External Hard Drive for My Mac

AndyWest

AndyWest

Messages
8,400
Name
Andy
Edit My Images
No
I want to get a new Hard Drive for my mac and i'm not sure to go for a powered one or one that runs from the USB? Also not sure whether to run Time Machine or not and if it is a good idea to run it then what size HD should i get? My HD on the iMac is 320GB.

Budget - As little as poss!! £50ish or so

Ta
 
I keep everything on my external drive.
It's a 400GB Freecom one that was about £75 just over a year ago.
As there was stuff on there from my PC it doesn't work as a time machine disc as time machine wants an empty one to start with.

The 320GB drive inside the mac has 288GB free, I think you are the only person that can know what size it is you're going to need.
 
You still got your other base unit?

If so, put FreeNAS on it and use it as network storage, and add drives as necessary.

Me?.... i've got 4TB in the base unit (plus the two WD Raptors 150gb's as system drives - 1 for OSX and one for Vista), 2TB on a NAS box and 1TB as a time machine backup and i still need more :lol:
 
I sold my PC so i have no storage. My old external HD is formatted for PC and has a load of files that i can not delete. Although the files i want to delete sit on the external HD, the shortcuts sit in the Macs Trash Can and i can not empty the trash can or delete anything and if i want to send anything else into the trash can i can't delete those files unless i unplug the external HD.

The external HDD is old and needs to be replaced before it goes the way of the Dodo :D

I would like to also know about the right HD to get as i want it formatted for the Mac. Do i order one specifically for the Mac or can i buy ANY external HD and let the iMac format it?

Cheers

Andy
 
I think the mac can format the hard drive any way you like.
Go Apps > Utilities > Disc Utility.

If I understand correctly then you have some problem files in the trash? Try Finder > Secure empty trash.
 
cyclone said:
If I understand correctly then you have some problem files in the trash? Try Finder > Secure empty trash.
Click to expand...
Looks like thats working....slowly! and there's only 38,570 files left to delete! :lol:
 
For a good 1TB external drive, powered via its own power supply, look to Staples. They have 1TB Iomega ... it's a really small drive that takes hardly any space, going for just under £80.
 
I have a little Lacie drive which only has 250GB [things I never thought I'd say in 1996...] which I time machine on. Time machine will not smart-update, if your drive is 125GB then you can only store 2 time-machine backups on there. I overwrite my Time Machine Backup when I do back up, as I'm generally happy with the machine state before I do.

The problem with many powered drives is that they have a cooling noise, which is often louder than the mac itself [mmm, silent macbook pro...mmm]

Plus, my laptop power cable is one cable too many.
 
5 1/2 hrs later and it's done!! phew!:lol:

EDIT: Nope i lie... all the cr** is still on there?????? What a pain in the b** :(
 
OK,
I had a problem with a mates USB stick yesterday.
Disc Utility, Erase sorted it out.
 
cyclone said:
OK,
I had a problem with a mates USB stick yesterday.
Disc Utility, Erase sorted it out.
Click to expand...

Ok that worked!! Thank you:thumbs:

The external disc is still formatted to MS-DOS (FAT32). How can i format it to whatever the Mac uses?

Cheers

Ebuyer are selling a Toshiba 1TB for £70 if thats any use to you.
Click to expand...
Cheers for the info. If i can get my external HD working ok then i will keep that going for the time being.
 
Yep,
in disc utility.
Not that I know too much about it, mine is still as it was when I used it with the PC (FAT32) and works fine.
I think I read somewhere that mac can cope with both, but if you format it for mac then a PC will be unable to read it.
 
Seems to be working in FAT32 mode so i think i'll leave it at that. I'm sure it will be fine!

Thanks for your help.

Andy
 
cyclone said:
Yep,
in disc utility.
Not that I know too much about it, mine is still as it was when I used it with the PC (FAT32) and works fine.
I think I read somewhere that mac can cope with both, but if you format it for mac then a PC will be unable to read it.
Click to expand...

Yeah both mac and pc can read FAT32 it's only when you format it with the pc to NTFS that the mac wouldn't be able to read it and the same the other way, format with mac and pc wouldn't read it. Thats my understanding of it anyway. :)
 
cyclone said:
Yep,
in disc utility.
Not that I know too much about it, mine is still as it was when I used it with the PC (FAT32) and works fine.
I think I read somewhere that mac can cope with both, but if you format it for mac then a PC will be unable to read it.
Click to expand...

I formatted my external drive for HFS+ for Timemachine because I would rather it wrote natively to it's own format but horses for courses i guess. When it's plugged into windows vista I use MacDrive to read & write to it.
 
Probably a good idea. I use mac because I don't really understand computer stuff and this thing "just works".
I'm trying to make time machine recognise my network drive, I can find solutions but nothing I really understand. I'll be pretty chuffed when this piece of the puzzle starts working.
 
cyclone said:
I'm trying to make time machine recognise my network drive, I can find solutions but nothing I really understand. I'll be pretty chuffed when this piece of the puzzle starts working.
Click to expand...

cyclone said:
mine is still as it was when I used it with the PC (FAT32)
Click to expand...

that will be the source of your problem with TM, it needs to be formateed as HFS+ for TM to use it.
I've done this with mine and have the drive shared to the network via my Airport Extreme and it works like a charm.
 
It's a different drive.
My Freecom is the one I use and did with the PC.
The network one is a mybookworld.
I'm interested how you've got it reformatted? Disk utility doesn't see it.
 
Just to clear things up a bit:

HFS+ - Best for TM, Mac can read & write, PC doesn't understand.
FAT32 - Most compatible, slightly down on performance, both can read and write.
NTFS - Best for PC, Mac can only read (unless you purchase third party software).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top