On May 31, 2010, at 12:09 PM, Kathy K wrote: > I'm trying to do my homework before making a purchase, and I'm just ending up > befuddled, and wondering if some kind folks on this list can clear things up > for me. > > I am running 10.4.11 > 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo > 2 GB Memory > Hard Drive Capacity: 232.57 GB, Available: 116.82 GB > > I use this computer for graphic design/illustration, family photos, and > internet-based games (social facebook kind of games). > > I would like to get an external drive to back up all my graphics work and > photos. I've been looking at the Seagate FreeAgent drives (1TB-2TB) but I'm > seeing in the specs that 10.4.8 is the minimum OS needed. Is this just for > the purpose of using TimeMachine? Or do I need 10.4.8 just to dump files on > the drive?
This is probably for the purposes of the generally useless software on the Seagate drive. Also you have a version greater than the one required, you have ten point four point eleven, not ten point four point one one. > > Also, it seems any external drive will work with a Mac, it's just a matter of > reformatting if it's a PC drive—correct? If you want to use Time Machine, it has to be formatted HFS+, which Disk Utility does with no fuss whatsoever, and Time Machine will do automagically for you. Otherwise as just a drive to store stuff, most drives are formatted FAT32 (or DOS as Disk Utility calls it) and work out of the box. I've got a Freeagent Pro at home as my Time Machine volume, and a seagate drive in a noname box as a Carbon Copy CLoner backup (belt and suspenders type) and a Seagate Freeagent drive on my system at work. (An Intel Core Duo iMac) > > I would like to upgrade to 10.5 Leopard and perhaps later 10.6 Snow Leopard. > Couldn't I get one of these drives now, manually back up files to it by > drag/drop, then upgrade to 10.5 and begin using TimeMachine then? Yes, although I'd use Carbon Copy Cloner to back it up. > Because a lot of my stuff is not backed up anywhere, I do want to back > everything up before doing an OS upgrade. Don't waste the money on 10.5, just go to 10.6; your iMac will run better. > > Along with the OS upgrade, I'd also like to add 2 GB Memory, as this computer > can be pretty sluggish. I currently have 1 GB in each of the two banks—so > that means buying 2 new 2 GBs to replace the 2 1 GB. Yes, which is why 1Gb SO-DIMMS are cheap as dirt everywhere :-/ > I don't have loads of $ to spend, and also need to know that my graphics > software is going to be compatible with the OS upgrade. (Adobe CS3, and > InDesign CS2, Quark 7, Freehand MXa—yes, the suite needs upgrading and yes > I'm still attached to Freehand.) I know for a fact that the Adobe apps will work in 10.6, And I'm pretty sure that Freehand will...I've got a disk with an old copy around here. Quark I don't know about. -- Bruce Johnson "Wherever you go, there you are" B. Banzai, PhD -- You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a group for those using Apple iMacs and eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to imaclist@googlegroups.com To leave this group, send email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/imaclist
