External hard drive? Do I need one?

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I just recently purchased an iMac 24" and absolutely love it! I was wondering if I need an external hard drive as well, such as Time Machine. I don't know too much about it or if I even need one, so any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Kerry:D
 
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It's not a requirement per say, but it is a good idea to have your data backed up and an external drive with time machine will do that. No matter if you accidently delete a file or your computer has serious issues you can restore. Much better than losing everything.

Apple also makes the Time Capsule which may or may not be good for you. It's does wireless backups.
 
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Thats your call if you really need one or not. Time Machine is nice, it is the lazy person's backup method, but does what it is supposed to. Personally I always backup my machines, whether with Time Machine or SuperDuper or other methods, better safe than sorry.
 
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Confused? Help..

I have a time machine icon on my imac, however I have no explored it. Do i need to get time capsule in order to use time machine?
 
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I have a time machine icon on my imac, however I have no explored it. Do i need to get time capsule in order to use time machine?

No, but you do need some type of external drive to use as a back-up device. A Time Capsule is just one option, one that is also a router.
 
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First rule of IT... make backups! It's so easy to do these days, there's really no reason not to. You can snag an external HDD for probably ~$100 or so and save you a world of grief.
 
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I'm not sure you can consider an external hard drive a solid backup media.
 
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I'm not sure you can consider an external hard drive a solid backup media.

Well, really it depends on just how crazy you are about backups. You can use an external HDD, solid state media, online storage, off-site storage, full RAID arrays ..... just depends on the person really. ;)
 
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Personally, I use my external hard drive every day. All my Music, Movies, Anime, Applications, Back Up's, Drivers, TV Shows and so much more are on there. I would recommend having a back up every 2 weeks.
 

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First rule of IT... make backups! It's so easy to do these days, there's really no reason not to. You can snag an external HDD for probably ~$100 or so and save you a world of grief.

Agreed. I've heard it said that there are two kinds of people in this world; those who have lost data and those who will.

Purchase an external hard drive that is equal to or greater than the size of your iMac's hard drive. Set it up to do backups with Time Machine and you'll have the peace of mind that comes in knowing that all of the important work you do on your computer (like photos, music and videos) are all safe.
 
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As others say either you have had a hard drive failure or about to - that is the rule of computing so yes an external HDD and use SuperDuper as a weekly backup.

Firewire is faster than USB2.
 
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Well, really it depends on just how crazy you are about backups. You can use an external HDD, solid state media, online storage, off-site storage, full RAID arrays ..... just depends on the person really. ;)
My problem is I work in storage :D :D :D ;D
 
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I'm not sure you can consider an external hard drive a solid backup media.

Why not? What are the chances that both your internal and external drive go down at the same time? Given that most raid arrays are built on the fact that 2 drives almost never fail at the same time I would think an external drive is a pretty good backup medium.
 
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Agreed. I've heard it said that there are two kinds of people in this world; those who have lost data and those who will.

Purchase an external hard drive that is equal to or greater than the size of your iMac's hard drive. Set it up to do backups with Time Machine and you'll have the peace of mind that comes in knowing that all of the important work you do on your computer (like photos, music and videos) are all safe.

Brilliant quote :p
I back up my work to an external hard disk, I do however put important coursework assignments etc to my idisk so I can access them wherever.
 
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To the OP, the consensus seems to be that backups are good and an external drive, if anything, is a convenient and simple way to go about it. Oh, and make backups of your backs - just in case. Belt and suspenders.
 
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Simple answer is yes....just look at my signature.
 

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