Bootable hard drives

[Butch]

A new person here wondering if there is, somewhere in this forum, a post or a thread that lists which external hard drives worked well for you or were not acceptable/reliable.

Our moderator here expressed doubt as to whether a firewire SimpleDrive, by SimpleTech, external drive would be bootable.

Most posts that I have read refer to La Cie equipment.

Not knowing what determines the bootability of an external hard drive, I am looking for recommendations from satisfied and unsatisfied backer uppers.

Butch

[dnanian]

In general, Butch, we suggest LaCie, OWC and WiebeTech drives, though others may work too...

Anyone out there manage to boot from a SimpleDrive?

[Butch]

That's good to know Dave, but there are many models of these recommended drives. Is every model of these three manufacturers recommended?

And there are many other brands that you haven't recommended. Iomega, Maxtor, Seagate, Western, IOGear, Transcend, SmartDisk and MicroNet, to name a few. And each one of these have several different models to pick from.

My SimpleDrive is on it's way back to the retailer, without having been used because of the doubt you expressed, and now I am searching out a replacement.

Knowing what other brands or models, other than those you recommended, that have or haven't worked for Mac users would be useful information, not only for myself but anyone shopping for a reliable hard drive.

How does one know which hard drive will or will not be bootable? Try to find a list.

I am not trying to be argumentative or sarcastic, merely seeking information and advice.

[dnanian]

Pretty much any of those manufacturer's FireWire drives are good, and will be bootable. The models typically differ by their # of interfaces (FireWire, FireWire 800, USB) and sizes -- and whether they're intended to be "portable".

So, the best thing to do is to buy from one of these "Mac-aware" manufacturers! You can usually call them, too -- at least at OWC and WiebeTech, you'll get someone who knows what they're talking about, and can answer your questions.

[Maxtrax]

Can you tell me if a Century Global Manhattan Series Firewire Drive is bootable? I have a 75 GB external and I would like to use it with the OS onboard.
Thank you.

[dnanian]

Wow, I've never heard of it, Maxtrax, and have no idea. The best way to check is to install a basic copy of the OS, using your Tiger DVD, to the drive. If that boots, it's bootable.