Post by: Sooz on November 11, 2009, 02:31:05 PM
It's definitely time for me to relax and enjoy!
Now, on to the computer questions I have (remember, I'm still not "all that" with computers!).
I have an iMac 10.4.11. I use Safari 4.0.3 and Firefox 2.0.
I also want to back up all the files and stuff on my hard drive. Back when I was teaching, I'd use my little 1 gig pin drive as a backup for my school files. Currently, I've been using CD-Rs as backup for my recipes and documents and stuff here at home. My sister, who uses a computer from the Dark Side, uses an external hard drive.
Which backup thingy would suit my needs for the long term? I don't really want to have to pay for any off-site daily uploading (being on a limited income budge now, y'know) and thought one of the three things I mentioned would suit me fine, if the data didn't get compromised over time.
As for the cookies question, within the last couple weeks when I go to my Hotmail account, it says I cannot sign out unless I accept third party cookies or quit the browser. I've been quitting the browser, but am wondering if accepting third party cookies are a bad thing?? Never had to do this before.
Thanks for any help and input, and happy retirement to meeeeeeeeee!
Smiles,
Sooz
Post by: Highmac on November 11, 2009, 03:05:53 PM
Welcome to the world of retirees (if that's the word)
Might see you posting a bit more often now, eh?
Post by: jwboyd on November 11, 2009, 03:14:50 PM
After 40 years in public education, it was definitely time for me to go.
Now, after 16 years of retirement, I'm about to get caught up on the list of things I was going to do "some day." Trouble is, I keep adding things to the list.
As for daily backups, I get along fine with an external firewire drive and SuperDuper.
Let us hear from you often!
Joe
Post by: Highmac on November 11, 2009, 03:25:11 PM
QUOTE(jwboyd @ Nov 11 2009, 09:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Trouble is, I keep adding things to the list.
That's probably not as bad as having someone else adding to the list
Post by: Paddy on November 11, 2009, 04:19:40 PM
Good sources for hard drives and enclosures are:
http://www.newegg.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817347017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152181
Assembled drive: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20Wor...g/MAU4S7500G16/ (500 GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148355
Sooz - which iMac do you have? It makes a difference, as the Intel ones will boot from USB 2.0 or Firewire and the older PPC iMacs will boot from Firewire and possibly less reliably from USB. The drives and enclosures I've recommended have both USB 2.0 and Firewire 400. Firewire also allows you to use Target Disk Mode should you ever need it, and it is faster in real life than USB 2.0. (I don't think you need FW 800, BTW - drives with both FW400 & FW800 tend to be a lot more expensive and I don't think your iMac has FW800)
How big is your current internal drive and how much of it is used at the moment? I've given you info on 500/640 GB drives, but you can always get a bigger one. I wouldn't get a smaller one - they don't get much cheaper and you never know when you'll want more capacity.
SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner can be used for free, but I'd recommend buying SuperDuper as then you can use its automated backup features. Terrific support from the developer, too.
Post by: Sooz on November 11, 2009, 09:17:11 PM
Well, my iMac has a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. The memory is 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. BTW, all of that is mostly Greek to me, except for Hz means Hertz (I remember that from my days of working with the deaf and reading audiograms, etc!).
Paddy, as for how big is my current internal drive and how much of it is used at the moment? You'd best tell me, step by step, how to find this info.
Aside from that, I AM able to use a screwdriver (even cordless ones! with reverse!) AND I am able to plug in a lamp!!!!
While some things I can learn by seeing and copying someone's example or demonstration, I have always realized that I need specific step-by-step (baby steps!) directions to do computer stuff.
Smiles,
Sooz
Post by: Paddy on November 11, 2009, 10:21:13 PM
Post by: krissel on November 12, 2009, 12:18:50 AM
Second the recommendations of an external drive and SuperDuper. Also think that a unit with both FW and USB is a good thing.
Good to see you again at TS!
Post by: Sooz on November 12, 2009, 01:20:55 AM
Thanks, Paddy, for the visual AND the step-by-step --and the links too.
Here is the info:
Capacity 232.57 GB
Available 192.88 GB
Used 39.68 on disk (42,610,946,048 bytes)
So do I have a USB 2.0 and Firewire 400? (btw, in baby sentences, what are these?)
Oh, and BTW, about the question regarding third party cookies...As for the cookies question, within the last couple weeks when I go to my Hotmail account, it says I cannot sign out unless I accept third party cookies or quit the browser. I've been quitting the browser, but am wondering if accepting third party cookies are a bad thing?? Never had to do this before.
