Excellent. Disk Utility does have the option, I just never noticed it before. It looks like it's called "Leave disc appendable" as opposed to the "Allow additional burns" from the linked instructions.

A screenshot (but note that I didn't actually test this, just brought up the window). I should also mention that the options are disabled in the screenshot because I hadn't inserted a blank disc yet.

Thanks to everyone who has replied; I have read and considered everything and think I have reached a conclusion.

If I buy the iBook with the Combo Drive, I can configure it as I like (with the faster processor and 768MB of RAM) plus printer and other extras for about $1800, leaving $200 for one of those Maxtor One-Touch backup external hard drives. The 120GB model was going for $130 the last time I checked and so hopefully, the 80GB will be cheaper, perhaps leaving some extra money for an iPod mini ;) Furthermore, I think that Kensington makes a lock with two adapters on it so securing it shouldn't be a problem.

Any final thoughts? Thanks for everything.

Also, I'm not planning on buying until April-May of '05 so the new OS (and possibly new iBook!) should be out by then.

Thanks again,
Alan

Sounds like a good plan, Alan. Glad you found processing it here helpful.

A word of warning about the Maxtor One-Touch drives, I have one and it is causing a kernel panic when I try to hot switch it via firewire into my iMac and 12 in Powerbook. Maxtor has updated drivers on its website, but they don't fix the problem for me.


v-tach

Merry OS Xmas
 

Alan,

Sounds like your Christmas list is a great setup. I use the LaCie firewire drive and it has been great. The iPod would be a good way to move files around and not just for listening to music. Speaking of Christmas, can your parents help you out with some of the extra items you need? You can drop a hint by sending them a page from a MacZone catalog with the LaCie or an iPod MINI circled.

Really, I'd just buy a drive enclosure from eBay or newegg.com and a drive to put in it. That always costs less, and surprisingly I've had fewer issues than with pre-assembled external drives. I've got a half-dozen FW/USB kits like that around here, and they all work perfectly every time with my PowerBook, old iMac, new G5, and various Windows machines.

lol well hopefully, the parents will be helping out... thats why my budget is as "high" as it is.

As far as buying an internal hard drive kit, this is something I have seriously considered. I guess that it would be the cheapest and most likely easiest for me. (I built my own PC and would have no problem handling an internal hard drive.)

As far as the kits to make them external, how much do they run for a firewire adapter? And how exactly does it work in terms of special/extra mounting equipment and/or cables that would be required?

Thanks,
Alan

Building one is a good idea, but one question. Will it sleep when your Mac sleeps and will it wake when your Mac wakes? Perhaps the Firewires will do this, I do not know. What I like about the LaCie is the heavy aluminum case absorbs alot of heat. Another good choice is from http://www.wiebetech.com with many of their drives having no fan noise. With an iBook, this might be a consideration.

I paid $35 for the last one I bought, with FW400 and USB 2. You open it (no tools required), put the drive in, close it, and plug it in. Just as a test I had my 4 month old monkey do it for me, and other than the banana slime on the case, he did a great job...

They are plug and play on the Mac with both USB and FW.

This is all for a 3.5" drive, BTW. A 2.5" notebook drive would cost quite a bit more.

It will stop spinning about five minutes after the Mac stops accessing it. I assume it would do the same when the Mac goes to sleep, but I haven't tested this. Of course, normally your sleep timer is more than 5 minutes anyway... It also stops spinning when you turn unplug the Mac.

The fan continues to run in both cases. It's fairly quiet, but I put it behind other stuff on my desk to further muffle it. I've had the fanless cases kill drives prematurely, and temp tests always show them hotter than I'd like. I got a case with a front-mounted power switch so I can just reach over and turn it on/off as needed.

And where did you purchase it? And possibly a link? The cases that I saw were around the same price but the only reason why I was concerned about cables and what not was because I was looking at newegg which I'm assuming sells OEM parts. I'm also looking to buy the 80GB hard drive from there as well so I'm assuming I won't get any extra cables from them.

I've bought some at the local Fry's Electronics, some from Newegg, and some from eBay. Sorry, didn't keep any details, and the three I have at home just say "Mobile Disk" on them. It has a model number HD-338-COM on the bottom. I have different ones around the office, but I like these much better. I think these came from Fry's, or maybe CompUSA.

They come with all the cables you need, including the FW and USB cables. The drive cable is a custom one that's very short. Any OEM bare drive in 3.5 form factor will be ready to go in this.

Sorry I don't have better details on the source. I can post a pic if it will help.

I just happened to see that enclosure while looking for something else on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...type=Refurbish

That price is more than I paid, but still reasonable. It's a very nice case.