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Best external hard drive for back-up purposes?

D

dferigmu

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 3, 2004
265
0
Washington, DC
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?
 
the backup software that comes with the hard drives is terrible. try Chronosync, SuperDuper!, or Carbon Copy Cloner.
 
pianoman said:
the backup software that comes with the hard drives is terrible. try Chronosync, SuperDuper!, or Carbon Copy Cloner.
Click to expand...

Is it possible to replace the back-up software that came with the hard drive with one of these? Will the new software work with the hard drive?
 
just don't install the software that comes with the drive. when you plug in the drive, the computer will recognize it, even with no software installed.

after plugging it in for the first time, you should format it - if you're using it only on a Mac use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - in Disk Utility. if you're using it on both a Mac and Windows - don't format it - it will already be readable by both types of machines.

after that, you can use whatever software you like to backup your stuff. each backup application will know that the drive is present if it's plugged in and turned on while the application is running.

this explanation sounds a bit complex and long-winded. it's really not that difficult, though. post back with questions if you have any.
 
pianoman said:
just don't install the software that comes with the drive. when you plug in the drive, the computer will recognize it, even with no software installed.

after plugging it in for the first time, you should format it - if you're using it only on a Mac use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - in Disk Utility. if you're using it on both a Mac and Windows - don't format it - it will already be readable by both types of machines.

after that, you can use whatever software you like to backup your stuff. each backup application will know that the drive is present if it's plugged in and turned on while the application is running.

this explanation sounds a bit complex and long-winded. it's really not that difficult, though. post back with questions if you have any.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Your information is very helpful.
 
Backing up is important and it does not matter which software you use, try them all and stick to the one you like. Try to backup once a week, i normally use a firewire 800 then watch a movie till its done. I would recommend SuperDuper because its the only one that i have used for a long time.
 
OdduWon said:
any thought on the western digital MyBook w/ firewire. Is it of good quality? :confused:
Click to expand...

Thats a good HD, i would however recommend LaCie since i used them for ever 2 years for heavy use and they work great. I have the My Book, it works very well but i have not used it a lot.
 
I'm a big fan of LaCie external drives. I think they make the best. I've used them for years and years, and have never had a problem with them. I currently have a 4 year old 80GB external Firewire, a 3 year old 200GB external Firewire, and a 1 year old 500Gb Triple Interface. All are Lacie D2 Hardrives and all work perfectly. I've also used LaCie's Quicksilver before which isn't bad, just not great backup software. I personally like SuperDuper!, but that's a personal preference thing.

The only thing i have against LaCie is that you never know what drives are going to be in them. They could be made by (i've had bad luck with Maxtor), WD or Hitachi (this one is more likely these days). On the the Seagate, or WesternDigital, you'll know the drive who the drive is actually made by. Seagate does make good drives, and the WD MyBook's are awesome for their price. I probably didn't help much just then, but good luck.

-JE
 
i'm planning to use a macbook pro as desktop replacement.
apple sells a esata-drive.

would a esata drive plus esata card be of any advantage (beyond being a bit faster)?

i'm thinking of boot up time. i have the feeling that an external drive always adds 2-5 sec to finder actions or waking from sleep.

andi

that's the drive i'm looking at:

G-Tech G-DRIVE Q 320GB Quad Interface Hard Drive

Winner of Macworld Magazine's 2006 Editor's Choice Award, the 320GB G-DRIVE Q hard drive offers the flexibility of FireWire 400, FireWire 800, USB 2.0, and eSATA connectivity all in a single unit. G-DRIVE Q is ideal for digital audio and video editing, digital photography, and high-speed data back up.
Price: $249.95
 
thanks all

Thank you all for your opinions. I just bought one from best buy and was shocked that the 250gig w/fw was the same price as th 320gig w/fw. first thought was "is this a good drive? The price is retardedly low ($169.00) and for a bigger drive, something is not right here." But then i noticed it was on sale, so i bought it. Yay!
 
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