what is the best external hard drive i can get for my macbook pro snowleopard?

Question

what is the best external hard drive i can get for my macbook pro snowleopard?

my hard drive is full and i need an external drive

we dont have a mac store here so i went to radio shack and picked up a toshiba canvio 3.0 plus

all fine and good except the fellow at the store failed to notice i am a 60 year old grandmother

and probably wouldnt know how to install let alone use it or format or whatever it requires... no manual

no nuthin' : (

i dont even know how to get all the stuff i installed off the computer (i uninstalled the driver)

So! i need an external drive but i am not a computer scientist

i just need to plug and play ya know?

Doesnt apple make one and does it have a users manual or operating guide or

whatEVER they are choosing to call the directions this week??!!

the thing is i came into apple's site and the flipping stuff in the middle is moving so fast

i cant even find someplace that talks about external hard drives...

i just get my eyes focused on the new array and it flips to the next one

hope someone can help me

i dont even know if i can find my way back here

will bookmark it but if not....

my email is

by the way... why is it all getting harder as we progress in this techno adventure??

it used to be so easy

: /

lalapalooza@gmail.com

thanks

calling apple care tomorrow

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 12, 2014 1:05 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 12, 2014 1:16 AM in response to fluffy kerfuffle

the BEST that exists (fact, not opinion) are Hitachi

best options for the price, and high quality HD:

Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"

Perfect 1TB for $68

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba

Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim perfect for use with a notebook

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb

BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 15mm thick 2TB drive (have several of them, lots of storage in tiny package) $100

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba

*This one is the BEST portable external HD available that money can buy:
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive $88

http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+7 2 00+RPM

Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"

Hitachi is the winner in hard drive reliability survey:

Hitachi manufacturers the safest and most reliable hard drives, according to the Storelab study. Of the hundreds of Hitachi hard drives received, not a single one had failed due to manufacturing or design errors. Adding the highest average lifespans and the best relationship between failures and market share, Hitachi can be regarded as the winner.

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Answer 2

Jan 12, 2014 1:33 AM in response to PlotinusVeritas

thank you, that is very helpful information...

only thing is that one of the drives you talk about is the one i bought and am returning tomorrow... because there are no directions on how to use it and i cannot even find the device on my computer.... yes there is an icon for it but it only opens a window with a bunch of stuff that just sits there... i think i need to do some sort of formatting and you know what?....i cannot do that.... i dont even know what this means: " on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"" what does the 3.5 " and 2.5" refer to? are those inches? what are they measuring? discs? what discs? ports?

i am not kidding here... THERE ARE NO DIRECTIONS for regular people....

i just want to use my computer

these external hard drives expect me to know how to use them already... i have no clue

hence i entered this forum to ask if anyone can point me where i can learn something....

sorry i guess i really didnt ask that....

okay i will ask it now...

where can i learn how to use an external hard drive?

thank you so much for your effort...

i actually am ready to throw my laptop in the river

go and buy a used windows 98 and install my micrographx picture publisher software

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Answer 3

Jan 12, 2014 1:36 AM in response to fluffy kerfuffle

i never thought i would say that

but you know what?

i am so fed up with these tiny little cursors and tiny little arrows on the scrolling things and these overly sensitive miniscule operating areas on the screen.... one millimeter in the wrong direction and i am off in a window i have no idea what it does....

i guess its all beyond me

which is a shame

because i am a very bright and creative person

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Answer 4

Jan 12, 2014 2:28 AM in response to fluffy kerfuffle

2.5" are small laptop drives that get power thru USB port

Click on the links you'll see the pictures

Just a box and a USB cable

Exactly the same as any Windows external HD is !

Get the 2.5"

~~~~......There is nothing to learn how to use it

Plug it in

Format the new HD

Then use it for back ups or dragging files to it ....easier than falling down.

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Answer 5

Jan 12, 2014 2:31 AM in response to fluffy kerfuffle

Grab a 1 terabyte Toshiba 2.5" hard drive at best buy .....

Come back here and post and anyone here will help you....take only 2 mins to learn how to use it.

Piece of cake

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Answer 6

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Jan 12, 2014 3:19 AM in response to fluffy kerfuffle

When you purchase a new drive, whether you will use it externally or install it in your Macbook Pro, It has to be 'formatted'. If it is not formatted, it will not work.

Please read this article on formatting drives. If you do not fully understand it, then you will have to get some local assistance.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3044

Ciao.

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Answer 7

Jan 22, 2014 9:08 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

thank you everyone... i have two local people who can help me... one a friend and the other a for-hire professional... the friend is busy so i am going with the pro who happens to remember me from back in

the day... 😁 so he is giving me a deal on the tutoring...

thank you again so much 🙂

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