Help! Need new external hard drive for backup

[foofighters]

SUGGESTION:
Can you spend, say, $20-30?
If so, get one of these gadgets:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ords=usb3+sata+dock&rh=i:aps,k:usb3+sata+dock
(many items shown, they all work the same, just pick one you like that's cheap)

Then - open the LaCie enclosure, take the hard drive out, put it into the dock, connect the dock to the Mac, and turn it on. What happens next?

SUGGESTION #2:
If you ascertain that the hard drive mechanism itself has failed, I would recommend that you consider buying a usb3/SATA dock anyway, and then pick up a "bare" hard drive of your choice to go into it. These can be VERY handy devices to have around, especially if you need to swap out a drive now and then. You can boot from them, too.

why didnt i think of that thanks! Now that Im switching to mac mini from pc how would you suggest I organize the four external drives i have?
They all various shapes and sizes. Would you consolidate them all to one big drive like the WD My Duo and maybe a second for back up? Or would you assemble them all with something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Sans-Digital-External-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B005JW6VXY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1

I suppose if I move them all to other drive(s) then they become the back up. That is if the mini can access them. Which prob means I have to move them all anyhow right? The mini will be in different room than the WNDR3700 router. My situation sounds similar the OP. Also be using my appleTV in main TV room. Thanks.

 

[Fishrrman]

"why didnt i think of that thanks! Now that Im switching to mac mini from pc how would you suggest I organize the four external drives i have?
They all various shapes and sizes. Would you consolidate them all to one big drive like the WD My Duo and maybe a second for back up? Or would you assemble them all with something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Sans-Digital-E...pd_sim_sbs_e_1"

That 4-drive "box" looks interesting. It says it's "JBOD" (just bunch of drives), not RAID'ed or anything. That's ok -- I wouldn't trust RAID unless you also have a backup. I'm not in favor of RAID unless you know why you need it, and also know what the weaknesses are in the case of failure.

Actually, you'll want a backup even if you consolidate the data from four drives. Anything that's valuable, you want at least two copies of.

What sizes are the four drives you have now?

 

[foofighters]

two 500 and two 1TB although one of them is not responding it might have died
two are about full. I also need to figure out if the mini will read them all or how to set it all up for the new mini since i was using a dell pc before.
I was looking into the WD Duo but now thinking about buying two maybe three WD 3TB externals or similar.
Im just not sure A)want everything neat and organized and enough space to grow and back it all up B)want the mini to be my main media server for everything C)what i need to do to make the itunes in mini to be the main instead of the itunes in my dell D)was hoping to have all externals not connected to the mini i have a WNDR3700 netgear so looked at the WD duo since it has gigabit port but can only use green drives so i wouldnt be able to plug them into a "NAS" situation at a later date...

 

[alexmac712]

New external for G5 PPC or....new USB wire?

My WD 1 TB 2.0 USB external is only about 2 years old and is causing my iMac (10.4.11) to crash. It has all my iTunes and other files.
First off, I was told by the iHospital to change my USB wire (which is USB to mini). I had one laying around and tried it, but the drive is still causing issues.
I even ran Clam Xav on it and had no viruses show up.
Now, I checked USB wires that look like they might work, but at $15-20, I'm not sure I want to do that and the problem continues.
Now, if I do get a new external (which has to USB 2.0), should I get a regular drive with a power supply or shoot for a small portable one? Would iTunes run on the smaller drive? Is it even a recommendation?