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General discussion

back up hard drive options

May 27, 2009 6:41AM PDT

I need to get some sort of back up, and I'm confused. I've got it narrowed down to a Western Digital Passport, but can't decide on the size. I have the small 2GB Mac, and I don't really need very much space right now, but am looking at the future.
So, my question is, should I go with the smaller, 320GB one for $90, or go whole hog and get the new 1TB(TB? who knew)for $120? Are they actually like a interior HD where you can go in and delete files and add new ones or do you just dump stuff in there and have no ability to maneuver things?
And, while I'm at it, can I put Mac files and PC files on the same one, or should I get two smaller ones, one for each.
All of this, keeping in mind that I'm broke.
Thanks

Discussion is locked

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What is a "small 2GB Mac"?
May 27, 2009 10:10AM PDT

On any fairly new Mac, the 2GB would usually be an indication of the RAM (Memory) size and has nothing to do with the size of the the Hard Drive.
The hard drive is likely to be anywhere from 80GB to 500GB but, alas, you have not told us what sort of Mac you have.

As for the HD size, stump up the cash and go for the 1TB, three times the size for an extra $30, go for it.
USB or Firewire, either connection will work well if you have a recent Mac, but Firewire is the better choice if your Mac is older.

If you are running OS 10.5.x, you have the choice of using the built-in backup software called Time Machine. It's completely automatic and easy to use.

Yes, you can put Mac and PC files on the same drive but bear in mind that the PC cannot read a Mac formatted disk(HFS+(Journaled) and the Mac cannot write to a PC formatted disk (NTFS) without additional software. These HD's come formatted so that both machines can use them but the format used is notorious for making files just go away!.

If you would like to provide more details about your Mac, we can look at options from there

P

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Its the MacBook,
May 27, 2009 10:20AM PDT

but I can't find the info you want. All it says is Processor 2.4 GHz, but I don't think that's it.

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Take a look under
May 27, 2009 9:57PM PDT

the Apple at the top left of the screen.
You will see "About this Mac"
Click it
Then click "More Info" in the small window that pops up.
There you will find ALL the information about your MacBook.

You will find your hard drive size under Serial-ATA in the left hand column.
The new MacBooks have hard drives ranging from 160GB to 250GB

P

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back up hard drive options
May 28, 2009 4:00AM PDT

wow, there's a lot of info in there...none of which I understand. It says 149.05 at one place and 148.73 at another, and says available 125.32.

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OK, that means
May 28, 2009 9:24AM PDT

that the drive is probably a 160GB drive, the numbers go lower once they are formatted but that's another story.

Your backup drive should be at least twice the size of the internal one.

What version of OS X are you using? You will find that info by choosing About this Mac and looking at the window that pops up. It's directly under the words Mac OS X.

P

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hard drive
May 28, 2009 11:20AM PDT

that one's easy: 10.5.6

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Great
May 28, 2009 9:52PM PDT

Now get yourself one of the drives that you mentioned earlier, preferably something bigger than 300GB - 500GB would be fine, format it using Disk Utility as Mac OS X HFS+(Journaled) and use it as your TIme Machine backup.

Time Machine is easy and quick spectacular. Use it once to recover a missing file and you will be a convert for life.

P

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thank you!
Sep 27, 2011 5:33AM PDT

I had the same question.

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using one disk to backup oc and mac
Jun 19, 2009 11:43AM PDT

I am not entirely clear about how to use a single ext. HD to backup PC and mac. I have a Macbook Pro 2.2 Ghz running OS X 10.5.7 and XP Pro. If a PC cannot read an HFS disk I guess that would be out. If it's NTFS what would i sue so that MAc can read it? and does it work just as well for the Mac? If it's NTFS can I also use it to store media for Final Cut?

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One disk, two machines
Jun 19, 2009 12:22PM PDT

The Mac can read, but cannot write, an NTFS formatted disk
A Winbox cannot read or write an HFS+(journaled) disk.

However, there are pieces of software that will allow the Winbox to read HFS+ and there is software that allows the Mac to read NTFS (Paragon NTFS for Mac springs to mind)

Problem here is that Time Machine needs HFS+ to work.

One possibility is to get a LARGE disk, partition it in two, format one partition as NTFS (Using the Winbox to format it) and the other partition as HFS+(Journaled) using OS X Disk Utility.

That should do you

P

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You can do anything that you want with the data
May 29, 2009 4:49AM PDT

You also asked if you can work with the data on an external hard drive or if you "just dump stuff in there and have no ability to maneuver things?" Rest assured that you can do anything that you like with the data on a hard drive that is connected via USB or FireWire. The drive will show up on your desktop and in the Finder right next to the Macintosh HD and you will be able to address it just like you address your internal drive. This makes it easy to use an external drive for easy backups or for storage of very large video files, for example. Enjoy!
Dave

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hard drive back up
May 29, 2009 8:18AM PDT

Thanks, guys. I learned stuff I wanted to know and a lot more, as well. Learning's cool!

Bonnie

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Hard Drive Back Up
Feb 11, 2012 9:41PM PST
I have a 250GB Macbook Pro running lion and I wanted to know what size and what type of back-up hard drive I should get. Im not looking to spend a ton of money.
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Why hijack a 3 year old thread
Feb 11, 2012 10:01PM PST

for this question?
Had you read the thread you would have had your answer but, as you apparently didn't, then I would suggest you go with a USB external drive, Seagate or Western Digital, with a capacity of 1TB.
That will last you for a long time.