Thanks.

The drive has a Firewire 400 port and a USB 2 port. The computer has a 
thunderbolt port and I connect the drive to my computer with a 400 to 800 
firewire adapter connected to a firewire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter.

Do those adapters slow transfer speeds? Would I be better off using the drives 
USB 2.0 port to connect it to my computer?


On May 12, 2015, at 4:06 PM, David Harker <[email protected]> wrote:

> HDMI can only transfer video, it cannot transfer any information (well, newer 
> devices can transfer internet, but that's a different story). 
> 
> If you would like to transfer data, the best way would be to use ethernet or 
> Firewire.
> If you chose to use Firewire, you would need a 6-pin Firewire 400 to Firewire 
> 800 cable (or equivalent adapter paring). 
> 
> The other option would be to use ethernet. If they are on the same network, 
> depending on your router/switch configuration, you can get fairly good speed 
> by just connecting the two and sharing files. You can also, however, connect 
> the two directly. 
> 
> Quick note, you need to share the network for the firewire method, or use 
> Target Disk Mode. 
> 
> As far as using USB to transfer files, you should be aware of the differences 
> in speeds between the various USB protocols...  Below is a listing of those, 
> plus other transfer protocols, for everyone's edification. ;)
> 
> In bits per second, that is:
> 
> USB 1.1 = 12 Mbit/s
> Firefire 400 = 400 Mbit/s
> USB 2.0 = 480 Mbit/s
> FireWire 800 = 800 Mbit/s
> USB 3.0 = 5 Gbit/s
> USB 3.1 = 10 Gbit/s
> eSATA = Up to 6 Gbit/s (750 MB/s) right now as it depend on the internal SATA 
> chip.
> Thunderbolt = 10 Gbit/s × 2 (2 channels)
> Thunderbolt 2 = 20 Gbit/s
> In Bytes per second, that is:
> 
> USB 1.1 = 1.5 MB/s
> Firefire 400 = 50 MB/s
> USB 2.0 = 60 MB/s
> FireWire 800 = 100 MB/s
> USB 3.0 = 625 MB/s
> USB 3.1 = 1.21 GB/s
> eSATA = 750 MB/s
> Thunderbolt = 1.25 GB/s × 2 (2 channels)
> Thunderbolt 2 = 2.5 GB/s
> Hope this at least helps you out some.
> 
> 
> On Tue, May 12, 2015 at 9:46 AM, Harry Jacobson-Beyer <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have a Western Digital 1 TB external hard drive connected to my iMac with 
> firewire. I also have the option of connecting it to my computer with USB or 
> with HDMI.
> 
> Is one method of connecting the drive to my computer better than another? If 
> so, in what way?
> 
> TIA
> 
> Harry
> 
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