Crashed Mac, new PC, Mac-formatted external drive

My MacBook Pro crashed and - literally - burned the other day, and I'm getting a new computer this Wednesday, a PC. I have everything up to about two days before the crash backed up - on a Mac-only-readable external drive. Is there any way short of stealing a 500+ GB Mac and reformatting and reloading the thing to get my stuff onto my new PC?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

http://www.catacombae.org/hfsx.html
HFS Explorer. Works great, gives you read only access to your OSX drives so you can extract the data.

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Mac os unable to format external drive

I am unable to reformat Seagate Free Agent Pro external drive used for Time Machine backup. Disk Utility gives error msg; "Couldn't unmount disk." I attempt to initialize an identical external drive and receive the same message. Any ideas?

Drive Erase for Lion/Mountain Lion
1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select the volume you wish to erase from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.

Transfer files from Mac formatted external drive to PC formatted drive

i need to transfer quicktime files (that were captured from video with FCP) to a PC formatted external drive (for editing them in after effects on a PC). the files can be transfered by burning them on a DVD, but that will take a very long time and waste many DVDs because i have 60 GB of material... can this be done (without having to purchase expensive software)?

thanx tom,
first of, i like that you made the link appear as one word. how did you do that? it's really cool!
i downloaded the program, but i'm not sure how to use it... reading the guide just made me more confused... if i understand correctly, it will automatically reformat ALL my files to NTFS-3G ones, which are not as stable... i'm a little scared to install it... though i may have totally misunderstood what it says. i see mostly black when i try to read these kind of things...
anyone out there have experience with this program?

I have a new western digital 1TB ultra. how do i format it? i can't create a new folder inside the external drive.

I have a new WD My Passport Ultra external drive. Once connected to the Macbook Pro retina, I can't create a new folder in the external drive. What do I do to solve the problem?

You should be able to format it for use with your computer using Disk Utility in the Utilities folder:
http://osxdaily.com/2012/01/04/format-an-external-hard-drive-or-usb-flash-drive- for-mac-os-x/

How can i clone a copy of Mac OS X to an external drive?

Hi Yesterday the guys at the apple store had to reinstall my OS and they installed OS X 10.6 is there a way to create a copy of this to an external hard drive to use in the future if i need to boot from an external source?
Cheers
matt

First, you need to do this:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Second, clone your drive to a freshly formatted external drive.
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external drive.
Source means the internal startup drive.
Now, you can use other cloning software but the most reliable and easiest method is what I've described above.

Does Mac OS firewall also protect external drive connected to iBook?

Hi all,
I have an iBook G4 to which I've connected an iomega external firewire drive divided into two partitions (a clone of my iBook, plus a section used for photo storage).
I have the firewall turn ON in my iBook's system preferences, and none of the sharing options are enabled.
I'm wondering if this firewall will also protect my external drive?
I'm connected (authorised user) to the internet via airport coming from a network set up by my landlord, who lives downstairs.
I'm wondering if it's OK to leave the ext. drive plugged in all the time (if it's protected by the firewall), or should I unplug it when not in use?
Anyone know?
Thanks

The external hard disk drive is accessed via your computer,
so the only way an external off-site attack could be performed
would be through the System; it has the Firewall, if turned on.
Unless the external hard disk drive is of the type or configured
to be accessed remotely or through some wireless setup to
share it via a base station or other device for backups or other
uses, it should be as safe as the hard drive in the Mac. But, if
the external drive is on an unsecure wireless network for shared
use, then the settings of the wireless base station should be set
and when not present, if no shared use is expected or desired,
an external unit could be unmounted from the desktop & powered
off until the next time it is needed.
So, under normal wire-connected use, an external drive should be
protected and as secure as the System itself; with some exception.
It is possible to change settings inside the computer and allow
other users or persons with access, to get into a computer remotely.
If you do not have these possibilities open, they can't gain access.
Hopefully this helps...
Good luck & happy computing!

Suddenly Mac mini won't "see" external drives. Possible related to OS software update to 10.6.8?

Suddenly Mac mini won't "see" external drives, neither Firewire nor USB. Possible related to OS software update to 10.6.8? Worked fine under 10.6.4. Any advice? Thanks.

