Best external drive and format?

What's the best external drive for backing up
imovie files and disc images? What format should the drive
be set up in for Mac usage and to accept the imovie projects?

If you simply talk about the spec and functionalities, caldigit's VR should have better spec over others
Interesting unit and something I will keep an eye on over the next year. Thanks for the links
I am primarily a LaCie d2 triple interface user (3-year old 320 Gb, 2-year old 500 GB, 1-year old 1 TB, and 1-month old 2 TB drives currently in use). For the most part I have been well satisfied with these drives even after having a power supply on the 1 TB model "weaken" on me to the point where the unit no longer worked in the "auto" mode. Since LaCie support provided a correct diagnosis of the problem within one work day, I was able to confirm the problem immediately, and they had a new replacement power supply in my hands in about 3 days, I have naught but high praise for their support people and remain a satisfied customer.
As I will probably need to replace the 2 TB drive in Oct or Nov of '09 as my iTunes/TV storage drive, I was looking at the LaCie 4 TB multi-drive unit but must admit I prefer the look of the CalDigit 3 TB unit. However, I am not sure I am willing to spend that much extra for the CalDigit's smaller configuration. Still, only time will tell and it is much too soon to make an preliminary, let alone, final decision.

Similar Messages

I really need to speed up my IMAC. I purchased a new external drive specifically formatted for apple. I also would like to move some other media (movies and music) to this external drive. What is the best method for this?

Please help...I need to delete iphoto pictures and back up to external drive without losing pictures. I have the external drive and would like to start this process. Can you help?

Formatted for Mac is not a format - for iPhoto you MUST verify that it is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled)
and putting your iPhoto library on an external drive is NOT a backup - you MUST have a good backup plan like Time Machine running or you are 100% guaranteed to lose your photos sooner or later
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
other media questions need to be ask in the forum for the software you use for them - this forum is only for iPhoto and the above instructions are only for iPhoto
LN

I changed the format to an external drive and lost everything that was on it.

I changed the format on an external hard drive and lost everything that was on it. Is there a way to recover what was on it?

1) Partition your hard drive or add an external drive and install Snow Leopard (with the Optional Rosetta) into it and then you can dual-boot (System Preferences:Startup Disk) into Snow Leopard and run FCE 3.5 there.
2) Use one of the following methods to install FCE 3.5 into Mavericks:
a) Pacifist: http://www.charlessoft.com/
b) Jeremy Johnstone's Terminal method: http://www.jeremyjohnstone.com/blog/2012-03-11-installing-final-cut-pro-studio-2 -0-on-mac-os-x-10-7-lion.html
Reports on this forum seem to confirm that Final Cut Studio 2 will continue to operate in Mavericks once it is functionally installed, albeit some plug-ins may fail to function. FCE 3.5 is the same generation as FCS2, and presumably will continue to operate in Mavericks, as well.

Best setup for external drives and backup

I'm using Aperture to organize several thousand photos. I've gotten good advice her before about how to get started on this. I'm not a professional and I'm not an experienced user of Aperture, so don't assume a lot of knowledge when you answer. I'm wondering what the best way to set up the file storage would be. I use a MacBook Pro, so obviously that's out for storage, and financially, purchasing a more powerful desktop is out for the time being. I was thinking of purchasing a mirror drive system, like this: http://www.newertech.com/products/gmax.php
But then, there still remains the problem of backing up the photos in case of a fire or theft, etc. I have many of them on DVD, but not with all the metadata that I've added. Can I back the external drives up to a cloud-based storage system through the wireless on the MacBook?
Or, is the answer none of the above? What recommendations do you folks have for managing this?

