I don't have a lot of data, but I am a writer and want a back up of novels and photos and photo projects. Can someone knowledgeable tell me what to look for in an external drive? I've been told to get one with a fan, yet have seen highly recommended ones without a fan.
thanks in advance,
NanaCA
MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), OS X Yosemite (10.10)
If portability is a requirement, storage drives such as this will do:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go
If the HDD will live on the desk all the time, your choices increase. Here are some additional examples (and there are more:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/EliteALmini/eSATA-FW800-FW400-USB
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
Fans are not always essential if the enclosure design is done correctly.
There are many vendors and other options are available, but OWC is a good vendor with excellent customer support.
Note that anything stored on an external HDD should also be backed up if the data has value.
Ciao.
If portability is a requirement, storage drives such as this will do:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go
If the HDD will live on the desk all the time, your choices increase. Here are some additional examples (and there are more:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/EliteALmini/eSATA-FW800-FW400-USB
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
Fans are not always essential if the enclosure design is done correctly.
There are many vendors and other options are available, but OWC is a good vendor with excellent customer support.
Note that anything stored on an external HDD should also be backed up if the data has value.
Ciao.
I use http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MSTG800U3K/ and attach many different 2.5 in drives (clones/backups, video data for conversion, off-loading large files, etc).
But any "external enclosure" that lets you attach many different bare-drives is a good solution.
I concur with the other two replies you have received so far. MacSales is a great place to do business. Great tech support on their gear.
Different post to re-state what OGELTHORPE said ...
You keep backups of your main drive to have two copies. Treat an external data drive the same way ... one copy of it is not enough if you really value the data.
If the data is of significant value to you, you may also want to consider the possibility of loss via fire or theft where both the MacBook and the external drive could be lost at the same time. A second external drive that is rotated to an offsite location or a cloud-based backup service in addition to the local external drive backup are alternatives to consider.
My thanks to all! I feel much more educated.
You are lost welcome. Glad we could help.
Please recommend what to look for in an external drive for my Macbook Pro