Turns out it was nothing to do with the OS update, it was just a loose cable plug connecting my FireWire/USB hub to the computer. But your tip is a good one -- I'd been wondering why the external drives (even when mounted properly) weren't showing up in the sidebar. Thanks!

Trying to set up a new Lacie Porsche 9220 external drive on a 1.25Gb Dual Processor G4 Mirrordrive running OS X 10.5.8

I'm trying to set up a new Lacie Porsche 9220 external drive on a 1.25Gb Dual Processor G4 Mirrordrive running OS X 10.5.8.
I ran erase, formatting to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). But when I try to set up two partitions (Mac OS Extended Journaled for both) using Apple Partition Scheme, Disk Utility returns a fail as follows...
'Partition failed with the error: File system formatter failed'.
Also, before partitioning, whilst erasing, the following warning appeared in Disk Utility....
newfs_hfs: WARNING: wrapper option ignored since volume size > 256GB
Can't see whether the problem is with drive, system or myself.
The DU Log is as follows...
2013-01-19 23:14:03 +0000: Disk Utility started.
2013-01-19 23:17:26 +0000: Preparing to erase : “disk2s10”
2013-01-19 23:17:26 +0000:           Partition Scheme: Apple Partition Map
2013-01-19 23:17:26 +0000:           1 volume will be erased
2013-01-19 23:17:26 +0000:                     Name       : “disk2s10”
2013-01-19 23:17:26 +0000:                     Size       : 465.6 GB
2013-01-19 23:17:26 +0000:                     Filesystem : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
2013-01-19 23:17:26 +0000: newfs_hfs: WARNING: wrapper option ignored since volume size > 256GB
2013-01-19 23:19:49 +0000: Initialized /dev/rdisk2s10 as a 466 GB HFS Plus volume with a 40960k journal
2013-01-19 23:19:49 +0000: Mounting disk.
2013-01-19 23:20:50 +0000: Could not mount disk2s10 with name disk2s10 after erase
2013-01-19 23:20:50 +0000: Erase complete.
2013-01-19 23:20:50 +0000:
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000: Preparing to partition disk: “ST950032 5AS Media”
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:           Partition Scheme: Apple Partition Map
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:           2 volumes will be created
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:           Partition 1
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:                     Name       : “Boot”
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:                     Size       : 15 GB
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:                     Filesystem : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:           Partition 2
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:                     Name       : “Repository”
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:                     Size       : 450.8 GB
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:                     Filesystem : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000:
2013-01-19 23:24:17 +0000: Creating partition map.
2013-01-19 23:24:23 +0000: Formatting disk2s5 as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with name Repository.
2013-01-19 23:26:31 +0000: Partition failed for disk disk2s5 File system formatter failed.
2013-01-19 23:26:32 +0000: Formatting disk2s3 as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with name Boot.
2013-01-19 23:27:22 +0000: Partition failed for disk (null) File system formatter failed.
2013-01-19 23:27:22 +0000: Partition failed for disk (null) File system formatter failed.
2013-01-19 23:27:22 +0000: Partition complete.
2013-01-19 23:27:22 +0000:
2013-01-19 23:27:52 +0000: Eject of “disk2” failed
2013-01-19 23:28:13 +0000: Unmount of “disk2” failed

...in fact, just trying it again, it appears to have successfully erased on a volume level...
2013-01-20 20:54:39 +0000: Disk Utility started.
2013-01-20 20:55:33 +0000: Preparing to erase : “Back-up”
2013-01-20 20:55:33 +0000:           Partition Scheme: Apple Partition Map
2013-01-20 20:55:33 +0000:           1 volume will be created
2013-01-20 20:55:33 +0000:                     Name       : “Back-up”
2013-01-20 20:55:33 +0000:                     Size       : 465.8 GB
2013-01-20 20:55:33 +0000:                     Filesystem : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
2013-01-20 20:55:33 +0000: Creating partition map.
2013-01-20 20:55:36 +0000: Formatting disk2s3 as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with name Back-up.
2013-01-20 20:59:19 +0000: Erase complete.
2013-01-20 20:59:19 +0000:
I'm now testing this for read/write. Ummm, no go. It has disconnected the drive. The system has also come back with this dialogue...
"The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items." The items were just some photos (Jpegs) for which there should not be any privilege issues.
Does this offer you enough to suggest any possibilities, perhaps?
Thanks

