Apple Boot Camp cannot be used on an external drive

Brief explanation that Apple Boot Camp only works when installed on an internal drive.

Apple Boot Camp can only be installed on an Internal Hard Disk of a MacIntosh, Intel-based computer. If you attempt to install on an external drive, you will see the following message.

REFERENCE TO THIRD PARTIES AND THIRD PARTY WEB SITES. Seagate references third parties and third party products as an informational service only, it is not an endorsement or recommendation - implied or otherwise - of any of the listed companies. Seagate makes no warranty - implied or otherwise - regarding the performance or reliability of these companies or products. Each company listed is independent from Seagate and is not under the control of Seagate; therefore, Seagate accepts no responsibility for and disclaims any liability from the actions or products of the listed companies. You should make your own independent evaluation before conducting business with any company. To obtain product specifications and warranty information, please contact the respective vendor directly. There are links in this document that will permit you to connect to third-party web sites over which Seagate has no control. These links are provided for your convenience only and your use of them is at your own risk. Seagate makes no representations whatsoever about the content of any of these web sites. Seagate does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the content, or use, of any such web sites. Expansion drives switching to GPT

GUID Partition Table (GPT) is a partitioning scheme that is part of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface specification; it uses a globally unique identifier for qualifying devices. It is the next generation partitioning scheme designed to succeed the partitioning scheme method.

Disk Management describes disks with the GUID partition table (GPT) partitioning style as GPT disks and disks with the master boot record (MBR) partitioning style as MBR disks. You can perform the same tasks on GPT disks as you can on MBR disks with the following exceptions:

 You can convert an MBR disk to a GPT disk and vice versa only if the disk is empty or you are not concerned with losing the data on the drive, since doing so will completely wipe out anything that is on the drive. However there is a 2.2 TB size limitation to MBR disks. So if you have a 4TB Expansion drive and you convert it to MBR you will lose access to a portion of the drive. This is due to the limitation of the MBR partition scheme, it does not mean there is anything wrong with the drive.  You have to use a command line utility called “Diskpart” to wipe the partition on the drive and convert it to an MBR disk. Here is a link on how to use “Diskpart”: www.seagate.com/support/kb/how-to- diskpart-eraseclean-a-drive-through-the-command-prompt-005929en

Our new Expansion drives come out of the box partitioned GPT, but our older line of Expansion drives came partitioned out of the box MBR; there was no size limitation with any , even Windows XP. We were able to do this because these drives came with 4K sector sizes and a special bridge card installed on them to get past the 2.2TB limitation. We stopped manufacturing these drives this way, because Windows XP is no longer a supported operating system, additionally the current Expansion drives enable users to use them with the Windows 7 Image program.

Here are pictures of the new models of Expansion drives that are not supported on the Windows XP operating system.

Here are pictures of the older models of Expansion drives that are supported on the Windows XP operating system.

Can I backup multiple PCs to one external drive?

Summary of the capability of software programs bundled with various Seagate external drives to backup to multiple PCs.

Since many users have multiple PCs, it is important to protect key files on all of their computers. Seagate recognizes this need and offers flexible solutions to users by allowing them to protect multiple PCs with their backup drives. Any external drive can backup as many computers as there is space on the external drive, through any number of ways. See Document ID: 206419 for information on how to store data on hard drives without the use of special software.

Many Seagate external and network drives include bundled backup software. However, to keep the initial cost of the drive down, it may be necessary to purchase additional licenses in some cases. See the chart below for details.

The ability to backup multiple PCs using a bundled software depends mostly on the software licensing for the backup software and the operating systems of the PCs. Also, keep in mind that significant capacity may be needed to store all the files from the various computers, so be sure to purchase a drive large enough to handle your needs. A network solution such as the Seagate GoFlex Home or BlackArmor NAS 400 Series would be a better solution if you need to back up a large number of computers.

Drive and Can it backup Notes software multiple PCs? Each drive includes one license for the Memeo backup Yes, after software. To purchase additional licenses, see: FreeAgent GoFlex, purchasing GoFlex Desk, and additional  Memeo Instant Backup GoFlex Pro licenses  Memeo Backup Premium

