Back up external hard drive-which one?

[Bonito]

I just got a Western Digital 1TB external hard drive for my back up and I must say, I am not too excited about it. It takes a really long time to
copy a good amount of files over to it, last night it took about 2 hours to
copy 5GB of photos. I am using a Mac G4 with 1Gig of RAM.
I also have a very hard time using Bridge or Photoshop, if the file is located
on the backup. I cannot return it, as it is past 30 days, so I was thinking of
a Lacie with Firewire - what do you all think about the Lacie's?
Thanks.

[5Dmaniac]

The problem is not the external harddrive, but your computer and the lack of memory installed. I use the same 1TB for backups of my prints - I just installed it two weeks ago and backed up 250GB worth of pictures - it was done in about 6 hours. I use a regular USB connection.

[Lowner]

I use an old Western Digital remote hard drive and have been very happy with it.

I'd also guess that the core problem is the speed of the PC in handling the files, not where they are stored. I use the external hard drive as Photoshops scratch disc and have found everything works more smoothly that way.

[_aravena]

Yeah, definitely not the HDD problems. User error as in your laptop is not up to par. Still, I've moved more than that in less time when I ran on 1GB. What's the RPM of the drive?

[Bonito]

the RPM is 7200. My computer is a Power Tower G4 desktop. It will take up to 1.5 Gig
of RAM, should I invest in this first? I tried using the backup as the scratch disc, that did
not help. Any input on the Lacies?

[_aravena]

Take up to 1.5? Wow...whoa. I think you should invest in a new computer or change out your processor. That's not a RAM problem, it's a drive to drive problem. Hm...

[[shingo]]

If you have a mac G4 with firewire, it use usb 1, you need either a usb 2 card or to purchase a firewire hd.

USB 1 = 12Mbps/seconds
USB2 = 480Mbits/seconds

so usb2 is 40 time faster than usb1, your bottleneck is the usb 1 connector.

If you use a firewire disk instead, the speed will be even greater than usb2.0

I hope this help.

The ram is not your problem, the hd is not your problem, it's not a user error, it's simply the fact that you're computer has usb1.0 and usb1.0 is very slow.

So 2 solutions :
1- Buy a pci usb2.0 card (around 25$)

2- Exchange your hd for one that can handle firewire

[Bonito]

aravena,
What do you mean "its a drive to drive problem"?
I cannot afford a new computer...

[Bonito]

thanks shingo, that makes sense. I was going to get one with Firewire, but this was a
gift from my dad and it is only usb.

[[shingo]]

thanks shingo, that makes sense. I was going to get one with Firewire, but this was a
gift from my dad and it is only usb.

I found a solution : http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4702

buy this, it will add 5 usb2.0 to your computer for less than 8$ shipping included.

I had a similar problem, it was with my old laptop, I bought a pcmcia card with 4 usb2.0, now the external HD is flying, it is at least 30 time faster than before.

[Michael_Lambert]

This is your computer? (http://shopping.msn.com/specs/power-mac-g4-desktop/itemid1080568433/?itemtext=itemname:power-mac-g4-desktop)

1.5 Gig of ram is really Minimal.. I mean i run 2 gigs in my intel Imac and its drags butt.

Interfaces 1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-TX - RJ-45
2 x USB - 4 pin USB Type A
1 x modem - phone line - RJ-11
1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x audio - line-out - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
2 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 6 pin FireWire
1 x audio - line-in - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x display / video - Apple Display Connector (ADC) - 35 pin ADC


If you are connected through the USB port that is why its so slow, If you keep what you have then you need to look into a firewire drive to speed up the process greatly.

Ideally, A computer upgrade to a better processor and 2+ gigs of ram is really ideal!

[Bonito]

Thanks shingo, I appreciate the great explanation and the added finding of the part!
I will try it and let you know.

[Bonito]

Michael, yup that is it - I have added RAM.

[Bonito]

Oh and I added a really nice video card.

[OneMac]

I've got one of these:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=222999&doy=22m2&C=SO&U=strat15

Cheaper in the long run than external drives and everything is hot swappable.

