My mac mini won't back up to my Seagate external drive but can read the information on it. Can i back up to it at all?

My mac mini won't back up to my Seagate external drive but can read the information on it.
Can i back up to it at all? and how do i do it?
Simon

I suspect the Seagate is not formatted to be used with the Mac. The correct format would be Mac OS Extended (Journaled), if you just bought the EHD then almost certainly it's formatted to be used with MS Windows machines. This is easy to fix, here are instructions on how to format it:
http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html
After formatting Time Machine http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427 will launch and will begin backing up. The first backup will take some time however after the first backup it will go pretty quickly.
NOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After formatting all data will be erased, so please if you have data on that move it to the internal HD first and then format. Then once you have backed up you will have a backup copy of the data. Also NEVER EVER use a backup disk to be used to store data. The reason being is if that drive crashes you have not only lost the data you have lost it's backup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Message was edited by: Yijian Cao

If you install XP on Bootcamp, your startup disc will be changed to XP Windows partitioned you did. To restore your startup disc back to Mac OS, make sure your Mac is turned off. 1. Plug the power back and press the power button ON. When you hear the power On sound, press and hold the ALT key on your keyboard until you see the hardrives. 2. Select the HD that says MAc OS, then your mac will boot back to Mac OS.
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My Mac Mini won't get past the initial startup screen with the Apple logo. What can I do?

After a long distance move, my Mac Mini won't startup past the logo screen. What can I do?

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.
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c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
d. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
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Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
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Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

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Hi,
I am trying to find the correct setting in order to keep my mac mini woken up after sending a magic packet relayed by my router. My mac is connected via USB to a Drobo Mini which provides external storage capacity.
Basically what happens is the following :
- I wake up my mac via wakeonwan.fr for example
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Configured settings (in the energy saving panel) :
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In case I configure my mac not to sleep in the energy saving panel, everything works fine, but the goal here would be to save energy from my Mac + NAS and to preserve the use of the HDDs.
Would there be any monitoring commands / hidden threads that could help me know which process is forcing my mac to cut the WAN access / sleep without notice?
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Sowdah

Hello Sowdah,
See if it's related to this...
It also seems to be related to later OSX versions, like 10.8.x & 10.9.x
The 2012 macs (and later apparently) (also later OSX versions on earlier Macs can do it also), not waking normally from sleep after hours being in sleep. (noted here ...
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/archives/feb13/022813.html#2012macswontwake
"Why 2012 iMac/2012 Mac Mini won't Wake After Hours of Sleep (Hibernates/Powers Off)")
The sleepimage file still reappears even if never slept. Delete it (hibernate off, etc) - within minutes its back.
A note on that here - http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/Chameleon_SSD_Optimizer.html
About iMac sleep...
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1529750
Try this: "sudo pmset autopoweroff 0" and "sudo pmset standby 0"
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It doesn't respond to the keyboard or trackpad but does turn off if you hold the power button down. Pressing the power button again makes the power light come on and the external firewire drive boots up. I can't hear the internal drive start, there is no startup bleep or grey screen with spinny gear. It won't take a cd or dvd either.
I've tried reseting the SMC and the monitor works fine with another computer.
I've searched this and other support sites but can't find a match for these symptoms.
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Depending on the age of your Mac mini it might be able to be repaired if you want to spend the money.
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Welcome to the Apple discussions.
No video with the power light blinking once per second means either bad or no memory. See this Apple note: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303083 . Specifically, below is from that note:
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My mac mini won't start up but it will turn on, staying at the gray apple logo screen and nothing else.
I came home yesterday and it wouldn't 'wake up' from 'sleep' mode so I turned it off and tried to turn it back on. There's a netflix cd in there that I also can't get out. My friend suggested i slip a piece of paper in there and that it will eject, but this isn't working (maybe I'm doing this wrong?)
help! thanks.

I have the same problem. In addition, the same happens when attempting to boot from a DVD. I was able to boot it up in Target Disc Mode, and even erase the internal HD entirely, but I still cannot boot from DVD to reinstall the OS. I have tried the SMC reset, but to no avail. Also, while I can reset the PRAM, I cannot reset the Open Firmware. Any suggestions?

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My Mac mini won't boot anymore. It's been running fine for months.
It's running Leopard Server 10.5.2 Build 9C31
It starts to boot, I get the first spinning gear with the gray screen, then the blue desktop blinks, then a second spinning gear on a gray screen and it appears to hang (the gear stops spinning).
I booted off the install DVD, ran disk utility, repaired the HD, repaired the permissions: the behavior is the same.
Safe mode doesn't work (same hang as above).
Single user mode does work.
I can connect to it via Server Admin while it appears hung.
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May 15 18:38:58 server emond[67]: SetUpLogs: uid = 0 gid = 0
May 15 18:38:58 server emond[67]: SetUpLogs: opening /Library/Logs/EventMonitor/EventMonitor.error.log
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May 15 18:39:20 server com.apple.ATSServer[125]: FODBCheck: New annex file created
May 15 18:39:21 server ARDAgent [130]: ******ARDAgent Launched******
May 15 18:39:21 server com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig[132]: Kerberos configuration is up to date
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May 15 18:39:32 server ARDAgent [146]: ******ARDAgent Ready******
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May 15 18:39:56 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2: 00000000,00000001 sk98osx sky2 - - sk98osx_sky2::replaceOrCopyPacket tried N times
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May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSREADDATA SBF /dev/autofs_nowait 13 (seatbelt)
May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSREADDATA SBF /usr/sbin 13 (seatbelt)
May 15 18:55:12 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2 - bad packet received. length: 23, packet status bits: MII error
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Yes, it's been running Server since I purchased it.
I doubt the serial number is in use elsewhere: I purchased the 10-user version at a retail store in a sealed package and I've only installed it once.

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Mac Mini won't boot up! Just getting blank white screen, any ideas why? No apple, just a blank screen. It worked fine last night.

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Sadly Apple stores are rarely set up for the purpose of completing backups and securing data, so that's not something you can rely on them to do. Some Apple approved service providers are better equipped for doing this, but in the end, it's not a good (or comfortable) proposition to trust your data to anyone else, and the more important that data, the less good, (or comfortable) it is if you have to.
The risk of data loss is relatively small in this situation - particularly if you ran 'repair disk' from disk utility and it reported no errors. That generally would indicate the drive is healthy and there are no indications of damaged data or file structures. Still there is always a risk!
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After the internal is set up again, and fully updated, it then becomes a simple matter of moving your data back to it, and then erasing the external once more, and setting up your backups with SuperDuper! or CCC.
It might sound like a bit of messing about, but that would keep your data safe in your own hands!

My mac mini won't back up to my Seagate external drive but can read the information on it. Can i back up to it at all?

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