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Best external hard drive for back-up purposes?

post #1 of 43
2/28/07 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
I have a Powerbook and I would like to buy a high-quality, easy-to-use external hard drive for back-up purposes.

Does anyone have some suggestions on which manufacturer makes the best external hard drives and which ones come with the best back-up software for the Mac?

I’m highly considering Seagate over LaCie, Maxtor and Iomega because I’ve heard they make the best drives. How is their back-up software though?
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post #2 of 43
2/28/07 at 1:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dferigmu View Post

I have a Powerbook and I would like to buy a high-quality, easy-to-use external hard drive for back-up purposes.

Does anyone have some suggestions on which manufacturer makes the best external hard drives and which ones come with the best back-up software for the Mac?

Im highly considering Seagate over LaCie, Maxtor and Iomega because Ive heard they make the best drives. How is their back-up software though?

I like and have used for a year or two now the One Touch series from Maxtor. One button and it's a full, bootable backup. Saved me when the iMac drive took a dive.
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post #3 of 43
3/1/07 at 5:54am
Maxtor is now owned by Seagate. Try and see if you can get the Seagate 5-year-warranty deals. It may only be on purchasing the actual hard-drive - which is the most important thing. The 3.5" FW400/ USB2.0 enclosure is pretty cheap - get a simple one on eBay, get a good 5-year-warrantied hard drive from Seagate. ...Put hard-drive in enclosure. Rock out.

An all-in-one big backup drive might be nice and sexy but may only have 1 or 2 year warranties on it. After the warranty runs out, you gotta trash the whole thing or dig inside to try and rescue it. If you use a regular hard-disk drive, that's 5-year warrantied by Seagate, then you can swap and change the enclosure as your needs dictate. Also if you get a RAID enclosure later on if you are running say 2 Seagate drives in RAID0 or 1 or 0+1 etc.
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post #4 of 43
3/3/07 at 9:44am
It depends on what you want. As others have said, Seagate makes the most reliable drives (used to be IBM with their Deskstar series, until a rash of failures... see 'click of death').

As far as the software goes, if you just want a complete image of your currrent hard drive, then you could easily using something like rsync. It's a command line tool that syncs two folders (in this case it would be the root directories of each drive). I know that there is at least one GUI wrapper for it called rsyncX. You could look into it.

If you completely want a hands-off approach, then you should just look into something like the Maxtor One-Touch series, but as nvidia2008 mentioned, you'll probably have to settle for a shorter warranty period on that drive. You'll just have to weigh the pros and cons of the 'hands-off' approach with a shorter warranty versus as longer warranty with more hassle on your part.
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post #5 of 43
3/3/07 at 11:30am
I also have the same question as the initial poster.

I need an external harddrive, but here's my question:

"What is the best hard drive that suits Macs?"

I know that most external hard drives won't come with a FAT32 format. Are there any external hard drives that come with the FAT32 format to work well on both macs and PCs?

I had this impression that LaCie drives are mac-friendly. Do those come with the FAT32 format?
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post #6 of 43
3/3/07 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

I also have the same question as the initial poster.

I need an external harddrive, but here's my question:

"What is the best hard drive that suits Macs?"

I know that most external hard drives won't come with a FAT32 format. Are there any external hard drives that come with the FAT32 format to work well on both macs and PCs?

I had this impression that LaCie drives are mac-friendly. Do those come with the FAT32 format?

You can simply format them as FAT32 yourself, so that's no issue at all.
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post #7 of 43
3/3/07 at 2:36pm
I'd say if you can find an affordable hard drive that isn't RAID 0 and has firewire, go for it. Bonus points for Seagates.
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post #8 of 43
3/3/07 at 3:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chucker View Post

You can simply format them as FAT32 yourself, so that's no issue at all.

is that possible without a special program? Can I do that on my mac right away?
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post #9 of 43
3/3/07 at 3:50pm
Open up Disk Utility. It's on every Mac.
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post #10 of 43
3/3/07 at 8:57pm
G'day

1. Seagate drives.

2. A usb2/ Firewire 400 external box. (if one interface fails, you've still got the other, & usb2 can be used on PC's if formatted in Fat32)

