Moving TM external drive to a new computer

I have a new mini server and would like to use it to host my current 4TB fw800 time machine external via the network, so I want the mac mini to recognize the files that have allready been backed up. Is this possible to continue with the existing TM external backup, but controlled from a different computer?
I originally started the TM external backup on my laptop MBPro Snow Leopard via fw800.

I tried consolidating and still have the same problem. The songs are not available from the library unless I plug in the thumb drive.

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How do I copy my files from an external drive to my new computer

I had all my music files on my old laptop whose motherboard burned out. I removed the hard drive, and would like to copy my old music files from my old hard drive to the internal hard drive in my new computer. I think I can do this one file at a time but there are like 4000 files so that is impossible

File -> Add folder to library.
Select the topmost folder with the music

Due to a divorce all my music is on my iTunes and iPod. I had to buy a new computer and want to transfer my Library to the new computer. How can I do this without using an external drive and use new computer just like I do the old one? Thanks.

Due to divorce, all my music is on my iTunes and iPod. I have had to buy a new laptop and want to transfer the library to the new computer before deauthorizing the old one. I dont want to have to use an external drive every time I want to listen to my music. How can I do this and have the same basic iTunes setup as before? HELP!

You might consider itunes match for moving CDs you've copied into your itunes library if you dont have a way to use home sharing.
iTunes match is an optional service offered by apple that costs about $25 a year. It scans your music library and if it finds music that is already in apple's itunes catalog it'll automatically "unlock"/"store" these in the cloud for you. Items that it does not find in the catalog it'll upload and store these in the cloud for you and you can download them on your devices. See http://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/

How do I access a library already on an external drive, from a new computer?

I moved my library from an old hard drive onto a larger external drive, following the online instructions and then continued to use the old machine to access the library. I now want to swap computers completely (the library can stay where it is) but am baffled by how to do this.
Looking at the folders on the external drive there are noi library files just media filders and files.
I've ensured that the new laptop sees the external drive as it was (ie its ths G drive on old and new machines).
I have pointed iTunes at the relevent folder
I have deauthorised everything and then authorised the new laptop
When I open iTunes I have nothing....
The helpdesk are trying.....
Old machine was XP, new machine is W7
HELP!

The library file is still on the old computer in the iTunes folder.
Move the entire iTunes folder from the old computer to the new computer.

My old computer crashed. I was able to connect its old hard drive as an external drive to my new computer. I would like to recover all my old bookmarks (there was no prior backup on the old drive).

Is there a file in which bookmarks are stored which I may copy from the old drive to the new one to restore the old bookmarks? Thanks!
(I still have the original Firefox files on the old hard drive, including the one I presume contains all my old bookmarks.)

You're welcome.

Easiest way to transfer iTunes library on an external drive to a new Mac?

Hello,
I currently have my entire iTunes Library (Music, Movies, TV Shows, etc.) on an external hard drive.
I have a new Mac arriving tomorrow, to replace my current one. What is the easiest way to get my entire Library into iTunes on my new Mac?
I know Migration Assistant is normally supposed to help with this, but I assume that's only if the Library has been stored internally. Can I simply plug the external drive into the new Mac, authorize the computer, and Import my entire Library from the File menu?
Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks!

mattfromallston wrote:
I have a new Mac arriving tomorrow, to replace my current one. What is the easiest way to get my entire Library into iTunes on my new Mac?
From your OLD computer...
Copy your ENTIRE iTunes FOLDER to an External Drive... and then from the External Drive to your New Computer..
Full Details Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
An Added Bonus is that you will have a Backup of iTunes.
Also... Have a look at these 2 Videos...
http://macmost.com/moving-your-itunes-library.html
http://macmost.com/moving-your-itunes-media-to-an-external-drive.html
NOTE:
It is important that the External Hard Drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled).

Why won't photos from external drive stay on my computer (iPhoto) once I disconnect the external drive?

