I've got the 500GB one and it works great and is really quiet. I use it to back up all my important data.
I also finally manged to get a hold of a fire wire cable while I was in Miami so now it works even better.
External hard drive question
- Thread starter Legolas
- Start date
I've got the 500GB one and it works great and is really quiet. I use it to back up all my important data.
I also finally manged to get a hold of a fire wire cable while I was in Miami so now it works even better.
Alright so i'm on amazon and i think im gonna get the "Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 500 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive ". Since its only 77 bucks i'll get two becuae i can't afford to lose any data.
Kryton, you have 2 of them set up so you don't lose any data. How do you have that connected. I plan to put the videos on the mybook and then delete them from my computer altogether but how do you get the info on the 3rd drive to back it up there too?
Kryton, you have 2 of them set up so you don't lose any data. How do you have that connected. I plan to put the videos on the mybook and then delete them from my computer altogether but how do you get the info on the 3rd drive to back it up there too?
I just use a 4-port USB2.0 hub and occasionally choose to do a big copy-over (the other two ports on the hub are an external DVD burner and a receiver for a wireless mouse).
Though the MyBooks actually come pre-loaded with both Mac and PC software that can be used to automate the process...I've never used them for that purpose. I probably SHOULD look into it.
Though the MyBooks actually come pre-loaded with both Mac and PC software that can be used to automate the process...I've never used them for that purpose. I probably SHOULD look into it.
A
Amaris
Guest
What's nice about the Leopard OS on the Mac is Time Machine. I'm going to partition 250 GB just for that, and the other 250 GB will be for storage.
J.
Just a quick anecdotal piece of advice for the WD MyBooks. I've had two. Had to RMA the first one - it was apparently a bad drive. Both the old and the new, and my dad's, didn't like being plugged into a USB hub. They tend to want to take over your boot sequence if they're connected that way, no matter how you have your BIOS set. You'll do better to plug it directly into the USB jacks on your CPU. At least, that's been my experience with it. Hubs are cheap, so if you're stripped for jacks, buy one and plug your other peripherals (mouse, keyboard, printers, etc.) into it, and use your CPU jacks for the drives.
My second MyBook works brilliantly and is a 500GB. I also have a 200GB Maxtor that is nearly full (I do a lot of audio editing).
My second MyBook works brilliantly and is a 500GB. I also have a 200GB Maxtor that is nearly full (I do a lot of audio editing).
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A
Amaris
Guest
Mmm... fire wire is awesome. That's what I be havin' here on Monday.
Yep. They're dirt cheap now. I got one at Walmart for $8 about six months ago. Works beautifully.
Well, looking over my email receipt here, it turns out I didn't get the MyBook, I got the Iomega 500GB. Hm. I'll have to look into that.
J.
I checked my computer and it has like 6 usb ports that are not used so i think i'll be fine w/o the usb hub. Someone did reccommed this iomega drive to me: http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-33720-...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1231033517&sr=1-2
They've had it for about a year w/no problems.
..had to look up what RAID was but it seems like a smart buy. 2 hard drives in one.
They also recommeded this one to me too:
http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-Prestige-Desktop-External-34275/dp/B001D7REJ4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
I don't think I'm gonna be buying the WD hd. Too many reviews say this thing poops out after a couple of months and I defiantely don't want that to happen. I think i'm gonna think it over for a day then make the purchase.
They've had it for about a year w/no problems.
..had to look up what RAID was but it seems like a smart buy. 2 hard drives in one.
They also recommeded this one to me too:
http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-Prestige-Desktop-External-34275/dp/B001D7REJ4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
I don't think I'm gonna be buying the WD hd. Too many reviews say this thing poops out after a couple of months and I defiantely don't want that to happen. I think i'm gonna think it over for a day then make the purchase.
Legolas,
If you use a hub to cross copy from one usb drive to the other, it'll run at less than half speed. So if you intend to cross copy from one usb drive to another, use distinct usb ports.
But as for functionality, it works just like flash memory stick.
