Good external hard drive for recording?

C

Chrisdb

New member
So I'm thinking of buying an external hard drive for my Mac Mini to record onto. I already have a 500gb one that's USB but it's a bit slow being USB and I can't seem to record from it. Says the volume isn't set as an audio-able device or something?

So what do I need to take into consideration, I guess firewire would be better for recording is that right? I need one that will be fast and is reliable running with Pro Tools, any suggestions?

And is there anything I need to take into account if I'm using it for recording audio from Pro Tools?

Thanks
 
I've been looking at some Western Digitals, what kind of speed would be sufficent enough for recording onto?
 
I got the 500GB version of this. WD MyBook 500 Triple Interface. USB / Firewire / eSATA
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicati...No=3595893&sku=W10-3702&srkey=mybook firewire
It came with all sorts of extra cables, but not the FW 9/4 to connect to my laptop

I chose this product because any USB Audio I/O would not conflict with USB Data I/O. So, I'm using the Firewire route. They are independant.
Note: this drive needs external power.
It was very easy to setup, and I can run it in USB if I wanted to. Just unflug the FW cable and re-connect to USB ... hot swap / on the fly
 
My Book Noncompliant!

I am having trouble actually loading my plugins onto my external its a mybook 750gb fire wire usb combo.. I wanted to put logic on it and couldn't do that. I wanted to put all of my plugins on it and the fuckin thing wont let me. I'm running a macbook with the most updated version... WHY IS THIS SHIT HAPPENING? this piece of equipment is serving me no purpose other than storing my tracks...software takes up ample space and im only down to 24gigs HELP!
 
Your better installing the software onto your mac book then using your external hard drive to save your sessions, whilst recording. Aren't you?
 
Definitely Firewire over USB. But better yet ESata over both! Im not familiar with Macs. Does it have a pcmcia slot like some pc laptops? If it has one or something similar you could buy an esata card.

Or else usb to esata adapter but im not sure if thats improving your speeds. That might be just allowing you to connect a esata device and limit it to usb speeds.

Just read reviews on newegg.com. I got a Western Digital My Book which had the best reviews but I am limited to USB unfortunately so its only for storing data.

If you can figure out how to go Esata and actually use the esata speeds with your computer, thats the way to go for external hard drive.
 
ThaArtist said:
Definitely Firewire over USB. But better yet ESata over both! Im not familiar with Macs. Does it have a pcmcia slot like some pc laptops? If it has one or something similar you could buy an esata card.

Or else usb to esata adapter but im not sure if thats improving your speeds. That might be just allowing you to connect a esata device and limit it to usb speeds.

Just read reviews on newegg.com. I got a Western Digital My Book which had the best reviews but I am limited to USB unfortunately so its only for storing data.

If you can figure out how to go Esata and actually use the esata speeds with your computer, thats the way to go for external hard drive.
Click to expand...

What about this?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370150890293

It's like 7200 RPM, which seems amazingly fast considering how small it is, and a firewire connection too. How much faster is EStata and how does it work?
 
Chrisdb said:
So I'm thinking of buying an external hard drive for my Mac Mini to record onto. I already have a 500gb one that's USB but it's a bit slow being USB and I can't seem to record from it. Says the volume isn't set as an audio-able device or something?
Click to expand...

Huh? That makes no sense. You did format the drive as HFS+, right? You'll never be able to record if it's formatted FAT32 or something.
 
ThaArtist said:
Definitely Firewire over USB. But better yet ESata over both! Im not familiar with Macs. Does it have a pcmcia slot like some pc laptops? If it has one or something similar you could buy an esata card.
Click to expand...

No, the only current Macs that are capable of taking an eSATA card are the 17" MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro tower. I guess you could cut holes in the case and install a mini-PCI eSATA card in place of the airport card, but I wouldn't recommend it. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top