Please recommend a reliable, easy-to-use external hard drive compatible with a Mac. I prefer something that doesn't require firmware updates, if possible, and doesn't require a power source other than the USB or firewire.

A couple years ago I bought a Western Digital drive and it never would work, despite claiming that it was compatible with OS 10.1 and higher (I had 10.3). Reviews seem to indicate that WD is crap. I need one soon because I plan to upgrade to Leopard and want to back up everything first.

7/23/2008 9:56:45 AM

Western Digital Passport

We are getting a Passport Studio 320gb (a litte more expensive) but it has the option to work over Firewire or USB and it's HFS formatted (if that matters to you), so it's ready to go for Macs.

Nice to get that little speed boost from firewire plus you free up a USB slot.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=469

7/23/2008 9:59:19 AM

One of my best friends is using the Western Digital external drives almost exclusively for server backup, and has had no problems whatsoever.

And all of their servers are Mac. Have always been, will always be.

7/23/2008 10:07:20 AM

I'm shopping around for the same thing right now. I'm leaning towards picking up one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HDDR320E03X-320GB-Portable-External/dp/B0013FVZXC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1216824688&sr=8-1

7/23/2008 10:53:17 AM

Seagate Free Agent - if you've got something against western digital. They've got a 5 year warranty too.

7/23/2008 11:04:44 AM

I just got a Free Agent Go 250gb for $105. 5 year warrenty ( Small portable external drive).

Cnets review of their editors top external storage:
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-external-storage-drives/?tag=lnav

SEAGATE line:
http://www.cnet.com/4244-5_1-0.html?query=seagate+free+agent&sort=editorsrating&fOrder=&type=&tag=srt.rat

I would recommend the Seagate Free Agent 500 or 750. The make two versions, the Pro (higher end with Firewire) and the 'Desktop' (more easily identified by lack of firewire).

Desktop 500gb for ~$130: http://www.antonline.com/p_ST305004FDA1E1-RK-GP_283189.htm
Desktop 750gb for ~$180: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545042-REG/Seagate_ST307504FDA1E1_RK_FreeAgent_750GB_USB_2_0.html#System%20Requirements


Also, a Maxtor (750gb, 5 yr warrenty): http://reviews.cnet.com/hard-drives/maxtor-onetouch-4-plus/4507-3186_7-32624497.html
Google product search lists it for ~$150: http://www.google.com/products?btnG=Search+Products&show=dd&q=Maxtor+One+Touch+4+Plus+750GB&scoring=p&sa=N&lnk=next&start=10

7/23/2008 11:07:47 AM

seagate

/thread

7/23/2008 12:45:59 PM

What's weird is that my WD drive is recognized by my Mac at work, which has OS 10.4, but not on my laptop at home. It's formatted with FAT32, which I thought was supposed to be usable by both Mac and Windows.

7/23/2008 2:13:40 PM

Quote :

"Seagate Free Agent"

7/23/2008 2:18:39 PM

Oh well, I went ahead and erased the WD passport using the disk utility, selecting "Mac OS Extended (journaled)". Maybe that will make the damn thing work on my laptop.

7/23/2008 2:24:30 PM

Seagate Free Agent

got the 500gb, no problems for a couple months now.

7/23/2008 4:13:22 PM

check out newegg.com.... they have pretty good customer reviews for like everything, and you can obviously tell which products are worth it/not worth it by the number of eggs and total number of reviews


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822204034

cheap, fast, 500gb

but yea, no experience personally with the brand, although check out the reviews

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 4:20 PM. Reason : wd and seagate are usually reliable]

7/23/2008 4:19:59 PM

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007754

7/23/2008 8:11:55 PM