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Author Topic: External HD ? Pin drive? CD-R ? 3rd party cookies?  (Read 5222 times)

Offline Xairbusdriver

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External HD ? Pin drive? CD-R ? 3rd party cookies?
« Reply #15 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!!! yes.gif

But, we don't always really need everything we want. Thinking.gif 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. eek2.gif 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" wink.gif

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. wink.gif

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! nono.gif laughhard.gif Most of the time, people only "laugh," in print, at me! That's why my screen name is "Grumpy!" rofl.gif But you're bound to get some good recommendations from the folks here who simply want you to have the best you can afford. wink.gif
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Offline Paddy

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External HD ? Pin drive? CD-R ? 3rd party cookies?
« Reply #16 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. wink.gif 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.

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Offline sandbox

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« Reply #17 on: November 12, 2009, 07:23:52 PM »
Paddy said:
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. wink.gif

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....
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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« Reply #18 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
wallbash.gif I knew about the "e" part! blush-anim-cl.gif But I was hoping Apple would get on board, eventually. My bad! Again?! fool.gif Follow Paddy's advice, except when I disagree with her, then, just ignore mine! rofl.gif
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Offline kcourt

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« Reply #19 on: November 12, 2009, 09:55:34 PM »
Sooz,

 cheer.gif  Happy Retirement - I have been retired since 1988 - I can do what I want and don't have to ask anyone...

Kathy flower-smilie.gif
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Live simply,
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Offline Jack W

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« Reply #20 on: November 13, 2009, 07:38:05 AM »
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!

- Jack

P.S. Hey, how did we get way off topic here?

Oooops
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 07:38:56 AM by Jack W »
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Offline Sooz

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« Reply #21 on: November 14, 2009, 12:21:00 AM »
QUOTE(kcourt @ Nov 13 2009, 03:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Sooz, cheer.gif  Happy Retirement - I have been retired since 1988 - I can do what I want and don't have to ask anyone...Kathy flower-smilie.gif
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
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
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