Al

PS - understand it's a UK company but you can get them in the States.

[ryant35]

I bought an internal SATA 1TB HD. It took about 4 hours to copy 200gb of photographs to back them up. BIG difference.

I was talking to the IT guy at work and he mentioned that external HD don't last as long as internal since most external drives to not have cooling fans.

[YORCHI]

you guys ever have your back up hd's fail?

what to do then?

[ryant35]

you guys ever have your back up hd's fail?

what to do then?

go to your second back up HD...;)


You can get 1 TB for around $100. That's pretty awesome, and there is no excuse not to have more redundancy.

[Jon]

Only one backup? I have several HDDs and also accumulated DVDs.

[Laramie]

go to your second back up HD...;)


You can get 1 TB for around $100. That's pretty awesome, and there is no excuse not to have more redundancy.

Yep. I think between laptop, desktop and external HDs, my pics are backed up in 4 places including one off site.

[kja]

I just got a 500GB Buffalo mini-station and I adore it. You might not want to have such a little one, though, I think they are a bit pricier per GB than the larger ones.

[gbrollins]

It may sound redundant, but I use Mozy a remote backup service, to backup my backup drive. The first backup is very slow but subsequent backups are tolerable. The backups run in the background and if you turn your computer off they simply resume when you go back on-line. The beauty of this is fire, theft, power surges, etc are no longer an issue.

[Artdime]

It may sound redundant, but I use Mozy a remote backup service, to backup my backup drive. The first backup is very slow but subsequent backups are tolerable. The backups run in the background and if you turn your computer off they simply resume when you go back on-line. The beauty of this is fire, theft, power surges, etc are no longer an issue.

Yes, as long as they stay in business. I am reluctant to use a third party service, if they disappear your data is gone too.

[mritchy]

I purchased a 1TB WD MyBook with firewire. I love it and wil probably buy another one just to have two sitting one my desk.

[mritchy]

Wait. 2 hours for 5 GB of photos? I think you should send it in to Western Digital. Not all of them are that slow. Even when mine is hooked up via USB it only takes maybe a minute/ GB at most

[Tdragone]

That's the difference between the my book home and essentials.
FIREWIRE!

I have the 1TB home version with firewire and it's freaking fast.

[Premgenius]

My main hard drive is FireWire 400 and the backup is a USB 2.0 completed backup takes about 6 hours and both are Seagate.

[gbrollins]

Yes, as long as they stay in business. I am reluctant to use a third party service, if they disappear your data is gone too.

Well I guess one can worry about almost anything. My data would not be gone, just a copy of it. I feel a lot better with my data on my computer's hard drive, on my backup drive, and sitting 1000 miles away in Palo Alto.

[ryant35]

Well I guess one can worry about almost anything. My data would not be gone, just a copy of it. I feel a lot better with my data on my computer's hard drive, on my backup drive, and sitting 1000 miles away in Palo Alto.

Yeah but if they went out of business the day your house burned down... I know but it could happen. But when you break it down like that nothing is safe anywhere.

[bps]

Bonito,

Just use this as an excuse to pick-up a new Mac! :D

Bryan

[gbrollins]

Yeah but if they went out of business the day your house burned down... I know but it could happen. But when you break it down like that nothing is safe anywhere. Whatever:oops:

[Mystwalker]

External USB HDs are pretty cheap nowadays - cheaper then replacing couple hundred gigs worth of photos - assuming they are replaceable. You can get 500 to 750GB for anywhere around $100-$150 depending on the brand. I prefer Seagate's FreeAgent Go - have two and no problems with either, no other reason. I only backup once a month (or so) so I do not always have it "on". No idea how long this takes because I set up right before I go to bed and wake up to find everything completed at which point I turn off USB drive - I backup to 2nd drive the next night.

I also backup to a second computer + have been auto backing up to an internal drive. Also make DVD backups.

I figure storage space is cheap - if photos get lost, lost memories and pissed wife is expensive.