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A great Time Machine

TyWahn

TyWahn

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 25, 2003
402
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I'm in the market for a good external drive (platter 2 TB) to use for Time Machine on my new iMac.
I have 2 LaCie Porche drives that are several years old (one is a 165 GB Firewire 400 and that was huge when I bought it) and still running, however I read recently that the drives inside the new ones are Seagate which don't get much love and I am not sure if that's always been the case.
Did LaCie once make their own drive?
Can anybody recommend a good external drive for me? USB 3 of course and Bus powered would be great.
Thanks as always. This is a great community that's always helped me.
 
More than 100 views and nobody has a recommendation? Does anybody use an external drive that they're pleased with?
Im not trying to be snide, just need help.
Thanks
 
personally i use old drives like that primarily for backups, because if they fail, its not a huge loss unless its on the slight miniscule chance both my backup and my primary die at the same time (and that's why i have more than one backup!)

but if you're worried about the drive mechanism itself, just research the most reliable drives and put it in an external case of your choice. with pre-bought solutions you're always going to be at the whim of whatever the VAR like LaCie feels like putting in the case. many VARs dont even disclose what mechanisms they use. End result is better choices for you, and you'll save money over the obscene mark-up those brands bake in.
 
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kwikdeth said:
personally i use old drives like that primarily for backups, because if they fail, its not a huge loss unless its on the slight miniscule chance both my backup and my primary die at the same time (and that's why i have more than one backup!)

but if you're worried about the drive mechanism itself, just research the most reliable drives and put it in an external case of your choice. with pre-bought solutions you're always going to be at the whim of whatever the VAR like LaCie feels like putting in the case. many VARs dont even disclose what mechanisms they use. End result is better choices for you, and you'll save money over the obscene mark-up those brands bake in.
Click to expand...

That's great. Thanks for the idea.
 
A "Great" time machine is about the software, and Apple is responsible for that. I'm happy - the backups are incremental, often and in the background.

The requirements for the drive itself are modest. Reliable and quiet. Speed doesn't matter. I use a Western Digital Black 1 TB drive in a $20 USB-C enclosure. All of the hardware is well under $100.
 
TyWahn said:
Can anybody recommend a good external drive for me? USB 3 of course and Bus powered would be great.
Click to expand...
Pretty much all the drive companies have been bought up by either Seagate or WD, and there really is little to no difference among them when looking at 2.5" USB3 drives like you are. Just decide what size you want and grab whatever is on sale is what I always suggest.
 
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Ty, there is no need to look at anything like what the poster above you listed. A drive used for Time Machine does not need to be fast (he linked a SSD drive, which is completely unnecessary).

The good news is that you can get a quality spinning hard drive for very little money. Before sending you some links, let's narrow down the size you need. At this point in time, how much storage does you data take up?

I ask this because it is helpful if your Time Machine backup drive is at least twice the size of your current storage needs, but 3-4x larger would be even better. Don't worry...it won't be expensive...we just need to vector in on what size you need.
 
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Bryan Bowler said:
Ty, there is no need to look at anything like what the poster above you listed. A drive used for Time Machine does not need to be fast (he linked a SSD drive, which is completely unnecessary).

The good news is that you can get a quality spinning hard drive for very little money. Before sending you some links, let's narrow down the size you need. At this point in time, how much storage does you data take up?

I ask this because it is helpful if your Time Machine backup drive is at least twice the size of your current storage needs, but 3-4x larger would be even better. Don't worry...it won't be expensive...we just need to vector in on what size you need.
Click to expand...

I have a 1TB Fusion Drive in a 2017 iMac. It's only 5 days old so there's not much on it yet.
[doublepost=1521870639][/doublepost]
Glockworkorange said:
Really, just check highly rated ones on Amazon. Seagate is fine. I have a Lacie 2 TB USB C drive as well.
[doublepost=1521868576][/doublepost]2 TB, under a 100 bucks and USB C https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...82df10b1ab90b26641f533768984dbfe433a5146b51bc
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I really appreciate the reply. I am always looking for a bargain.
 