3. Use the freeware Carbon Copy Cloner to make bootable & incremental backups.

http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

Regards

Santa
Core 2 Duo 24" iMac, 1 TB, 4 GB ram, Snow Leopard; 2 x 1.5 TB external seagates; Epson R390 Photo printer; Fuji Xerox C1110 laser; Epson 3490 scanner; 64 GB 3G iPad; a tolerant wife
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Core 2 Duo 24" iMac, 1 TB, 4 GB ram, Snow Leopard; 2 x 1.5 TB external seagates; Epson R390 Photo printer; Fuji Xerox C1110 laser; Epson 3490 scanner; 64 GB 3G iPad; a tolerant wife
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post #11 of 43
3/3/07 at 10:06pm
THIS IS YOUR BEST BET:

G-DRIVE QUAD INTERFACE
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post #12 of 43
3/4/07 at 12:55pm
If your Powerbook has FW800 get a drive that supports that as it's much faster than Firewire 400 or USB2.

Everybody has their favorites when it comes to drives. Seagate usually is considered one of the better brands, while it's been report that Maxtor has had problems lately.

I'm not sure but I think the "One Touch" software that comes with most drives is Windows only.

Besides CarbonCopyCloner which has already been mentioned, SuperDupper is good and perhaps easier to use. Both have free trial versions.
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post #13 of 43
3/4/07 at 1:49pm
thanks guys I'm getting all your advices.

I have three more questions

1. Many people around me use LaCie. How does it fare to...say....Seagate which some of you seem to approve.

2. I live in NYC. I can go to Tekserve and get one there, but can also order online for a lower price. Which way would you recommend?

3. Is formatting into a FAT32 easy?
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post #14 of 43
3/4/07 at 2:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icfireball View Post

THIS IS YOUR BEST BET:

G-DRIVE QUAD INTERFACE

that sounds really nice. But it's a little bit heavy in price for what I was thinking for now.

How would you say Western Digital's MyBook series/ LaCie/ Seagate series do compared to G-Drive. I haven't seen many G-Drive ones around me.

I just found a deal online that's has a Fantom Titanium II 500GB for $149. It doesn't have the firewire support, but everything else seems nice. Should I go for it?
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post #15 of 43
3/4/07 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

that sounds really nice. But it's a little bit heavy in price for what I was thinking for now.

How would you say Western Digital's MyBook series/ LaCie/ Seagate series do compared to G-Drive. I haven't seen many G-Drive ones around me.

I just found a deal online that's has a Fantom Titanium II 500GB for $149. It doesn't have the firewire support, but everything else seems nice. Should I go for it?

G'day

You should try and stick out for Firewire. It has a higher sustained transfer rate than usb2, and is ideal for saving movies straight to disk. A Firewire 800 is faster (double) the FW 400 but usually more expensive, and harder to find.

As for using Carbon Copy Cloner vers. SuperDuper, CCC is Freeware and does an excellent job.

Regards

Santa
Core 2 Duo 24" iMac, 1 TB, 4 GB ram, Snow Leopard; 2 x 1.5 TB external seagates; Epson R390 Photo printer; Fuji Xerox C1110 laser; Epson 3490 scanner; 64 GB 3G iPad; a tolerant wife
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Core 2 Duo 24" iMac, 1 TB, 4 GB ram, Snow Leopard; 2 x 1.5 TB external seagates; Epson R390 Photo printer; Fuji Xerox C1110 laser; Epson 3490 scanner; 64 GB 3G iPad; a tolerant wife
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post #16 of 43
3/4/07 at 4:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Santa View Post

G'day

You should try and stick out for Firewire. It has a higher sustained transfer rate than usb2, and is ideal for saving movies straight to disk. A Firewire 800 is faster (double) the FW 400 but usually more expensive, and harder to find.

As for using Carbon Copy Cloner vers. SuperDuper, CCC is Freeware and does an excellent job.

Regards

Santa

Thanks for the help.

I'm definitely considering the FireWire 400 and 800 too. I'm giving extra points for the ones with all 3 (USB2, FW400, and 800).

