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External hard drive question! Easy one from a newbie!

zen

zen

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 26, 2003
1,713
472
Hello!

I want to buy an external Firewire/USB2 hard drive to provide some much needed additional storage to my iBook G4 (800Mhz, 30GB HDD, OS X 10.4.3, 640MB RAM).

Is there any difference between hard drives "made" for Windows PCs and Macs? For instance, here is a 300GB drive:

http://www.edencomputer.co.nz/pk.aspx?1071

The specs on this page, and on the Seagate website, only talk about Windows. But if I were to plug this into my iBook, would it work? Or do I need to do something special?

Cheers!

Zen
 
It should work fine, though you might have to format (quick and painless) when you plug it in.

Remember, though, that if you get a USB2 drive it will never be able to boot your computer (handy at times).
 
I suppose, as that drive I linked to is a Seagate 300GB drive inside an enclosure, I could get a Firewire enclosure instead? Would I be able to boot from that?

In terms of formatting, is that just done using Disk Utility? Would the drive mount the first time, or would I need to look for it the first time I plug it in?

Sorry for all the questions - external drives are a completely new world to me!
 
Yeah, they do look cool, but I'm on a bit of a budget so I need to go for a cheap and not quite so elegant option!
 
xsedrinam said:
I have two Lacie d2 Extreme 250 Gb with triple Interface and can highly recommend them. Lacie http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10059 Come installed with OS Extended, so it's ready to plug in and use.
Click to expand...


I 2nd that, i bought a LaCie 160gb today. Its great, it has FW 400 and 800 and USB2

and it was priced very well and works so great.

EveryOne should have an external drive to back up music and other important files
 
You want a Firewire drive, definitely, not a USB. I would go with a Seagate bare IDE (Parallel ATA) drive (for the 5 year warrqanty) and an empty enclosure like a MacAlly Firewire/USB combo (which will have 1 year warranty).

(in fact, the reseller you linked to is simply putting the Seagate drive into an inexpensive import hard drive case - same as a Startech case - but they are ripping you on the warranty. Only 12 months - pffft.) Do it yourself...

But here is the DEFINITIVE answer:

BlueVelvet said:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/148847/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/167883/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/166653/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/166765/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/161868/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/159679/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/144836/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/137158/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/142391/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/137739/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/133274/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/132077/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/131416/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/128947/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/124714/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/121031/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/113465/
Click to expand...

Proving the worth of the Search function in the MR forums
 
Thanks for the links. I did actually search, but my specific question was actually whether a hard drive had to be Mac-specific, or whether my Mac would recognise any drive that is connected.
 
The drive (and most others) will work (any included software may not) ... it's suggested you reformat and not use FAT32. Best Buy has a 300GB FW/USB2 external for ~$150 after rebates ($50 + $70 MIR).


peace | neut
 
CanadaRAM said:
You want a Firewire drive, definitely, not a USB. I would go with a Seagate bare IDE (Parallel ATA) drive (for the 5 year warrqanty) and an empty enclosure like a MacAlly Firewire/USB combo (which will have 1 year warranty).
Click to expand...

I have a 200GB IDE Seagate in a Macally FW/USB enclosure, and I love it. I can hook it up to my old Windows laptop with the USB, or to a Mac with the firewire, and the case is VERY sturdy, solid, and looks nice. I higly recommend this setup, especially with the rebates and discounts on Seagate drives right now (see Outpost.com). I got the enclosure from Newegg. Total cost of enclosure plus 200GB HD was around $100.
 
neut said:
The drive (and most others) will work (any included software may not) ... it's suggested you reformat and not use FAT32. Best Buy has a 300GB FW/USB2 external for ~$150 after rebates ($50 + $70 MIR).
Click to expand...
Do you know if that is an in-store only deal? I don't see it online.
 
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