[zman2005]

My 60gb hard drive isn't enough for me. I am going to go out and get an external hard drive. I figure I would ask everyone here instead of the masterminds at compusa.

Two main questions I have is....Which company/size/style works best and fastest?

Secondly, Do I want to connect it via the firewall for faster transfers or USB?
I want it to be very quick so that when I click on a song to listen to it doesn't take a while to play.

I guess I have three questions b/c this just arose in my mind, How should I set it up so my computer is still quick. Should I put all my music/videos pictures there? or big applications? How to I back up all the content in case of a crash? I dono really how I should approach this. Thanks for all the help in advance.

[Jasoco]

A) Are you me? Because I just replaced my 60GB external HD because it was too small.

B) It's FireWire.

C) The way I did it because I am on a mini is I installed everything on it. The OS and apps and all my files. The external HD is faster than the internal so I may be able to fix the slowness of my mini like this. Not sure yet.

I got a LaCie 250GB Porsche FireWire 400 HD. I prefer FireWire. I don't know what USB 2.0 would be like. It was a little over $200 after shipping.
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10384
The USB version:
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10468

HD's are so cheap nowadays I'd get a second one for backing up and use the first for files. That's what I plan to do. Plus, they look so cool stacked on top of each other.

[Luca]

USB 2.0 cases are cheaper and compatible with more PCs (since almost every PC has USB 2.0, and even more have at least USB 1.0, but not a ton have Firewire). But those are the only advantages. Firewire is faster, has better Mac support, and doesn't have the processor overhead that USB 2.0 does.

LaCie's Porsche line is considered kind of cheap by some, but they're also about the least expensive pre-built external drives you can get. It's slightly cheaper to roll your own external by just buying a Firewire case and a bare hard drive. It's really, really easy to do, and you'll save a good $30-$50.

A bare 250 GB hard drive is $120 these days. An empty Firewire enclosure is $40. So the $190 LaCie 250 GB Firewire is only $30 more expensive.

[EmC]

I got a one of these for my birthday. I love it. I slammed a 120GB drive in it from an older broke-ass computer. It matches my powerbook. I even slapped one of those whit apple stickers that I got when I purchased my PB onto it.


I have used as both a USB 2.0 and Firewire 400 drive. Notice no real speed difference between the two.

They also make a Firewire 800/400/USB 2.0 version that cost $30 more. I don't know of the difference will help though.

EDIT: I don't think any pictures show it, but it has a bright blue led that shines out of the front grill. It got annoying, BUT you can unplug it from the main board when installing the drive in it.

[greenhybrid]

I got those stickers with my Powerbook. Aren't they for car windows?

[flail]

EmC, are you me? I slapped the sticker on my ext hd when I got it a few months ago too

[Jerman]

I too have owned the Rosewill enclosure. It has what is considered to be the best firewire chipset. (The chipset is what converts the drive to firewire). At least, it is the best chip for firewire 400. That enclosure looks great, is well priced, and is built solidly. I too disabled the light on the front as I found it pretty annoying, but it is nice you can turn it off. The case also keeps the drive pretty cool.

And while we are on the topic of firewire cases, here is the one I have coming any day now:

http://fwdepot.com/thestore/product_...roducts_id/714

Nice thing about the Rosewill case is that it has absolutely NO branding! (Unlike the case I am buying. Bleh!) Anyways, the Rosewill can be found at Newegg for a great price.

[Jasoco]

I'd put one of my stickers on my LaCie, but it gets pretty hot. I don't trust it. Well, warm.. still it's hot. But i love it. I just wish it had a white LED to match my mini and ACD.

The LaCie Porsche has no branding either. Which I love.

[zman2005]

Where can I get the supplies to build one? and anyone got a good set of directions? I wouldn't mind trying that out.

If not the question still arises of how I should set it up or how most ppl set it up.

[FFL]

I'd check out Firewire hard drives at OWC. Just click the Firewire icon.

Cheaper than LaCie and just as good... easier and more reliable than a DIY case.

Also - depending on what Mac you have, you may want a drive with Firewire 800, as well as Firewire 400 and USB 2.0.

[zman2005]

I have a 1.33 ibook w/768mb ram and superdrive.

Do I want 5400 or 7200? I guess 7200 its faster but is it a major difference

[zman2005]

I am liking this one, what do people think?

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other.../MAU8F7080GB2/

[FFL]

This one
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other.../MAU8F7160GB8/
is twice the capacity for $40 more - a much better buy!

[sunrain]

FW 800 is very handy to have if you've got the connection.

[Jasoco]

Too bad mini's don't. I'd love to see how much faster transferring would be.

[Luca]

160 GB for $200, FFL? That's crazy, considering 160 GB hard drives themselves are <$100 these days. Is that enclosure really worth $100+?

EDIT: Er... well maybe it is. But is it worth $100+ to the original poster? I doubt it. A $40 Firewire enclosure will suit you fine.

