04-01-2011, 08:44 PM

Hi!
Now please bare with me, i am fairly new to forums, brand new to this site, and I've recently converted to Mac. So please don't hound me, if there is a thread already asking these questions- let me know!

Any who, like i said, i recently bought my imac (27" intel core, i3), been a windows user for pretty much 16 years now, haven't used a mac since i was in elementary school.

SO QUESTION IS:

Ive had my imac for a couple months now, i love it- but as I'm reading the forms, about purchasing the Time Capsule, as a separate back up system has really got me worried! Seeing that it is close to $200, i just don't have that kind of money right now...

** Is there any other "temporary" solution, or any SUGGESTIONS anyone has, so i can sleep at night? or a thread to direct me to?

( i solely bought this computer for my pictures, and music ! )

Thank you so much!

04-01-2011, 09:18 PM

You could purchase an external hard drive and connect it directly to tour Mac. The drive could still bemused with the Time Machine program that shipped with your Mac. Depending upon the drive you choose it will probably need to be formatted. The reformatting can be done with Disk Utility.

04-01-2011, 09:22 PM

Slydude-
Thank you so much! What would you suggest? Like a USB port, that i can connect in the back? Or should i look like at the best-buy site, and see what the have?
Thanks again!

04-01-2011, 09:35 PM

You might try Amazon too. That's where I bought my external HD. I got the FireWire version which is a little pricier.

04-01-2011, 09:44 PM

USB would be fine though FireWire would be faster. One advantage of USB is that some routers allow you to attach a drive to the router so it can be "seen" on the network. In essence it behaves similar to a Time Capsule or NAS drive.

04-01-2011, 09:47 PM

Ok great! Im gonna look into it! I just get "Intimidated", because now i have a mac; its a completely different world!
-Thanks again!

04-01-2011, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by bookie_22

Ok great! Im gonna look into it! I just get "Intimidated", because now i have a mac; its a completely different world!
-Thanks again!

Welcome to the forums and the Mac world. Macs aren't that much different than Windows PCs. There are a lot that is pretty similar but you will learn that as you become more familiar with Macs.

To add to what has already been said, a Time Capsule is more than a just hard drive or merely a backup solution. This is part of the reason why it cost so much so if you don't need all the extra features of the Time Capsule then there is no need to get it.

To back up your files any external hard drive will do. There really is no Windows or Mac hard drives because all you need to do is format them to work on which operating system you are using. If you are using Time Machine to backup then it's as simple as plugging in the hard drive because Time Machine will also format the drive for you and then start doing it's job automatically.

04-02-2011, 03:31 AM

+1 for an external drive and Time Machine, as any external can be used, though make sure it's at least big enough to back up your entire system, and preferably 1.5 times larger.
They are coming down in price now too, 500gb for less than £40.