Krissel & Joe & Highmac, I am SO GLAD to be the newest retired educator among you!
Smiles,
Sooz
Not having any IEPs or teacher paperwork, I've been working on my cooking... here's what I made tonight for a friend. Yum!
Post by: sandbox on November 12, 2009, 01:22:09 AM
I'm coming in on the middle.
I think if your not inclined to assemble a drive.. that Paddy's Mercury drive is a good choice.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20Wor...g/MAU4S7500G16/
On the Back-up software choice i would download SilverKeeper as Highmac suggested, it's free and as far as I can determine as good or better than anything you can purchase. http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper/
I backup nightly on at least 3 different drives and various partitions within those drives... from three computers and Silverkeeper has worked flawlessly, night after night for years. Before you buy any backup software, give it a try.
Post by: sandbox on November 12, 2009, 01:41:49 AM
The one with the rounded end is a Firewire Port, the other is a USB port....the port that you most likely plugged the thumb-drive (little 1 gig pin drive) into. Firewire is most likely a better choice for Booting off the storage drive, so that would be the kind of backup drive you should be examining. Having both type ports is a plus, as Krissel has mentioned.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on November 12, 2009, 01:06:43 PM
Just run "System Profiler." It's an application in your Utilities folder. And you may be able to run it by a simple click and hold the button down on the "Apple" icon in your menu bar. Now press the "option" key. The top item will change from "About this Mac..." to "System Profiler." This may not work in the version of OS X that you are running, but you can still run the application by double-clicking on its icon when you look in your "Utilities" folder. And it's a good idea to learn where that app is. It will provide you and anyone else with all the information they might ever want to know about your hardware.edited to clarify how to access System Profiler. how to use it remains the same.
BTW, when you get System Profiler running, you should see a window with a list of items (labeled "Contents") on its left side. There should also be a label called "Hardware." If it doesn't already show what you have, click the little triangle deal to 'open' it. In that list will be another label called "FireWire!" In the other side of the window will be a technical description of just what capabilities your FireWire has. There is probably an item called "Maximum Speed:" Hopefully yours reads "Up to 800 MB/sec." Don't worry about all that other stuff for now.
But it certainly won't hurt to explore all the stuff in that left hand list.
Post by: Paddy on November 12, 2009, 01:20:34 PM
Sooz, you can access System Profiler in 10.4.x from Apple->About this Mac and then click on the "more info" button.
And neither of the 2.16GHz iMacs have FW800 - both the 20" and the 24" have FW400.
Post by: Sooz on November 12, 2009, 03:51:38 PM
I have 2 Firewire Ports and 3 USB ports on the back of my computer.
I also followed "Grumpy's" (didn't you used to have a different name besides Grumpy and airbusdirver/xairbusdriver?) suggestion and as Paddy noted, my FireWire says: Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec. I'd love to explore all the stuff under Contents, but it looks like it's written in Ancient Greek to me!
Sandbox, thanks for the images and the recommendation and link for Silverkeeper.
So now my new question is about this FireWire Maximum Speed thingy. Do I need (want) up to 800 Mb/sec ? If so, why, and how do I get it?
lolam, gosh have I ever got a steep learning curve!
Again, MANY thanks to everyone for your time and patience and explanations!
Smiles,
Sooz
Post by: sandbox on November 12, 2009, 05:43:56 PM
QUOTE(Sooz @ Nov 12 2009, 05:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
You guy rock! Thanks so much for the great, explicit, step-by-step directions and images!
I have 2 Firewire Ports and 3 USB ports on the back of my computer.
I also followed "Grumpy's" (didn't you used to have a different name besides Grumpy and airbusdirver/xairbusdriver?) suggestion and as Paddy noted, my FireWire says: Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec. I'd love to explore all the stuff under Contents, but it looks like it's written in Ancient Greek to me!
Sandbox, thanks for the images and the recommendation and link for Silverkeeper.
So now my new question is about this FireWire Maximum Speed thingy. Do I need (want) up to 800 Mb/sec ? If so, why, and how do I get it?
lolam, gosh have I ever got a steep learning curve!
Again, MANY thanks to everyone for your time and patience and explanations!
Smiles,
Sooz
I have 2 Firewire Ports and 3 USB ports on the back of my computer.
I also followed "Grumpy's" (didn't you used to have a different name besides Grumpy and airbusdirver/xairbusdriver?) suggestion and as Paddy noted, my FireWire says: Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec. I'd love to explore all the stuff under Contents, but it looks like it's written in Ancient Greek to me!
Sandbox, thanks for the images and the recommendation and link for Silverkeeper.