Since I'm looking for portable ext. hard drives too, I'm also giving higher points for the ones that have a 7200 RPM over 5400 RPM. For some reason, it's very hard to find small portable external hard drives that have a 7200 RPM in the United States. In East Asia it's actually harder to find anything slower than 7200 RPM nowadays.

I found a Western Digital model called Extreme Lighted http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digita...028183-4503153

Does that only run though the AC adaptor and never alone with the computer? It does say "Hot-Swappable – Connect and disconnect without powering off the computer. " but I don't know what "hot-swappable" means. Can it still be powered by the computer? or does it have to have the AC adaptor?
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post #17 of 43
3/4/07 at 7:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

thanks guys I'm getting all your advices.

I have three more questions

1. Many people around me use LaCie. How does it fare to...say....Seagate which some of you seem to approve.

2. I live in NYC. I can go to Tekserve and get one there, but can also order online for a lower price. Which way would you recommend?

3. Is formatting into a FAT32 easy?

1. I used to use a fair bit of Lacie like 2-3 years ago. It is good. But the problem is some of the Lacie backup stuff, it's hard to access and change the drives inside the units themselves. Plus you may only have 1-2 years warranty. The Seagate-within-an-enclosure gives you more flexibility and more peace of mind, if you have more warranty. Lacie and WesternDigital all-in-ones are convenient, but 3.5" drives in enclosures is something worthwhile, and easy to figure out.

2. Yeah try your local store, they might have some advice, easier to return/ service stuff, no wait for postage to and from the dealer/ manufacturer.

3. So easy you wouldn't believe it. Yeah, it's easy. 8)

4. You need a bit more research to find out the tricky bits of when and when not you need an external AC power adaptor. And whether you can live with it or not (carrying an AC adaptor around).
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post #18 of 43
3/4/07 at 7:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pyr3 View Post

It depends on what you want. As others have said, Seagate makes the most reliable drives (used to be IBM with their Deskstar series, until a rash of failures... see 'click of death').

Ah yes, rapidly became to be known as the "DEATHStar" series. Mmmm... the dreaded "click of death". Hitachi bought IBM drive business. I'd never touch a Hitachi disk drive again for quite some while. Western Dig, Maxtor, Seagate.
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post #19 of 43
3/5/07 at 1:57am
Thanks nvidia2008 you've been of much help.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


4. You need a bit more research to find out the tricky bits of when and when not you need an external AC power adaptor. And whether you can live with it or not (carrying an AC adaptor around).

so I guess the above model cannot operate without the AC adapter.


I had this slim external harddrive that died recently. The computer just can't recognize the drive. I think it's the enclosure that's the problem, and I'm trying to buy the enclosure to make it myself.

The hard drive itself says Samsung MP0804H/DOM (80GB/5400rpm/8M/PATA)

which encolsure should I be getting to fit this model?
Would these work?
http://tmg4apc.com/product_info.php?...products_id=51
http://www.shopxtreme.com/catalog/pr...a4f4f9804725fb

The drive was formatted as FAT32, and had some files in it. So It's not empty. When I build the enclosure around it, do I have to do something else other than just physically building it? Or can the enclosure work fine with the already formatted to FAT32 drive?
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post #20 of 43
3/5/07 at 5:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

Thanks nvidia2008 you've been of much help.

Thanks, I try and be useful, also I am interested in some of these areas.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix

so I guess the above model cannot operate without the AC adapter.

Yeah, it is confusing. I think if FW400 is used it can operate without the AC adapter, if using USB2.0 you may need the power adaptor (FW400 usually supplies more power than USB2.0) AFAIK. It is confusing for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix

I had this slim external harddrive that died recently. The computer just can't recognize the drive. I think it's the enclosure that's the problem, and I'm trying to buy the enclosure to make it myself.

The hard drive itself says Samsung MP0804H/DOM (80GB/5400rpm/8M/PATA)

which encolsure should I be getting to fit this model?
Would these work?
http://tmg4apc.com/product_info.php?...products_id=51
http://www.shopxtreme.com/catalog/pr...a4f4f9804725fb

The drive was formatted as FAT32, and had some files in it. So It's not empty. When I build the enclosure around it, do I have to do something else other than just physically building it? Or can the enclosure work fine with the already formatted to FAT32 drive?

