Back up drive

[phreddyl]

Ok so this morning my hard drive went on my MacBook Pro. Very frustrating day. Apple was great and gave me a new hard drive free in under 2 hours. It was relatively new and nothing really stored on it that I'm crushed about. But that got me thinking about my iMac and how that isn't backed up. So now to my question. I am looking for a easy way to back up with time machine. Time capsule looks cool but I really don't need the wifi part ( unless I am missing something ) what other back up drives are people using. Thanks in advance. My brain is fried today so please excuse my ramble.

 

[Beyond Fire]

You can't go wrong with Western Digital drives, I've been using them for years and not one has went out on me. I haven't tried a time capsule myself but I believe the wireless is for wireless backups, so it doesn't need to be connected via a cable. I think they also offer a 2 in 1 time capsule with a router built in as well. I'm actually probably gonna pick up a time capsule as my next drive.

 

[phreddyl]

A Time Capsule is an AirPort Extreme router with a built in hard drive for Time Machine backups.

If I already have a wifi router through uverse how will it help me?

 

[phreddyl]

Ok stupid question. This one says works with air but assuming works with iMac as well. http://store.westerndigital.com/sto...d.13092300/catid.55288100/categoryID.63791700

 

[phreddyl]

It won't unless you want/need to replace your existing router.
Any external drive can serve as a drive to use with Time Machine where you plug it in directly via USB or thunderbolt to the Mac. A Time Capsule just adds the convenience of wifi backups which doesn't really matter with something like an iMac.

Awesome thanks. What do you think of the one I posted in the thread?

 

[phreddyl]

There's nothing wrong with that one especially if you want one small and portable. External drive come in two general styles: portable and desktop. Desktop ones are bigger (not necessarily in GB just physicals size) and often use desktop hard drives which are cheaper than the laptop hard drives used in the portable ones. Desktop ones also often require their own power source rather than being powered off the USB port like the portable ones.
However shop around. That price is a bit high. A quick check on Newegg shows 1TB portable style Western Digital drives as low as $78. Don't worry about a drive saying it is for Windows because when setting up Time Machine it will reformat the drive anyway.

I found that one on amazon for $119. I also found this one if I want to go desktop
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Hard-Dri...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUimUvbUpU2276380.
Thoughts? Thanks again

 

[phreddyl]

That one would be fine if you're more comfortable with Amazon. I've ordered lots of stuff from Newegg over the years though. Any Western Digital drive is usually good.

Think I am better with desktop or portable? With the desktop do I just leave it plugged in and it does it automatically?

 

[phreddyl]

With either type you can just leave it attached via USB to the iMac and it will backup automatically every hour. If you unplug it, it will recognize the drive when you plug it back in and start a backup automatically.
Which type you want is mostly preference and if you plan to travel with it. Historically desktop hard drives are a bit more reliable than laptop hard drives, but I don't k or if that's still true or not and I've never had either fail for me. Like any hard drive or mechanical device, they can fail, obviously.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[phreddyl]

On my imac I have two profiles. One for me and one fir my husband. Does it back up both? I assume I will know once I set up the time machine

 

[lee_michael_f92]

I have a 1 TB iOmega eGo 3.0 portable hard drive. How much space do you guys think I should partition for my back ups? 500gb? 200gb? Less? More?


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[lee_michael_f92]

2X the size of the hard drive you are backing up.

Thank you!


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