external HDs

[Noize Anomaly]

if i get an external hard drive, will iTunes be able to read from it real time? Basically, will it read from the external HD the same way it does from the internal one? Will the iTunes library still be organized?

I need to free up my HD for recording. it is pretty much full, and i am having my first mac problems. My comp won't shut down, and things have started to freeze up and act buggy....not quite as bad as using windows but still irritating.


p.s. why does it say i only have made one post?

[Tim]

the board crashed.

We all get a new lease on life.

Why don't you record to firewire?

[bigzig]

it will read a external hd the same as a internal

[nbr10]

Depending on OS version and hardware... if you move to a Firewire based Drive you can even Boot the machine from it. You may even see an increase in system performance depending on the speed of the external drive and cache...

[Just Doug1]

Either a Fireware or a USB 2.0 connection would work fine.

[Noize Anomaly]

thanks guys. i have an emac running osx tiger, and i will probably be using my firewire 400 port. i think i will need a couple hds though. one for saving files to, and keeping my music on for itunes to play, and one to load samples from. the problem is, i have only one firewire port. any suggestions?

also, any suggestions on certain hard drives to get or to stay away from? again, thanks a lot.

[nbr10]

Most Firewire cases have two firewire connectors on them. This would allow you to "Daisy Chain" the Drives together so you only need the one port on your mac. Currently I am using a Bytecc USB2.0/Firewire case and 250 Maxtor Drive I bought at Canada Computers.

Some users have complained of compatability issues with the Bytecc cases that are Firewire only. My USB2.0/firewire unit has been trouble free for about 6 months.

[Tim]

you could probably chain them. I haven't done it, but there is that second port on the back of the drives.
Firewire has generally worked better than the USB for me.

[nbr10]

you could probably chain them. I haven't done it, but there is that second port on the back of the drives.
Firewire has generally worked better than the USB for me.

I would have to second that too. I have not had luck with USB connections. I would sometimes get failures when I attempted to copy large (2+ gig) files over USB 2.0. Not sure if this is a Mac issue or an issue with the Bytecc case. However the firewire connection has never failed me.

[Tim]

I have similar issues on pc too. I find firewire just seems to work better, even on pcs. USB works very well for things like cameras, scanners and printers etc. though.
I hate the way PCs do usb though. What's with that stupid thingy that pops up in the system tray, and bloddy watch it if you make the mistake of plugging in the usb device before installing the driver first and letting it detect during install blah blah oh gawd I screwed it up again...

I like macs. ;)