# External hard drive for my G5 iMac? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420 "2010-05-23T01:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/1 "2010-05-23T01:45:05Z")
I have OS10.5 Leopard, 160 gb drive, and 2gb RAM. What’s a good backup? Thanks, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/2 "2010-05-23T01:53:54Z")
There really aren’t any limitations. You’ve got both Firewire and USB 2.0, so either of those are options for you. Firewire is maybe a little faster, but USB drives a lot more common. Most drives will come formatted for Windows, and you can use that right out of the box if you want. I’ve left most of my backup drives in Windows-compatible formats just in case I ever want to share files with Windows computers. If you prefer to reformat to a Mac-specific option, it’s easy enough to do using Disk Utility. If you plan on using Apple’s Time Machine, then you don’t even need to look for drives that include Mac-compatible backup software. If you’d like something else, then check the drive’s description to see what it includes. (My experience is the Mac software, when available, is often a download). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/3 "2010-05-23T07:05:06Z")
The only thing with staying in windows format is that that means FAT32, which has an upper limit of 4 GB per file. That’s pretty big, but sometimes you may have larger files. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/4 "2010-05-23T09:43:06Z")
I’ve got a Maxtor Basics 500 GB drive on my Intel iMac. I use Time Machine for backup, so the drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Also, what **BigT** says about large files could be important if you work with any movies in iMovie. An hour long movie is several gigs in QT format. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/5 "2010-05-23T16:01:47Z")
Thanks for the tips and info. I ordered the eGo™ Ruby Red Portable Hard Drive, Mac Edition from PC Connection for a hundred bucks. All the reviews were good, so it should fill my needs just fine. Thanks again, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/6 "2010-05-30T00:32:16Z")
I connected my new drive and started a backup using Time Machine. All went well until a few minutes into the backup when my iMac said something like “poink” and went dead. It wouldn’t turn back on (using the power button) for a while. finally it came back on when I pushed the button in the norman way and everything came back up. So, I gave Time Machine another try. This time it said “backing up” on the window but no progress showed on the bar and the count stayed at zero. Crap! Just as I was about to stop the backup it went “poink” again and shut down. This time I noticed that the fan never came on. I suspect a temperature shutdown. I had a new (bigger) hard drive installed a week or so ago, plus a new power supply before that, and I wonder if they forgot to connect something. I don’t remember hearing the fan since then. The computer runs perfectly otherwise, in fact it runs better than when new. So, shouldn’t the fan run? It always ran (intermittantly) before. I’ll go back to the people who did the work of course. They’re highly rated and all. I just prefer to not sound too stupid. 😛 BTW; I’m using the 400 MB/s cable that came with the drive. The 6 pin. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/7 "2010-05-30T05:17:54Z")
I’d get your compy fixed up and stick with TimeMachine - that’s what we’re both using here, and it is virtually invisible. Of course, we should also have off-site backup, but one crisis at a time. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/8 "2010-05-30T13:22:20Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I connected my new drive and started a backup using Time Machine. All went well until a few minutes into the backup when my iMac said something like “poink” and went dead. It wouldn’t turn back on (using the power button) for a while. finally it came back on when I pushed the button in the norman way and everything came back up. So, I gave Time Machine another try. This time it said “backing up” on the window but no progress showed on the bar and the count stayed at zero. Crap! Just as I was about to stop the backup it went “poink” again and shut down. > This time I noticed that the fan never came on. I suspect a temperature shutdown. I had a new (bigger) hard drive installed a week or so ago, plus a new power supply before that, and I wonder if they forgot to connect something. I don’t remember hearing the fan since then. > The computer runs perfectly otherwise, in fact it runs better than when new. > So, shouldn’t the fan run? It always ran (intermittantly) before. I’ll go back to the people who did the work of course. They’re highly rated and all. I just prefer to not sound too stupid. 😛 > BTW; I’m using the 400 MB/s cable that came with the drive. The 6 pin. sounds like an issue with the format on the drive and the Mac maxing out it’s CPU trying to solve the problem in software. That heats up the Mac. It shouldn’t shut down the Mac-that is a problem you have with your computer. The fans absolutely should have come on big time. Not doing so is a serious computer hardware issue and not something due to the backup. As for the backup, get your computer running normally and use disk utility to format the disk for Mac OS extended. If that doesn’t solve the problem, see about another disk. And take the hint on your fans. you need that checked out. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/external-hard-drive-for-my-g5-imac/540420/9 "2010-05-30T14:06:45Z")
The disc came pre-formatted for mac, and was running fine until the comp shut down. It was maybe 1/4 the way through the process at the time. I suspect I may have to re-format it because it was runnung at the time, and it acted goofy when I tried to restart the backup. I think the repair guys left something out when they installed the new (iMac) hard drive. I’ll know on Monday when I take it back for them to look at.