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What external hard drive should I get?

First off, I hope I'm asking this in the right place; apologies otherwise.


So, I need a new external hard drive for my machine, but there are some constraints that are making it difficult for me.


- I'm on a G5 mac (power PC)

- I'm using OS X 10.4.11

- I'd like a firewire connection (800 preferably).


I've been all over town shopping and all over the net, and everything is either USB, or requires OS 10.5+. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Thanks!

G5, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Dec 31, 2011 3:42 PM

Reply
13 replies

Dec 31, 2011 8:39 PM in response to samberl

I can't quote specific sources but in general reading:


LaCie externals were getting a bad reputation a few years ago, mostly because the power sources kept dying. If a power source dies it can corrupt your drive.


Seagate used to be top, was involved in some type of merger and is now in the pits.


Western Digital presently makes good hard drives but the enclosures are questionable and there's several long posts about problem enclosures, especially when it actually comes to booting a Mac.


Note, when it comes to hard drives we're talking two main components. The drive itself, and the enclosure with powersource and chipset that lets the drive interface with a computer.


If I were in a market for an external drive I would look at current reviews (check ratings on places like Newegg) for various WD hard drive models (and maybe others too). Then think about getting a decent enclosure (probably something from OWC).

Dec 31, 2011 8:47 PM in response to Limnos

Limnos ... sadly, I feel I am on borrowed time myself (and put others at risk) despite the "newness" of backup drives.


I have spread 2 LaCie 1 TB drives around to others who trust me, and fear that that will suffer the consequences of my ignorance.


Given that the drive itself and the enclosures do not seem to match in quality, based on what you say, I may have to pay the premium of a quality enclosure and a quality drive to get the backup solution needed.

Dec 31, 2011 9:04 PM in response to steve359

Inded LaCie was once the best, but o more, if ll else fails remove the HD from the enclosure & get one of these...


Could be many things, we should start with this...


"Try Disk Utility


1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.

2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)

*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*

3. Click the First Aid tab.

4. Select your Mac OS X volume.

5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."


http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214


Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.


Or fi a SATA drive ine of these...


http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/FWU3ES2HDK/

Dec 31, 2011 9:11 PM in response to steve359

On some issues such as chipset incompatibility it is a given that a problem will occur. On others such as the power source with LaCie, it's a matter of chance. I have a LaCie backup drive. Read the reviews from other owners and they are about 5/10. Personally I never had a problem with it in 5 years of using it. I took the WD drive out of it about a year ago and put it into my computer and it runs fine. With some it's a matter of chance and you can get a winner or lemon with any brand.


Another thing is, drive ratings change a lot. As I said before, Seagate used to be tops. I have several seagate drives >10 years old. 2 years ago I went shopping for new drives and people were warning against seagate at all costs. I'm not talking their enclosures but the drives themselves. Complete reversal.


Best thing to do is, spot a few models that interest you, then check online reviews from other owners. Read them to get a feel for the issues. All drives can have problems so don't let one or two lemon reviews sway you, nor people giving bad ratings because the vendor is not so great (go to a different vendor with good ratings). What are the issues? A drive may be rated as slow but if you aren't using it to boot then that's not an issue for you, especially if it is an archive drive (one you unplug and don't use for weeks at a time).


Post on the hardware forum too. Some knowledgeable people frequent there who never go to an OS forum. I bought my WDs based largely upon initial recommendations I read on the PowerMac forum and then substantiated with reading reviews on big online vendors (but bought from OWC in the end).

Dec 31, 2011 9:19 PM in response to Limnos

True ... rule 1 is "do not panic" -- not that I was anyway.


Quite possibly nothing will go wrong with all 3. But I need to prepare, in knowledge at least, for how to recover.


The "open plug" stand BDAqua referred to in his post looks interesting (drive can be "lifted out" when "ejected"), but the AC adapter it says to use is "sold out" ... just another issue to think past.


Thanks for the statement about your LaCie working fine for 5 years ... makes me fell better.


Too darned confusing ... who is best "today", and which component is still the "reliable part" ...

Dec 31, 2011 9:30 PM in response to steve359

I have a slightly earlier version of the Newertech Voyageur. I use it for backup and archiving on 1 backup drive + 2 archive drives. Not sure what you meant by AC adaptor being sold out since it comes as a package with adaptor. Didn't see any mention of sold out on the site.


Main issue from my persective with Voyageur is there is no active cooling. If copying tens+ of GB of files you can point a fan at it but I don't know that I would want a drive running 24/7 on it. Even one on it for an hour or so is pretty hot to the touch. Wonderful for quick backups and multidrive archiving though, and multiconnection handy.

Dec 31, 2011 9:40 PM in response to Limnos

I must have misread the "adapter included".


As to "open and no cooling, thus not 24/7", make a bad match for my parents' system which I try to make "not visible but still protecting". Some enclosure designed to support 24/7 would be required.


Good perspectives on that design. Thanks.


Interesting ... heatsink and pass-through cooling vents but no fan ... http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MSTG800U2K/


And also fanless (though "heat dissipating aluminum") ... http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEQM0GBKS/


Interesting how the Voyageur is open yet need cooling for continuous operation ...


Odd ... worth the question in a proper forum ...

Dec 31, 2011 9:41 PM in response to Limnos

Main issue from my persective with Voyageur is there is no active cooling.

Been booting my G5 Quad for years from a Voyager ot two, a well as myi Mac 7,2... less heat dispertion problems than any other drive, fan cooled or not... other thing I cant figure out is why Plastic housed drives run cooler than Metal housed drives!???

What external hard drive should I get?

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