Plug it in, and it should auto mount. The drive will appear as a directory on your PC. (Such as E: or F: ) Open the directory and just drag your files and directories onto it from the internal hard disk (eg, C: )
If you have two usb drives plugged in, they should both auto mount. So you will have (E: and F: ) or (F: and G: ) or something like that.
You can copy to them simultaneously, or separately (which is quicker in the long run).
You can read from them, or copy between them (dragging from E: to F: )
Just use it like any other folder on your internal hard disk.
When you're done, unmount the drive and then just unplug it.
You may have some problems though. If the new external drive is FAT32 formatted, then it can't store files that are individually bigger than 4GB. Should you need to support these, you can convert it to NTFS formatted. But NTFS is only truly supported in windows, so you make a minor restriction for yourself there if you go down that road.
If you use a hub to cross copy from one usb drive to the other, it'll run at less than half speed. So if you intend to cross copy from one usb drive to another, use distinct usb ports.
But as for functionality, it works just like flash memory stick.
Plug it in, and it should auto mount. The drive will appear as a directory on your PC. (Such as E: or F: ) Open the directory and just drag your files and directories onto it from the internal hard disk (eg, C: )
If you have two usb drives plugged in, they should both auto mount. So you will have (E: and F: ) or (F: and G: ) or something like that.
You can copy to them simultaneously, or separately (which is quicker in the long run).
You can read from them, or copy between them (dragging from E: to F: )
Just use it like any other folder on your internal hard disk.
When you're done, unmount the drive and then just unplug it.
You may have some problems though. If the new external drive is FAT32 formatted, then it can't store files that are individually bigger than 4GB. Should you need to support these, you can convert it to NTFS formatted. But NTFS is only truly supported in windows, so you make a minor restriction for yourself there if you go down that road.
If what you're interested in is data protection, then yes disconnect your drives when done.
Part of the danger to your data is from power surges from your computer, or virus, trojans, etc. This can't happen if your drives are disconnected.
This is also the advantage of an external drive, compared to backing up to an internal drive. Make your back up, unlink it and power it down. Thing is, you have to remember to plug it in every few days when you do a new back up.
If you are going to be redundant and use two backup drives, I would play leapfrog and back up to one drive today, then the other drive next time, etc. If you happen to pick up a nasty virus, you should have a clean backup.
I would stay away from external RAID arrays unless you are cramped for space and need something like 3 terrabytes of storage. RAID simply gives you more chances of your storage to have a failure. The cost of RAID on top of several drives means you are paying more for the same storage.
Backups that use some form of compression allow you to keep lots of data or multiple backups (ie one from this week, one from last week) but there is more chance of corruption and losing a file. I have had the situation where my compressed backup had a corruption in the file system and the whole thing was FUBARed. Best backup is non-compressed, if you have the space for it. It is also faster to make.
How often to make a backup and how many to keep depends on you and your data. For example with my photos, if I lose photos I took 2 days ago, I'm not usually that upset. I can retake most of them, set up similar shots from memory, go to the same location, etc. The kids are just as cute today as they were on Wednesday. There is no way I can replace shots from last year though.
Same with anything I've written or researched. If I redo it, I'll probably do it better. But I could never replace the body of what I want to save from over the past years.
Things like music files, movies etc. I could replace them all, but it would take months to replace what I've built up over years. But something I encoded or downloaded Wednesday is no big deal to replace.
So for me, once a week is fine, and if I have to replace anything I did in between I don't care that much. You have to be your own best judge.
It can be well worth it to keep a full disk image which can quickly replace your entire OS installation and installed programs, drivers, updates, etc. I would keep my files separate though, and do a fresh backup every week.
A
Amaris
Guest
Well, here she is, my new Iomega 500GB External
She runs ultra quiet, and I've already partitioned it for 250 GB Time Machine Backup, and 250 GB whatever I need storage.
J.
She runs ultra quiet, and I've already partitioned it for 250 GB Time Machine Backup, and 250 GB whatever I need storage.
J.
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