Format external drive partition under 10.2.8

Hello. I have been trying to setup a WD My Book 500gb with 2 partitions to be used as on offsite backup unit for our business computers. We have one Mac (this G5), and 4 Windows stations (3 XP/ 1 98SE). I am trying to setup this unit with one partition using NTFS and the other with Mac HFS or HFS+ file systems. I have found a utility that allows me to format the partition that I intend to use with the Mac as a FAT32 partition. I then tried bringing the WD MyBook to the G5 and reformatting that partition as HFS. When I run Disk Utility, I click on the partition showing as Fat32 under disk2 and then click on the Erase tab, select Mac OS X Extended file system, no OS9 drivers, have tried various names (Mac BU, My Mac BU, My MacBook, etc), then click Erase, Confirm Erase. The progress bar comes up for a moment or so, says that it is erasing the volume, then exits out as if done. Unfortunately, it never mounts the drive and the volume no longer shows up in Disk Utility (only shows the Drive without any recognized partitions) until I close and restart Disk Utility. When I restart Disk Utility, the volume I am trying to format once again shows up under the drive, tho now with no name. Under Identification, it says Mount Point: Not Mounted/ Format: MS-DOS/ Capacity: 116.44gb. After doing some browsing around onthe internet trying to troubleshoot this on my own, I found some reference to Disk Utility logs (supposedly avail in upper right corner, tho didn't find there). I searched in the Library/Logs/Crash Reporter and found 'Disk Utility.crash.log' which says:
Date/Time: 2008-09-17 21:25:42 -0400
OS Version: 10.2.8 (Build 6S90)
Host: Joanns-Computer.local.
Command: Disk Utility
PID: 540
Exception: EXCBADACCESS (0x0001)
Codes: KERNPROTECTIONFAILURE (0x0002) at 0x01215088
Any suggestions on how I might get this partition formatted for a Mac file system? I would use Fat32, but I plan to use RSyncX to backup this G5 and would like to make the backup bootable in case of critical failure. And since I am using this drive as a backup storage device rather than file sharing system, I have no need to access files on either partition from the opposite operating system.
Thanks in advance for any help that can be rendered. Also, if more info or more of the log file is needed to diagnose, please let me know.
PS: Sorry if this is in wrong forum. Wasn't sure if this falls under Setup, Customizing or something else.

You can either format the drive entirely FAT32 that can be used on both Windows and Mac or you can format the drive entirely for the Mac, but you cannot have one partition of each on the same drive (not with Jaguar. You would need Leopard to accomplish that and an Intel Mac.)
There is this article/hint explaining a method for doing so, but I do not know if it is doable with Jaguar. Maybe Panther since the hint appeared about the time Panther was released.

How to access an ex fat formatted external drive on OS 10.6.8

How do I access an ex fat formatted external drive on OS 10.6.8 ? Drive has audio files and was originally formatted and created by a Windows PC.
When the La Cie drive is plugged in to my mac mini, it says can not recognize formatting.

Read this thread
exFAT mounting problem

New iTunes folder on external drive...move xml file there?

About a year ago, I created a new folder on an external hard drive and I thought that I followed the apple designated steps to move my itunes music to that folder. I then selected the advanced tab in preferences in iTunes and selected the new folder on my external drive as my "iTunes" folder. iTunes seems to have worked OK for this past year using the folder on the external drive. After updating to the latest version of iTunes (11.1.1), I tried to sync some apps to my iPhone 4, and I got the message that the external drive folder I am using as my "iTunes" folder on the external drive is not the one associated with my iPhone. iTunes asks if I want to erase my iPhone and use the contents of my external drive folder on my phone. This is the first time I have seen this message, even though it has been a year, and I have connected my phone to iTunes during that time.
In investigating this, I see that the .xml and .its files are not in the folder on the external hard drive. In fact, there is no folder at all called "iTunes" on my external drive. They are still in the "iTunes" folder in my music folder on my internal hard drive. This is what is still in the music folder in my home folder on my internal drive:
Should I manually move the .xml, the .ita and the other files into the folder on the external drive?
Thanks

In my message above, I tried to include a .png file of what my internal hard drive has in the music folder, but that did not work, so I am trying to paste it in here. I am wondering if I should manually copy these files to the music folder on my external hard drive. There is no folder on my external drive names "iTunes".