I'm trying to move photos from my external drive to my new computer. When I connect the external drive, I'm able to view all the photos in iPhoto, and I'm able to drag photos to a desktop folder and/or directly into iPhoto. But, when I disconnect the external drive, I no longer have access to the photos on my computer. I'm sure there's a step I may be overlooking but I'm using the same process I've used in the past and cannot determine next steps.

Thanks so far.
I'm currently working on a 2012 MacBook Air 13", running OSX 10.8.
Upon opening my external drive, I've dragged the iPhoto Library to my computer's desktop. When I've opened iPhoto and tried to import the library (from external drive and/or from the desktop), I'm unable to do so, i.e., the library is not highlighted (it won't allow me to click on it).
I can open and view the library from my external drive in iPhoto when the external drive is connected to the computer. But, once the external drive is disconnected from the computer, I'm unable to view the library
I've tried all of the aforementioned when the "Copy Imported Item(s) to the iPhoto Library" is checked.

How to move from a "recovered data external hard drive" to the new Computer?

Computer 1's hard drive crash and all programs and data were recovered professionally and sent to me on an External Hard Drive. Computer 1 was on Windows 7. I can fun the program off of the External Hard drive fine, when connected to my my new Computer. I click on the .exe file and it pulls up the catalogue as it should. All off of the recovery drive.
The new Computer, is on Windows 8.1. How do I get the Adobe Catalogues moved/copied to the new Computer?
I redownload Adobe 10 onto my new 8.1 Computer from the Adobe website. Using the new download, I was able to open the Catalogue on the External Drive (F). Cannot find a way to "relocate" the Catalogue to the new computer. The pictures have already been copied to the new computer.
Please help!!!!! Desperate not to lose the organization (tagging/dating) etc in 30,000 pictures+.
Kay

Before we can give a solution, we need more information and we must be clear about the details of the recovery.
From your post, I assume that the external drive contains a copy of your picture files, with probably exactly the same folder path. I think that that path is identical in Win7 and Win8 (it was not in XP).
You have reinstalled Photoshop Elements 10 in your new computer.
So the main point is : what about your old catalogs ? It's quite possible that the professional recovery has also made a copy of those.
You'll have to search the external drive for one or several folders containing a 'catalog.pse10db' file.
If you find one or several, select the newest in date (or the biggest), the folder containing it is the catalog you are looking for.
If you don't find one, be sure that the explorer is set to show hidden files. Without catalogs, you can't restore your organization
Now, when you have found the catalog (the folder), you can do this test. With PSE and Organizer closed, double click on the 'catalog.pse10db' file. That should open the organizer with the catalog. Since the files are not in the same location as before, all links in the catalog will be wrong : different drive identification and perhaps different folder structure. That test should show you the thumbnails (the catalog cache in the folder should have been recovered; if not it's not that important, the thumbnails cache will be recreated automatically).
Now, how to 'reconnect' all files, that depends on what you want to do: keep them in the external drive or copy them back to the main internal drive. The problem will be either to update the catalog database to point to the new location or to recreate the same drive identification as before : letter and drive serial number, exactly same folder tree. We can discuss those options when you have made the first test.
If that goes well, don't worry about the location of the catalog : you can move it either from the catalog manager or manually.

How can I transfer Itunes from external hard drive to a new computer?

