I've been running too long without a decent backup system and now
that i've shut down my Yikes! and gotten my deck rearranged, I need
to set something up again.
I have a LaCie (Seagate) 13gb USB external drive that I bought in
2000 or so. It has a bad sector in it so I haven't used it for a few
years. I pulled the enclosure apart today to see if I can get
another drive running in it. Right now I have a 20gb Ultra ATA
formatting, but it's taking so long I suspect it's not working right.
This is an ATA enclosure but how do I know if it will take an ultra
or serial ATA drive? I was going to buy a new drive to put in it but
I am wondering if I'm better off spending the extra cash (which I
don't really have) for a full enclosure with drive.
I also don't believe USB is bootable with the newer machines, correct?
I have a FW800 G4 running Jag and a 1.2ghz iBook running Panther.
TIA,
Diane
To answer the easy questions, an Ultra ATA drive will work with older
ATA controllers, it will just run at the slower speed. A Serial ATA
drive is a physically different interface and won't work with
Parallel ATA without an interface.
As for the running format, listen to the drive and if you can hear
the heads making periodic ticking sounds (going from track to track)
then the format is working and needs to be left to completion.
Also, if you bought the drive in 2000, it could very well be a USB
1.1 interface, as USB 2.0 was first rolled out in late 2000. As to
running a "low-level" format through a USB (or Firewire) interface,
you can't do it. In fact you can not do a true low-level format on
modern hard drives even if they are directly connected. You can
write zeros to all the blocks, but you are _not_ laying down new
sectoring information and are basically wasting your time.
As for improving your setup, I would strongly suggest moving to an
external Firewire case. Checking Smalldog, I found this
<http://www.smalldog.com/product/46087> for $50. I have found
Firewire to be faster and more reliable for external storage than USB
in both Macs and PC's.
--
MrPopman - Does anybody want to play a game of Pinball?
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the
bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in
your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." --Mark Twain
--
G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives |
-- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml>
--> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]>
To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
iPod Accessories for Less
at 1-800-iPOD.COM
Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal
www.1800ipod.com
