12-05-2008, 10:50 PM

Hello,

I am relatively new Mac user and would like to purchase a QUIET 500 GB external drive so I can use Time Machine for backups. I heard that the Seagates are good, any other suggestions?

Thanks

12-05-2008, 11:19 PM

Best Buy had two on sale awhile ago - called MyBook and they come in either 500 GB or 650 GB. I got one on sale for $90.

12-06-2008, 12:57 AM

Check out the Sticky Thread for tons of suggestions:

Which External Hard Drive should I buy/Do you suggest?

12-06-2008, 05:28 AM

Do not go with WD. Worst company EVER!

12-06-2008, 03:48 PM

I have a WD and two Maxtor drives and if you want a quiet drive, I wouldn't recommend the WD. It makes a constant, relatively loud humming sound. The Maxtor One Touch 4 Plus, on the other hand, is totally silent. Maxtor is now owned by Seagate and the support from Seagate is good.

Claire

12-06-2008, 08:28 PM

That is odd - my WD MyBook is ultra quiet.

12-06-2008, 08:53 PM

Originally Posted by PapaNoHair

That is odd - my WD MyBook is ultra quiet.

x2 on that. I have 2 WD MyBook 1TB drives, and they are VERY quiet, never hear them at all.

12-06-2008, 08:55 PM

Never had a Seagate fail as yet (touches wood) including IDE, PATA external and SATA.

One thing you do not give your model details. PowerPC G4's and G5's can only boot from a firewire external drive, Intels can from USB 2 also.

12-07-2008, 09:22 AM

Well, here's a nice article if you're looking for a larger external HD. It's a 2 page roundup of HD's between 500GB-1TB.
Huge hard drives - Page 1 | Macworld

12-07-2008, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by PapaNoHair

That is odd - my WD MyBook is ultra quiet.

Same here, I actually can't remember the last time I heard it.

12-07-2008, 11:14 AM

Seagate has 5 years warranty.

12-07-2008, 04:26 PM

I also have 2 Mybooks. One is 500 Gb and the other is 1Tb. In order to tell i they are spinning I have to touch them to feel the vibration. I cannot hear them. I would definitely suggest getting them.

12-09-2008, 10:08 AM

I guess I must have the only noisy WD drive. Anyone want to trade? Except for the noise, is works well.

WD has a poor reputation for customer support, but my own experience with their email support was satisfactory. I still, however, would recommend Seagate over WD. Their reputation is excellent and friends who have Seagate drives are very happy with them. I like my two Maxtor drives - and one is 3-1/2 years old and still working, so they seem to be durable.

Claire

12-09-2008, 12:59 PM

The reason I will never go back to WD again is because of their faulty drives and bad customer support. I bought a 500 gb WD MyBook back in july and plugged it into my macbook. The usb on it worked but the firewire was shot. I also tested it on my imac and my friends desktop with same results. Well I contacted WD and I sent it back. Again got another drive but with opposite problems. The firewire works but the USB doesnt.
So then again, i sent it back, costing me shipping everytime, and waiting another week for the drive, to find out my next drive had a hardware glitch in it. The stupid drive shuts off after 5 mins and freezes on my desktop and i have to unplug it from the back. (which is a risk of erasing all my data) I guess im better off keeping this one since finally both the firewire and usb work. (for about 5 mins) I will never again buy a Western Digital product as long as i live. IMO worst company ever.