Can you move your system onto a new, larger hard drive?

OK, so I bought a 4 GB RAM upgrade and a 320 GB 7200 rpm hard disk to beef up my Mini. But it has a lot of apps installed and I don't relish the thought of re-installing it all from scratch. So my question is - Can you migrate the entire system onto another, bigger hard drive, realizing that it will go onto a larger disk partition than it came from? Right now I have the 320 GB disk in an external USB case. So can I back everything over to this USB drive and make it bootable and then swap the disks?

OK campers. This is how it went down. I bought an IOGear external eSATA case for the 320 GB drive. After fooling around a bit I finally figured out how to get the drive initialized so it showed up. I then downloaded SuperDuper and backed all files from the old 120 GB over to the new drive. I selected the new drive as startup disk to make sure I could boot from it. Having successfully done that, I went to Other World Computing's site for Mini Upgrades, and played their installation video on my laptop. I followed the video instructions and had the new RAM and hard disk installed in about 20 minutes. One thing they don't use in the video is an anti static wrist strap. I had one and used it. I highly recommend to all attempting this, to get one at Radio Shack. They are a cheap insurance against damaging your Mac with static electricity. All in all, this was an easy upgrade and I am writing this on the "new" Mini, which is running sweet, with lots of 'elbow room'.

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How do you move your iphoto library to an external hard drive--step by step because I dont even know the basics--Help!

I have no more space on my hard drive and my computer keeps freezing. I would like to move my 10,000 photos from IPHOTO to an external hard drive but dont know how to do it. I am reading answers to similiar questions but dont know how to do even the simplest instructions like "after you quit Iphoto how do you copy the iphoto library from our pictures folder to the external disk????" Ugghhh I have no idea how to do this. Please help a busy mom of three who sits here for an hour and just spins her wheels!!!

Make sure the external drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled), quit iPhoto, drag the iPhoto library to the external drive, depress the option key, launch iPhoto and use the select library command to select the iPhoto library on the external drive
Fully test the library. Once you are sure it is totally ok delete the old library - test one more time prior to emptying the trash
Check and make sure that your backup system is backing up yor external drive
LN

Can you move your notes from one iphone to another and how?

Can you move your notes from one iphone to another and how?

You can do this a couple ways. If you are using MobileMe, notes is one of the options for synchronization and that would be automatic. Another way is to backup your iphone to iTunes, this backs up essentially all the information on your phone (except for music) and if you restore the other iphone to the image of the original your notes will be transfered.

I can't move photos from iPhoto to my secondary hard drive or to a burn folder. I have never had a problem with this before. This is something new.   They will not drop into either folder. Nothing happens.

I can't move photos from iPhoto to my secondary hard drive or to a burn folder. I have never had a problem with this before. This is something new.   They will not drop into either folder. Nothing happens.
I checked my secondary harddrive and there is plenty of memory.
I emptied my burn folder but the photos still will not drop into it.
I created a new burn folder, no luck with this either.
230 photos is the maximum size of the events I am trying to move from iPhoto to save elsewhere.
I have shut down and restarted my computer.   No change. The photos still will not drop out of iPhoto.
My Mac Computer Storage shows that I have 62.2GB free out of 249.2GB (movies, photos and contacts taking up the most space)
My Lacie External Harddrive (2TB capacity) shows that I have 1.79TB available. It shows that 207,729,520,640 bytes (207.73 GB on disk) are used.
I have never had this problem before. It is usually very easy to move my photos from iPhoto.
I am not a computer expert (I work in surgery so don't have a need for lots of computer knowledge) so please explain in simple terms.
Thank you so much for any help you can provide.
I really appreciate it.

YES Terence! Thank you. Exporting allowed me to move my photos from iPhoto into the Burn Folder on my desktop.   But that doesn't explain why I'm having to go that route now.   Have I done something (accidentally changed some setting) on my computer that will not allow me to just click and drag anymore?   I really liked the convenience of the click and drag option.
I don't have the time tonight to export and burn a lot of CD/DVDs. I'll try that tomorrow and make sure my photos are moving properly. I also need to export photos to my external hard drive to make sure that route is working.
Wouldn't you know that my Apple Care Plan runs out this Wednesday?! I need to make sure everything is working properly before that expires.
Thank you so much for your help.   I really, really appreciate it.

I have moved all my songs onto a new external hard drive but it has wiped my iPod clean. Although when I connect my iPod it's starts teh process of sync'ing - so many songs in I get a pop up advising the siong could not be read or written to?

