Good move. I just accidentally formatted my 40GB hd with 20 seconds of zeros.

[pinniped]

:)

In the future, I will have to backup my backup.

This is what happens when you have an external firewire HD and USB 2.0 HD connected at the same time. I clicked the wrong drive one in the disk utility program. Only the USB 2.0 drive was to be wiped.

Good job.

[struggle4progress]

1. Can't you automate the process?

[Drunken Irishman]

2. I understood accidentally.

[HopeHoops]

3. I've got a small tower of external drives. I keep all the connectors labeled and in a bundle.

A drive is only connected if I need to use it. I don't like stickers directly on cables (get gooey and pick up dust and animal fur) so I wrap a rubber band around the cable, pass it through itself (like crochet) and fold a file folder label around the end. That makes it really easy to change labels. I use a lot of those velcro cable wraps in the computer areas. For the drive tower, I gathered all of the cables together about 8" back from the connector and bound them with the wrap. That keeps them in a nice bundle. When I want a drive, in it goes.

The only drive that is permanently hooked up is the one on the Mac Mini and that's because it is the target for Time Machine.

[jmowreader]

5. There's a better way

Cables come in different colors. Buy a different-colored cable for each drive. Then mark the drive with the same color--colored tape is good.

[HopeHoops]

6. Yeah, but they all came with black cables and I usually go for the least expensive route.

I've made good use of colored CAT5 cables, but with a wireless router that's not such a big issue anymore.

On Edit:

Do they make 12 different colors of USB cables? :shrug:

[jmowreader]

7. I am finding nine

White, black and grey plus red, blue, green, silver, purple and orange. In your case you'd be best off separating the drives into two piles. "Red cable to left runs drive xxx. Red cable to right runs drive yyy."

[HipChick]

4. It can be undone..if you have the right utilty program..

I've never met a hard drive I couldn't fix...and when I did,it cost me plenty