Hi, yes, if you have this Samsung 2.5" drive, try getting one of the simple USB2.0 enclosures above. Just take the drive out of the old enclosure, put in new enclosure. No need AC adapter in this case.

If the drive is still "alive" then when you connect to your Mac or PC it *should* recognize the FAT32 drive and see all the files there with no problems.
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post #21 of 43
3/5/07 at 5:37am
OK, I have a question too. When my husband finishes the paint and drywall in the room where the computer lives I will be buying my first Mac ever! WooHoo! Anyway I figure he will be done close to the leopard release (I love him, but he's slow) so I will be getting an external hard drive for Time Machine. Will all of the above suggestions work, or will I need to look for something different? And I assume I need as much memory as the computer has?
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post #22 of 43
3/5/07 at 5:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

...I'm definitely considering the FireWire 400 and 800 too. I'm giving extra points for the ones with all 3 (USB2, FW400, and 800)...

I think FW800 is not so important unless you have a Mac Pro ??

Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix

Since I'm looking for portable ext. hard drives too, I'm also giving higher points for the ones that have a 7200 RPM over 5400 RPM. For some reason, it's very hard to find small portable external hard drives that have a 7200 RPM in the United States. In East Asia it's actually harder to find anything slower than 7200 RPM nowadays.

You could get this enclosure:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817146604
And this drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822146230

Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix

I found a Western Digital model called Extreme Lighted http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digita...028183-4503153

Does that only run though the AC adaptor and never alone with the computer? It does say "Hot-Swappable – Connect and disconnect without powering off the computer. " but I don't know what "hot-swappable" means. Can it still be powered by the computer? or does it have to have the AC adaptor?

Yeah that looks nice. But like I mentioned, I don't know if you need to use the AC adaptor. Maybe only for USB 2.0 you need the AC adaptor. FW400 might supply all the power it needs.

Hot-Swappable is a very standard thing for these kind of external drives. It just means when you plug it in, the computer (WinXP/Vista or Mac OS X) recognizes the drive. When you unplug it, you just need to "Safely Remove Hardware (click this button thingy in the taskbar)" in WinXP/Vista or "Eject/Unmount Drive" in Mac OS X.

Looks like the WD is pretty good value for
US$130
http://www.wdc.com/en/buy/clearanced...sp?DriveID=154

It's the enclosure, and the drive, 7200rpm, FW400 and USB2.0, it's 2.5" compact and easy to carry around.

I would still prefer to buy the drive and the enclosure separately.

The Seagate 7200rpm I linked to above only is 1 year warranty though, by the looks of it.
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post #23 of 43
3/5/07 at 8:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

that sounds really nice. But it's a little bit heavy in price for what I was thinking for now.

How would you say Western Digital's MyBook series/ LaCie/ Seagate series do compared to G-Drive. I haven't seen many G-Drive ones around me.

I just found a deal online that's has a Fantom Titanium II 500GB for $149. It doesn't have the firewire support, but everything else seems nice. Should I go for it?

Ain't so bad:

http://www.mysimon.com/5/G_DRIVE-QUAD-INTERFACE.html
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post #24 of 43
3/5/07 at 10:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

Ah yes, rapidly became to be known as the "DEATHStar" series. Mmmm... the dreaded "click of death". Hitachi bought IBM drive business. I'd never touch a Hitachi disk drive again for quite some while. Western Dig, Maxtor, Seagate.

I had a IBM DeskStar, aka "DeathStar" in my old G4 Dual 450. It ran flawlessly, in fact it outlived the computer. Hitachi made the needed changes when it came to quality control when they bought IBM's hard drive business and, IMO, they're reliable now. One of the drives in my MacPro is Hitachi as is the drive in my TiBook, and I haven't experienced any problems with them.

The one brand I would stay away from is Maxtor, as there have been quite a few reports of problems with their drives.

Regarding FireWire 800, if your computer supports it, get a drive that has it. Truthfully, I've observed in real world use it's noticably faster than FW400 or USB2.

Fry's and Best Buy have been using the Seagate and Maxtor One Touch drives as loss leaders at a very good price ocassionaly. Unfortunately, they're FW400 and USB2 only.

