external hard drive for 10.7.5

[old-mac-user]

I have an older Macbook Air that I've have since 2012 or so. I have used it to backup my phone for a while and now my Mac storage is completely full. I would like to take all of the information off of my computer and put it on a hard drive so that I can update all of my software on my Mac to make it more usable. From then on, i would use this hard drive for storage instead of using my computer, just to keep it running as best it can. I took my computer to Best Buy and asked in they had any hard drives compatible to for 10.7.5 and the guy said that I need to find one online. Does anyone have a suggestion for a hard drive that would do everything that i need it for?

 

[ZapNZs]

What you were told at Best Buy is inaccurate. Any USB hard drive of any brand will work with your computer. If it is not a Mac-labeled drive (for example, products from G-Technology are all Mac-oriented), then you will want/need to format the drive using Disk Utility to HFS+. This is a very easy process to do.

From a brand perspective, if you plan to carry this drive on you and will use it for storing files you will access a lot, I suggest purchasing an external SSD instead of an external HDD. SSDs are faster, more durable, and (most importantly) impact resistant. They can survive the normal wear and tear of mobile usage that can often damage or destroy hard disk drives. An example is the Samsung T5.

Alternatively, if you have a 13-inch MacBook Air, you could use the Transcend JetDrive Lite to add up to 256 GB of internal flash storage through a flush-mounting SD card insert, meaning you do not have to carry around an external hard drive everywhere you go.

Once you begin storing files on this external drive, you will want to then back up this hard drive in addition to the Mac's SSD (so that if one fails you do not lose all of the data.) If you are using Time Machine with another external drive, you can set Time Machine to backup both of these drives.

 

[old-mac-user]

What you were told at Best Buy is inaccurate. Any USB hard drive of any brand will work with your computer. If it is not a Mac-labeled drive (for example, products from G-Technology are all Mac-oriented), then you will want/need to format the drive using Disk Utility to HFS+. This is a very easy process to do.

From a brand perspective, if you plan to carry this drive on you and will use it for storing files you will access a lot, I suggest purchasing an external SSD instead of an external HDD. SSDs are faster, more durable, and (most importantly) impact resistant. They can survive the normal wear and tear of mobile usage that can often damage or destroy hard disk drives. An example is the Samsung T5.

Alternatively, if you have a 13-inch MacBook Air, you could use the Transcend JetDrive Lite to add up to 256 GB of internal flash storage through a flush-mounting SD card insert, meaning you do not have to carry around an external hard drive everywhere you go.

Once you begin storing files on this external drive, you will want to then back up this hard drive in addition to the Mac's SSD (so that if one fails you do not lose all of the data.) If you are using Time Machine with another external drive, you can set Time Machine to backup both of these drives.

[doublepost=1514751791][/doublepost]Unfortunately, I am working with the 11 inch Air so I will either have to go with a HDD like the G-technology or SSD. I am also not looking to spend more than $100 and from what I've seen, the SDDs are a bit more expensive. I wouldn't necessarily bring the drive with me everywhere, I would just use my computer as a "middle man" for storage to the drive.

 

[ZapNZs]

In that case any USB external HDD will work. Just be sure to back up!

 

[Fishrrman]

If the MacBook Air has a USB (A) port, get a USB3 external drive.
It can be either an SSD or a platter-based hard drive (HDD).

Don't make things too complicated.

If you want to take "ALL the information off", I suggest you do this:
1. Download either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper (both are FREE to download and use for 30 days)
2. Use CCC (or SD) to create a cloned backup of your MacBook's internal drive.

Everything will now "be there".
You can even boot from it if you wish.

EDIT:
If you're still using 10.7.5, you may need an older version of CCC.
Older versions are available at the CCC download page.