Hello,
I had a Dell laptop with Windows XP on it recently crash, but I have everything saved to a Seamagine external 1 terabyte hard drive. I have about 250 gigabytes of media on it, mostly CD's and audiobooks. The setup I had on the XP computer was my Itunes folder saved on the C drive, but I kept all the actual music and audiobooks on the external hard drive, which was labeled the F drive.
After the crash, a relative sold me their three year old Compaq laptop, with Windows 7 instead of XP as the OS. My relative already had Itunes downloaded on it, but when I opened the Itunes on the new (new to me) laptop, Itunes only recognized their (my relative's) account. So, I uninstalled their Itunes and then I re-downloaded Itunes for 64-bit Windows 7. I then opened the Windows Explorer folder so to drag and drop my backed up Itunes folder and library information from the old C drive to the new Itunes folder in the new C drive. But, it wouldn't do anything. It still wanted the password info from my relative's account. It wouldn't recognize my account, even though I had uninstalled and then reinstalled a newer version of Itunes. Dragging and dropping my backed-up Itunes folder from my external hard drive to the new C drive didn't work because it said it didn't have certain permissions or something like that. I think I might have downloaded a newer version of Itunes, different from what I had saved a couple of days ago, which might be one of the problems here, not to mention that I switched OS's from XP to Windows 7.
When I plugged the external hard drive USB into the new laptop no Seamagine manager came up for user-friendly accessibility. I didn't know what to do, so I installed Seagate Dashboard onto the new computer. It didn't do anything for me either. No problem, I thought, I'll just use Windows Explorer to move the Itunes library, and then once I transfer (i.e., drag and drop) the old Itunes folder to the one, all will be as it was. I could then direct my Itunes account to use my external hard drive as the media source folder. I was wrong. It won't let me do that either. It says I don't have permission to do it.
How c an I get my old Itunes library info onto the C drive of this new computer, but keep the 250GB of media files on the external hard drive, just like the setup I had on the old laptop before it crashed? If you can help me, then you will be my hero. I'm scared to death that I've lost my library info and afraid to mess with it too much more for fear of erasing it or, worse, losing the 250 GB of media that is on the external hard drive, which has taken me a tremendous amount of time and money to compile. It is, in effect, irreplaceable. I'm very worried and frustrated. I've been working on this for days, to no avail. You're my last hope. Thank you.

Hmm, I think we should start over...
Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
In the image above the red outline denotes the "media folder", that is the folder listed under Edit > Preferences > Advanced. In the standard layout where the "media folder" is inside the "library folder" the iTunes library has the advantage of being self-contained and portable. Since you've lost the "library folder" from your old computer you're going to have to start over so you might as well get organized properly.
If the folder curently holding your media files is called G:\iTunes then rename it as G:\Media.
The support doc How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one explains how to create a new iTunes library where you want it. In short click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library, click Create and browse to G:\, make sure the folder is going to be called iTunes and click save.
Move the folder that actually holds the media inside the folder G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. We're going to let iTunes reorganize everything (unless you have a collection of .wav files in which case stop and tell me because they require a different approach).
Use File > Add folder to library and select the folder G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. iTunes will search through the whole series of subfolders adding all media files into the library and reorganizing them into the correct artist & album folders.
Again, for data security, you really ought to obtain a second external drive at some point and backup your library to it. Only having one copy, as you have found, leaves you vulnerable to failure. External drives are no less prone to it.
A) Windows uses \ as a folder separator in path descriptions, Mac uses /.
B) Do you have a backup of the iTunes folder that was on drive C:\ or are you simply referring to the location of your media as a "backup" when it really the only copy? If you have a backup copy of your "original" iTunes library you could move/copy that to G:\iTunes shift-start-iTunes to open it, and then I can offer tools or techniques for fixing the links that will be broken becuase the drive letter has changed.
C) Use Store > Sign out and then Store > Sign in to sign into your iTunes account. You will also need to use Store > Authorize the computer to allow playback and transfer of any protected content. If your new library contains protected content from any other accounts then you will have to authorize the computer for those too.
tt2

I just bought a mac mini over the weekend. I saved items from my old G4 to an external hard drive. I go to plug in the external hard drive and the new computer is not recognizing it. Help.

I just bought a mac mini over the weekend. I saved items from my old G4 to an external hard drive. I go to plug in the external hard drive and the new computer is not recognizing it. Help.
Here is the information I have. The external hard drive is a 120GB Acomdata. It has both USB and Firewire. When I go to plug in to the mac mini through USB, it is not being recognized. When I switch to Firewire on the old computer I can see it, however when I go to USB it is not being recognized (even on the old computer).
I'm at a loss as to what to do. Any advice would be helpful.