Back to the original poster, if you're considering mail order try ZipZoomFly.com or Newegg.com. They both have good reputations.
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post #25 of 43
3/5/07 at 11:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldCodger73 View Post


I'm not sure but I think the "One Touch" software that comes with most drives is Windows only.

Not true for the Maxtor One Touch II. Use it on my iMac every week.
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post #26 of 43
3/5/07 at 8:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icfireball View Post

Ain't so bad:
http://www.mysimon.com/5/G_DRIVE-QUAD-INTERFACE.html

Looks good for an all-in-one, 2 year warranty on drive AND enclosure (better than the usual 1-year warranties), for desktops it is a reasonable choice.
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post #27 of 43
3/5/07 at 11:02pm
Once again, nvidia2008, thanks a lot.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

I think FW800 is not so important unless you have a Mac Pro ??

I have a 17-inch MBP. I figured using the FW800 would actually be a nice way to use my MBP


Quote:
Yeah that looks nice. But like I mentioned, I don't know if you need to use the AC adaptor. Maybe only for USB 2.0 you need the AC adaptor. FW400 might supply all the power it needs.

Hot-Swappable is a very standard thing for these kind of external drives. It just means when you plug it in, the computer (WinXP/Vista or Mac OS X) recognizes the drive. When you unplug it, you just need to "Safely Remove Hardware (click this button thingy in the taskbar)" in WinXP/Vista or "Eject/Unmount Drive" in Mac OS X.

Looks like the WD is pretty good value for
US$130
http://www.wdc.com/en/buy/clearanced...sp?DriveID=154

It's the enclosure, and the drive, 7200rpm, FW400 and USB2.0, it's 2.5" compact and easy to carry around.

I would still prefer to buy the drive and the enclosure separately.

The Seagate 7200rpm I linked to above only is 1 year warranty though, by the looks of it.

I have no experience in "building" the hard drive. I would want to give it a try though. It can't be that hard I'd assume. There's gotta be more to it then just physically building the thing right?

So what kind of hard drives do I have to look for if I'm trying to do that?

So under this link, http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Ca...me=Hard-Drives

I click the "laptop hard drives" if I wanted to create a 2.5-inch slim ones, and I click the "internal hard drives" if I wanted to create a 3.5 inch big ones, correct?
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post #28 of 43
3/6/07 at 12:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bender0069 View Post

OK, I have a question too. When my husband finishes the paint and drywall in the room where the computer lives I will be buying my first Mac ever! WooHoo! Anyway I figure he will be done close to the leopard release (I love him, but he's slow) so I will be getting an external hard drive for Time Machine. Will all of the above suggestions work, or will I need to look for something different? And I assume I need as much memory as the computer has?

Yes, all the suggestions here will work, also http://www.mysimon.com/5/G_DRIVE-QUAD-INTERFACE.html as an above poster mentions, will be cool. Welcome...!! Enjoy.

Yes, you should have the same or a bit more capacity in your backup drive than your main computer. Not that TimeMachine will use all of the data, in fact it will be designed to maybe use 1/10th of you main computer data since it only records changes, etc. Even if I get Leopard I'm old skool and have bad Windows habits so I like a close to 1:1 size for main:backup drive. Also you might have a lot of extra movies, video clips you want to store on the backup drive before burning it to DVD, etc, etc.

Most important, for TimeMachine and Leopard, is a 7200RPM drive through FW400 or FW800 as your backup drive. Do not compromise on this...!!
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post #29 of 43
3/6/07 at 1:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

Once again, nvidia2008, thanks a lot.

I have a 17-inch MBP. I figured using the FW800 would actually be a nice way to use my MBP

I have no experience in "building" the hard drive. I would want to give it a try though. It can't be that hard I'd assume. There's gotta be more to it then just physically building the thing right?

So what kind of hard drives do I have to look for if I'm trying to do that?

So under this link, http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Ca...me=Hard-Drives

I click the "laptop hard drives" if I wanted to create a 2.5-inch slim ones, and I click the "internal hard drives" if I wanted to create a 3.5 inch big ones, correct?

