12-01-2007, 09:38 PM
First, thanks everyone for taking the time to post your suggestions.
I haven't had a chance to check the size of her iMac's drive, so that's my first step along with checking what ports she has. Not knowing her model has put every other decision on hold.
If she doesn't have a FW 800 port I presume that the FW 400 is the default choice and as said, it will be cheaper than an FW 800.
I've never worked on a newer iMac, so I don't have any idea how easy or difficult it is to install a larger hard drive. My only references are the PPC towers and the G5 and MacPro that I've upgraded. They were all very easy to work on, but I'm clueless about upgrading the recent iMacs. I'll have to look this up.
I do have a question about using "Time Machine." I have read that the method does not produce a bootable backup and that there are some other issues with the built-in method of backing up. I, myself, use Intego's Personal Backup X4 and love it. It does incremental clones, only cloning what has changed, it's very fast and it can be set to do an auto-backup in any time period you want. I just set mine to run every two hours as a test. I normally had it set for once a day. It runs in the background and after years of use, I've never had a problem. Because it produces a bootable clone, I think I'll recommend it to my friend over using Time Machine.
For now, I'll have to talk her into whatever backup drive is best. From what I can tell, she hasn't ever thought about backing up and she's a switcher as well.
The reason I mentioned the miniStack is that OWC has the 500GB v2 version on special for $199, which seems to be at least $100 off the regular price. My experience with Mavis' miniStack has been excellent and I like that it also serves as a hub with the extra ports. As far as price, the convenience of extra ports and the quietness of this unit, makes up for the price difference when the discount is figured in. I'll have to see what my friend thinks of my reasoning.
For myself, I bought an OWC Aluminum FW800/400/USB enclosure, which matches the new towers nicely, and I used one of my older IDE drives that I had in my previous G5 to complete the device. It has been working perfectly for my backups for some time now.
I had never heard about not using USB for the reasons that Spiff mentioned, so it's good to have that info. Your comments and suggestions have been very helpful, so again, thanks.
GeneL
I haven't had a chance to check the size of her iMac's drive, so that's my first step along with checking what ports she has. Not knowing her model has put every other decision on hold.
If she doesn't have a FW 800 port I presume that the FW 400 is the default choice and as said, it will be cheaper than an FW 800.
I've never worked on a newer iMac, so I don't have any idea how easy or difficult it is to install a larger hard drive. My only references are the PPC towers and the G5 and MacPro that I've upgraded. They were all very easy to work on, but I'm clueless about upgrading the recent iMacs. I'll have to look this up.
I do have a question about using "Time Machine." I have read that the method does not produce a bootable backup and that there are some other issues with the built-in method of backing up. I, myself, use Intego's Personal Backup X4 and love it. It does incremental clones, only cloning what has changed, it's very fast and it can be set to do an auto-backup in any time period you want. I just set mine to run every two hours as a test. I normally had it set for once a day. It runs in the background and after years of use, I've never had a problem. Because it produces a bootable clone, I think I'll recommend it to my friend over using Time Machine.
For now, I'll have to talk her into whatever backup drive is best. From what I can tell, she hasn't ever thought about backing up and she's a switcher as well.
The reason I mentioned the miniStack is that OWC has the 500GB v2 version on special for $199, which seems to be at least $100 off the regular price. My experience with Mavis' miniStack has been excellent and I like that it also serves as a hub with the extra ports. As far as price, the convenience of extra ports and the quietness of this unit, makes up for the price difference when the discount is figured in. I'll have to see what my friend thinks of my reasoning.
For myself, I bought an OWC Aluminum FW800/400/USB enclosure, which matches the new towers nicely, and I used one of my older IDE drives that I had in my previous G5 to complete the device. It has been working perfectly for my backups for some time now.
I had never heard about not using USB for the reasons that Spiff mentioned, so it's good to have that info. Your comments and suggestions have been very helpful, so again, thanks.
GeneL