Can a portable hard drive USB 3.0 work with my 2011 Macbook pro. And can you suggest a model that would be best.
I know very little, and just want to back my computer up as easily as possible with out 'reformatting' or anything else. Thank you so much!
MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)
Following is one available from Apple Store online that I have had good experience with: G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mobile USB-C/USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - Apple
There are other options at Storage - Mac Accessories - Apple
Or any USB drive that states that it is formatted for a Mac will work.
Following is one available from Apple Store online that I have had good experience with: G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mobile USB-C/USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive - Apple
There are other options at Storage - Mac Accessories - Apple
Or any USB drive that states that it is formatted for a Mac will work.
eloise47 wrote:
What are drivers?
Drivers are the little pieces of software that will serve as the intermediary between the operating system and the device. With OSX, almost all drivers you'll need are built in, but there are some devices where you might need to install drivers. For instance, my Canon multifunction printer/scanner/FAX needs specific drivers that are installed manually. The drivers should be universal for all USB mass storage devices. It's kind of complicated and don't fully understand it since I'm not a software person, but here's something from Apple:
On a Windows machine the drivers might not necessarily be installed or active. For instance, if you plug something like a new USB flash drive or a USB mouse for the first time, it might give a notice that it's looking for the drivers and installing them as you wait. I don't recall ever seeing anything like that in OSX, but it might just be transparent to the user.
babowa wrote:
I don't think Apple does that even if it does have to autoinstall them once a new device is recognized.
I'd like some specific link and/or info on this "autoinstall" since Apple does not install anything without your blessing.
I was referring to what a user may have to do or not do with an external drive. I'll stick with what I said: the only thing needed for an external hard drive to work with a Mac is to be properly formatted plus GUID partition scheme.
I have formatted more than a dozen external drives: purchase, receive, unpack, plug in, wipe/format. Done. There is no installation going on at any time during that process.
I was just pointing out that it's inaccurate to say that a newly installed device doesn't need drivers. Every single USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt device needs drivers to properly communicate with the OS, and they need to be located in the OS package. The large majority of drivers will be generic though. You can take a look at the developer documentation to see what it does.
OK - found a link. When a new device is found, a compatible driver needs to be identified and loaded into the kernel. This is clearly done without any user input needed.
Driver and Device Matching
Before a device—or any service provider—can be used, a driver for it must be found and loaded into the kernel. The I/O Kit defines a flexible, three-phase matching process that narrows a pool of candidate drivers down to one or more drivers. The final candidate (or, if multiple candidates, the most eligible one) is then loaded and given the first opportunity to manage the device or service provider.
The matching process makes use of the matching dictionaries defined as XML key-value pairs in a driver's information property list. Each matching dictionary specifies a personality of the driver, which declares its suitability for a device or service of a particular type.
This chapter discusses driver personalities and the matching language that describes them. It then describes the matching process, which uses the information in the driver personalities to identify the most appropriate driver for a detected device. The chapter also briefly discusses the device-matching procedure that applications use for loading device interfaces. See Accessing Hardware From Applications for the complete details.
Like I said - Apple does this transparently. Install a new USB device on a Windows machine and there's some info in the corner talking about how it's locating the drivers and configuring it.
There are no OEM batteries for vintage products. OWC is the only safe source I know of. Apple does not provide hardware service for vintage products. "Third party" products are not a good or trustworthy item.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624
Unfortunately, there are plenty of search results for "swollen battery" - Google:
or Apple Discussions:
Please check your facts before posting.
eloise47 wrote:
So the USB-C/USB 3.0 doesn't matter on my 'vintage' macbook? Thank you so much For your reply!
It generally doesn't matter since it's supposed to be compatible and there's a USB-A to micro-B cable in the box (along with a USB-C to micro-B cable) ; you wouldn't be using the USB-C cable, although I suppose you could use it with an USB-C to USB-A adapter if you really wanted to. The drive linked isn't specifically a USB-C drive, as it has a micro-B port at the drive end. Your MBP has USB 2.0 ports, so it would be transferring data at that speed.
As far as formatting goes, it's pretty easy. The formatting takes less than a minute using Disk Utility. It doesn't actually erase the contents of the drive. Pretty much any USB 2.0 or 3.0 drive should work with yours and there are some that are pretty cheap.
I use Carbon Copy Cloner myself, but some find that Time Machine (which is built into OSX) easier to use. I create a bootable clone that I can use for other purposes, including repairing a damaged disk volume.
eloise47 wrote:
Thank you! You were very helpful, and I appreciate you taking the time!
Not a problem. Just as an example, this morning I did my first backup of my new hard drive by using my previous portable external drive (a Seagate 1 TB USB 3.0 drive). I wanted it in the same format as my new drive, and the procedure was the following:
Open up Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility.
Select the drive on the left.
Click Erase at the top.
Give the volume a new name (or the first name if unformatted).
Select a file system type. You would want HFS+ (Journaled) for a Time Machine backup, but other types work with cloning software.
Start the erase.
It's actually pretty fast as it's only overwriting the system information.
