Chapter 13. How Do I Store and Maintain My Data?

How Do I Store and Maintain My Data?

There are two primary reasons to add more data storage space to your MacBook Pro, and both of them are important. One is to back up the data on your MacBook; one of the easiest ways to do this is to use Time Machine, which requires that you use an external hard drive. The other is that over time, you end up with a lot of data, especially if you create iMovie projects or you download movies or other video. Your MacBook Pro's hard drive is only so big; adding more storage space enables you to work with more information. Also, you may want to carry some data with you even when you don't have your MacBook; a flash drive or iPod is a great choice for this purpose.

Using External Hard Drives

Adding an external hard drive to your MacBook Pro system is an easy and relatively inexpensive way of making more storage space available; it is also a requirement if you want to use Time Machine for backing up your MacBook Pro. In this section, you learn how to add more space to your MacBook Pro by adding, configuring, and using an external hard drive.

When it comes to choosing a hard drive to add to your MacBook Pro, consider the following factors:

  • Which interface will you use to connect the drive to your MacBook Pro? External drives use FireWire, FireWire 800, or USB 2 to connect to computers. The good news is that your MacBook Pro supports both USB 2 ...

Get MacBook Pro® Portable Genius, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.