USB 2.0 external HD for '09 MBP

[andy9l]

I naively bought a Seagate Backup Plus drive 'for Mac' a few months ago to use as a time machine for a 2009 MBP.

It doesn't work. If I get it to be recognised at all, it lasts a few minutes before it ejects itself. Same on my 2010 iMac. It does work perfectly, however, on a 2012 Retina MBP so it's not dead. I'm assuming this is a USB 3 issue.

What USB 2.0 drives would you recommend?

I tend to go to Samsung for this stuff, but thought I'd check. We only need 500-1000GB storage.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
[[ It doesn't work. If I get it to be recognised at all, it lasts a few minutes before it ejects itself. Same on my 2010 iMac. It does work perfectly, however, on a 2012 Retina MBP so it's not dead. I'm assuming this is a USB 3 issue. ]]

This is a "bus-powered" drive (i.e., does not use an external "power block"), is this correct?

If so, it's -possible- that the older MacBook doesn't supply quite enough bus power to "keep the drive up and running".

By the way, you don't absolutely need "USB2" drives on the older MacBook. USB3 is backward-compatible.

A thought:
Do you need just "backup" for the older Macbook, or do you want "portability" with the drive, as well?

If you -don't need- portability, you might consider a USB3/SATA docking station, and pair that with a "bare drive" for a "desktop backup" solution. You can get a dock for not a lot of money, and any 2.5" or 3.5" SATA drive can go into it.

 

[andy9l]

This is a "bus-powered" drive (i.e., does not use an external "power block"), is this correct?

If so, it's -possible- that the older MacBook doesn't supply quite enough bus power to "keep the drive up and running".

By the way, you don't absolutely need "USB2" drives on the older MacBook. USB3 is backward-compatible.

A thought:
Do you need just "backup" for the older Macbook, or do you want "portability" with the drive, as well?

If you -don't need- portability, you might consider a USB3/SATA docking station, and pair that with a "bare drive" for a "desktop backup" solution. You can get a dock for not a lot of money, and any 2.5" or 3.5" SATA drive can go into it.

It is indeed, and I had kinda guessed it was related to the power supplied from the older MPB/iMac causing the issues. I think you're right. It's the same on a 2011 Dell XPS PC too, annoyingly.

Having done some research, USB 3.0 seems particularly problematic with Macs so I am somewhat sceptical.

I don't necessarily need a portable drive - they just seem to be the cheapest and easiest to find. The drive I use for my iMac is actually the original HD from the MBP in a cheap SATA/USB enclosure. If I had another HD lying around I'd do the same. I just need a reliable external drive for a MBP/iMac, of about 500-1000GB.

Could you explain/post an example of this 'docking' solution? Apologies - computing peripherals are not one of my strong points.

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ Could you explain/post an example of this 'docking' solution? Apologies - computing peripherals are not one of my strong points. ]]

Go to amazon.com and enter "usb3 sata dock" into the search box.
You'll see many hits.

Most of these can accept both 2.5" and 3.5" "bare" drives. Just plug the drive into the connector, and connect it to the Mac.

With USB3, you should look for a drive that supports UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol). This enables it to run at the fastest speed possible over USB3. It will still work fine with USB2.

Here's an example:
http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Free-Ina...464995&sr=8-1&keywords=inateck+usb3+sata+dock
(no financial interest)

 

[andy9l]

Thanks buddy. I'll have a look when I get some time!

What are the real-world benefits of a docking station over a portable USB drive?