ltdiver 3 #1 February 14, 2003 Imagine my complete surprise when a brand new Maxtor 3000DV 60GB HD arrived at my doorstep today! A wonderful gift from a dear friend who wanted to celebrate my birthday. Now my question. I own a Power Mac G4 867 with 1.2GB MB of RAM and 60 GBHD. In looking at the directions that came with my new Maxtor external HD, it seems that it can be run with either the current unformatted HD...or I can download my OS9 and OSX and erase what they have there onboard. (I'm currently running Jaguar OS10.2). Which is the best way to run? (new to this external HD business, but loving it already!) ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #2 February 14, 2003 I can't think of any good reason to copy your OS to an external drive. I also don't have the instructions on front of me, so I could be seriously misinterpreting something. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #3 February 14, 2003 Format the new hard drive, and use it. Don't put the OS on it, or anything like that. I have an 80Gig external Maxtor, and love it. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #4 February 15, 2003 Format it as a Mac OSX drive.Way easy using the Disk Utility program in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #5 February 15, 2003 I just picked up a copy of computer videomaker and in an article about HDs they recommend that one drive be rederved for the OS and software and the other for media files. Some additional tips they offer are: * Delete old media and temp files after finishing a project *defrag your drive *Enable write cache in the disks properties boxes(in device manager in windows) as caching can improve performance"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #6 February 15, 2003 QuoteDon't put the OS on it, or anything like that. Then from quade (who also uses a Maxtor external 60GB HD): QuoteFormat it as a Mac OSX drive. AndyMan....quade and I have the same OS on our computers. Is there any reason that you can add to this why I shouldn't load an OS on the external? How do you format a HD if you don't load an OS? (not a geek...sorry) ;^) ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #7 February 15, 2003 QuoteAndyMan....quade and I have the same OS on our computers. Is there any reason that you can add to this why I shouldn't load an OS on the external? How do you format a HD if you don't load an OS? I think we're having a problem of jargon. When Quade says 'format it as a mac OSX drive', he's absolutely right. That doesn't mean "you should put OSX on it". Putting the OS on the disk is quite different then "formatting the disk for the OS". When you format it, you're not loading anything on it. Formatting the disk is sorta analagous to putting primer on a wall before you paint it. The primer just "prepares" the wall to accept paint (data). it's just in this case that the primer is paint specific. Since you've got OSX brand paint, you need to use OSX primer. To format it, Make sure the drive is plugged into the wall, and into your mac. Start the Disk Utility program. To get here, go to your system drive, Application folder, then Utility folder, then select Disk Utility. The new disk should be listed. Select it. Make sure you're selecting the new disk, not your existing one. What you're about to do will distroy anything on the disk you're going to select. (dumping primer over the mona lisa) Select the "erase" tab. In the "volume format" box, select MAC OS Extended. Type a descriptive name in the Name box. ("External", or "firewire"). Click the box that says "Install Max OS9 drivers". This will allow you to use the disk if you ever end up running OS9, just in case. Click the Erase button. A few minutes later, the drive will be formatted, and you'll be ready to go. I'm actually not a Mac expert, I'm more a PC guru. If anyone wants to correct me, you should probably listen to them. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #8 February 16, 2003 QuoteI think we're having a problem of jargon. Yep, that was it. Finished formatting my new toy and transferring the video and other media files to it. Works like a champ! Thanks everyone for your help. Hope to return the favor some day. :^) ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Craig 0 #9 February 16, 2003 I have a post in talkback Here about firewire drives if anyone can help. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
