Im a newbie who's unfamiliar with macs and time machine. I have around 500GB of raw video on an old PC hard drive precious to me (family stuff). I recently got a MBPwith a 320 GB HDD. I appreciate that time machine copies your internal HDD to an external drive but what if i want to store large amounts of video too? Was i daft not buying a bigger internal HDD. Can i partition one big external drive to store video and also work with time machine or, is a 2TB Time capsule a solution. Just totally lost as to best solution. Help, my brain hurts and i need suggestions
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Suggestions wanted for configuring storage/backup
- Thread starter peacefulrob
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Get a 2TB external HD and partition it for TM and videos. If they are very important, it's better to have them in at least two HDs in case of HD failure so investing on 2 2TB HDs ain't a bad idea
"Help, my brain hurts and i need suggestions"
Suggestion #1:
DON'T buy a Time Capsule. The design has poor ventilation and the unit (even the re-designed ones) are not able to adequately handle internal heat build-up. These things have a habit of dying -- just search these boards to see proof.
Suggestion #2a:
Get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=sata+dock+usb&x=0&y=0
(various similar items shown)
Suggestion #2b:
Get one or more "bare" hard drives from the supplier of your choice. Newegg.com seems good. You can also check dealmac.com for daily hard drive bargains.
Suggestion #2c:
Download CarbonCopyCloner. This is FREE backup/cloning software that will do far better for you than will Time Machine.
If you buy a couple of hard drives, you can set one up to become a "bootable clone" of your internal drive, using the dock (you can boot from the dock). Use another as an archive of all your older videos.
A usb/sata dock and 2 bare 1tb hard drives can probably be bought for less than $150, and will give you a better overall backup/archive/emergency solution than will a Time Capsule and Time Machine.
Suggestion #1:
DON'T buy a Time Capsule. The design has poor ventilation and the unit (even the re-designed ones) are not able to adequately handle internal heat build-up. These things have a habit of dying -- just search these boards to see proof.
Suggestion #2a:
Get one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=sata+dock+usb&x=0&y=0
(various similar items shown)
Suggestion #2b:
Get one or more "bare" hard drives from the supplier of your choice. Newegg.com seems good. You can also check dealmac.com for daily hard drive bargains.
Suggestion #2c:
Download CarbonCopyCloner. This is FREE backup/cloning software that will do far better for you than will Time Machine.
If you buy a couple of hard drives, you can set one up to become a "bootable clone" of your internal drive, using the dock (you can boot from the dock). Use another as an archive of all your older videos.
A usb/sata dock and 2 bare 1tb hard drives can probably be bought for less than $150, and will give you a better overall backup/archive/emergency solution than will a Time Capsule and Time Machine.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I can give you even more reason not to buy one.
This I can't agree with. If your data is important to you (I assume it is if you're backing up) then spending the extra dough on good drives with a god track record seems like a valuable investment. I'm not talking enterprise quality or anything as the only time they are spinning up is during the backup and then they are being put away, but still quality counts.
This would be my suggestion. But if the data really is irreplaceable and important, you may want to back it up twice and keep one drive off site in case of water or fire damage.
The OP needs both an external storage solution (500GB of files doesn't fit on his 320GB internal drive) and a backup solution (precious files).
Considering storage requirements:
If only occasional access to the media is needed with a MBP, an external attached drive works fine. But for frequent access, with a portable system, it's like having a ball and chain. Assuming Internet access via wireless with the router under the OP's control, a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or a computer acting as a file server (an inexpensive PC with a large hard drive would do) turns the chain into a wireless link.
Considering backup:
TimeMachine is nice in it requires no thought after setup, however it's a PITA with a MBP unless the backup is on a NAS or server because TimeMachine really wants to be running all the time.
The external storage and the MBP need to be cloned to backup drives (at least two sets), which should be stored offsite to protect against theft, fire, or natural disaster.
Happiest Solution:
would be a NAS capable of hosting TimeMachine backups, plus three additional drives (kept offsite), two to clone the NAS and one to clone the MBP. Not inexpensive, but secure.
Considering storage requirements:
If only occasional access to the media is needed with a MBP, an external attached drive works fine. But for frequent access, with a portable system, it's like having a ball and chain. Assuming Internet access via wireless with the router under the OP's control, a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or a computer acting as a file server (an inexpensive PC with a large hard drive would do) turns the chain into a wireless link.
Considering backup:
TimeMachine is nice in it requires no thought after setup, however it's a PITA with a MBP unless the backup is on a NAS or server because TimeMachine really wants to be running all the time.
The external storage and the MBP need to be cloned to backup drives (at least two sets), which should be stored offsite to protect against theft, fire, or natural disaster.
Happiest Solution:
would be a NAS capable of hosting TimeMachine backups, plus three additional drives (kept offsite), two to clone the NAS and one to clone the MBP. Not inexpensive, but secure.