I have moved all my itunes onto a new external hard drive to free up space. It has wiped my ipod clean! I can still see the itunes on the new hard drive so I restored my iPod and tried to sync. Although when I connect my iPod it's in the process of syncing, so many songs in I get a pop up saying could not copy to my iPod as xyz song title could not be read or written. I click ok for this pop up to dissapear and then another pop up appears saying could not coyp to iPod because of unknown error.!!! Help I'm going crazy.

Did you go into iTunes to change the location of your media files? if not you will need to go into iTunes and click on preference and select the advance tab then click the iTunes Media folder location. Select the location of your on external hard drive.

How do I copy an iPhoto library, which is on an external hard drive, onto a new external hard drive?

I'm running out of space on my external hard drive, so I was advised to buy one with triple the amount of space. So, I need to copy my current iphoto library, which is on an external hard drive, onto a new external hard drive. I thought I could just drag and drop it in, but that doesn't seem to be working.

Make sure the external drive is formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled) and then drag the iPhoto Library to that drive using the Finder.
Then double click the library in its new location to open it in iPhoto. Test it thoroughly, if it is working, before deleting the original library on the internal drive.
To check the format of the drive, see (it says Aperture, but the same applies to iPhoto): Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture
iPhoto: Issues with FAT32-formatted drives

HOW TO MOVE YOUR ITUNES LIBRARY TO AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

Read these directions before actually doing anything, just so you can do this right. I've messed things up before, it can get ugly...
That being said, here's what you've gotta do if you're running on a Mac:
Have all your music on the external hard drive. It should be organized in folders the way iTunes set it up
The folders should be organized something like this:iTunes Media (Top folder, everything is inside of this folder)
Audiobooks
Automatically Add To iTunes
Books
Downloads
iPod Games
iTunes U
Mobile Applications
Music
Podcasts
Ringtones
TV Shows
Voice Memos
Those folders are what I have in my 'iTunes Media' folder on my external hard drive. You don't necessarily need to have all of these folders. (I happen to just have a lot of things in my iTunes.)
Finding your iTunes Library Files
The way iTunes works is there are two parts to make what you see in iTunes work right. There's your media (songs, video, iPod games and Apps, etc) and there are your library files. They tell iTunes what your playlists are, where your 'iTunes Media' folder is located, and a lot of other important things. Here is how to find the iTunes Library files (there will probably be more than one!)
Look in (yourusername)/Music/iTunes
There will be a few things in here:
Album Artwork (It's a folder)
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
Itunes Library.itl
iTunes Media (a folder)
iTunes Music Library Backup.xml (this file might or might not be here. If there is no file with this name, it's okay.)
iTunes Music Library.xml
Some "temp" files (maybe, maybe not -- they are not important for this)
Anything in the list that is BOLDED needs to be placed in (yourusername)/Music/iTunesIf you copied these files to your external hard drive, you will need to copy them back onto your internal hard drive. These library files do not need to be in the same place as your iTunes Media folder.
Telling iTunes Where Your Music Is
Now that your iTunes Media folder is on your external drive, and your Library Files are in place in "(yourusername)/Music/iTunes", we need to open iTunes.
On the top bar of the screen, go to iTunes>Preferences.
In preferences, go to the farthest right tab, titled "Advanced" with a picture of a gear.
The top section says "iTunes Media Folder location" and underneath that you see a filepath ending in the 'iTunes Media" folder.
This path is probably wrong, not leading you through the external hard drive.
If it is incorrect:
Click "change" on the right and then locate the folder in the prompt that shows up. Once the "iTunes Media" folder on your external hard drive is highlighted blue, click "Open" in the bottom right corner of the window.
Give iTunes a moment or two (depending on the size of your library) to re-locate all of your songs. Voila!
If it is correct:Do nothing!
While you're in the advanced section, let's check to make sure you have a few important 'housekeeping' things checked off:
"Keep iTunes Media folder organized" (CHECK THIS BOX!)
"Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" (CHECK THIS BOX!)
At this point, iTunes should be all ready to go. Before I get into any troubleshooting, note a few things:
If you ever unplug/disconnect the external hard drive from the computer, you must first make sure that iTunes is NOT running.
Also, if the hard drive is unplugged and you open up iTunes, all of your songs will have little symbols next to them. Until you plug/reconnect the hard drive, the songs will stay like this and will be missing.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
Not having permission to access the external hard drive:
In Finder (or on your desktop), right-click the external hard drive (if you don't have right-click, control-click will also work).
Click on "Get Info"
A thin, tall window will appear on the screen.
Part One:In the "General" section, make sure that "Locked" is unchecked. If it IS checked, uncheck it.
Part Two:
We are now focusing on the very bottom of the window, where it says "Sharing & Permissions"/
In the bottom right corner of the window there is a small padlock icon. Click it. When asked for an administrator password, type it in, and click "Ok".
You will now notice that the bottom section of the 'get info' window is not greyed out anymore. Make sure your user name (it says in parentheses "(Me)" so there is no going wrong here) has "Read & Write" privileges.If not, click on whichever privilege you currently have, and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on "Read & Write".
If you have any other issues, I will add them to the troubleshooting list to help you out. Hope this was helpful!

