[frankthetank966]

I noticed this today when I went to the store. This is a good deal for an 80 GB external hard drive. It works with Mac OSX and Windows. I love the look of this HD, its has a shiny black exterior.

Western Digital (Office Depot)
You must buy this IN-STORE to get the deal. It has a $30.00 Mail-in-Rebate so it is $79.99
Western Digital® Passport™ Portable Hard Drive, 80GB, Black at Office Depot.

SimpleTech (CircuitCity)
Another good deal I noticed on a Mac OSX compatible hard-drive was at Circuit City. This is also an in-store deal and online. I suggest using the in-store. They are selling a SimpleTech 60GB portable HD for $59.99, it retails for $99.99. If you buy it in-store you receive $30.00 instant savings and then you have send in for $10.00 MIR. If you buy it online you have a $40.00 MIR.
Buy the SimpleTech Portable External Hard Drive (SPU2560S) and other Hard Drives at circuitcity.com

These may not be the best prices for Windows users but are great if you have Mac OSX.

Which do you think is a better HD?

[mduell]

Are there any external drives that aren't Mac compatible? I don't think I've seen one in years. Some may not come with Mac backup software, but you can just plug them in and format them and use them as a normal drive.

As for those prices, they're crap before the MIR and mediocre after MIR.

Black 80GB 2.5" for $77 ($10 MIR makes it $67)
Silver 80GB 2.5" for $78
Pink 80GB 2.5" for $79
And the Western Digital you found, but for $83 without rebates.

I'd consider paying the extra $10-15 and going with the 120GB 2.5" WD for $93.

[frankthetank966]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Are there any external drives that aren't Mac compatible? I don't think I've seen one in years. Some may not come with Mac backup software, but you can just plug them in and format them and use them as a normal drive.

As for those prices, they're crap before the MIR and mediocre after MIR.

Black 80GB 2.5" for $77 ($10 MIR makes it $67)
Silver 80GB 2.5" for $78
Pink 80GB 2.5" for $79
And the Western Digital you found, but for $83 without rebates.

Off those two which do you think is a better HD? I do not care about the size. 20 GB does not make a big difference to me. I think the ST is better since it has a THREE year warranty and the WD only has a ONE year. And some say they are not Mac compatible. They are list as "PC Compatible Only."

[mduell]

Originally Posted by frankthetank966 

Off those two which do you think is a better HD? I do not care about the size. 20 GB does not make a big difference to me. I think the ST is better since it has a THREE year warranty and the WD only has a ONE year. And some say they are not Mac compatible. They are list as "PC Compatible Only."

A three year warranty is nice, and if you don't care about capacity then I would go with the cheaper 60GB.

The software included with the drive may be Windows-only and the drive may be NTFS formatted out of the box, but I still don't think you're going to find any enclosure for sale today that you can't plug in to a Mac, format as HFS, and use.

[frankthetank966]

Originally Posted by mduell 

A three year warranty is nice, and if you don't care about capacity then I would go with the cheaper 60GB.

The software included with the drive may be Windows-only and the drive may be NTFS formatted out of the box, but I still don't think you're going to find any enclosure for sale today that you can't plug in to a Mac, format as HFS, and use.

Why does eveyone say the WD is a better brand? They have the same specs besides for the capacity. The cd will not work with mac. It is the weird shaped one.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by frankthetank966 

Why does eveyone say the WD is a better brand? They have the same specs besides for the capacity. The cd will not work with mac. It is the weird shaped one.

Huh? I just suggested the SimpleTech one.

If you really care about warranty, buy a $64 Seagate 60GB drive (5 year warranty) and a $7 USB2 enclosure.

You don't need to use the CD; it only contains a Windows backup program.

[frankthetank966]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Huh? I just suggested the SimpleTech one.

If you really care about warranty, buy a $64 Seagate 60GB drive (5 year warranty) and a $7 USB2 enclosure.

You don't need to use the CD; it only contains a Windows backup program.

What makes one brand better than the other? They both have the same exact buffer speed. If capacity is not an issue I do not understand how one brand can have an edge.

p.s. the cd is one of the cd's that is shaped like a rectangle with two circles on the side. you know?

[mduell]

Neither brand is terribly remarkable, so I just went with the cheaper one.

I understand it's one of the credit card sized CDs. You don't need the files on the CD anyway. Plug the drive in, pop open disk utility, and reformat with HFS.

[frankthetank966]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Neither brand is terribly remarkable, so I just went with the cheaper one.

I understand it's one of the credit card sized CDs. You don't need the files on the CD anyway. Plug the drive in, pop open disk utility, and reformat with HFS.

What is HFS? I enabled it for journaling. Is it normal that once it is enabled for Mac OSX that it will not work with Windows?

[frankthetank966]

Dude what do you mean reformat with HFS. I enabled mine to Mac Extended (Journaled) It only works on Mac.

[mduell]

HFS+ is Mac Extended. The drive probably came formatted as FAT32 or NTFS, so you reformatted it as HFS+ in Disk Utility.

Windows can't natively read HFS+, but there are a few third party apps that will do it (MacDrive, etc).

[frankthetank966]

Originally Posted by mduell 

HFS+ is Mac Extended. The drive probably came formatted as FAT32 or NTFS, so you reformatted it as HFS+ in Disk Utility.

Windows can't natively read HFS+, but there are a few third party apps that will do it (MacDrive, etc).

How do I reformat it to HFS? Where do I do it in Disk utility?

p.s. do you know any free apps

[frankthetank966]

Right now, whenever I try to empty the deleted files from the SimpleTech SimpleDrive it freezes finder. Any suggestions?