When to buy an iMac?

[Mayo]

Oh, the external drive cannot boot? That's a bummer... I didn't read all the info but if that is the only problem then it can still be used to backup data.

It's just another example of why I stick with OWC drives and enclosures. They may be somewhat more expensive but They Work...

[Xairbusdriver]

The key to buying a reliable drive is keeping up on who has just bought whom and what is happening to the previous warranties. Then there is the reliable little company being bought up buy the unreliable bigger one. I usually don't expect the unreliable products to get any better... That kind of info is usually hard to get unless you have a friend or two who work on computers for a living, even if they are PCs. They will usually be the first to see failure rates increasing. But that info is 'out there' if one searches enough. User experiences are almost always just anecdotal and sometimes aren't a good measure of a brands overall reliability. YMMV.

It's also a good idea to find out exactly what brand any company is selling, there are actually not that many manufacturers and there may be a dozen 'brands' selling the same drive with their own name on it. That's when the company's reputation and quality of support becomes so important. OWC is an excellent example. While they don't make hard drives, they do a lot of testing and research to be sure that what they sell is reliable (as well as priced competitively). Others may not be so good at that, even if they advertise a lot. "It's usually cheaper and faster to advertise than improve quality."

Most here highly recommend buying the drive and the enclosure separately, even if from the same vender. The 'assembly' usually involves no more than two sets of four screws and plugging a male connector into a female (sometimes two pairs of cables, neither of which can be connected to the wrong one. Just about any one who can operate a screw driver and read can do the job. It usually takes less time than unpacking a new Mac!

[krissel]

QUOTE(sandbox @ Jul 15 2009, 07:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Kris I have a new WD http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WD64...0620&sr=8-2
drive purchased in January that has worked flawlessly, is this a Leopard Issue?

I have the very same drive in a USB/eSATA case. At the moment I am only using it for file storage. I intend to clone a 10.5.7 on it and see if it boots. It may be that some cases will boot these drives but WD doesn't want to get into which will and which won't so they give a blanket statement of no support.

Will let you know if the OS boots.  

[Paddy]

SB/Kris - the DRIVE isn't the problem - it's the ENCLOSURES used by Western Digital!!

See: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/ph...hp?p_faqid=1787 as well. I know - their terminology is NOT very accurate, but I'm 99.9% sure that they were not referring to using OTHER people's enclosures - and of course, they're not going to provide support if you are using someone else's enclosure, since someone else's enclosure may be the reason you need the support in the first place. The quote I found at the CCC forums regarding the actual cause of the problem indicates that it is the controller for the CASE that WD are using. Remember how we always used to say (and sometimes still say) "make sure you get a FW drive with the Oxford chipset"? - that's the controller. If it's not compatible, you're SOL. In this particular case (pardon the pun) WD seem to have managed to create a controller that doesn't work reliably with ANY computer. (See the negative reviews at Amazon for the MyBook Studio...)

I have a number of Western Digital drives - and several from that series (500 GB, not 640) and they're very good and work fine as cloned boot drives - as internal drives, or externals in 3rd party cases. And they certainly don't care if you're using an Intel Mac, a PPC or Windows (as long as you've got it configured so Windows can see it!).

The quote I posted about the Mac ROM leads one to believe that this problem is not OS-specific, but rather of Western Digital's own making. The Mac ROM goes looking for a device at the normal address and finds WD's controller for its tools instead - on the MyBook Studio. And since the warning about not using it for a startup drive applies to all platforms, one has to assume that they've messed this up for everyone.

Even if you can get it to boot, apparently it can't be counted on as a reliable boot drive. As far as I'm concerned, if a cloned external drive isn't reliable, then what good is it??

Raven, I'd dissect the thing - take the drive out and stick it in a new case. Even if it voids the warranty. Your only other choice is to use it for data backup only. The case/controller is the problem - not the drive itself. A good FW/USB 2/eSATA case can be had for around $50:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?...N82E16817347017

I have this one myself. It gets very good reviews on the whole at NewEgg, though some of the negative comments aren't entirely accurate - it's not got a plastic connector panel (it's aluminum) and it hasn't been noisy at all for me.

[Raven]

Well, thanks again!
As a low intermediate (skier term!) Mac user, I'm always amazed and challenged how a simple thing can get so complicated.
I thought now I have a safe secure backup and archive EHD for my pending iMac. Now we are talking about new enclosures. You folks speak of it so easily, and I am totally confused. Again! :-)
I'll have to digest this some more. How to stay current with the technology and keep it working is rather mind boggling. I run several businesses and there are only so many hours a day. I think I will invent the 8th day of the week, patent it, and live in comfort forever! ;-)

Back later.

[Paddy]

QUOTE

I think I will invent the 8th day of the week, patent it, and live in comfort forever!

Let me know when you do - I'll be first in line to buy one.

Raven, putting a drive in a new external enclosure is really easy - all you'll need is a Phillips screw driver and about 5 or ten minutes (if that - and probably only that if you drop the screws and spend time looking for them on the floor!) At any rate, you can still use the existing MyBook as is for data backup - you just cannot rely on it as a bootable clone. Having a bootable clone is the easiest way to get up and running if you have a total failure of your main HD; it gives you the option of being able to continue working while you go about replacing the dead drive. Or if you have major corruption/problems in the middle of a big project and no time to trouble shoot - you can use the cloned external drive until you have time. Having your data (photos, documents etc.) backed up to an external drive is a good second-best alternative and certainly MUCH better than nothing at all; if you do have a total internal HD failure, you know you still have all those irreplaceable files. However, until you get a new drive and install it and all your software, you're not going to be up and running again.

[Xairbusdriver]

When you get an external drive 'package,' you'll be getting two essential items. The drive itself (from one of about three major companies, but with hundreds of brand names stuck on them) and a controller board. The board connects the drive to the plug in the enclosure to the cable on the drive. One cable out (of the board), one cable out of the drive. The cables connect only one way, you'd really have to work over-time to screw it up! There is usually another cable, for power, fewer wires, same configuration, very, very difficult to make an incorrect connection, not to mention nearly physically impossible.

The point is, other than the reliability of the hard drive (which becomes fairly obvious by the length of the warranty) the most important factor is the design and the chips on that controller board! Some are much cheaper than others. Guess which ones are more reliable? I think the current standard is Oxford 911 chipset. Without knowing what's inside the box (package) you buy, you have no real way to know if you're getting your moneys worth. But, since it is so simple to buy these two basic parts separately, there is no point in not taking advantage of ability to have the best.

Lacie, while it was a separate company had developed quite a good reputation. However, some where along the line, it became just part of a larger group and lost the ability to control its quality. Unfortunately, these kinds of groupings happen without much wide-spread public notice. The only way to stay informed is to frequent a good tech forum, like TS (although there aren't many "like" TS out there!)