So now my new question is about this FireWire Maximum Speed thingy. Do I need (want) up to 800 Mb/sec ? If so, why, and how do I get it?
lolam, gosh have I ever got a steep learning curve!
Again, MANY thanks to everyone for your time and patience and explanations!
Smiles,
Sooz
Your welcome Sooz, and no you don't need to worry yourself about the 400 v 800 speed issue. If you have a rounded Firewire port, that will be 400 which is what most of us use. I have one 800 drive and the others (6) are 400 and do just fine.
If you download the Silverkeeper software, when your hard drive arrives you'll plug it into the wall, and the firewire cable into the FW port and turn on the hard drive.
In the Top menu on your Mac click-on >GO....click-on > Utilities ...click-on Disk Utility....Under the Erase icon you will be able to format the drive for Mac Extended format for example, and you will be able to name the drive My-FW-drive??
One of my computers is named Edith, the backup drive is Bunker, the partitions are named after the actors in the program.
After you format the drive, you can then open Silverkeeper and create a SET, the name of the computer you are using is the SOURCE the new hard drive is the DESTINATION and then you'll click GO to and that's it. if you want to schedule a backup automatically you can click-on >Schedule > set the time >and the Set that you have created and it will back-up whenever you want it too.
When you download the application it will come with a full book of instructions that you can access in the Help file when the application is open.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on November 12, 2009, 05:50:39 PM
QUOTE
Do I need (want) up to 800 Mb/sec ? If so, why, and how do I get it?
We always want more of everything[/b!!! But, we don't always really need everything we want.
With most technical things, the higher the number, the better. In this case, FW800 is supposed to be twice as fast as FW400. But FireWire is becoming more and more rare, even on Macs. And it is already nearly extinct on the PC side. Same number "theory" goes for USB. 2.0 is supposed to be twice as good as 1.whatever.As with the historical "My CPU is faster than yours" marketing strategy, what you read is not always true.
I know, it's hard to believe, but that's the way it is...Now, to your real question. Since you don't have FireWire800, the only realistic option would be to get a different iMac! Not exactly worth the expense just to double a speed that you'll use possibly 5% of the time. FireWire400 is actually just as fast (and sometimes even faster!) than USB2.0 which you also probably have (it's in that System Profiler info, below where you saw "FireWire", down where it says "USB"
The reasons why FW400 can be faster than USB2 are not really too important for what you'll probably be doing. Basically, FW will not slow down or overwork your computers 'brain' the way USB does. So, what we're all recommending is an external 'bare' hard drive with a separate enclosure from places like Newwegg or OWC. Just be sure it at least has FireWire400 capabilities, anything else is 'gravy' right now.
Your main choices will be the brand of hard drive. You may get positive recommendations for almost every brand, but I usually enquire here and basically look for the brand with the longest warranty. Your hard drive is one of the last mechanical devices in any computer. Mechanical devices wear out. Your hard drive will eventually fail. That's why you absolutely MUST continually and regularly make backups, preferably on two different devices. "Pin" drives simply are way too small. CDs/DVDs are simply way too slow to create.
The other choice you have to make is what kind of enclosure to get. You already know to get one with FW400 and whatever else it has (USB probably, SATA will be nice, also), the descriptions will usually tell you what it has right up front. So the real choice is whether or not you want a fan cooled box or not. Some fans can be noisy, a very cheap price usually means a noisy fan. Of course, a fanless box cannot have any fan noise, no matter how cheap it is! But I am paranoid and like to know there is a fan in there so that even if my cat leaves a lot of 'hair gifts' around, it can still be blowing air around. Another advantage is that fan models can be laid flat on a desk and you can then stack other things on it. Of course, if desk space is really tight, you can usually stand the box on one side or another so it has a smaller area covered on the desk top.
Take some time looking at what's available, pick out a few models, and post your list here. No one will laugh at you even if your choice is ridiculous!
Most of the time, people only "laugh," in print, at me! That's why my screen name is "Grumpy!" 
But you're bound to get some good recommendations from the folks here who simply want you to have the best you can afford.
Post by: Paddy on November 12, 2009, 06:50:38 PM
QUOTE
You already know to get one with FW400 and whatever else it has (USB probably, SATA will be nice, also),
I'm assuming you meant "eSATA" there, Jim? eSATA is external SATA and Apple does not support it, so I wouldn't bother with it at this point. There is no indication they ever will support it either - they seem to have gone the FireWire route, even if nobody else is these days. I have an eSATA PCI-Express card in my Mac Pro, as I have one external drive with eSATA and it's lovely - except it's not bootable and the darn card is NOT supported in Snow Leopard. Grrr...how was I to anticipate that last year when I bought it? I'm not buying a new eSATA card when I finally get around to installing SL. Just have to use the USB 2.0 instead. It's not my main external backup anyway.
