I have an old mac G3 at home--I'm not using it but need to get my files off it. I have dial-up so any online solution is not an option.

I have multiple PCs at home & work. I want to back them up.

I'd like to back up everything--easily & painlessly--to 1 hard drive. I want a plug & play, braindead solution. For cheap.

Am I dreaming? or is this easy by now, at long last--& all I have to do is decide how much storage I want to buy?

Thx for any help!

I think it's just plug and play, buy the external hard drive you want, hook it up to your pc or mac hard drive via the USB port, and copy and paste your files. I mean, that's what I've done. I don't have a Mac though, so perhaps that's more complicated? But I can't imagine why it would be.

I would also go with an external hard drive - but you could well have some problems with the Mac files.
You might need to partition the hard drive (in other words make it think its two separate ones) to load the two different formats.

Meant to say about size - Work out what size you have in total for your current hard drives (say 3 times 40GB drives) and get that plus one to allow future storage as well. So around a 160/200/250 GB drive would be the ones to look at on that basis. Look at reviews for them, see what has been reliable for people. See if there have been any other known issues - and take your pick!

Thanks guys, that's kinda what I was hoping people would say. Yes, I'll need at least 250 & more if I can afford it. I'll let you know how it works out. Hopefully I won't have to partition for the mac stuff...

Just wanted to add a caution that when you pick out an external hard drive, make sure that the USB port is backwards compatible with USB 1.1 and/or whatever is on the macs. I have seen some things with USB like mp3 players only working with USB 2.0 and end up not working with old computers that have USB 1.1. Otherwise, you might have to add a PCI card to support USB 2.0.

:)

Good point amaliam, I know people who have been caught out by that one in the past.

Ooh, very good point, thanks, this is exactly the kind of stuff I need to know! And thanks for posting, welcome to the board! ;) --e

Small update: I'm going to get a Seagate 500gig external. Price is under $150, so the choice to spend $100 for 250gig or $50 more for twice that seemed clear. Seagate's offering a 5-year warranty with this model, which is pretty unusual; they have a good rep anyway so... here goes.

1 more question: drive is formatted for NTFS: I believe I'd need to reformat for... something else--FAT?? to make it usable for Mac? Any drawbacks to that? Many thx again for any/all help!

not sure if the Mac is NTFS compatible or FAT compatible. You'll need someone with macs. NTFS is better than FAT. Specifically, it fragments less, allows better security and utilizes the disc space of the drive, better. Probably, when you reformat, you'll do a partition for whatever you need for your MAC and NTFS for your pc. I'd recommend doing the seperate partitions over doing it all in FAT or whatever else format the MAC requires, because you'll be optimizing your use of the drive better than doing all 500 GB in the format that a smaller portion of your data is in. Definitely better to get the better price per GB even if it costs more. Seagate is a great brand.

BTW, :wub: the Deitrich icon.
Also, whether you use NTFS or something else should be based on what the computer will recognized.
Even if your current MAC or PC is in FAT or something format, as long as your OS recognizes the drive and the format, you should be able to transfer your files from the drive in one format to the external in the other format and vice versa.

Hopefully, someone w/ MAC experience will chime in here.

---edit---
According to the following, Article link, you should be able to transfer your MAC files to and from the NTFS formatted hard drive, without having to reformat it. But if you want to use the files off the drive, as opposed to just transfer, you might have some problems. If you're going to reformat the drive, you format your MAC partition in HFS+ format, while you format the PC partition in NTFS.
That is if you use OS X on your Macs. If you are using some older Mac OS, I don't know.

I'm a new mac user, and can't for the life of me figure out why you'd want to transfer to pc.... :D ! However, apple.com is a font of info about this. Unfortunately I don't have the know how about what you're doing to give any informed comment. So apple.com is probably your best bet. Good Luck! S :)

I didn't mean the point was to transfer the MAC files to a pc & use mac files on a pc. I believe the point is, you can use an NTFS external drive to transfer the files from one mac to another mac, provided they both have a compatible OS. The difference is, since it isn't in HFS+ format, then you can't use them from the drive, you'd have to transfer them off of the drive, before they could be used. Which is fine if EKNY wants to just use the drive for transfering the mac files and back up, along with shuttling and backing up all the pc files.

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback. Washuai, glad you like the avatar. It's long been a particular favorite of mine, this shot. And, from another mention someone PMd with with, seems to inspire that 1 specific smiley in response. Hmmm....