more:
Paula-
Mirror drives are very much less than ideal for images backup. Mirroring occurs in real-time, so errors, breaks, etc. simply get copied. With images work (unlike fanancial work, for instance) we do not need real-time backup we just need regular accurate backup. Just have 2-3 external drives and rotate them regularly, always having one drive off-site (could be in your car or whatever). Back up manually rather than automatically so that you can be reasonably certain that the backup is not backing up something that just broke.
I suggest the below workflow. Note that most important is that original images from the camera card are copied to two locations before reformatting the card and before importing into Aperture or any other images management application.
Original images never change, so I prefer to manually copy them to two locations asap after capture: one location is the computer drive and the other is an external backup HD that itself gets backed up off site regularly. That assures me that "the pic is in the can." Until two digital files exist on different media I do not consider the pic in the can.
Then reformat the card in-camera, not before.
The Masters then get imported into Aperture from the Mac internal drive by reference (i.e. "Storing Files: in their current location" on the Mac internal drive). After editing is complete (may take weeks or months), from within Aperture I relocate the referenced Masters to an external hard drive for long-term storage.
I do use Time Machine routinely on the MBP, but for the daily-volatile activities going of the MBP. I prefer not to have TM be my backup-of-originals protocol. Instead TM backs up the Mac internal drive on the TM schedule and I back up original images asap based on my shooting schedule. Also the TM drive is a different drive than the drives used for long-term original image files archiving.
TM does back up my Library because the Library lives on the Mac internal drive but I do not assume that TM works for Library backup. I back the Library up to Vaults (on the same drives I put archives of Masters on) independent of TM. IMO one should back up image files and back up Vaults manually after verifying that what is being backed up is not broken, because automatic backup will just back up a broken Library or whatever.
Note that Masters need only be backed up once (but to multiple backup locations) and that backup should happen immediately after copying to the hard drive from the camera card, before involving Aperture or any other images management app.
Sorry for the redundant verbosity above but some was copied from previous posts. Also, I reinforce what Léonie said about DVDs. DVDs are way too slow, unreliable, etc. Instead rotate multiple hard drives to achieve redundancy.
HTH
-Allen

Guid formatted external drive and PPC

I just purchased an external enclosure to work with a 320B Seagate Barracuda drive I have. Wanting to have an Intel bootable drive running Tiger, I formatted the drive with Disk Utility into two partitions with the Guid option selected. Drive works fine on my MacBook, but isn't recognized by my PPC Titanium Powerbook running Panther. The disk won't mount on the Powerbook, and says it needs to be formatted. Disk Utility on the Powerbook can see the drive, but not the partitions.
Is this normal? I know you can't boot from the Powerbook with a Guid formatted drive, but shouldn't it be able to see the partitions? Will it help to update the Powerbook to Tiger, or do I need to reformat the drive without Guid? I haven't put much data on the new drive yet, so it wouldn't be a huge problem, except that I wouldn't be able to boot the MacBook with the drive.
I've read in the forums that Super Duper supposedly can create an Intel bootable partition on a ATP formatted drive. Anyone with actual experience doing this?
Thanks.
MacBook 2GHz Mac OS X (10.4.9)

UPDATE for anyone who is interested:
I reformatted the external Seagate drive with APM partitioning using my MacBook. I then connected the external drive to the Powerbook and it recognizes the drive with the two partitions. Then I reconnected the drive to the MacBook, and using Super Duper! copied my internal drive's contents to the external drive. I booted the MacBook using the external drive and it works!!!
However, trying to boot the PowerBook using the external drive resulted in a kernel panic crashing the PB--not surprised, since the system on the external is for the MacBook.

I'd love some help trying to figure out why my 2008 MacBook no longer recognizes my external drive and now is not downloading photos from my iphone....?

After many years of having no problems at all on my Macbook, I recently figured I should finally upgrade my OS. I did that about three weeks ago, updating to Snow Leopard (10.6.8). I used Time Machine at least once after the OS upgrade but now Time Machine no longer recognizes the external drive I have used for all these years to back up. The MacBook does not "see" it. (Disk Utility does however.) The computer then also stopped recognizing another La Cie back-up that I have and now... my iPhone cannot download photos? Yikes.
I have, of course, shut down numerous times, used different cables (that worked for some) and the two USB drives. I even used a firewire. Nothing worked. I also tried to "Repair disk" on Disk Utility. It didn't work either, giving me an error (that I didn't save, sorry).
I read many other discussions on the file format of the external drive and of course I'd be happy to reformat the external drives--however, it is obviously a tad nerve-wracking to reformat drives before having an accessible back-up. Suggestions? I do not remember what file format they have but am pretty sure it's not the Mac file system someone mentioned. The drives are a 2009 WD "My Passport Elite" and La Cie 2007 d2 Quadra,
In terms of other hardware available, we do have another MacBook Air but it has started rejecting both drives as well (without the Snow Leopard upgrade). We have an old Dell but it wouldn't have the disk space to help out much.
Any thoughts on the process involved would be welcome. Any ideas on the iPhone rejection would be helpful as well! It is a 30gig iPhone 4 that has 20 or so gigs free (not clear as iTunes says that there are abour 18 Gigs on the phone but 24 free gigs? I may be bad at math but that's 40 gigs...).
I am checking out iCloud but apparently there are only 55 gigs available?
Will be glad to hear any thoughts. Thanks!

