[JMalam]

I'm looking to buy a 16GB SSD Dell Mini 9 soon - don't want to spend any more money to buy a larger SSD but I can see that I'll probably need more space than the ~8GB or so I'll have once OSX is installed.

How reasonable is it that I keep a portable external HDD with the Mini? I need something very portable which I can store and just plug in every time I use the machine. Also, is it possible to set the HDD as my primary drive?

Any recommendations for the model? It needs to be cheap! :P

[holmes4]

Feel free to use an external HDD - I use one for backups. Theoretically you could boot from a USB hard drive, but performance will suffer. Consider a 16GB or 32GB SD card - the Mini 9 lets the card sit flush so it's easy to leave in. I have a 16GB in mine, even though I have a 64GB SSD.

There are many inexpensive external HDDs. There's a wide variety available for under $100. You'll want to plug it in to the USB jack nearest the power jack.

[eugene]

I have a Transcend 250gb Storejet which I'm happy with. I keep a couple of hundred movies on it, plus other information, and rotate them to my SD card which I leave installed, (only 8Gb, but 16 would be better).

[holmes4]

I should comment that Windows does not support booting from removable devices, and add a reminder that the Mini 9 will not boot from the SD slot.

[JMalam]

Thanks for the info - I've decided to go for a 320GB Western Digital drive. I didn't actually realise that the Mini had an intergrated SD slot, but I've found that higher capacity cards are pretty expensive! Thanks.

[holmes4]

Good choice - that's what I use.