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2 Questions: WiFi for MB? External Hard Drive

M

mrbeaverhousen

macrumors member
Original poster
May 27, 2009
31
0
I haven't bought the Macbook yet (waiting until after WWDC) but I was looking at some tutorials on the Apple website and saw that in order for me to get the WiFi connection with my MB, I need the Apple Airport base station. I already have a Linksys router, is that enough to get internet connection with my Mac?

Since I've been a PC user for years and just recently decided to buy a Mac, I wanted to buy an external hard drive to put all my music files and pictures and such from my PC and transfer them to my Mac. Do I need a specific external hard drive or do they work for both? Thank you.
 
all usb external HD's will work.

Linksys routers work with mac because I am connected to it right now
 
Bacong, don't you mean FAT32 which is the default for most external hard drives? NTFS without MacFUSE and NTFS-3G is read-only, but if the OP is going to be doing bi-directional data transfer, FAT32 is the way to go, despite the 4 GB max individual file size that can be written.
 
Thanks for the help, everyone! Any recommendations for a good external hard drive at a good price?

Also, I have one more question about my internet set-up. I'm a desktop user and this is my first laptop, so the modem is connected to my bedroom and I use the router so my brothers can receive internet in their bedroom. When I buy the Macbook I plan on giving my brothers my desktop. What about the internet connection then? I know it might be a problem but I'm not too tech savvy so I have no solution for it, any suggestions?
 
You said that the Macbook will be your first Mac, so I'm guessing your PC is running XP? (It might be Vista, but right now I'm on a XP machine, so I'll help with XP steps)

Start>*Right Click* My computer>Properties>*Hardware tab*>Device Manager>*+ on the Network Adapters button*.

Then whatever results you get, just Google it, and on one of the results, it should say if it's wireless or not. Or post here, and somebody will tell you (If you post the whole name)
 
fireshot91 said:
You said that the Macbook will be your first Mac, so I'm guessing your PC is running XP? (It might be Vista, but right now I'm on a XP machine, so I'll help with XP steps)

Start>*Right Click* My computer>Properties>*Hardware tab*>Device Manager>*+ on the Network Adapters button*.

Then whatever results you get, just Google it, and on one of the results, it should say if it's wireless or not. Or post here, and somebody will tell you (If you post the whole name)
Click to expand...

Yeah I have XP. I did what you said and this is what I got:
Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection

I don't think it's wireless. If it isn't, what do I do?
 
+1 Router will work!

USB HD: Are you buying a MB or MB Pro? If you are getting a MB than any good HD with USB will work. OWC or Newegg has some good deals, if you are looking for large storage than I really like WD MyBook (1TB for $150 or less). If you are buying a MB Pro than look for something with both USB (for your PC) and FireWire 800 (for your MB Pro). This will allow you to have the faster transfer on the MB Pro.

Your old Desktop: Can you plug the modem and router in in your brother's room? That would give the desktop the fastest possible connection speed (same as now) and not require you (or your brother) to go by a wireless card. Best way to see if you have a wireless network card in the desktop is to look at the back and see if a little antenna is sticking out!

FYI: Depending on your router a "wired" connection from a computer to your router is connected at 100/1000MB. A wireless connection on a G router is only 54MB so try to keep a desktop "wired" as often as possible. When you can, you should consider getting a new "N-router" so your laptop can connect at 130MB+.

Good Luck!
 
I just purchased the MyBook 500GB (i don't need too much space). It's charging at the moment so I'll let you know how it works! Is a light someone to go off while charging? Because mine didn't do anything lol.

While I was in Best Buy, I spoke to someone who worked there and said I don't need to connect anything to a computer and if I have a router that's connected, then it should be fine. I've also purchased a Wireless adapter:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...nksys&lp=4&type=product&cp=1&id=1197679236180

So that should be fine then, right?
 
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