External hard drive.
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From my experience, a Seagate drive behaves the "mot nicely" with Macs. What you need to tell us is the exact Mac model you are using, and also the size of your internal hard drive. From there, I'm sure "we" can come up with recommendations.
One thing you will need to decide is how fast you want the connection to be with the external drive. For the Time Machine backups, it is probably not a big deal. But, for fast recovery (if that is what you want), it can be. Just about all, current external drives offer USB 3.0, which is "decently" fast. If your Mac has a Thunderbolt port, right now external drives with a Thunderbolt port are expensive. You could, though, get an external drive with a Firewire 800 port (in addition to the drive having at least one USB 3.0 port), purchase a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 adapter for $49, and use that as a connection mechanism. That would be faster than USB 3.0. I actually have an "older" external Seagate Drive that has 2 USB 2.0 ports, and 2 Firewire 800 ports. To connect to that external drive to my MacBook Air via the Firewire 800 port on the drive, I have one of those connectors, and it is rather a fast connection.
One thing you will need to decide is how fast you want the connection to be with the external drive. For the Time Machine backups, it is probably not a big deal. But, for fast recovery (if that is what you want), it can be. Just about all, current external drives offer USB 3.0, which is "decently" fast. If your Mac has a Thunderbolt port, right now external drives with a Thunderbolt port are expensive. You could, though, get an external drive with a Firewire 800 port (in addition to the drive having at least one USB 3.0 port), purchase a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 adapter for $49, and use that as a connection mechanism. That would be faster than USB 3.0. I actually have an "older" external Seagate Drive that has 2 USB 2.0 ports, and 2 Firewire 800 ports. To connect to that external drive to my MacBook Air via the Firewire 800 port on the drive, I have one of those connectors, and it is rather a fast connection.
Cory Cooper
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Hello and welcome.
I have used just about every brand out there. Currently, I am running a few different models from LaCie, G-Technology, Newer Technology RAID enclosure w/HGST drives, and some random bare 2.5/3.5" drives via a WiebeTech dock.
I mostly agree with honestone regarding Seagate drives. I have had dozens of Seagate drives over the years, including use in my Xserve and Mac mini servers, and have only had one fail. I have also had Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, Maxtor, IBM, Fujitsu, and other drives, and have lost them randomly as well. Remember, it is not an issue of if, but when a hard drive will fail - backup, backup, backup!
These days, the drives are more fault tolerant and dependable, and there are more problems with the enclosures. Pretty much any drive you choose should be sufficient, as long as it is from a larger vendor/manufacturer. Yes, there are some models that are more reliable than others. A great place to research using user comments are sites like Newegg, B&H, and OWC. I have purchased drives from all of them. You can also check out storage options on the Apple website.
If speed isn't important because it's only a Time Machine drive, then pretty much any thing will work. It will be easier to setup if it is a drive specifically made for Macs. Check out some options and give us some links of what you may be considering and we'll be happy to comment.
C
I have used just about every brand out there. Currently, I am running a few different models from LaCie, G-Technology, Newer Technology RAID enclosure w/HGST drives, and some random bare 2.5/3.5" drives via a WiebeTech dock.
I mostly agree with honestone regarding Seagate drives. I have had dozens of Seagate drives over the years, including use in my Xserve and Mac mini servers, and have only had one fail. I have also had Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, Maxtor, IBM, Fujitsu, and other drives, and have lost them randomly as well. Remember, it is not an issue of if, but when a hard drive will fail - backup, backup, backup!
These days, the drives are more fault tolerant and dependable, and there are more problems with the enclosures. Pretty much any drive you choose should be sufficient, as long as it is from a larger vendor/manufacturer. Yes, there are some models that are more reliable than others. A great place to research using user comments are sites like Newegg, B&H, and OWC. I have purchased drives from all of them. You can also check out storage options on the Apple website.
If speed isn't important because it's only a Time Machine drive, then pretty much any thing will work. It will be easier to setup if it is a drive specifically made for Macs. Check out some options and give us some links of what you may be considering and we'll be happy to comment.
C
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While that information is helpful, we still need to know your exact model, and also the size of your hard drive. For the hard drive size, one easy way to obtain that is after your machine boots up, and the desktop appears, click on the hard drive icon once, then go to the File Menu, click on it, move down to where it says "Get Info", and on the next screen, you'll see figures for "Capacity", "Available", and "Used". Let us know what each of those says. All that assumes you have only one (visible) partition for your drive.
For the exact Mac Model, click on the "About This Mac" menu item, then click on "System Report". On the next screen, you'll see, to the right, quite a lot of information about your Mac. What is needed is what it says after "Model Identifier". For example, here is what it says for my MacBook Air (I am using that machine now):
"Model Identifier MacBookAir6,2"
So, I would report the model as "MacBookAir6,2".
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Once again, Cory makes some excellent points! After we have the additional information from you, I can try and see what devices are available. Assuming your iMac is a recent machine, I suspect it has one or more USB 3.0 ports. Given that speed is not your top priority, there will me numerous choices available. I would, though, recommend getting a drive with both USB 3.0 and Firewire 800 interfaces (assuming such a drive is not that much more than one with only USB 3.0 ports). Maybe one day you'll have a "need for speed". I am actually in such a situation. One of my external drives has only USB 2.0, and when I make SuperDuper! backups to it, it is definitely slow and time consuming (fortunately, I am doing other productive tasks while such backups take place). And, that drive has a Seagate 7200 rpm mechanism inside it. I plan on looking for another inexpensive enclosure that has at least a USB 3.0 port, and maybe one that also has a Firewire 800 port.
