Newbie/Moron Does The Impossible - Needs Help

Dear Fellow Members:

Used Mac on rare occasion over last 18 years or so; thus, far from being in the 'loop'. With some research, now know crashing a Mac is far from impossible, but never heard of anyone doing so until I just did.

Sent Toughbook back to Panasonic, as it ain't all too tough. Took hours, but finally got MacBook to boot up in safe mode. Must do complete back up before I lose all our data. Black MacBook Model 3, 1 specs are:

Processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Firewire: 400
Hard Drive: Capacity = 148.73 GB Available = 108.74 GB

Figured on LaCie 320GB Rugged All Terrain external HD, but need to know:

1. If 320GB capacity is enough?;
2. Will 7200 rpm unit speed up transfer rate on my MacBook model?; or
3. Do I just need 5400 rpm unit?
4. Will using Firewire 400 transfer data faster than high speed USB?

I appreciate & thank you in advance for any assistance you all can provide.

Best Regards,

KFC, III ("Kenny")

1. To move 40GB of data onto it? Pretty obvious answer to this one.
2. External or replace internal?
3. See above.
4. You will see transfer speeds almost twice as fast moving 40GB of data over FW400 vs USB.

bobtomay said:

1. To move 40GB of data onto it? Pretty obvious answer to this one.
2. External or replace internal?
3. See above.
4. You will see transfer speeds almost twice as fast moving 40GB of data over FW400 vs USB.

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Thank you very much for responding.

LaCie drives I'm referring to are external - apologize for not being clear about that. Believe you were asking this in regard to my choice of 7200 rpm vs. 5400 rpm.

I asked about FW400 vs. high speed USB as I could swear the specs on the drive showed they both transferred data at about the same rate. However, I honestly don't have much of a clue about this stuff as I read up on it just a few days ago.

USB 2.0 versus FireWire check it out

RustProofCorn said:

USB 2.0 versus FireWire check it out

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Thanks for pointing me in right direction.

Had feeling that was case. Lawyer in me felt something amiss as manu's specs didn't seem to 'add' up. Imagine FW400 option unnecessary if "high speed" USB faster, as everyone has USB port today & unit would need just USB w or w/o FW800, as manu's wouldn't waste $$$ on unnecessary connection.

Therefore, final issue is will 7200 rpm (as opposed to 5400 rpm) unit significantly increase speed for my MacBook?

Thanks again for the advice. Ignorant ding dong like me next to useless when manu doesn't inform of reality of it's specs.

It really doesn't matter for a drive that will only be used while connected via USB or FW. Either of them are capable of keeping up with the speed of the bus.

bobtomay said:

It really doesn't matter for a drive that will only be used while connected via USB or FW. Either of them are capable of keeping up with the speed of the bus.

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Thank you, once again. Your expertise is quite helpful. It appears here in good ol' Miami, Florida, brick and mortar retailers stock the 5400 RPM model only; thus, if I want the 7200 RPM model, I have to order online. I shall rather just go straight to the store to get it right away.

Thanks Again For Your Kind Assistance,

Kenny