Shalese wrote:
Have you ever tried the FW 400 to 800 adapter?
I have used them on multiple occasions and they work just fine.
Try this (maybe you already have):
-Boot Mini with drive disconnected.
-Do not connect drive but turn it on
-wait a few seconds for drive to spin up
-plug cable into the Mini then into drive.
This is an old drive and may have some timing
issues.
I had an Acomdata drive a long time ago. It
worked fine with FW but USB was flakey.

How do I open my imovie files from an external hard drive on a new computer

I'm trying to open my files from an external harddrive and the I don't know how to open it on another computer...the "event" files are confusing and I can't open a file of imovie 08....thanks!

If you used the Finder to move the files, iMovie will have lost track of them. iMovie holds the locations of the Event files, and Project files contain references to those locations. If you move the files, iMovie has no way of knowing where they are.
If you can, first move all the files back to their original locations. Plug in the external drive. Open iMovie and move the files in iMovie's interface (help explains how, but basically, just drag and drop in the event pane).
Then you can connect the drive to the new computer, and iMovie will see them.

I have transferred my itunes library to an external drive. I then attached the external disk to a new computer. I can now access all songs from the new computer. But I can't access playlists. I can still access all songs and playlists on the old computer

I have transferred my itunes library to an external drive. I then attached the external disk to a new computer. I can now access all songs from the new computer. But I can't access playlists. I can still access all songs and playlists on the old computer

If you right mouse and select Get info it will show you the Apple ID used to purchase these songs.
Usually the name of an apple id is based on the email. So knowing that you may have forgotten the Apple ID password.
You can request a new password here http://www.apple.com/support/appleid/

How to copy my photos from an external had drive to a new computer

how to copy my photos from an external had drive to a new computer?

Hi laundry bleach! Sorry for the insufficient information, my external hard drive it's a LaCie Stark 500GB USB 2.0 Mobile Hard Drive. My computer it's a MacBook Pro and the OS it's 10.8.1.k
Thank You!

I recently purchased a new iMac with an external drive. I want to transfer my files from my old iMac to the external drive, but I'm afraid that doing that will compromise the use of the external drive on my new iMac. Comments? Help?

I recently purchased a new iMac with an 1 Terrabyte external drive. I want to transfer my files from my old iMac to the external drive, but I'm afraid that doing that will compromise the use of the external drive on my new iMac. I have not downloaded the external drive's software onto my old Mac because of this concern. May I simply "drag and drop" the contents I want transferred to the external drive, then set up my new Mac with the drive and download there? or is there a better procedure? Comments? Help?

If your intention is to copy a just documents and data (word processing files and music for example) then yes, you can use drag and drop. If you want to transfer data and applications and permissions, it would actually be easiest to connect the drive to your old computer and turn on TimeMachine. Once TM is finished, connect the drive to your new computer and restart it holding the option key to get into Recovery mode. Then you can use the restore from TM option to transfer your data and programs to the new computer.

I have saved a large number of cd on an extermal drive via my laptop. I have now moved my external drive to my desk to but I tunes does not find all the CD i have saved on the external drive

I have saved a large number of cd on an external drive via my laptop. I have now moved my external drive to my desk to but I tunes does not find all the CD i have saved on the external drive

Depending on which email client software you use
the files should be in 'your home folder' library, esp.
if you use Mail application.... ~/Library/Mail
Since you don't specify what mail application,
that would most be associated with the file.
I notice there are some items to the right of your post
where it says "more like this' so that may be worth a
look to see if similar issues were answered. Also, the
Help viewer in your system is a searchable database.
Seems that google also brings up fair information, too.
Do you have a complete bootable clone of your entire
Mac system on an externally enclosed hard disk drive?
Good luck & happy computing!

Moving TM external drive to a new computer

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