Hello this is my first post in the forum. I realize this question has been asked multiple times but some of the posts are older and I am just making sure Im getting the correct info for this point in time. I am wanting an external hard drive because the one in my MBP has gone out twice and I dont want to loose my stuff so i think a back up drive would be a good idea. I guess it would be nice if it worked with time machine but its not that important because if its wired i honestly dont think Ill update it all that often (maybe once a month). Which brings me to drives like the timemachine which are wifi. That sounds really nice to me but I honestly dont know that much about this stuff. If I get a wired one I would like one with firewire so it goes faster. I was hoping to spend $100 or less but if its more I can deal with it. I just want a reliable hard drive. I dont really see any need for any more that 250gb because my hardrive in my MBP is only 250g. Any reccomendations would be really appreciated thanks
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External Hard Drive Reccomendations
- Thread starter bbhs69
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"Reliable" platter-based hard drives do not exist. All are equally likely to fail.
That being said, generally the best way is to buy an enclosure and a drive separately. If you are uncomfortable doing that buy one of the pre-assembled drives that has a 5-year warranty.
That being said, generally the best way is to buy an enclosure and a drive separately. If you are uncomfortable doing that buy one of the pre-assembled drives that has a 5-year warranty.
Most external HDs will still work with Time Machine ... I use a 500GB Western Digital My Passport and backup with TM once a week. I paid $89 for it at Best Buy.
You can even use one that is made for PC ... just re-format it with your Disk Utility (re-formatting is also easy to do)
You can even use one that is made for PC ... just re-format it with your Disk Utility (re-formatting is also easy to do)
OP, you are confusing "Time Machine" (the back-up program) and "Time Capsule" (the wifi router/HDD combo).
That being said, HDDs are becoming a cheap enough commodity that you can buy just about any model and it will work for you to make a back-up...replace this drive in a 2 years or so to keep a continual update cycle going. Hard drives do and WILL fail, so a consistent replacement program is prudent. And with prices as they are, this is not hard to do.
And don't limit yourself to 250GB...go with at least a 500GB model so Time Machine can do its job as designed (multiple backups...allowing you to go back to a date in the past and have your machine appear as it did on that date...or be able to find files you deleted months ago). If you go with a hard drive that is only as larger as your drive, you will lose the ability to recover some of these older file and only essnetially have a backup of what is currently on your system.
500GB...even 1TB drives are below $100 these days. www.buy.com often has great sales on externals. For back-up purposes, it won't matter if it's USB or Firewire...speed of drive access is not essential for Time Machine to do its job.
If you need a new wireless router too, then you might want to consider looking at a Time Capsule which will allow wireless access to your backup routine.
That being said, HDDs are becoming a cheap enough commodity that you can buy just about any model and it will work for you to make a back-up...replace this drive in a 2 years or so to keep a continual update cycle going. Hard drives do and WILL fail, so a consistent replacement program is prudent. And with prices as they are, this is not hard to do.
And don't limit yourself to 250GB...go with at least a 500GB model so Time Machine can do its job as designed (multiple backups...allowing you to go back to a date in the past and have your machine appear as it did on that date...or be able to find files you deleted months ago). If you go with a hard drive that is only as larger as your drive, you will lose the ability to recover some of these older file and only essnetially have a backup of what is currently on your system.
500GB...even 1TB drives are below $100 these days. www.buy.com often has great sales on externals. For back-up purposes, it won't matter if it's USB or Firewire...speed of drive access is not essential for Time Machine to do its job.
If you need a new wireless router too, then you might want to consider looking at a Time Capsule which will allow wireless access to your backup routine.
thank you for all the info. I will go for at least 500gb because i understand what you are saying and that does make sense. But if im understanding correctly i basically cant go wrong? Theirs no god awful brands or anything to avoid. I was thinking western digital or seagate or the time capsule but i am content with my current router so i guess the time capsule isnt exactly what i need.
I have been happy with my WD externals. I haven't had major issues in years. My last 'bad' batch of drives were Maxtor in the late 90s.
Like I said, I look at a HDD purchase as something I will be doing every 2 years or so...at that point, the drives will be bigger and cheaper...so it would behoove me to upgrade anyway...even if I had no issues with my current drives.
Like I said, I look at a HDD purchase as something I will be doing every 2 years or so...at that point, the drives will be bigger and cheaper...so it would behoove me to upgrade anyway...even if I had no issues with my current drives.
I have had early failures with Seagate and LaCie and I'd never buy another. I am quite satisfied with the Iomega 1 Tb which has been in use for 6 months without problems. I can probably pull the LaCie out of it's enclosure and use it in another enclosure since I don't believe the platter is the problem. You have had excellent advice in replacing your drives every two years. This forum is a great place to ask questions. Good luck.
I have read most of the reviews on this item and find it hard to understand the problems that some people have experienced. I own a 750GB Free Agent ultra portable and a 500GB Free Agent ultra portable Pro. They are both fantastic. I have had no problems with either drive and they do exactly what they are intended to do. I also own the USB 3,0 upgrade cable. Regardless of the claims of others who have not used the cables, they are indeed much faster. I cannot tell you if they give the rated USB 3.0 speed, but they are considerably faster.
I have 4 WD Externals, 3 My Books and 1 My Passport. They have been on practically 24/7 for almost 2 years and none of them ever crashed. WD is just really good quality.
Last month, I RMA'ed a 2TB WD Green drive that was in use for less than a year.
Last week, I RMA'ed a 2TB Hitachi that was in use for just about 1 year.
Drives die... Just try to protect yourself from that with redundancy and backups.
Last week, I RMA'ed a 2TB Hitachi that was in use for just about 1 year.
Drives die... Just try to protect yourself from that with redundancy and backups.