For clarification, the LaCie Porsche 160 GB is $140, the OWC Neptune (their low end) 160 GB is $150, and the OWC "Mercury Elite Aluminum Pro" 160 GB is $200. The super dooper one has FW400 and 800 and USB 2.0 and that snazzy-looking aluminum enclosure, but it costs a lot more.

[Jasoco]

The 160 may be $140. That's why I went for the 250 for $190. And yes, it was totally worth it. I do not want to build my own HD, and I honestly do not like any of the cases I've seen. The Porsche is the nicest cleanest I've seen, and if it costs a little more to have it already made, so be it. I love the squareness straight lines. No distractions, just lovely aluminum.

As an aside, I really do hate the look of that cheese grater case. The little holes bug me to no end. And just so it's not a misunderstanding, I don't like any of those "mini Add-ons" with the HD's and hubs built in that sit under the mini either. <Mr. Horse>No, sir. I don't like it.</Mr. Horse> If it is supposed to look like the computer, I don't want it. Just my standing.

Plus, this Porsche is a hell of a step up from the noisy blue and silver 60GB LaCie I bought in 2002 right before they redesigned them. (Figures.)

[kretara]

After looking at my options I decided that I wanted ALOT of external storage (at least 500GB) and I didn't want 2+ firewire enclosures, since I already have 4 enclosures. So, I hit ebay.
I found a seller that sells 2-9 bay firewire 400 or 400/800 enclosures for a very reasonable price.
Superldg .

I bought a 2 bay firewire enclosure with removable HD trays for $100. It was about half the price of something similar at firewire depot.
I'm now running out of room on my 2 250gb HD's so I'm looking at buying this:
6-bay firewire enclosure . 6 HD bays for $268. Not too bad.

***EDIT***
I am in no way associated with the above seller
*** END EDIT***

[zman2005]

does my ibook have a 800/400 connection? I know it has USB. But waht is my firewall? I am goin to best buy compusa circuit city today to get an external harddrive w/your advice thanks

[kretara]

From what I can tell you have Firewire 400.

[zman2005]

Ok, so just for clarification purposes I want a firewall 400/usb 2. I don't need firewall800 b/c I probably don't have it.

[kretara]

yup.
Be sure to use firewire if you have the choice since firewire is much faster than usb. On my G5 DP 2.0 PM I get better speed with my firewire 400 than I do with usb 2.

[zman2005]

Ok I got it. I bought a segate 120gb harddrive internal and a adaptec encloser.

I am building it now, it cost me ONLY 80 bucks for 120gb haahah yes. I feel like I got agood deal. I will connect it via firewire.

[zman2005]

It says taht my computer can not recognize the external hardrive?

[kretara]

did you set the HD jumpers to cable select?

[Luca]

It probably shipped unformatted. You should reformat it to HFS+ using Disk Utility.

[DMBand0026]

zman, I know I won't be any help to you, but it's FireWire, not Firewall. A Firewall is a hardware or software designed to keep your computer's open ports safe from internet intrusion.

Just a notice from your friendly neighborhood kid with too much time on his hands.

My first post, so bear with me if I've screwed up something...

I have, over the past 3 years, purchased several Lacie Hard Drives: a few 500 gigabyte ones and 1 terabyte one. Some had triple interfaces (USB+FW400+FW800; others were Firewire only). (In case you're wondering why so much storage, I use the hard disks for uncompressed music files and have a big collection. I also have a couple of backups!)

Observations/ Comments:

1) At least 3 hard disks have crashed over this period. Warranty in Europe is 2 years; in the US, it's only 1 year. Buy an extended warranty if you can. Lacie customer service is spotty -- some techies have been excellent some have been... well, not. One has told me that the life expectancy of an external drive is 2 to 5 (maybe 7) years.

2) No one can tell me why they've died, but I think the 500 gig drives are too capacious for the small enclosures and they get too hot. So they die. I've reformatted, run all sorts of utilities and... DEAD. There are no fans in the 500 gig drives.
Suggestion: Consider nothing larger than a 250 gig drive, as they're only one drive inside and probably cooler. (The 500s are two drives raided together.)

3) Don't buy a 1 terabyte drive unless you like the sound of airplanes taking off. They do have fans inside and they're loud!

4) Consider a triple interface unit (i.e., with Firewire and USB) if you also have a Windows machine. (The horror!) It'll be easier to back up.

5) If you do hook up a Windows machine, buy a utility called Macdrive. Amazing! Let's you see a Macintosh-formatted Hard Disk and CDs, etc.

Hope this helps.

[zman2005]

It works, Now I have started to just drag and drop my videos and music. Once I copy the folders over can I Delete the music and videos? Will itunes automatically play the music from the external HD or will I have to set it to that?

[zman2005]

Also how do I set it up to automatically back up everything i've done. Is there any way? Do i have to drag and drop all my applications and all my documents everytime?