I've been thinking about investing in a hard drive to back up my MacBook Pro. It's getting on a bit now at 3 years old and the 3 year care plan is about to expire.

The time capsule from Apple is £249 for 2TB. Does anyone know if you can buy a different brand hard drive that does the same job and syncs just fine but for less money? LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Watching with interest, have a iMac thats slowly getting full of Photos

You can set Time Machine to back up to any drive connected to your Mac, so just buy an external USB hard drive and use that. You'll be able to get a 2TB drive for less than £100

As a photographer I'm paranoid about back ups, with hard drives it's a matter of when they fail, not if. So if you've got important data on your Mac, I'd get that sorted out ASAP.

IMAC now backed up to a 1 TB hard drive - cost app £60
most importantly in my view the back up hard drive is kept in work, brought home every couple of weeks- IMAC backed up , hard drive back to work in safe.
Cannot understand why anyone would keep back up in same building- Theft, fire etc etc. 2011 XS,Sumatra Black, GONE MARCH 2014- RR Evoque Prestige 5 door ,MY 2014,Loire Blue, Silver Roof, Panoramic roof.
MY 2016 Disco Sport HSE Auto Scotia Grey,REJECTED
Mercedes E220D AMG line with air suspension(Gone)
DS 200 SE Dynamic my 21 (Gone)
DS 200 SE Dynamic my 22 (Gone)
Audi Q5 40TDI S line (gone)
Discovery Sport D200 S 2024 MY

toeknee wrote:

Watching with interest, have a iMac thats slowly getting full of Photos

I have an iMac that has been backing up to a seagate drive via the usb port for 5 years now..

use whatever drive you wish.. no problem !

As above, I have my mac set to back up my drive, my photos on another drive all to another external drive

As Althesan says it's backing up not freeing up space, you need to move files around yourself to free space up Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Thanks for the input. My plan is to backup my Mac but also to transfer all my photographs and documents which are taking up lots of space. My most important photo's are on photostream/iCloud anyway and my most important documents are backed up to dropbox. There are still other photo's which would be useful to dump onto another hard drive though.

I take it this would be suitable: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1443673.htm

I also take it that 2TB can cope with a lot of stuff... LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

What are connecting with usb3 or lightning which would be faster

I bought my LaCie from bt.shop

Not much more money could get you a extra TB
http://www.shop.bt.com/category/storage,ha...sktop=true


You also need to decide on self powered by USB or mains powered which will have a faster write speed Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I will happily use USB as I don't want to buy a further adaptor for lightning. The one in the link I posted looks ok and is mains powered. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Might opt for this one after further research. It seems better suited to macs according to seagate website: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1296215.htm LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Doc,

I recently bought WD "My Passport" for Mac for my macbook pro. Lightweight, portable, quick USB 3 (but also works perfectly well with USB2) 1TB - also 69.99 (PC World. Staples also do them). Already have WD desktop one for iMac but fancied something lighter / portable that also worked straight out of the box and linked with Time machine - flawless - but which didn't take up any more room. Recommended.

Thanks crockett. I have just reserved the seagate one at £69.99 to pick up from the store tomorrow. I read the reviews and one guy said he bought one and it worked perfectly with his mac. I will see how I get on with it and how it improves my mac once I have had a good clearout. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

How about a NAS drive, here is a page from a big local company i should hold shares in. http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardwa...ard-drive) I6 WITH GAS CONVERSION
HST BODY KIT
OSRAM LED DRIVING FOGS
CARS LOOKING GOOOOD!

I assume these drives can be unplugged and packed away once backups and transfers have been done? Then plugged in again next time you need them?

I don't have any spare sockets in my room to keep it plugged in all the while so it's either that or dig out a double adaptor. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey