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External HDD set-up help!

tails-4

tails-4

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 3, 2009
10
0
hi!
So here's my HDD set-up:
1TB internal in iMac (with a 64gb partition for Windows)
1TB external (FAT32, used for media)
1TB external (Mac OS Extended (Journaled), used for Time Machine)
NEW 2TB external drive.

My problem is, I'm not sure how to add the 2TB drive to the family..
I want to have 2TB for media and 2TB for backups.. Sounds alot, but with a 1TB internal, 2TB for backup is reasonable.

So my idea is, move all the data off my FAT32 drive to my new 2TB drive, and make the Time Capsule and the FAT32 drive then appear as one drive (Mac OS Extended) using RAID. Is this possible??? And is it possible to format a FAT32 drive to Mac OS Extended?

Thanks for your help!
 
There is no way (that I'm aware of) to software RAID external drives. You'd need to buy a RAID storage solution, like Drobo or the many others. But this won't fly since you want to use external drives, instead of placing internal drives in these types of enclosures.

I'd suggest the 2TB for backup and the other two for media. Anything you need Windows to see needs to be FAT32 or NTFS, although OS X can't utilize the latter fully. If you have less than 1TB of media, you should use the 2 TB to back up your iMac, one 1TB for media, and the other as a clone. That way everything is redundant.

Yes, you can reformat a FAT32 drive as Mac OS Extended (or any other supported in Disk Utility). You'll obviously lose any data on that drive in the process. Hope this helps a little.
 
dissolve said:
There is no way (that I'm aware of) to software RAID external drives. You'd need to buy a RAID storage solution, like Drobo or the many others. But this won't fly since you want to use external drives, instead of placing internal drives in these types of enclosures.

I'd suggest the 2TB for backup and the other two for media. Anything you need Windows to see needs to be FAT32 or NTFS, although OS X can't utilize the latter fully. If you have less than 1TB of media, you should use the 2 TB to back up your iMac, one 1TB for media, and the other as a clone. That way everything is redundant.

Yes, you can reformat a FAT32 drive as Mac OS Extended (or any other supported in Disk Utility). You'll obviously lose any data on that drive in the process. Hope this helps a little.
Click to expand...

Hey, sorry to bump an old thread, but i just thought i'd let you know what has developed.

with some more research, i discovered that you CAN software RAID two external drives, how ever i wasnt sure if this would reformat the whole thing.
So to save time and trouble, i decided to just reformat the old time machine, and use that as a separate media drive.
So now I've got a dedicated 2TB time capsule, and two independent media drives. Thanks for your help!
:)
 
tails-4 said:
Hey, sorry to bump an old thread, but i just thought i'd let you know what has developed.

with some more research, i discovered that you CAN software RAID two external drives, how ever i wasnt sure if this would reformat the whole thing.
So to save time and trouble, i decided to just reformat the old time machine, and use that as a separate media drive.
So now I've got a dedicated 2TB time capsule, and two independent media drives. Thanks for your help!
:)
Click to expand...

Very cool, I had no idea. Did you successfully do the external software RAID? Is it doable through Disk Utility? Congrats on getting your setup accomplished :)
 
dissolve said:
Very cool, I had no idea. Did you successfully do the external software RAID? Is it doable through Disk Utility? Congrats on getting your setup accomplished :)
Click to expand...

Nah i didnt end up trying it, just because i didnt want to reformat my media drive.. Im sure you can do it in disk utility!! thanks!!
 
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