I have been trying to find an external hard drive for my Mac and have read too many accounts of models that are not compatible, or which break down too easily. Any suggestions?
Peter King
I don't use enough external hard drives to have a view, and by the time a view has been formed, the market has already moved on. The best you can do is search the web using model numbers -- preferably the model number of whatever drive is inside the external enclosure.
Otherwise, all USB 2.0 storage devices should work with either Mac OS X or Windows, but you can increase your chance of success by buying devices that are specific about their support for Macs, or that offer FireWire as well as USB. Most Macs produced this century have a FireWire port, and relatively few PCs, apart from Sony's.
Also, for preference, choose an EHD that has its own power supply, or connect it via a powered hub. Some 2.5in external drives -- especially portable ones -- may have problems drawing enough power from the USB port. Smaller external drives that have 1.8in drives should be fine, but their smaller capacities and lower performance tend to make these less attractive.