Mac no longer sees old external drive, or new external drive

I have been using a Seagate external drive for months. All of a sudden, my Mac doesn't see it in Finder (Or Disk Utility), and no longer mounts it. I bought a new Drive today and when I plugged it in, my mac doesn't see the new drive either. (WD My Book) I have seen a lot simular threads but nothing is working for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Does the time machine volume meet the requirements?
-internal drive, not start up disk
-XSAN volume
-USB drive
-fire wire drive
-eSATA drive
-network server via AFP (from machines running Leopard), including machines running file sharing
the volume must be formated as Mac OS Extended or Mac OS Extended (case-sensitive)
You can't use:
-Boot Camp partition
-iPod
-disk image
-AirPort Disk
-iDisk

Can't format external drive for Mac

I got an external Seagate Freeagent 750GB drive to use with my new Mini. It came formatted as a windows FAT volume. Since I don't have a FW400 to FW 800 cable yet, I have it connected via USB. When I try to reformat as a Mac drive (with any of the 4 case-sensitive / journaled options), I get an error, but I can then reformat as FAT. Does anyone know how I can format this drive as mac and what the problem is?

It may have something to do with the partition scheme. There are at least three different schemes. One is used for windows formats (so you can use FAT32 or NTFS format), one is used for Intel Mac (probably GUID, not sure), and one is used for PowerPC Mac (probably the Apple Partition Map, again not sure). I don't know whether it is smart enough to choose the appropriate scheme for you when you have selected a format for your partition. Try to select the right scheme for Intel Mac first, and then decide on the format on each (if you have more than one partition on that disk) partitions.
I think you have to make sure the format is compatible with the scheme, especially when you have multiple partitions on one disk. You can't format one partition to FAT32 and another to HFS+, although it will try to do something, but it will end up with error.

How to format external drive for use against windows and mac

Hi.
Please bear with me, a possible MAC newbie here
I'm about to buy the 13" Mac Book Pro (after ditching the Lenovo X301 because of a super slow processor, slow FSB, slow intel graphics).
But I have a couple of questions before I buy this Mac Book Pro.
NOTE:
My main OS (stationary pc) is Windows, and will probably be so for a long time.
But I need a lightweight laptop while on the run, and could not actually find any other one than the Mac Book Pro that met my requirements.
I'm using Adobe Lightroom for indexing and managing images on my windows stationary computer and will also use Lightroom on my Mac Book Pro.
I'm to use an external HDD for this purpose and will need to be able to both write and read to/from that HDD from both MAC and Windows.
Export lightroom library to External HDD from Windows (thumbnails + keywords).
Import new images and edit keywords etc from mac book pro in lightroom.
Import changes into my windows library version after been edited from library in mac book pro.
What options do I have when it comes to formatting that HDD?
What will the PROS and CONS be for the different options?
Note (I'm not to switch to Aperture (my main computer is still Windows))
Regards

Hi.. and thanks for that answer... another related here:
I'm to buy this external drive:
http://www.lacie.com/no/products/product.htm?pid=11038
This page:
http://pc.wikia.com/wiki/FAT32
tells me that windows XP will only format FAT32 to max 32GB,
will my upcoming MAC book PRO be able to format that whole disk using FAT32?
Or do I have to use something else to format it with?
Regards

How to format external drive for mac AND pc use

hi
i want to format my external drive so i can use it on my mac and on pc's as well. i've gathered that the MS-DOS format is the way to go. my question is this: would this create any problems for my mac then?
can i partion one part for ms-dos and part for macos extended?
cheers
-j-

There are a couple of disadvantages with formatting a
disk as FAT32. Firstly, there is a limit on the file
size for FAT32. I think it like 2 GB so if you
capturing video the results will probably not fit
into this file limit. Secondly FAT32 will not be
bootable. I alway clone my system to a backup disk as
bootable. That way if anything goes wrong with my
system, I can just boot from my backup disk and fix
it.
The problem with doing this though is that the drive will not be usable with Windows (which was in the original posting) unless you use the third party MacDrive software on the PC.
iFelix

Crashed Mac, new PC, Mac-formatted external drive

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