Yes, up to 3 PC  Includes Memeo Backup software. FreeAgent Goflex and Mac  Also compatible with MacOS Time Machine. Home computers The Replica is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, and XP, 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The different computers backed Seagate Replica Yes up are distinguished by different system names in the Replica. As long as the PCs are all Windows XP / Vista / 7 based FreeAgent with and have unique computer names, the software allows Seagate Manager Yes backing up multiple PCs. The files are stored in separate Software directories. Each directory's name is named after each computer's name. The FreeAgent Pro drive came bundled with Memeo Yes, after Autobackup which requires a separate license for each PC FreeAgent Pro purchasing being backed up. Each separate backup set is stored in a with Autobackup additional separate folder based on the backup set name. licenses Note: Additional licenses can be acquired here. As long as the PCs are all Windows XP / Vista / 7 based FreeAgent Desktop and have unique computer names, the software allows with Seagate Yes backing up multiple PCs. The files are stored in separate manager Software directories. Each directory's name is named after each computer's name. As long as the PCs are all Windows XP Vista / 7 based OneTouch 4 with and have unique computer names, the software allows Manager Yes backing up multiple PCs. The files are stored in separate software directories. Each directory's name is named after each computer's name. This device is designed to backup multiple systems via the network. It comes with 10 client licenses for the backup software and can be expanded to support up to 50 client Seagate PCs. BlackArmor 400 Yes Note: Client licenses are only needed for backup software; Series file sharing does not require a separate license per PC. Additional licenses can be purchased at the BlackArmor product . How fast should an external drive be?

Some advice for correctly setting expectations for USB device performance.

Please see the below table to compare the maximum performance of each interface.

External drive Internal drive Up to 100 USB 1.1 Up to 12 Mbits/sec UltraATA 100 Mbytes/sec USB 2.0 Up to 480 Mbits/sec Serial ATA 1.5 Up to 1.5 Gbits/sec USB 3.0 Up to 4.8 Gbits/sec SATA 3.0 Up to 3.0 Gbits/sec SATA 6.0 Up to 6.0 Gbits/sec 1394a (Firewire Up to 400 Mbits/sec 400) Up to 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, 1394b (Firewire Serial-Attached SCSI Up to 800 Mbits/sec or 800) (SAS) 12.0 Gbits/sec

Up to 1.5 or 3.0 eSATA Gbits/sec Thunderbolt Up to 10 Gbits/sec

Please note carefully not only the numbers, but also the units of measurement.

This table shows how much maximum total bandwidth is available per bus for each technology. Advertised transfer rates are based on the fastest speed at which the drive can send data back and forth across the cable (or bus) from the drive buffer. Data transfer will go as fast as the slowest device or bus As technology progresses and newer, faster interfaces are developed, a user can have a collection of devices of varying interfaces, whose top speeds can vary widely. The computer will move data during a given transfer as quickly as it can, taking into account the abilities of all the devices involved in the transfer:

 the source disk  the interface over which the data is moving  the destination disk

It may be that the source disk is newer and can push data faster than the destination disk can write it. Example: Backing up the data contained on a Serial ATA 6.0 drive to an external drive equipped with a USB 2.0 interface. The Serial ATA drive and interface are faster than USB 2.0, so the USB 2.0 drive and interface are the "bottleneck".

It may be that the destination disk and the interface can move and write data faster than the source disk can send it. Example: Backing up the data contained on a Serial ATA 3.0 drive to an external drive equipped with a Thunderbolt interface. The Thunderbolt interface is faster than SATA 3.0, so the SATA 3.0 drive and interface are the "bottleneck".

Burst transfer rate vs. Sustained transfer rate Many hard drive users mistake the "burst transfer rate" in the table above for what they can expect to see in real-world performance. This leads almost invariably to disappointment when their USB external hard drive does not transfer data at 50 MB/sec or their SATA internal drive at 300 MB/sec. This is because no storage device will have all of this "potential" bandwidth available for data transfers. Some of the bandwidth will be shared with other devices on the bus and some will be consumed by commands and interface protocol overhead. Other limitations can include the transfer rate that is possible given the bus (ie, USB, SATA, Thunderbolt). It is also worth noting that poor or slow drive performance is usually caused by a system configuration factor. It is very rare that poor performance is directly related to the drive. In many cases, perceived poor drive performance is usually attributed to the results of a benchmark test. Benchmark results are very system-dependent and the results can vary from system to system. For this reason, Seagate cannot provide a single sustained transfer rate specification for any drive.

Other Tips for Increasing Performance

 Try connecting USB external drives into the various USB ports on your computer and experiment with data transfers via each port. It may be that some of the ports on the computer use older USB hardware.  For best performance, do not connect external drives to USB hubs, switches, or extension cables.  Defragment the disk drive (not for use with solid state drives). The drive's partition can become fragmented in the course of normal usage. Running the defrag utility in Windows can often improve the performance of a slow drive by consolidating scattered files and data, making it easier to access more quickly.  Run Seatools for Windows on the drive.  Run checkdisk on the drive (not for use with solid state drives).  Replace your USB cable with a known-good cable.  Empty the recycle bin/trash can, especially if the drive has been used for a while. Old data removed from the drive leaves behind a footprint on the drive, which can negatively affect performance.  Many computers have numerous programs running in the background that are occupying system resources. Shut down some or many of the background programs. Please consult Support (for 8/7/Vista) (for XP) for directions on disabling background programs at computer startup. Please see this Microsoft Support article for directions on using the Windows Task Manager to end processes.  Boot to Safe Mode and try a data transfer to see if that increases the performance. Mac OS 10.9.4 Time Machine Updates

This article is to explain the changes that occur when opting to use the Time Machine software on your external drive in Mac OS 10.9.4 update.