My iTunes library is set up the way I said in the top post and works totally fine.
Yes, and that is the default structure to which I was referring. iTunes will organize it that way automatically unless people do start changing settings (in which case they should know what they are doing and how iTunes works with library files and media structure.)
Both ways work, the advantages of mine would be that should iTunes try looking fo a library, it will always be in the default location.
It makes people think they have to change media location in preferences. They do not unless they want to relocate media only and leave other things on their internal drive (in which case there is no point in copying library files to the external, and you certainly wouldn't want to then delete them from your internal).
Downside is that then should someone move their iTunes library to anther computer they need to remember to get those library files on the external hard drive.
Just copy the whole iTunes folder and it will get the library files to the other drive in one step, along with all the other files.
Your post has good stuff but it makes a move appear intimidating and look like people have to do a lot of organizing to move the collection. It also throws in extra steps (namely altering preference settings) that could cause confusion or even make a mess of things. If people leave iTunes to default preference settings (which most people do) the move summarizes into a short line: Copy a folder and hold an extra button the next time you start iTunes.
Note that the instructions in the link I provided earlier do also include many steps, but those are to ensure that everybody does have it all organized correctly before simply copying the iTunes folder. In the end it is just a simple action.

How can i move my Iphoto library to an external hard drive?

How do I move my Iphoto library to an external hard drive?

Here's a worflow for that:
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

How do you transfer your itunes library from an external hard drive?

I've just bought a new internal hard drive for my macbook because I've run out of space. I'm planning on putting my itunes library on an external hard drive then putting it on the new internal hard drive... but i have no idea what the best way to do that is, since it isn't just the files that are important, my playlists and all the changes to song names need to stay intact. and also i'm gonna put snow leopard on the new hard drive if that makes any difference?
Hope some one can help me find the best way!
peacexx

I have much the same problem. I have my iTunes files on an 80GB external drive along with my iPhoto files. Currently, my MacBook Air sees and operates from the iTunes setup on the 80GB drive. To provide more space to handle these files I got a 500GB portable external drive. Now I want to bring the iTunes files back into my MBA and, when complete,put them out on the 500GB drive from which I'll operate my iTunes. This might be simpler if the MBA had two USB2 ports instead of one. I've tried the method noted in "Transferring Your iTunes Library" (http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/), but couldn't seem to get the 80GB files back to the MBA such that iTunes would see them there. (I copied the files over, but the link's broken.) Ideas?
Thanks in advance

I move all photos to a new external hard drive. Now all folders have a question mark in them. How do I find ALL PHOTOS at one time instead of having to find each picture. I have about 30,000 photos. Using Mac. LR5

I have set up a new external hard drive and Im trying redirect LR to the new hard drive. I have over 30,000 photos and Im trying to see to see if there is a way to all photos located without having to go thru each folder at a time

http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_find_folder/find-folder.htm
See Figure 4

New larger hard drive for t60p

i bought a new 320GB hard drive. what's the best way to get my old OS and apps and files transferred to the new drive from the old drive? can i copy from old drive to usb drive and then to new drive? problem is, i have no way to hook up both the old drive and new drive at the same time
thanks.

You will need both a USB external interface as well as special software to image the old drive onto the new one. Probably the cheapest and easiest way to do this is with Apricorn DriveWire which comes with appropriate software.
Cheers... Dorian Hausman
X1C2, TPT2, T430s, SL500, X61s, T60p, A21p, 770, 760ED... 5160, 5150... S360/30

How to move full OS bitlocker partition to larger hard drive?

