[Synotic]

I've been thinking recently of getting an external hard drive for backups and basic storage. I don't need much space and speed isn't a particular concern but every now and then I find I need to clean out my PowerBook's 80GB internal hard drive. My dad also has an older PowerMac G4 with a packed 20GB hard drive, so I'd like to know if there's an efficient solution for backing up two computers with one drive. He'll be buying one of the new iMacs soon though, so space restrictions shouldn't be a problem anymore, but I'd still like to back up both computers. I haven't backed up before (I know!) nor have I lost any data, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.

Just today, I got an e-mail e-mail from Outpost on a deal for a 160GB Seagate hard drive, normally $100 but with a $50 rebate if bought before the 16th, it comes to $50 dollars.

Like I said, I'm a real newbie on this kind of stuff, so this might not even be even the right kind of hard drive I'm looking for. After I have a drive, I believe I need to get an enclosure correct? Are there generally reliability issues when it comes to buying different enclosures? Is buying a cheaper enclosure a bad idea? Are more expensive enclosures better or simply better constructed? I'm not planning on taking this hard drive (if I get it) outside, it should mostly be sitting on a desk, possibly with occasional shuttles between rooms.

I usually do a good amount of research before I buy a product, but it seems that hard drives are pretty generic and there isn't much out there in terms of reviews. Also, it seems like a good deal to jump on, if it is indeed what I'm looking for. I appreciate any help

P.S. I'll end this dumb post with another... when it says it "expires" on the 16th, does that mean, that once it hits September 16th, 12AM, that it's expired? Or does it officially end the 17th, 12AM?

[Krusty]

It proably expires at midnight TONIGHT PST. The drive you are looking at is a very good choice ... Seagates are awesome (not the fastest .. but the best balance of speed, reliability and SILENCE, IMHO).

It's very easy to back of multiple computers with one drive. Drives can be partitioned into discreet segments by using Disk Utility. Make one segment big enough to back up the PB, one big enough for the G4 and one extra for generic storage. You can use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bit-for-bit backup of each machine to the various partitions you create on the external.

What I'd recommend to you, Partition the drive like this:
~75gb to back up the powerbook
~19gb to back up the G4
~50-52 (whatever is left) to back up the new iMac
(note, you'll only see about 151gb of actual space on a 160gb drive)

As soon as you get your iMac ... back it up to the external, then wipe your iMac's drive and give it 2 partitions. One that exactly matches the size remaining on the 3rd partition of the external and one for big media files and/or your iTunes Music library. Then, your external will be able to serve triple-duty and backup all three of your machines.

[jersey]

DAMN THATS A GOOD DEAL !!!!!!!!!!

i bought one...how can you pass up less than 0.40 a gig? maybe i should buy one under my girlfriends name.........

[Krusty]

Yeah, even w/o the rebate -- $99 is as cheap as that drive gets in Retail Kit format. I'm trying to find an excuse to jump on this deal myself.

*note: the drive used is the EXACT same model that came in my BTO eMac. I get sequential write speeds over 60MB/sec !! (which, unfortunately, means that putting it in an external FW case will actually hamper its performance a bit). Still .. <*mmm* .... damn ... I should buy that f#cker. ... 160gb ...maybe resell on ebay if I end up having no use for it .... damn ..... grrrrr.....>

[zigzag]

Some enclosures are built better than others but as a practical matter I don't think it makes much difference in a non-critical setting, so I would shop for price (and appearance/size if that concerns you). I bought one from Outpost a while back for $40 that works fine.

One thing I do like is a power switch, and some of the cheaper ones don't have one. It's not a big deal, but when you need to turn it off or on it's easier to deal with a switch than a power cord.

That's a great price on the drive.

[MilkmanDan]

newegg.com has some good external firewire cases, at a good price. I like mine, but there are some sweet metal convection cooled enclosures that look so nice.