I'd never have left Mac if I'd a choice. However: the data files I am moving off my G3 are preparatory to just ditching it. I should have made clear: the G3 is NOT system X. It's 9.2. Which I'm really hoping isn't going to further complicate things. But the bottom line is, the files I'm moving off the Mac are text & photos. There are no programs or applications I need from it, that would even work, anymore anyway. So... it's kind of a lost cause. I just want my data.

I have PCs at work & home, & basically am stuck with them for work-related reasons.

I'll PM someone who's on the board but has been pretty busy for awhile & is a major Mac geek, she might have some thoughts. Again, thanks both for the suggestions. I don't know what to do about formatting--RTFM, I guess. :D --e

Ooooh, LOVE the Dietrich icon. I actually got to see that tux she wore in "Morocco" - it's in the Berlin Film Museum...along with scads of love letters she got from admirers - both men and women, some famous, some not. The museum openly acknowledges the fact that Marlene is a gay icon and was in fact openly bisexual.

Um....back to the question. Sorry....got distracted for a moment.

If you format the drive in FAT32, you should have no problem transferring the files to your PC. I have a 1GB flash drive that's PC formatted in FAT32 so that I can copy files back and forth from my OSX Mac to a PC, and vice versa.

And I believe that 9.2 had the capability to see PC formatted drives...I'd have to check on that as I haven't used OS9 in ages.

Not sure what NTFS is.....but there's some awful voodoo with Vista and it's "new" filing system. Seems MicroShaft is doing it again. Burning data DVD/CDs in a format that's only readable by Vista - without telling anyone.

And for the record.....I'd go with Western Digital MyBook drives. Buy.com has them for dirt cheap....500GB USB only for $138. They have the triple interface version (USB 2.0, FW 400/800) that I bought a couple months ago for $176 now. And a producer I work with just bought the 1TB version for $334!
If all you're doing is back up....the USB will be fine. I use mine for video editing so having the FW400 is a necessity, the FW800 - a luxury.

Hey girl, thanks so much for writing, I know how busy you are!

I should hope so. :lol: That's what it's there for. I'd love to see the Berlin Film Museum. jealous <<--- me

Excellent, this is just what I needed to know.

Oh, I know--I want nothing to do with it. The refurb I ordered to replace the disaster I have at home is loaded with XP. Screw it: if it's incompatible with things in 3 years, I'll deal with it then, after the pain & suffering has been mitigated. We all know what Micro$oft is like.

Because they're reliable? I don't care if it's just a $10 or $20 price difference, obviously. I hadn't looked into their software... I'll go check it out if you say so tho! --e


ETA: The other WD models in the same line specify for Mac OSX or higher. Rut roh.

Actually, I have two Western Digital Raptors, (otherwise I have Maxtor). My experience and the experience of my friends is to stay away from Western Digital, in terms of reliability. We've all had Western Digital drives fail us, in one way or another. If it makes you feel better that was post warranty. Well, my Raptor wasn't post warranty, exactly, but I bought it OEM. I was crazy enough to go out and buy a second one, because I love their speed. Now, my experience is skewed, because they make Raptors with different principles in mind, than they make regular storage drives. When I'm being cheap, I get Maxtor drives, when I want real reliability and one of the better warranties, I'd still go get a Seagate, if the data was more important long term for the price. None of my maxtor's have failed yet, and one of them is really old at this point. On top of that, I had reformatted that drive, more than the average person would, so it has held up, very well.

I would agree about the Western digital drive! AVOID! I've known so many people have problems with them. I can only think of one person who hasn't - out of about 9 or 10 over the last 18 months or so.

I've used various drives over the years - as has my father (a mainframe engineer in his time) and we also use Maxtor or Seagate and they are really our main source now. Seagate generally aren't much more now in terms of cost, and often offer an unbeatable warranty with their drives as well.

I've only ever had one Maxtor fail - But I replaced happily with the same drive unit and no problems. This on a machine now about 8 years old (well the main motherboard is, other bits and pieces I've added to upgrade as I've gone along).

I am due to upgrade my drive again soon, and it'll be another Maxtor or Seagate, depending who is offering what prices when I go looking.

Here is one example of a seagate external drive (admittedly from the UK) we've got for someone recently. Apparently its been excellent for them.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....d=14&subcat=801

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! It's ahm... interesting what strong feelings people have about hardware, esp after getting burned, eh?! I had no idea things would get this animated, it's kinda cool.