Apple has changed the behavior of Time Machine in Mac OS 10.9.4.

When preparing a new drive with 10.9.4, Time Machine will change the attributes of the partition so that only the operating system and Time Machine can modify the drive (users are read only). See the example below:

This means that partitions / drives used for Time Machine are dedicated to Time Machine only.

When a user drags a file to a Time Machine partition or drive they will get a prompt saying "Modifying Drive X requires an administrator name and password" as shown in the example below:

Once the proper credentials are entered in, it will allow the copy to occur. Anything else will cancel the copy. Seagate USB External drive compatibility

The following article will cover compatibility for Seagate USB drives. Seagate USB external drives are designed, tested and supported to work with desktop and laptop computers. Seagate USB external drives may be used with many other devices and this article will provide information on other environment the drive could be used on.

When using a Seagate USB external drive with something other than a desktop or laptop computer, Seagate recommends consulting the manufacturer of your device to understand what limitations may exist. Here are some common limitations:

Format restrictions - NTFS, HFS+, Fat32, etc Capacity limitations - max capacity may vary by device Power Requirements - may require a drive that gets power from a wall outlet Partition type requirements - MBR vs GPT Feature limitations - some USB ports may not be compatible with external hard drives. Sector size - 512 vs drive (4K) Storage capacity measurement standards

Explains why a hard drive's capacity often appears to be less than advertised when showing in (My) Computer or Mac Disk Utility. This article will cover the following subjects:

 Discrepancy between reported capacity and actual capacity  Motivation for proposed prefixes for binary multiples  Two different measurements systems  How operating systems report drive capacity

Discrepancy between reported capacity and actual capacity Many people are confused when their operating system reports, for example, that their new 1 Terabyte (1 TB, or 1000 GB) hard drive is reporting only about 931 gigabytes (GB) in usable capacity. Several factors may come into play when you see the reported capacity of a disk drive. Unfortunately, there are two different number systems which are used to express units of storage capacity; binary, which says that a kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes, and decimal, which says that a KB is equal to 1000 bytes. The storage industry standard is to display capacity in decimal. Even though in binary you have more bytes, the decimal representation of a GB shows greater capacity. In order to accurately understand the true capacity of your disk drive, you need to know which base unit of measure (binary or decimal) is being used to represent capacity. Another factor that can cause misrepresentation of the size of a disk drive is BIOS limitations. Many older BIOS are limited in the number of cylinders they can support.

Motivation for proposed prefixes for binary multiples In the past, computer professionals noticed that 1024 or 2^10 (binary) was very nearly equal to 1000 or 10^3 (decimal) and started using the prefix "kilo" to mean 1024. That worked well enough for a decade or two because everybody who talked KB knew that the term implied 1024 bytes. However, almost overnight a much more numerous "everybody" bought computers, and the trade computer professionals needed to talk to physicists and engineers and even to ordinary people, most of whom know that a kilometer is 1000 meters and a kilogram is 1000 grams.

Two different measurement systems

Binary Binary Value (in Decimal Decimal Name Abbreviation Power Decimal) Power (Equivalent) kilobyte KB 2^10 1,024 10^3 1,000 megabyte MB 2^20 1,048,576 10^6 1,000,000 gigabyte GB 2^30 1,073,741,824 10^9 1,000,000,000 terabyte TB 2^40 1,099,511,627,776 10^12 1,000,000,000,000

Often when two or more people begin discussing storage capacity, some will refer to binary values and others will refer to decimal values without making distinction between the two. This has caused much confusion in the past. In an effort to dispatch this confusion, all major disk drive manufacturers use decimal values when discussing storage capacity.

How operating systems report drive capacity

In the example above, right above the pie chart are the two different capacity measures. The first one is the decimal value in total bytes. The second value is the binary equivalent. Those values are also represented next to the Used Space and Free Space fields just above.

Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/2000/NT From Windows Explorer, right-click on a drive letter, then click on Properties. This shows capacities in bytes and either MB or GB.

Windows 98/Me From Windows Explorer, right-click on a drive letter, then click on Properties. This shows bytes, MB, and GB. DOS Prompt ? CHKDSK shows bytes DOS Prompt ? FDISK shows MB

MacOS X From the top menu bar on the Desktop, click on Go, then Utilities, then open Disk Utility. Click on the hard drive to highlight it. The "Total Capacity" is shown in GB or TB, then Bytes.