As for the fan/fanless debate - I have 3 external drives without fans and they're all in solidly built aluminum cases which seem to work very well for heat dissipation. One of them is going on 5 years old now, at least. Which is why one of my recommendations is for the Macally enclosure. Plus it looks like a little Mac Pro.
I wouldn't recommend a plastic case with no fans though...Also, all of my drives have stands and are intended to stand up on the long side - I've got a wooden platform on top of my MacPro (which is in the corner beside my desk and more or less out of sight) and they sit there, all lined up, along with the cable modem and the Airport Extreme.As for drives - as Jim says, the longer warranties are good, but do look at the reviews for the various models at NewEgg, even if you don't actually order the drive there. I try to aim for the ones with the higher approval ratings from users - the greatest percentage of 4 and 5 stars and the fewest one and two star ratings (which often indicate DOA drives or drives that died quickly). Things can shift quickly as the manufacturers come out with new models. I used to swear by Seagate - they offered 5 year warranties and seemed rock solid. Not any more - there are a lot of problems with their recent drives and I've been buying Hitachi and Western Digital (the "Black" line).
If you can decide on a capacity (given your current usage, 500 GB should be plenty, and is a good price vs capacity option) then we can make specific suggestions.
BTW - if you upgrade your OS to 10.6 (might as well, if you're interested) you can use Time Machine for incremental backups too. You could partition a backup drive to do both a cloned backup (still think SD is better than Silverkeeper, SB, from what I've read...) and the TimeMachine backup, which is nice if you want to go back to something you saved a couple of hours ago and then overwrote with more changes. You can't do a restore by cloning (copying) like you can with SuperDuper, but TimeMachine allows you to do a restore, using your installation disks.
Post by: sandbox on November 12, 2009, 07:23:52 PM
QUOTE
(still think SD is better than Silverkeeper, SB, from what I've read...)
please show me the review, and if you have the time try it for yourself....click the little arrow on the app window and watch your files being loaded...that in itself is an education worth it weight in virtual gold.
I worked with the Beta program... so I have spent a lot of time on this issue. I had an issue with S D if you recall that the company couldn't resolve...I contacted Lacie and SilverKeeper resolved the issue that SD had created. I wish I could remember the details now, but I'm on the way out the door....
Post by: Xairbusdriver on November 12, 2009, 07:29:25 PM
QUOTE
I'm assuming you meant "eSATA" there, Jim? eSATA is external SATA and Apple does not support it, so I wouldn't bother with it at this point. There is no indication they ever will support it either
I knew about the "e" part! 
But I was hoping Apple would get on board, eventually. My bad! Again?! 
Follow Paddy's advice, except when I disagree with her, then, just ignore mine!
Post by: kcourt on November 12, 2009, 09:55:34 PM
Happy Retirement - I have been retired since 1988 - I can do what I want and don't have to ask anyone...Kathy
Post by: Jack W on November 13, 2009, 07:38:05 AM
Lovin' it!
And since April don't have to clear anything with anyone else.
Lovin' it!
Just me and the wildlife (birds, chipmunks, groundhogs, wild turkeys, and eagles and hawks flying overhead).
Lovin' it!
- Jack
P.S. Hey, how did we get way off topic here?
Oooops
Post by: Sooz on November 14, 2009, 12:21:00 AM
QUOTE(kcourt @ Nov 13 2009, 03:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Sooz, Happy Retirement - I have been retired since 1988 - I can do what I want and don't have to ask anyone...Kathy
Hi, Kathy,Thanks for the good wishes! I love that every day is a weekend. Gosh, but education has changed, hasn't it?Glad to hear you have enjoyed retirement since 1988 ! Smiles,Sooz Happy Retirement - I have been retired since 1988 - I can do what I want and don't have to ask anyone...Kathy QUOTE(Jack W @ Nov 13 2009, 01:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Ditto Kathy, I retired in '96.Lovin' it!And since April don't have to clear anything with anyone else.Lovin' it!Just me and the wildlife (birds, chipmunks, groundhogs, wild turkeys, and eagles and hawks flying overhead).Lovin' it!- JackP.S. Hey, how did we get way off topic here?Oooops
Off topic is okay now and then, right?? Jack, glad to "meet" another retiree! I love retirement!!! People ask me "But what do you DO all day?" My answer: "Whatever the day brings." Smiles,Sooz