Good External HD

[JordanLB23]

need to buy one to backup my stuf fon my mbp.

whats a good size to buy? and how do i back it up? just drag the files over to the external hd?

what brand/how much should i be spenidng? hansk

 

[spinnerlys]

http://guides.macrumors.com/External_Hard_Drives

Size depends on your usage and how many files you have and how big the files are.

Time Machine is a good backup solution.

http://guides.macrumors.com/Drives_and_Filesystems

You also have to format the external HDD with Mac OS Extended (HFS+) via Disk Utility to use it with your Mac.

MRoogle is a good tool to search these forums, and your question gets asked weekly, if not more.

Also have a look at the following links, as the information presented there might be helpful in your future endeavours into Mac OS X and could clear up initial confusion and may even prevent harm to your system or your files.

 

[JordanLB23]

how do i format it? and which 1 should i buy?

and i tried using time machine but it says there is no airport wireless service or w.e

 

[spinnerlys]

how do i format it?

Applications / Utilities / Disk Utility as written before - link to a guide

and which 1 should i buy?

I don't know, is the 2TB HDD enough or might a 250GB HDD suffice? You haven't stated your needs.

and i tried using time machine but it says there is no airport wireless service

TM works without a wireless connection.
Mac 10 TM article
found via

or w.e

WHAT?

 

[JordanLB23]

i can only use TM with an external HD?

 

[spinnerlys]

i can only use TM with an external HD?

No, a Mac Pro has several bays for other internal HDDs which you can use for TM.

You can also decide to partition one internal HDD of any Mac to make one partition for TM, but that would defeat one major purpose of the TM, a back up and protection in case HDD failure.

So therefore it is advised to use an external HDD as a TM.

 

[JordanLB23]

when i try to use tm it wants me to do some airport wirless thing

 

[JordanLB23]

250GB HDD can work, maybe even less

 

[spinnerlys]

when i try to use tm it wants me to do some airport wirless thing

If you want help with that, you have to be more specific about your Mac setup and the steps you take.

TM does not work, if you don't have any external HDD connected or an extra partition. Maybe you have pressed the SET UP TIME CAPSULE button, and it scans for any HDD which is connected to your wireless network.

 

[JordanLB23]

I bought a WD

My passport essential ultra portable HD

250 GB USB 2.0 how do i set it up?

 

[spinnerlys]

I bought a WD

My passport essential ultra portable HD

250 GB USB 2.0 how do i set it up?

You connect the HDD via USB to you Mac, and if you haven't done anything with it yet, Mac OS X asks you if you want to use the HDD as TM. It may have to format it though, so all data will be erased from it.

If that message does not come up, make sure the HDD is formatted with Mac OS Extended (HFS+) via Disk Utility or the Get Info window in Finder and then go to System Preferences > Time Machine and select the external HDD to be used as TM.


Mac 101: Time Machine

BTW, I already linked you to this article, which describes the steps in detail. Haven't you read it yet?

 

[JordanLB23]

when you say: It may have to format it though, so all data will be erased from it.

does it mean erase all the data on my mbp or the external HD?

sorry i never done this before. il give it a shot later tonight. thanks

 

[spinnerlys]

when you say: It may have to format it though, so all data will be erased from it.

does it mean erase all the data on my mbp or the external HD?

sorry i never done this before. il give it a shot later tonight. thanks

Only the data on the HDD you select to format will be erased, so if you have 22 HDDs connected to your MacBook Pro, which also has an HDD inside, and you go to Disk utility and select HDD #17 to be formatted, only HDD #17 will be formatted and the contents erased. All the other 21 external HDDs and the MBP's internal HDD will stay untouched.

 

[JordanLB23]

it's backing up atm

but can i choose what files to back up etc?

 

[spinnerlys]

it's backing up atm

but can i choose what files to back up etc?

You can only exclude, but not include.

from Mac 101: Time Machine:

Selecting items to exclude from the back up

In Time Machine preferences (in System Preferences) you can click the Options button to adjust settings. A sheet similar to this appears when you click Options:

This sheet allows you to exclude files, folders, or entire volumes from being backed up. You might want to do this to avoid filling up your backup disk.

Tip: If you regularly modify a very large file (greater than 1 GB, for example), you might want to add the file to the "Do not back up" list. Time Machine backs up modified files, regardless of how much or how little the file changed from the previous backup.

The "Warn when old backups are deleted" option tells Time Machine warn you when older backups are removed from your backup disk to make space for more recent backups.


Mac 101: Time Machine is a good guide.

 

[JordanLB23]

my music and videos dont seem to be backed up

and how do iuse to the files that are on the external hd? just plug it in again?

nvm it is. so i just drag the time machine backup to the trashcan to eject it?