Dear Microsoft Win7 Experts,
I have a fresh Windows 7 Enterprise image on my laptop's 100 GB hard drive. There is only one C: partition with OS+ stuff and it is Bitlocker encrypted.
Now the hardrive is almost full. I want to do following:
Buy and install a new 320GB hard drive
Copy the full Win7 100GB hard disk image into the hard drive (using Gparted)
Extend the 100GB image to entire 320GB to use it
Done. No reinstalling everything is needed.
Is this possible? We have Finnish on-site support from HCL "India's leading IT and technology company". They say that the above plan is impossible because of Bitlocker and that Win7 reinstall is absolutely needed.
Is this correct that I must reinstall everything when moving to larger hard drive?
-M

Since this is one of the articles I found using Google, I hope my experience will help others.
I have a Dell mobile precision M6800 running Windows 8.1 Pro. It shipped with a 500 GB hard drive.
Work was kind enough to later buy me a Samsung 840 EVO 500 GB mSATA drive.
I had already setup Bitlocker and had it running with TPM + PIN for bootup, UEFI only with Secure Boot (All the paranoid options basically.)
I was able to clone the disk successfully by doing the following:
1. Suspend Protections on the source disk.
2. Use Clonezilla (Alternate AMD64 image) installing onto USB via TuxBoot. (Supports UEFI boot.)
3. Do a device to device copy, letting Clonezilla pick options for me. (Took about 1.5 hours to clone.) Not sure if just luck or Clonezilla being smart, but the partitions all lined up on 4096 boundaries.
4. Either remove the source disk now and delete the partition table, set it aside for emergencies, or reboot into clonezilla and use parted to wipe the partition table.
5. Boot from the SDD and enjoy. (I installed Samsung's magician software at this point ad tweaked the settings.)
What I had to do:
4. Here is where I had issues: Leaving both source and target in the pc will make the source still boot. (In the M6800, the first hard drive is SATA 0 and mSATA is SATA 1.
5. Had I just wiped out the source I would have been fine, but no such luck. I tried online-ing the disk is disk managment but that just broke its booting, and had to use the Dell backup and recovery USB stick to get the SSD booting again (Windows repair
did not work.)
End ruesults: bootup is about twice as fast (not nearly as instant as I would like), but application load times are almost non-existent now.

Can I move my system to a new HD without reinstalling?

I know that reinstalling the OS and all the apps will give cleaner results, and I know I shouldn't do this, but is there a way to copy the entire OS/application drive to a second HD and still have it work if I erase the original drive? Here's my situation:
I just bought a 500GB internal HD. I already have a 160 and a 400 installed inside the computer, and a 140GB Firewire drive. I want to replace the 160 with the new 500, but the 160 holds the system and applications. I really don't want to have to spend two days reinstalling everything. Is there anything I can do to, say, clone the 160, copy the files onto one of the other drives, replace the 160 with the 500, then copy the files onto the 500?
I'm worried about invisible files not being copied, or sections of files being copied onto sectors that are not where they can be read by the file. Should I be?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Lloyd

*Hi Lloyd, Welcome (back)* to Apple's Users Help Users Forums.
Retrospect has "backup" and "duplicate." BU makes sequential BUs that are not bootable. The last time I used it I had 19 levels. Duplicate is bootable IIRC.
Here are the sites of interest for cloning.
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
Purchase at $27.95 will allow smart backups that look at the bu files and only move over new ones. It's quick at ~7 mins to change ~1 gig out of 20. SD is not yet Leopard ready. This is what I use.
Be sure to test that the clone boots and apps behave properly.
Here are other recommended cloners.
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/drivegeniusinfo.php
http://propagandaprod.com/ for Deja Vu
Good Luck, JP

How can you move your music and stuff to computer?

Okay I have an iphone and a macbook. I have all my stuff synced on my iphone contacts, music, dates ect. Well i just updated my computer with leopard and didnt back-up my music on my computer. So all my stuff is on my phone. The only thing from my phone that will sync are my contacts and Ical events. My music, videos, and ringtones won't sync though. Can anyone help, any solutions?

Did you perform an Erase and Install?
Regardless, creating a backup or updating an existing backup is the very first step one should perform before installing a major OS upgrade such as Leopard.
Installing a major upgrade or not, maintaining a backup of all your important data is critical for a number of reasons - it isn't a matter of if but when your hard drive has a partial or complete failure since none last forever.
iTunes content - music and video is synced or transferred in one direction only - from your Mac to the iPhone and the same for photos transferred from your computer to the iPhone. The sync process is bidirectional for Address Book contacts, iCal calendar events and Safari bookmarks.
With your iPhone connected to your Mac and without syncing, at the iTunes menu bar go to File and select Transfer Purchases from - the name of your iPhone. This will transfer iTunes purchased content only - music and video purchased from the iTunes Music Store from your iPhone to your iTunes library - not any music transferred from a music CD to iTunes that was transferred to your iPhone. This content will be lost.

How do you move your itunes to a new computer?

I hve been trying to move my itunes to my laptop and have been unsuccessful. I have an external hard drive but have not been able to save my itunes to it to move it to my laptop. Anyone know what I need to do?

Have you tried follwing this article for backing up your library http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751 ?

Can you move your system onto a new, larger hard drive?

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