TyWahn said:
I have a 1TB Fusion Drive in a 2017 iMac. It's only 5 days old so there's not much on it yet.
[doublepost=1521870639][/doublepost]

Thanks for the tip. I really appreciate the reply. I am always looking for a bargain.
Click to expand...
That one I linked to from the Apple store works really well as a TM for my MBP. What's your budget? Personally, I always budget $75.00 but no more than $100.00 when considering a moderate size backup drive.
[doublepost=1521899575][/doublepost]
TyWahn said:
I have a 1TB Fusion Drive in a 2017 iMac. It's only 5 days old so there's not much on it yet.
[doublepost=1521870639][/doublepost]

Thanks for the tip. I really appreciate the reply. I am always looking for a bargain.
Click to expand...
Also, I see that you have a 2017 iMac, so it's nice that you have multiple options for I/O connectors.

Good Lord, I never thought I'd geek out about I/O and backup drives. I need to get out more.
 
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TyWahn said:
Thanks for the tip. I really appreciate the reply. I am always looking for a bargain.
Click to expand...

The portable hard drive that Glockworkorange linked you to is a great portable drive. Generally speaking though, if you are going to leave a hard drive hooked up 24/7 for back-ups and you will not be moving it around a lot, it might be preferable to go with a true external hard drive that comes with vents and its own power supply. You can tuck it in behind your iMac and you'll never know it is there. Just be sure to clean back there for dust 3 or 4 times a year.

A great external hard drive for the price is the Western Digital 4TB Elements External Drive from B&H. At the time of this writing it is $99 delivered to your door. 4TB may sound like a lot, but this will give you a ton of room for incremental backups, which will allow you to go way back in time should you ever need to retrieve a file that you deleted.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...wlg0040hbk_nesn_4tb_elements_external_hd.html

The drive I linked to is formatted for Windows, but it is very easy to reformat it for a Mac. Just in case you're not familiar with this, here is how you reformat it:

Launch Disc Utility (Applications>Utilities)
Locate the External Hard drive on the left hand side and click on it
Triple check that you selected the correct drive! (Seriously, check 3 times)
Click on the Erase tab at the top
Next to "Format" click on the drop-down menu and choose "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"
Just below that, give the Hard Drive whatever name you want
Then click on the Erase button just below and confirm again on the next popup window
The External Hard Drive will erase and reformat for use with a Mac
 
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I don't believe Lacie ever manufactured the hard drives themselves. The did however make excellent enclosures.
 
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You guys are great. Thank you so much for the suggestions. I should have no trouble finding one now.
 
I use (and like) a 2TB G-Techology drive. It's not bus bus powered, a little pricey, but it was given to me so I can't really complain. ;-) I can attest to its reliability, and that's what counts in the end. Oh, I use it with an Airport Extreme with no problems.
 
Bryan Bowler said:
The portable hard drive that Glockworkorange linked you to is a great portable drive. Generally speaking though, if you are going to leave a hard drive hooked up 24/7 for back-ups and you will not be moving it around a lot, it might be preferable to go with a true external hard drive that comes with vents and its own power supply. You can tuck it in behind your iMac and you'll never know it is there. Just be sure to clean back there for dust 3 or 4 times a year.

A great external hard drive for the price is the Western Digital 4TB Elements External Drive from B&H. At the time of this writing it is $99 delivered to your door. 4TB may sound like a lot, but this will give you a ton of room for incremental backups, which will allow you to go way back in time should you ever need to retrieve a file that you deleted.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...wlg0040hbk_nesn_4tb_elements_external_hd.html

The drive I linked to is formatted for Windows, but it is very easy to reformat it for a Mac. Just in case you're not familiar with this, here is how you reformat it:

Launch Disc Utility (Applications>Utilities)
Locate the External Hard drive on the left hand side and click on it
Triple check that you selected the correct drive! (Seriously, check 3 times)
Click on the Erase tab at the top
Next to "Format" click on the drop-down menu and choose "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"
Just below that, give the Hard Drive whatever name you want
Then click on the Erase button just below and confirm again on the next popup window
The External Hard Drive will erase and reformat for use with a Mac
Click to expand...
TyWahn said:
You guys are great. Thank you so much for the suggestions. I should have no trouble finding one now.
Click to expand...
Let us know what you pick up!
 
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