Good afternoon Lyssa,
Phew. First of all, thanks in advance...these blogs are always comforting help!
So, to answer your questions: For the age of the hard drive.Well, I added memory a couple of years ago (RAM and hard drive). Being a mom leads me to eat up a fair amount of gigs with photos of my kids and, in fact, I think I entirely replaced the original drive, so it is a couple years younger than 2008 since I did that in March 2010. If there is some way to verify that (whether or not I replaced the entire drive), I'm all ears. I have 311 Gigs free, so it is not a space issue. I verified the startup disk on Disk Utilityand nothing showed up.
Question 1- What formats...
The La Cie is format Windows NT Filesystem 3G ....At the time that I bought it I was still using a PC as well as a Mac and was told by afriend to use this format...
The WD is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I again tried to repair the WD last night and this is the error message: "Error: DiskUtility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
Also, Time Machine tried again to back-up and gave me this error: "Files can't becopied onto the backup disk because it appears to be 'read only'. You may needto repair or reformat the disk using Disk Utility. If the disk can't berepaired, you must use a different disk for backups. Open Time Machinepreferences to select a different backup disk."
Question 2. Other cables...
I used two other cables with the WD and that didn't change anything.
Question 3... Fire Wire from the La Cie
Yes, I used the Firewire cable from the La Cie and it is indeed present, though still not visible in Finder. Since it is not Mac OSExtended I know that I can't use Time Machine with it.
So, in summary...
I can plug in the La Cie and it is functional on the MacBook, visible on Disk Utility but not visible in Finder. The WD drive is not visible and not functional. So we can think it is indeed the WD that is not working.... Also, the iphone photos did, in the end, get downloaded, so it is not something more general.
Causes...
I forgot to mention that there is a "lost+found" file on the WD which apparently points to a UNIX /OS issue?
Some kind of "insurance"?....
I'm curious about how people avoid this kind of issue. You just regularly replace back-up drives and hard drives before problems come up? Time Machine is great and saves many of us from disasters, however, knowing that your Time Machine back-ups are vulnerable makes the whole system insecure. No way to have alarms ring before the drive goes out?
As for ways ahead...
It seems that I ought to be able to copy off of the WD to the MacBook then erase it and reformat it and start over again. However, I haven’t been able to see its contents except on random occasions. If you have any ideas on how to copy the Time Machineback-ups from the WD, again, I'm all ears!
Good afternoon Lyssa,
Phew. First of all, thanks in advance...
So, to answer your questions:
For the age of the hard drive. Well, I added memory a coupleof years ago (RAM and hard drive). Being a mom leads me to eat up a fair amountof gigs with photos of my kids ….and, in fact, I think I entirely replaced theoriginal drive, so it is a couple years younger than 2008 since I did that inMarch 2010. If there is some way to verify that, I'm all ears. I have 311 Gigfree, so it is not a space issue. I verified the startup disk on Disk Utilityand nothing showed up.
Question 1- What formats...
The La Cie is format Windows NT Filesystem 3G ....At thetime that I bought it I was still using a PC as well as a Mac and was told by afriend to use this format...
The WD is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I again tried torepair the WD last night and this is the error message: "Error: DiskUtility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible,reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
Also, Time Machine tried again to back-up and gave me thiserror: "Files can't be copied onto the backup disk because it appearsto be 'read only'. You may need to repair or reformat the disk using DiskUtility. If the disk can't be repaired, you must use a different disk forbackups. Open Time Machine preferences to select a different backup disk."
Question 2. Other cables...
I used two other cables with the WD and that didn't changeanything.
Question 3... Fire Wire from the La Cie
Yes, I used the Firewire cable from the La Cie and it isindeed accessible, though still not visible in Finder. Since it is not Mac OSExtended I know that I can't use Time Machine with it.
FYI...
So, in summary... I can plug in the La Cie and it is “functional” on theMacBook but not visible in Finder. The WD drive is not visible and notfunctional. So we can think it is indeed the WD that is not working.... ALSO,the iphone photos did, in the end get downloaded.
As for ways ahead…
It seems that I ought to be able to copy off of the WD tothe MacBook then erase it and reformat it and start over again. However, Ihaven’t been able to “see” its contents except on random occasions…
Any further thoughts are welcome!

