[mshan]

My dad owns a 20 inch Core Duo iMac and it's 250 GB hard drive is filling up.

I want to get him an external hard drive for use with iMovie.

Can others recommend some good external hard drives or even bare enclosures for this purpose?

I think Firewire is supposed to be better for Macs, and ideally I would like one that spins up and spins down automatically when the iMac is put to sleep or awakened from sleep state.

 

[dknightd]

I've had pretty good luck with LaCie drives. Knock on wood.
They sleep and wake just fine. I use firewire.

 

[Some geek]

Get him a Firewire Alum. 3.5" enclosure and a good drive to go with it. Both Comp USA and Rat Shack sell "Mad Dog" enclosures that many people swear by.

Drives are cheap. 500GB SATA drive for $150 for example.

Just make sure the enclosure matches the drive... ie: IDE or SATA, 3.5" etc.

BTW- PATA = IDE in case you see it written both ways. If you need help, email. A look at the name should tell you my background.

BTW Staples is running killer sales lately.

 

[mshan]

This drive will be only used for video storage (iMovie). All other files will remain on the internal hard drive.

Is IEEE still needed / better than USB?

Also, how do I move my dad's video documents file only to the external drive so everything still shows up in Front Row and in other programs such as iDVD?

 

[mshan]

I know it's not ideal, but the price was right so I went ahead and bought this USB external hard drive:

http://www.buy.com/prod/Fantom_Drive...203383140.html

I think it comes pre-formatted FAT32, so I think it will work with Mac right out fo the box.

However, I read that FAT32 has a 4 GB file limit size, which would obviously be a problem for a video editing hard drive.

What format does Apple use and how would I reformat the drive with Mac OS X "Tiger"?

 

[Some geek]

DO NOT get a USB drive for video. That's like getting a bike to use on the Interstate. You'll just get somebody killed.

All you have to do is copy your iMovie project folders to the external. iDVD will figure it out. (When you click the iDVD icon from within the project.)

If you give me a budget, I'll go find you some deals.

BTW- If possible, get a Seagate drive. 5 yr warr. and about as close to bulletproof as we can get.

 

[mshan]

I'd say around $100, hopefully much lower with some rebate deal or promotion such as Google Checkout.

I was going to pay up for the Newer Tech Mini-Stack v2 (empty and add my own hard drive for better warranty), but I've read it's fan sounds like a model airplane engine.

 

[proglife]

I just received shipment of a 320GB LaCie drive with Firewire 800, FW 400 and USB 2.0 for 140 bucks from NewEgg. So far, so good.

 

[Calroth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshan /img/forum/go_quote.gif What format does Apple use and how would I reformat the drive with Mac OS X "Tiger"?

To reformat the drive, open the Applications folder, then open the Utilities folder, then open the Disk Utility program. It will show you all the disks connected to the system, so choose the one you bought, and go to the "Erase" tab. The standard Mac filesystem is "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".

 

[Baba]

Other World Computing offers some really highly regarded hard drives. I've purchased a portable HD for my Powerbook from them am very pleased with it. Check them out.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/

 

[mshan]

If I choose Erase on the external drive, DisK Utility with format with that standard file format?

And that file format can accept files larger than 4 GB (mini DV tape import will obviously be much larger than that - say 10 - 20 GB)?

 

[Calroth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshan /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I choose Erase on the external drive, DisK Utility with format with that standard file format? And that file format can accept files larger than 4 GB (mini DV tape import will obviously be much larger than that - say 10 - 20 GB)?

When you choose Erase, you get a choice. I think it defaults to what the current format is, so switch it to "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". It can handle large files with no problem - I think it goes to 2TB.

 

[mshan]

I think FAT32 can be read and write by Mac OS X?

But has the 4 GB single file limit?

And does erase / reformat check the hard drive for bad sectors just like Windows does?

 

[Calroth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think FAT32 can be read and write by Mac OS X? But has the 4 GB single file limit? And does erase / reformat check the hard drive for bad sectors just like Windows does?

Yes, Mac OS X can read FAT32, which has a 4GB file limit. Mac OS X can also read but not write NTFS.

The Erase command used to have a bad blocks check, but I can't find where it is now. You can probably get a similar effect by using the "Zero out data" option. It shouldn't be an issue for a new drive anyway.

 

[mshan]

You see any problem if I hooked up the external drive to a Windows comp first to format the drive (not the quick format, but regular format that checks for bad sectors I think), then install it on the iMac and do the erase / reformat option?