FW800 will be stylish 8) .. Usually only for 3.5" drives though:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817146603

There is a promotion on NewEgg for free shipping on Macally enclosures:
http://promotions.newegg.com/macally/022807/index.html

Enclosure: Go here:
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...nal-Enclosures

Choose 2.5" in the left under "Size" and USB&1394 under "External Interface" and IDE under "Internal Interface":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=&srchInDesc=

In NewEgg from your hard drives link, choose "notebook/ laptop hard drives" for 2.5" drive.
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...op-Hard-Drives

Building it is very easy:
1. buy enclosure
2. buy hard disk
3. open usually 2-4 screws of enclosure
4. put hard disk in enclosure
5. close 2-4 screws of enclosure
6. done
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post #30 of 43
3/6/07 at 1:14am
Seagate only has 5-year warranties on the 3.5" 7200rpm drives. Seagate 7200rpm 2.5" drives only have the standard 1 year warranty... \

Actually, the G-Technology drive is really sweet. FW800, FW400, USB2.0. Fanless cooling fins. It will be using a 3.5" drive though, most likely.

http://www.g-technology.com/Products/G-DRIVEQ.cfm
http://www.mysimon.com/5/G_DRIVE-QUAD-INTERFACE.html

The best thing is you get 2 years warranty on BOTH the enclosure AND the drive. No need to mess around with anything, enclosure+drive ready to go out-of-the-box.

For those with a MacPro, iMac, Mac Mini and MacBookPro 17", I think for around $200 for 160gb up to 250gb, it's a great offer for 2 year warranty and looks cool.

For cheaper and more portable options, there is the 2.5" laptop drive and FW400/USB2.0 enclosure as described above. 8)
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post #31 of 43
3/6/07 at 4:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

Yes, all the suggestions here will work, also http://www.mysimon.com/5/G_DRIVE-QUAD-INTERFACE.html as an above poster mentions, will be cool. Welcome...!! Enjoy.

Yes, you should have the same or a bit more capacity in your backup drive than your main computer. Not that TimeMachine will use all of the data, in fact it will be designed to maybe use 1/10th of you main computer data since it only records changes, etc. Even if I get Leopard I'm old skool and have bad Windows habits so I like a close to 1:1 size for main:backup drive. Also you might have a lot of extra movies, video clips you want to store on the backup drive before burning it to DVD, etc, etc.

Most important, for TimeMachine and Leopard, is a 7200RPM drive through FW400 or FW800 as your backup drive. Do not compromise on this...!!

Indeed this may be excellent advice, but my problem is that I would like to use my new Airport 'n' to attach a network drive and that only has a USP port. Please tell me if this is a stupid idea. If not, what is a good USB based drive as we approch Time machine.

Thanks
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post #32 of 43
3/6/07 at 4:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CI0002 View Post

Indeed this may be excellent advice, but my problem is that I would like to use my new Airport 'n' to attach a network drive and that only has a USP port. Please tell me if this is a stupid idea. If not, what is a good USB based drive as we approch Time machine.

Thanks

I thing the G-Technology Quad thingy drive is still good value because of 2-year warranty on drive and enclosure. There will be a USB-connection to the AirportExtreme 802.11N.

For TimeMachine, things should be okay because the backup, etc. all happens in the background. So it will be a little slow for file transfers, etc. (like 30mbit/sec up to possibly over 100mbit/sec). But for TimeMachine, it does all the stuff in the background, so should be okay.

For outright non-TimeMachine file transfers though you should connect the G-Technology Quad drive straight to your machine via FW400 or FW800 cable.

Some people have had problems with AirDisk (connecting via USB hard drive to AirportExtreme 802.11n to share the drive wirelessly) though... Here's a simple snippet of how things should work. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305038 ...Some people have no problems at all with it at this stage as well, AFAIK.

Anyway, we'll have some time to see when Leopard is launched and AirportExtreme 802.11n software and AirDisk updates, etc... is released and refined.
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post #33 of 43
3/6/07 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

FW800 will be stylish 8) .. Usually only for 3.5" drives though:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817146603

There is a promotion on NewEgg for free shipping on Macally enclosures:
http://promotions.newegg.com/macally/022807/index.html

Enclosure: Go here:
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...nal-Enclosures

Choose 2.5" in the left under "Size" and USB&1394 under "External Interface" and IDE under "Internal Interface":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=&srchInDesc=

In NewEgg from your hard drives link, choose "notebook/ laptop hard drives" for 2.5" drive.
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...op-Hard-Drives

Building it is very easy:
1. buy enclosure
2. buy hard disk
3. open usually 2-4 screws of enclosure
4. put hard disk in enclosure
5. close 2-4 screws of enclosure
6. done

great! I'll give it a try.