Taking the plunge - external drive and exclamation points

Okay...
I have cried for help on this forum before about the somewhat common problem of iTunes 7 having a strange relationship with music on my external drive. The drive in question is a Lacie 250 GB Firewire drive.
A few months ago, out of the blue, one day I opened iTunes to find a sea of exclamation points. Though all the music I had added after a particular date was there, most of the music I had added prior to that was tagged with the exclamation. When I'd try to play one of these songs, iTunes would say it could not be found, though I could manually locate it and things would work fine. I tried a few fixes recommended on this forum by well-meaning but misguided people that resulted in a few sets of duplicate playlists but no fix to the problem. Then, one day, out of the blue again...it started working fine.
I don't even recall having restarted the computer. iTunes had just fixed the problem somehow.
Well, now the problem is back, and I've dealt with it for about a month. But I'm not convinced that it will just go away this time. So, even if I destroy my painstakingly cultivated hundreds of playlists, ratings, play history and comprehensive information (artwork, composer, etc.), I am determined to fix this problem without manually locating over 10,000 songs.
I am posting my attempts here as a record that will hopefully help those struggling with this problem in the future. Though I would welcome any and all comments or questions, I have frankly come to expect very little assistance or even the willingness to assist from this forum (that is to say, I imagine my unresolved question will languish for awhile as a monologue until I either fix the problem or die).
The first thing I will do (after doing a final backup, of course) is to determine whether it makes a difference if an updated version of my iTunes library file and .xml are in the Music folder (on my hard drive) or in my Musica folder (on the external drive). The latest edition of the file is currently on the external drive.
So, here we go...
Grant
Dual 1GHz G4, 1G RAM, 80G HD Mac OS X (10.4.9) iPod (1st Gen), iPod Shuffle (1st Gen), iPod Mini, External HD

