backup hard drive questions

[chachi]

Hi. Looking for a backup drive for my Mac and it is harder than I thought. Here are some questions i have:
1. What size should I get? My mac is 320 GB, and some research has has folks saying at least twice this size - Why? If it's backup, how can I backup what I don't have. Unless....see question 2:
2. Should I be buying this just for backup or for extra storage? Meaning, way bigger so I can have more storage than my Mac - and if so, then don't I need backup for that (backup for backup!). Is this possible? Can the drive be partitioned that many times (ie: one partition to backup my computer, then partitioned 2 more times - new storage and backup for that). Or is this getting too difficult - maybe i should just worry about the backup for now which brings me back to question 1!!!
3. USB plug in only? Or another power source? the latter seem to be much bigger.....
4. Brands? Iomega today, 1 TB was only 119 bucks (canadian)....much cheaper than any others.....
5. If you got this far, thanks for your help and reading all my rambling. Future shop was no help at all.....

Thanks

 

[harryb2448]

G'day and welcome to the forums.

To answer 1, depends what you use it for. For example, if you are heavily into photos, DVDs, or music downloads, then the bigger the better for sure. If you just use your computer for browsing, then at least the same size as your internal HDD.

Regarding 2, suggest primarily backup, and also storage. With today's Operating Systems, a weekly back up of the system, and all files is essential. Personally favour doing a lot of storing on DVDs, particulalrly photos etc as back up drives can also fail.

Question 3, depends on what type of machine you are using. Intel machines yes USB 2 will be fine, however if you are using an older PowerPC G5, G4, or even a G3, these will not normally boot from USB, even USB2, as it is too slow. For those models you need a Firewire 400/800 connection .

Brands as you wish, however Seagate and Western Digital seem to be the best of the bunch, and Seagate comes with a five year warranty. Worth considering.

 

[chachi]

wow thanks....that all helps a lot. Soooo, i'm looking at western digitals 500GB passport, it comes with a 5 year warranty and is uber small, that will leave me with another 180 GB for more storage...
cheers
c