very backed up on multiple computers & hard drives, but they were robbed or burgeled & all of them were stolen including her thesis that was on the computers.
Hard drives aren't that expensive. I just bought a new Western Digital 1 TB drive for $89.99. I plan to use it to back up the Seagate that is getting noisy & then maybe alternate them.
Also, when I came back to Mac, I moved practially all of my documents to Mac. I think I just dragged & dropped or something. Photos, Office, & pdfs do fine that way. & then you could back them up to a couple of different external drives & remove from your MacBookAir.
Unfortunately I think most of us do not back up until crisis & then it may be too late.
Also use Time Machine. For the 1st time in my computer life, my computer is well backed up--although now realizing the need for redundancy so will start backing up to at least 2 different HDs alternatly.
So, not sure why it isn't working & hopefully you have come up w a solution by now.
I think what I would do in a situation like this, since you can access it on the Windows machine would be to transfer the data to the Windows machine & then transfer it back to a different back up.
I'm looking into backing up what I still have in Windows using a thumb flash drive. I think it should all fit ok now that they have the larger drives & I don't have very much left in Windows format.

I recently purchase macbook air with OS 10.10.2. I want to use my Seagate external backup plus hard drive for time machine back up. How to partition my 1TB Seagate back up plus hard drive for use with mac and windows pc?

Hi All,
I recently purchased 13" Macbook Air with OS 10.10.2. I want to use my 1TB Seagate backup plus external hard drive as time machine and my windows 7 pc. Please suggest a method. Thanks in advance for your reply.

I strongly recommend having an external drive dedicated solely for TimeMachine. You could partition the drive but if something goes wrong you risk losing the data on both partitions. Should you decide to go ahead with splitting the drive for two different uses you’ll need to partition the drive either using the Mac’s built in Disk Utility program or Windows utility. I believe the built in Windows disk utility program will destroy the current partition and erase the data that’s on it - I use a third party Windows disk utility program for partitioning and it allows for non-destructive partitioning but warns to back up data first just in case. Apple’s Disk Utility can do non-destructive partitions but I don’t recall every trying to do a non-destructive partition on a disk originally formatted for Windows using it. Again - back up that data just in case.
Finally, your TimeMachine drive should be at least 1.5 times (I prefer 2 times) the size of the data you expect to be backing up a year or two from now. In other words, if you currently are using 50GB of your computer’s drive but expect to begin purchasing Mac software to replace software on your Windows computer and if you expect to be putting photos, music, and other data on it you might expect that two years from now you’ll have 100GB of stuff on the drive. So a 200GB partition is the smallest size you’d want. TM’s backup scheme keeps multiple copies of data as it changes so the extra room is important for this scheme.

Cannot erase my external hard drive to use with Mac

So, having recently moved across to Apple, I am now trying to move my data, documents, movie and music files.
I have two external hard drives that I used to use with my PC and now I would like to be able to move things around, and edit the names of folders etc.
I googled for help and discovered that using utilities, I could erase the disks and set them up to be used by both Mac and PC (Still have a desk top at home)...however, when I tried to follow the instructions that I had found. There was an error message stating that the drive could not be unmounted.
I am currently traveling and would like to be able to use the drive to store the data that I am collecting on the drive (so silly that I didnt check this out before I left home)...does this mean I am completely stuck?
Please help me

So, having recently moved across to Apple, I am now trying to move my data, documents, movie and music files.
I have two external hard drives that I used to use with my PC and now I would like to be able to move things around, and edit the names of folders etc.
I googled for help and discovered that using utilities, I could erase the disks and set them up to be used by both Mac and PC (Still have a desk top at home)...however, when I tried to follow the instructions that I had found. There was an error message stating that the drive could not be unmounted.
I am currently traveling and would like to be able to use the drive to store the data that I am collecting on the drive (so silly that I didnt check this out before I left home)...does this mean I am completely stuck?
Please help me

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.

Whcih external hard drive works best with macs and time machine

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