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Level 1

17 points

Will this external HD be compatible with my iMac?

I'd like to buy this external hard drive here: http://www.amazon.de/Western-Digital-externe-Festplatte-FireWire/dp/B004VDR5XC/r ef=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1366645010&sr=8-3&keywords=Western+Digital+My+Book+Studio- Festplatte+USB+3.0+mit+3%2C0+TB

The thing is, in the description they say that it's compatible with Leopard and Snow Leopard. I have the latest Mountain Lion. Do you believe this may cause a problem? I thought it might be because back then Snow Leopard was the latest OS, and since then the Amazon page hasn't been updated.

The exact same HD is for sale in the Apple online store. The difference is that the one on Amazon has FireWire 800, and the one in the Apple store USB 3.0. I'd like to buy the one from Amazon since my iMac does not have USB 3.0 sadly.

It's a 2011 27" iMac, Intel Quad Core i5. What do you think? Thanks 🙂

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on May 12, 2013 4:44 AM

19 replies

Anon M Author

Level 1

17 points

May 18, 2013 7:51 AM in response to Paul_31

Great, then I will buy it 🙂 Thanks.

Paul_31

Level 6

14,160 points

May 18, 2013 8:00 AM in response to Anon M

Just note what Tom in London said, that if you use it to make a clone it might not be bootable.

This is of less importance if you don't backup using cloning software but instead rely on OS X's Time Machine function, as the drive does not need to be bootable.

Anon M Author

Level 1

17 points

May 18, 2013 8:02 AM in response to Paul_31

Yes, I will definitely be using the Time Machine function for that! 🙂 But I'll take note of it, in case one day I change my mind, or if someone else has this "problem" 😉

May 18, 2013 8:38 AM in response to Anon M

Anon M wrote:

Interesting, so where's the problem? 😀

You should be able to boot from the clone; you can't boot from Time Machine. And being able to boot from an external drive has definite advantages, among them being you're not dead in the water if your internal drive quits, and you can perform HD surgery, such as with DiskWarrior, on the internal, which you can't do while booting from the internal.

Will this external HD be compatible with my iMac?