If I want to get a 3.5" drive, what are the things I need to consider? (eg., SATA hard drive might require an enclosure that fits SATAs only?)

As for the 2.5", would these two work?
(enlosure) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817146604
(hard drive) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822146228

The hard drive above is Seagate and has a 5-year warranty. And it's 2.5"

* If the above concoction fails, how can I argue to Seagate for a replacement/refund when it could actually be the enclosure?
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post #34 of 43
3/6/07 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

great! I'll give it a try.

If I want to get a 3.5" drive, what are the things I need to consider? (eg., SATA hard drive might require an enclosure that fits SATAs only?)

As for the 2.5", would these two work?
(enlosure) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817146604
(hard drive) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822146228

The hard drive above is Seagate and has a 5-year warranty. And it's 2.5"

* If the above concoction fails, how can I argue to Seagate for a replacement/refund when it could actually be the enclosure?

Good find on the Seagate 5-year warranty 2.5" drive SATA 7200rpm. From the main Newegg.com page it doesn't list the warranty for that drive, you have to click through. Good find. 8)

Your enclosure needs to support SATA internal, not IDE, in this case.

Go to http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...nal-Enclosures
Then choose "2.5" under Size and "SATA" under Internal Interface to do a search.

You would get something like this, you need these kinds of enclosures to handle a SATA 2.5" drive *internally*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=&srchInDesc=

For 3.5" drive enclosures, you would choose "3.5" under Size and "SATA" under Internal Interface in your search.

To actually find the 3.5" drive, just do a general Newegg.com search for "seagate barracuda 7200 SATA"

With the "concoction", it is hard to say which is the problem. If it is the hard disk, you would notice some sort of "clicking" noise usually when the computer tries to read the drive. Sometimes, if you just gently take out the drive and move it from side to side or turn it upside down you can hear some "clicking".

If you go the 2.5" SATA drive SATA internal enclosure, and something goes wrong, you can just get a real cheapo enclosure from eBay and test if the enclosure died or the drive. Do a search for "sata 2.5" enclosure" on eBay.com and you'd see a ton of these SATA enclosures for 2.5".
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post #35 of 43
3/17/07 at 7:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

Good find on the Seagate 5-year warranty 2.5" drive SATA 7200rpm. From the main Newegg.com page it doesn't list the warranty for that drive, you have to click through. Good find. 8)

Your enclosure needs to support SATA internal, not IDE, in this case.

ooh. I hit something new. So what are SATA and IDE?

USB2.0, Firewire400, 800 <---- are these all IDE?

and SATA is something different? I was pretty close to ordering it until I found that these don't have USB, 1393a,b anywhere. eSATA seems to be a whole new thing to me. I haven't seen any computers around that has the slot. I don't think my MBP has that slot.

also, what are "Perpendicular Recording" and "cache"? I see one ex. drive with an 8MB cache, and another one with 16MB cache. All others seem to be the same.

I'm trying to make an external hard drive that has a USB 2.0, Firewire400, and FireWire 800. With a hard drive that's 250G~500G. Does the internal hard drive in itself has to be able to support the FireWire 800? I have a feeling eSATA is something that I wouldn't want. It seems like the IDE is the one that supports USB, FW400, and FW800. So I think this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148139) is what I want. I just don't know what the right enclosure would be then.

Sorry for the late response. I really appreciate your advice.
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post #36 of 43
3/18/07 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


Building it is very easy:
1. buy enclosure
2. buy hard disk
3. open usually 2-4 screws of enclosure
4. put hard disk in enclosure
5. close 2-4 screws of enclosure
6. done

+1

I did the exact same thing with my drive.
3.5" Acomdata inclosure w/ Seagate 300GB HD, I'm very happy with the final result.
You are coming to a sad realization, cancel or allow?
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You are coming to a sad realization, cancel or allow?
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post #37 of 43
3/19/07 at 2:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jinix View Post

ooh. I hit something new. So what are SATA and IDE?

