I have a Macbook Pro 13.3 and wish to get a 1 Tb external hard drive. Can anyone offer a suggestion as to a specific model to get. Also, what type of connection should I utilize, USB, firewire, etc... Thanks
I've got a MBP and use a Seagate external, it has both USB2.0 and FireWire interfaces. It works fine when I'm running XP, when running MacOS it sometimes needs to be "jump started" three or four times to get the drive to power up (not sure if USB/FW bus polling intervals are different between the OS's, but this model doesn't spin up until the OS recognizes the device) Might be a firmware update for it, but I never bothered since I almost never boot into MacOS.
You can use FW or USB on a 13" Pro, if you go FW, get the 800 Interface or else it makes no difference, except that you pay a lot more for FW. If you are just using it for Time Machine Backups, USB will be cheaper and work sufficiently. You do not need a Mac Specific drive, just get the cheapest one you like (I would stick with the major brands). When you get it, use Disk Utility to Partition/format it Mac OS Extended (Journaled UFS), and as soon as it is done it will prompt you if you want to use it for Time Machine, Click yes, and you are done, that will set up automated backups. The first time it runs it will take a while, then after that it will record changes only every hour and that shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
check out Newegg.com, call and talk to their consultants. They have never steered me wrong, and my IT guys also highly recommend them for the best prices and the best recommendations. Those guys totally know their stuff.
Newegg currently has a Hitachi 1TB EXternal for $69 and free shipping, we use this drive a lot and it works well.
I am rather new to Mac OS, do you think there will be any connection issues on these once the new Mac OS comes out later this month?
I got a 13" MBP a few weeks ago. I took the HDD out, replaced it with an SSD, put the HDD in an external case and now I've got a much faster laptop and an external HDD. The external case uses USB and for what I use it for (storing data) it works good. I can also boot off of the external drive if needed. Just an alternative idea.
I've always had good luck with Western Digital HD's internal and external. Just DO NOT GET THE GREEN ONES!!! They suck. And not because they are enviro. Because they break alot.
ESata on GDrive Pro for quick access ~$350 at Apple store but can be found cheaper Latest data transfer protocol is Thunderbolt; almost 10x Esata rates supposedly but limited product.
