External Hard Drive

[Don Greening]

Did you initialize the new drive in Mac OS Extended (aka HSF+) with journaling “off”?

– Don

[Jennifer Eckerson]

To be honest, I’m not even sure what you mean by that. I believe I have OS X.2. Do I need to upgrade the os?

[Walter Biscardi]

Use Apple Disk Utility to erase the drive and re-initalize it. You should never simply connect an external drive and start using it without first erasing it.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Now in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

G5 Dual 2.0, AJA Kona 2, Medea FCR2X

[Jennifer Eckerson]

I thought I did erase/format it by using the “utilities” when I first hooked it up. Could I have done this improperly? Should I try again?

[Don Greening]

Jennifer,

No, you don’t need to upgrade your OS at all. I’ve used multiple firewire drives with OS9 for quite a while now. As Walter has suggested you need to reformat your new drive before using it. In OS X go to: Applications/Utilities/Disc Utility. Start the program and select your new drive from the list. Give it a name and choose to erase the new disc. Then choose the format ‘Mac OS Extended’ (journaling off) and the click on “erase.” It should only take a few minutes and your drive will now be ready for Final Cut Pro.

I can’t remember if OS 10.2 had journaling or not, but if the choice doen’t come up in Disc Utility don’t worry about it. Journaling is simply the way that your Mac keeps track of what gets put on and taken off your disc by keeping an up to date file. Journaling should be turned off for any media drive because it slows down the video capture process.

And you dodn’t need to partition or ‘compartmentalize’ your new drive. All that does is eat up valuable hard drive space and will accomplish nothing in your case.

hope this helps,

– Don

[Jennifer Eckerson]

Thanks so much for your help!!! Will try your suggestions.

Jen

[Kevin Monahan]

This happens so often, you wonder why FireWire drive makers don’t have a giant sticker on the box that says, “Initialize (Erase) this drive before you use it.” But no…..

Kevin Monahan
Author – Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro
fcpworld.com

[Don Greening]

Especially like the LaCie Porche drives. They all come formatted in FAT32. In their “litter” ature it does say to reformat before using but I don’t think many users read cover to cover before they start using their new drive. A sticker on the drive would solve a lot of confusion.

– Don

[Kevin Monahan]

Actually, a training class would solve the problem. So many people feel their way around in the dark for so long that I don’t how they stand having so many gray areas in their knowledge. For me, the Avid Troubleshooting course (took it twice for good measure) was a turning point in my own tech education. I think that Apple should offer a similar course. FireWire drives cause a lot of instability problems with FCP, that is why Apple will not recommend them. So many things can go wrong with them.

I’m glad the Porsche drive works well for you, but remember to keep it in a cool place. That drive has no fan and little ventilation. I’ve seen a number of them go belly-up through my Apple dealer’s shop.

I build my own FireWire drives: Fan, Power Supply, Roomy Case, 911 Oxford chip, Hitachi drives. That way, I know what I am dealing with. I’m not down with manufacturers that put lower quality drives in their “premium products”.

Kevin Monahan
Author – Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro
fcpworld.com

[Don Greening]

Actually I don’t have a Porche drive, but was referring to the many people who do have them and whom I’ve helped to get them up and running. They all had the same question: why won’t my drive capture from FCP properly.

I found out awhile ago that some of the FW drives from LaCie were shipped with literature saying they were already formatted in Mac OS Extended when in fact they were FAT32, a problem that has since been corrected, as far as I know. The gentleman from LaCie who stops by here from time to time has been very helpful to all those who’ve had LaCie problems ranging from formatting issues to drives that die before their time.

By the way, someone in the Canon forum was asking about 16:9 shooting so I posted the link (among others) to your article at Ken Stone’s place. An exellent article too, I might add.

– Don