I seriously considered WD but I wasn't clear on whether, even after reformatting, it would handle System 9.2. Between that & the fact that multple people here had had *negative* experiences, but no one said: oh god, not Seagate, anything but that!--I went ahead & ordered the Seagate. It came in at $128 for the 500 gig model. Which is basically 30 more (USD) for 250 additional gigs over the $100 average for 250 (for this brief moment in time before prices drop again, of course...!)--it seemed insane not to spend the extra for that much more storage.

Anyway, hopefully I made a sound decision. Soon as I get it I'll find out. Then I start dragging everything off 3 computers & seeing how the new one holds the road. Fingers x'd. I thought migrating was for birds... -e

Yes....Western Digital used to be crap....but their latest drives are pretty reliable. They obviously learned their lesson. I've always used LaCie or Seagate externals for audio and video work, but the quality of LaCie drives has taken a nosedive in the last year. I used to have an 80GB external drive in my office that we bought in 2000...it was still running well in 2006 - which is well beyond the life expectancy of a computer HD.

Also, I've heard nothing but complains about Maxtor drives from friends. YMMV. First thing you should do is plug the new drive in and let it run for for a few days before trying to use it. If a drive is going to fail.....it's more likely to fail right off the bat, or much, much later. I can tell you I've had this WD drive in constant heavy use for the last 3 months and it's been nothing but stellar.

I may have just thought of a new way to get your files off the G3...will follow up in email. ;)

Ooh. Very good practical suggestion, thank you! :)

>I may have just thought of a new way to get your files off the G3...will follow up in email. ;)

Bueno, will go check. cheers, e

Well, it's been an interesting week or two. For those who've patiently followed my Saga, I thought I'd just sum up with some generic info in case it's ever helpful to anyone else.

1) the internal hard drive I had in my 1999 component-built computer was Western Digital. It had NO bad blocks. It never even hiccuped. So although others have had bad experiences with WD, I have to say in their defense, either I got lucky or they're pretty damn good. Or I got lucky when they're good. Because if anything's gonna go wrong with your computer, the 1 thing you don't want it to be is your hard drive. Everything else is replaceable. Data is not.

2) The Seagate wouldn't talk to win98se. At all. Their tech service people tried, but the fact is, Win98se will only talk to USB devices if there are drivers configured for the device. As I understand it. And Seagate doesn't provide drivers.

Now, maybe there's some clever way around that. If so, it involves possibly changing dipswitch settings; possibly reconfiguring master/slave arrangements for primary & secondary drives; possibly resetting auto-detect on same to "large"; and eye of newt.

I instead decided to drop another $25 on a USB-to-IDE cable: I (delicately) yanked the HD from its (dusty) housing & plugged this stuff together and finally: at long last my new computer (not the Seagate) saw the old drive.

I'm not sure if there's a moral to the story, unless it's: do something that is simple enough that you, yourself, can undo it if it doesn't work--without risking data.

But anyway, I transferred my old HD contents on to the new computer in about oh, say, 10 minutes (yes, I DO feel smug, and yes, I think I'm entitled), and duplicated it on the new backup HD (the Seagate) in another 3.

I don't know that I need backup software; the other disappointment with Seagate (like, how are they going to help the other 300 people who call with Win98se? voodoo?) is, theirs sucks. It works fine if you want to do a full-drive image backup, but if you want to start selecting which files to bother with, then it tells you to go to some other website & buy more software. Which is not what I wanna read 1 minute after installing a new product.

But it works (inaudibly, I should add), & I'm content, & you guys have been great with your help & suggestions & patience. :) I hope someday I can return the favor. --e

Your problem is definitely the fact that your computer is win98se. Did you mention that earlier? I can't remember....it's been a long few weeks. Unfortunately, win98se is so old that no one makes drivers for it. You're lucky if you can get support for the original release of XP!

The USB-to-IDE cable is a brilliant idea, you are entitled to feel very smug ;) Congrats, girl, you that was a very geek-like solution.

Hey, big thanks! Coming from you that's very flattering! <blush> I woke up one morning and thought: F*ck this--if I can't get it to recognize the drive because of the computer, I'll take the frickin drive OUT of the computer so there's only the drive to see. Thank god it worked. (I didn't mention the win98se thing because I thought I was just asking about external hard drive recommendations. Then it morphed. And I still have the Mac files to transfer!...)

Oh god, please don't say that. The refurb IS xp! More than half my programs won't work with Vista, I'm sure of it. It's always a lot of extra expense & hassle trying to deal with any major m$ft update & I just couldn't deal. --e