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Thank you both for replying. I looked at the Seagate web site and they have a Mac only drive Model # STDU2000100 that is Time Machine ready. I went to buy it but they said it was unavailable from them and to buy it from Best Buy. Best Buy show a STDT 20001000 only which is for Mac and PC. Will this model be okay?
Cory Cooper
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Yes, that is the same drive mechanism, it is just formatted for Mac/Windows instead of only for Mac. It will work fine, you will just have to use Disk Utility to format it as GUID partition, Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). We can help you do that.
C
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I have purchased the Seagate Mac/Pc hard drive and I need help in formatting it for my Mac. I intend to use it for Time Machine and for storing images etc.
So would someone please take the time to tell me how to do it. This is the first time I will be doing it so I will need lots of help.
So would someone please take the time to tell me how to do it. This is the first time I will be doing it so I will need lots of help.
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OK, the first thing you need to decide is how many partitions do you want on the drive. You can "do more partitioning" later, if needed, but it is better to do that now. If you plan on only using the drive for Time Machine backups, then you can easily get by with 1 partition. I'm going to assume that in the following "tutorial".
1. Connect the drive to your Mac, turn on its power button (assuming it has one), and boot up your Mac.
2. Go to the Applications folder, and find the Utilities folder. Inside it is a program called Disk Utility. Double click on that to start it up.
3. Once it gets going, on the left side of the screen (should be a left column), you'll see the name of your internal drive (and whatever visible partitions it has), and an "entry" for the external drive. Not sure what it will be called, but you should be able to recognize it.
4. Click once on that drive's name. The portion of the screen on the right will subsequently have 5 headings: First Aid, Erase, Partition, RAID, and Restore. Click once on Erase, and for the next screen, make sure the Format says "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". If it does not, click on the up/down arrow to the right and select that format. If you want, you can also enter a name where it says "Name:".
5. Click on Erase. That will completely Erase the drive, and get it ready for use on your Mac. It should not take too long.
6. When that is done, click on Partition. On the subsequent screen, select 1 partition, and give it a name. Then, click on "Apply".
That should take care of it. If you want more than one partition, then via the Partition screen, you would choose 2, 3, etc. partitions, adjusting their sizes accordingly, give each of them a unique name, and then click Apply.
1. Connect the drive to your Mac, turn on its power button (assuming it has one), and boot up your Mac.
2. Go to the Applications folder, and find the Utilities folder. Inside it is a program called Disk Utility. Double click on that to start it up.
3. Once it gets going, on the left side of the screen (should be a left column), you'll see the name of your internal drive (and whatever visible partitions it has), and an "entry" for the external drive. Not sure what it will be called, but you should be able to recognize it.
4. Click once on that drive's name. The portion of the screen on the right will subsequently have 5 headings: First Aid, Erase, Partition, RAID, and Restore. Click once on Erase, and for the next screen, make sure the Format says "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". If it does not, click on the up/down arrow to the right and select that format. If you want, you can also enter a name where it says "Name:".
5. Click on Erase. That will completely Erase the drive, and get it ready for use on your Mac. It should not take too long.
6. When that is done, click on Partition. On the subsequent screen, select 1 partition, and give it a name. Then, click on "Apply".
That should take care of it. If you want more than one partition, then via the Partition screen, you would choose 2, 3, etc. partitions, adjusting their sizes accordingly, give each of them a unique name, and then click Apply.
Cory Cooper
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Actually, you should only have to partition it instead of erasing it first, as that erases it as well.
1. Follow steps 1-2 above
2. Select the drive in the left pane in Disk Utility - the one that says Seagate and the size
3. Click Partition
4. Under Partition Layout, click on Current and select 1 Partition from the drop-down
5. Enter a name in the Name field and in the Format section drop-down choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
6. Click on Options... button and select GUID then click OK
7. Click Apply
When it mounts after the partitioning/formatting, there should be a Time Machine pop-up asking if you want to use the newly created drive - click Use as Backup Disk. Time Machine will then automatically start the first backup.
Let us know if you get stuck.
C
1. Follow steps 1-2 above
2. Select the drive in the left pane in Disk Utility - the one that says Seagate and the size
3. Click Partition
4. Under Partition Layout, click on Current and select 1 Partition from the drop-down
5. Enter a name in the Name field and in the Format section drop-down choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
6. Click on Options... button and select GUID then click OK
7. Click Apply
When it mounts after the partitioning/formatting, there should be a Time Machine pop-up asking if you want to use the newly created drive - click Use as Backup Disk. Time Machine will then automatically start the first backup.
Let us know if you get stuck.
C
Cory Cooper
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Yup - time is $$$
C
C
Cory Cooper
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If it is Mac only, it should be ready to go out of the box. Plug it in, it may prompt to format, then it should prompt to use as Time Machine disk.
Let us know,
C
Let us know,
C