Q: best buy for modest backup during upgrade
what is the more economical hardware for backup of stuff on laptop
during an upgrade from Tiger to Leopard 10.6 ?
I have a 4G memory stick. The laptop is only 1 G.
Can I put all the applications and content on the memory stick ?
MacBook Pro, iOS 4.3.3
Posted on Dec 5, 2012 7:38 AM
Don't confuse RAM "memory" which is temporary memory on chips with hard drive file storage. Even with Tiger you have a lot more files than 1 GB. If you have very, very modest use you might be able to use a flash drive. If you're a regular user you could have tens if not hundreds, if not possibly even thousands of GB.
Don't think of this in terms of temporary backup. You want a long-term backup solution. Your computer drive could fail at any time, it's just a bit more risky something unpleasant will happen when you are upgrading (not drive failure but bad file rearranging).
Look into getting an external hard drive. I cannot recommend a particular model but there are good and bad ones for Macs. It's a slightly complex topic. If you want to play it safe, go with a vendor such as OWC or www.macsales.com Personally I would make sure the drive they put inside the enclosure is a Western Digital model and go with at least a blue or even a black. Yes it is more costly but if you get a good one then likely the external drive may last through several computer generations for you.
Posted on Dec 5, 2012 7:48 AM