Wednesday, August 13, 2008
External Hard Drives for Macs
I do not recommend Western Digital hard drives for Macs. The WD My Book drives are sold at CostCo, Fry's, and many other outlets. AVOID THEM. These drives have certain incompatibilities with Macintosh computer systems.
Maxtor One Touch drives are acceptable but you would be paying a premium for the useless One Touch gimmick. Seagates and some other hard drives are okay, but I recommend OWC (Other World Computing) external hard drives for use as Time Machine backup drives. OWC has provided drives with full Mac compatibility, reasonable prices, and excellent service, in my experience.
FireWire is faster than USB. Many OWC drives offer combined FireWire and USB connectivity.
Unless otherwise stated, hard drives are not formatted for most efficient Mac usage. If you are not sure, check with me. I find many clients using external hard drives that are not fully compatible with the Macintosh operating system. PC-formatted drives will mount on the desktop and files can be copied to such drives, but I do not recommend using such drives for long-term backup service.
Check the warranty period and the return policy on any drive purchase.
I do not work for, or otherwise receive any compensation from, OWC or any other computer hard drive outlet.
Maxtor One Touch drives are acceptable but you would be paying a premium for the useless One Touch gimmick. Seagates and some other hard drives are okay, but I recommend OWC (Other World Computing) external hard drives for use as Time Machine backup drives. OWC has provided drives with full Mac compatibility, reasonable prices, and excellent service, in my experience.
FireWire is faster than USB. Many OWC drives offer combined FireWire and USB connectivity.
Unless otherwise stated, hard drives are not formatted for most efficient Mac usage. If you are not sure, check with me. I find many clients using external hard drives that are not fully compatible with the Macintosh operating system. PC-formatted drives will mount on the desktop and files can be copied to such drives, but I do not recommend using such drives for long-term backup service.
Check the warranty period and the return policy on any drive purchase.
I do not work for, or otherwise receive any compensation from, OWC or any other computer hard drive outlet.