USB2.0, Firewire400, 800 <---- are these all IDE?

and SATA is something different? I was pretty close to ordering it until I found that these don't have USB, 1393a,b anywhere. eSATA seems to be a whole new thing to me. I haven't seen any computers around that has the slot. I don't think my MBP has that slot.

also, what are "Perpendicular Recording" and "cache"? I see one ex. drive with an 8MB cache, and another one with 16MB cache. All others seem to be the same.

I'm trying to make an external hard drive that has a USB 2.0, Firewire400, and FireWire 800. With a hard drive that's 250G~500G. Does the internal hard drive in itself has to be able to support the FireWire 800? I have a feeling eSATA is something that I wouldn't want. It seems like the IDE is the one that supports USB, FW400, and FW800. So I think this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148139) is what I want. I just don't know what the right enclosure would be then.

Sorry for the late response. I really appreciate your advice.

Hi, got your PM. Re-subscribed to this thread.

Okay, don't worry about perpendicular recording for now. It's cool and it's hip and all that, if the drive has it cool, if not, don't lose sleep over it. Cache is either 8MB or 16MB, again, don't lose sleep over it. Both will do fine.

The thing is you are confusing INTERNAL INTERFACE with EXTERNAL INTERFACE

INTERNAL INTERFACE:
IDE or SATA [ you buy an "IDE" or "SATA" 2.5" or 3.5" drive ]

EXTERNAL INTERFACE:
FW800, FW400, USB2.0, E-SATA

...Okay the hard disk you chose sounds fine. You need an enclosure that would support:
INTERNAL INTERFACE: IDE ONLY.
EXTERNAL INTERFACE: FW800, FW400, USB2.0, [e-Sata if it is there good otherwise don't worry]
The enclosure needs to be for 3.5" NOT 2.5". You will most likely need an AC adaptor, this should come with the enclosure.

OK. have a look on Newegg to see an enclosure you like. You will find 3.5" enclosure INTERNAL IDE to EXTERNAL FW400 and USB2.0.
It will be hard to find 3.5" enclosure INTERNAL IDE to EXTERNAL FW400, USB2.0 ---AND--- FW800... but you may find it there.
Good Luck
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post #38 of 43
3/19/07 at 8:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

The thing is you are confusing INTERNAL INTERFACE with EXTERNAL INTERFACE

The enclosure needs to be for 3.5" NOT 2.5". You will most likely need an AC adaptor, this should come with the enclosure.

yes I'll buy the 2.5 one later on, and am looking for a 3.5 for the start.

Quote:
OK. have a look on Newegg to see an enclosure you like. You will find 3.5" enclosure INTERNAL IDE to EXTERNAL FW400 and USB2.0.
It will be hard to find 3.5" enclosure INTERNAL IDE to EXTERNAL FW400, USB2.0 ---AND--- FW800... but you may find it there.
Good Luck

I find it very hard to find an enclosure that supports the FW800(as well as the USB2.0 and FW 400) with a nice price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...k=&srchInDesc=

In fact, buying a pre-made one might serve better price-wise.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136049

what would you say?
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post #39 of 43
3/20/07 at 12:10am
Yes. That pre-made Western Digital one looks good. Especially if you want FW800. Try and get the extended warranty offered by newegg for the 2 year replacement. You want 2 years of warranty, that is, 1 year on top of the 1 year Western Digital warranty.

Looks cool too and takes a lot of headaches out of enclosures, though simple for some, might be confusing for you to choose.
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post #40 of 43
3/21/07 at 9:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

Yes. That pre-made Western Digital one looks good. Especially if you want FW800. Try and get the extended warranty offered by newegg for the 2 year replacement. You want 2 years of warranty, that is, 1 year on top of the 1 year Western Digital warranty.

Looks cool too and takes a lot of headaches out of enclosures, though simple for some, might be confusing for you to choose.


Thanks. I ordered the Western Digital premade one. I will, -I assume- come back to this board for questions in the future when I try to really build an 2.5 external hard drive.

Thanks for all the help nvidia2008.
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