I need to back up 50-60GB of data... how long will it take?

[GregUofMN]

Ssia

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

it really depends on how you're backing up.

 

[brand]

It you get a lot of paper and start writing down the 1's and 0's it should only take you forever.

 

[GregUofMN]

I was simply going to copy and paste my Documents, Music and Photos to an external drive. Or I might set up Time Machine. Is it worth it to set up Time Machine to a non-wireless, external harddrive?

Also, is there a ratio of transfering a GB of data using firewire or USB2?

 

[GregUofMN]

It you get a lot of paper and start writing down the 1's and 0's it should only take you forever.

I started doing that because I'm too cheap to buy an external HD, but I gave in and bought one anyway.

 

[darylk]

Your HDD speed, USB connection, hard drive manufacturer will all affect the time it takes.

I can copy about 40 gigs over in 10 mins or something

 

[GoCubsGo]

Your HDD speed, USB connection, hard drive manufacturer will all affect the time it takes.

I can copy about 40 gigs over in 10 mins or something

Really how?
I backed up less than that in more time than that on FW 800 from a 5400 RPM drive to a 7200 RPM drive.

 

[taylorwilsdon]

Really how?
I backed up less than that in more time than that on FW 800 from a 5400 RPM drive to a 7200 RPM drive.

I've actually had similar experiences. I have a 7200RPM drive hooked to a USB adapter connected to my Macbook Pro and it took about 15 minutes to copy roughly 45GB of photos (I do this every few weeks, I HATE time machine).

5400rpm might actually be a bottleneck for Firewire 800, or you may have a problem with your controller. What chipset is the firewire controller?

 

[GregUofMN]

Do you guys use software? Time Machine? Or copy and paste?

 

[0098386]

I just use copy and paste with my USB2 drive. I think I backed up my 300gb drive onto a 500gb drive a while back and that took a long time, can't remember how long. Maybe 4 hours?