Then I used Carbon Copy Cloner to create a new backup, but there are other tools such as Time Machine, Super Duper, or even Disk Utility (Restore function). Disk Utility won't create a bootable clone though. Having a bootable clone is extremely useful. If your internal drive crashes, you can run your Mac straight from an external drive, although it will be slow. Restoring from a Time Machine backup is a little bit more technical.
Hmmm, I think you are saying that I could erase my old Seagate 500 GB, and then start it new with a backup.
You see....last month, our son put in a new HD for me. When I came home, I started to back it up on the Seagate, and it got full. I really do believe (well, not sure) that if it could and was erased ...that I could back everything up on it. The biggest thing on my MBP is 44,000 pictures. I haven't update the OS because I like iPhoto the way it is.
If you have time, let me know if you think I can erase the Seagate and start over. I'm not confident with Time Machine. I want to be able to have it handy...and I keep it in the safe.
Thank you, again.
eloise47 wrote:
Hmmm, I think you are saying that I could erase my old Seagate 500 GB, and then start it new with a backup.
You see....last month, our son put in a new HD for me. When I came home, I started to back it up on the Seagate, and it got full. I really do believe (well, not sure) that if it could and was erased ...that I could back everything up on it. The biggest thing on my MBP is 44,000 pictures. I haven't update the OS because I like iPhoto the way it is.
If you have time, let me know if you think I can erase the Seagate and start over. I'm not confident with Time Machine. I want to be able to have it handy...and I keep it in the safe.
Thank you, again.
OK. So it sounds like your son set you up with your old drive in an enclosure. You could use that, but if you're maxing it out then it might make more sense to just get another larger external drive if you're just using it to store all those photos.
I'd recommend having some sort of backup where you could recover, but not everyone does that. The price of 2 TB bus powered (so you don't need AC power) drives is pretty reasonable these days. It would be technical, but not that difficult to reformat such a drive and then partition it into two volumes - one for a backup and the other for just data storage. The backup volume should be the size (or perhaps a bit larger) of your internal hard drive, and then the remaining portion of the drive can be used for just copying over data.
If you live near a Best Buy, this one is on sale for $59.99 right now. It's the same price as the 1 TB version and a better bargain than their 4 TB version.
If your son can set up a new internal drive, then he probably knows how to do all the formatting, partitioning, and creating a backup. I don't consider it all that difficult, but it's one of those things that I sort of do by feel because I find it hard to explain in words.
We wil be going to town next week, so will check that out at Best Buy. Thank you, again! That's a good price. Our son lives out of state so won't see him for a while; plus he uses windows, and the tracking pad on my macbook is a veritable challenge to him!
eloise47 wrote:
We wil be going to town next week, so will check that out at Best Buy. Thank you, again! That's a good price. Our son lives out of state so won't see him for a while; plus he uses windows, and the tracking pad on my macbook is a veritable challenge to him!
The price is going to change this Sunday since it's part of their weekly ad. This one is actually on their front page. If you really want it, you could order one before the price changes, and pick it up. Their policy is that they will hold a pickup item for up to five days.
Pretty much any USB mouse should work with your computer, and I'll even take one on the road. I use a Logitech M325 wireless mouse. I stocked up on them a few years ago at Best Buy when they were on sale at $9.99. They don't last forever, and my kid destroyed at least one (bit into the scroll wheel), but they're generally reliable. It saves a little bit of wear on the trackpad. If your son has a USB mouse, maybe ask him to bring one on his next visit to use on your Mac.
Here's another one to consider, which come Mac formatted. The 1 TB version is actually cheaper:
The sale prices are different than the other one. The 1 TB version is cheaper, and the 2 TB version is more expensive. Most external drives should work just fine as long as they're properly reformatted. The box may not include the OS, but USB external drive drivers are pretty universal.
Every drive with an appropriate interface to hook up to your Mac should work with every version of MacOS from 10.4 through the absolute latest version.
"Requires 10.9 or later" is generally only if you stick with the Utilities provided, which is generally not recommended by anyone here on the forums. Use Disk Utility.
The list of MacOS compatibility would reach back much farther if the drive does not have 4K blocks internally, which was first supported in MacOS 10.4.1
As well, the Mercury Elite Pro drives from OWC (macsales.com) are well regarded here. I have 4 of them and I do prefer their enclosures (the thing that holds the drive) to the cheap ones WD uses.
OWC External Hard Drives and Storage Solutions for Macs
You do need to format most hard drives, but, when you're ready, just post here - it's extremely easy. Also, remember that any software included in any external drive is not necessary - external drives do not need drivers or anything else. So, it is best to uninstall anything that is on it.
my brother, miles away, just emailed me about OWC/macsales. what do you think about OWC Mercury, On-The-Go® Pro, 1.0TB 7200 RPM, USB 3.0 & 2.0 Storage Solution? Thank you! You all have been generous with your time to respond!
Don't worry about it - if you have a Windows machine, you may need to install a driver in order for the external hard drive to work properly. But, we are talking about Macs, so nothing to worry about - external hard drives do not need anything to work except being formatted properly for Mac.
I've not had an OnTheGo Pro, but it should be ok. My preference is with the Mercury Pro line and I have three of these Minis:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ME6UM7T10G16/
I got one of the optional AC Power Adapters and use that with all three whenever I have a lot of stuff to copy so it does not have to get all of its power through the USB port.
portable hard drive