Well, I've made quite a mess of things. So I have 14,000 songs. Most were added years ago. Looking at the date added in correlation with the exclamation points, it seems as though iTunes forgot the location of most of the songs added before 5/9/06. Mind you, iTunes worked fine (with the exception of doing this whole thing once before) until about a month ago. So, in May 2007, iTunes forgot most of what happened before 5/9/06.
(For reference purposes, the gap seems to exist between two songs I downloaded. "Help Me, Ronda" by the Beach Boys is the last song with an exclamation point in the date added list (see two exceptions below). "Proud Mary" by Ike & Tina Turner, on the other hand, is exclamation point free and only a couple of songs added after "Proud Mary" have exclamation points. They are:
Freedom, by Richie Havens, added 6/3/06.
Slow Free Bird, by Geesekey, added 12/17/06, a song I made in Garageband.
Now, don't let me give you the impression that there is a solid wall of exclamation points up to "Help Me, Rhonda." Maybe about every 10/20 songs, there is a song with no exclamation point that plays fine. Following Jase's lead before (his advice to another user), I have investigated some of these songs that work fine, but can't find any reason why these work and others don't (any difference in the iTunes Library.xml, files created with/without track number, etc.).
So, here's what happened in the past couple of days: I dragged my "iTunes Music" folder (located in my "Musica" folder on the external drive) into the iTunes source list). Most everything was duplicated, with the new songs playing just fine but lacking ratings and play history. Also, the new songs were not included on any playlists.
What I did next was poorly executed. I sorted iTunes by the Date Added and selected the first few thousand (roughly, A-J; seeing them according to the Date Added reveal that they weren't added in exactly a linear fashion). I hit the delete button and selected "Remove", but I then told iTunes to "Move to Trash." What I should have done, I imagine, is told iTunes to "Keep Files". So, my A-J songs are now deleted off the External Drive and gone (though I have backup DVDs generated by the iTunes "Back up to Disc" feature).
What should I do next? is the pressing question. Should I rip everything out and start from scratch with my backup discs? I guess the question I would have with that approach is this: if I restore from backup discs made three months ago, will I still have all my playlists, ratings and play history as they were when I made the backup? If that's the case, that'd be fine with me...I just want to make sure that's what will happen. Also, I have a backup of my iTunes Library file before I've done all this crazy stuff of the past few days, so if that enters into the equation, let me know.
Otherwise, let me address your comments, Jase.
Anyway, here's a question. Can you export your
playlists, even though they're made up of songs with
exclamation marks? If so, you could try exporting one
of them as an XML file. Then import it--you'll
probably wind up with duplicates (playlists, not
songs). Does the newly imported playlist play, or
does it still have the exclamation mark problem? I
wouldn't know what to expect, but it might be worth a
try.
My playlists themselves are all still the same as they were (though there are exclamation marks all over the place). From what I can tell, they look fine when exported to an .xml (the music folder seems to have the correct path). When I import it, it's the same deal: exclamation points at the same places.
If your playlists are exportable, you might want to
export them to XML files, just so you'll have those
little databases of them. Then, if worse came to
worse and you had to give up on your current Library
file and reload your Music folder into a new library,
at least there's a chance you could import your
playlists and not have to build them again from
scratch (assuming nothing has changed in terms of the
organization of your Music folder).
I'm not willing to export every playlist, because I have hundreds and it would just take too long. Is there a way to export all or a lot of playlists at once? Anyway, I figured that my playlist data was stored somehow in the iTunes Library file, so I felt I had a backup already. I could be wrong about this, though, as I really don't understand much about the iTunes Library file and .xml and the like.
Can you drag songs that have exclamation marks into a
playlist? Somehow, I doubt it. But if you can, you
could use new playlists to make a record of some
information that you might want to save if you had to
start all over again with a new Library.
Believe it or not, I can add songs with an exclamation point into playlists and they're added just fine (though, they still have the exclamation point). How this works is: I can't drag and drop them into a playlist. However, I can control-click and select "Add to Playlist" and it works. There's another mystery for you.
Have you looked at your iTunes Library.xml file --
specifically at the location information for
individual songs -- to see if the location
information exactly matches the information you see
in the Finder? I have found mismatches when
investigating some exclamation marked files. I didn't
know how that happened, and I didn't know what to
about it, but it was intriguing to see evidence of
some iTunes mischief.
Is the iTunes feature to start music file names with
the track number turned on? To my mind, fewer missing
song file problems occur when this is on.
Yes and yes. Based on what you told others, I have looked at the .xml of some of the problem songs and the working ones and could find no difference, but I didn't really know what I was supposed to be looking for. I also use the Add Track Number feature and always have.
If you still have the 28,000 songs in your Library
and want to go back to the 14,000, you could sort all
your songs by Date Added and delete the ones you
added on June 21. Or, if you saved a copy of your
iTunes Library file before you dragged your iTunes
Music folder into the library, you could just throw
out the more recent Library file and reinstitute the
back-up copy.
I probably should have done the latter (just restore the backup of the iTunes Library file). Oh well...
Some advice for future experiments. Try them with a
small sample if possible unless you're absolutely
sure they will work the way you want them to. For
example, drag one album in your Music folder into
iTunes rather than the whole Music folder.
This is a great idea. I wish I would have checked my sample more closely or done more tests before I plunged off the cliff.
Back up your iTunes Library file, as well as your
Music folder. (You might already do this.)
Check.
Those are a few things to think about. They probably
will not be helpful. Like I said, I don't think there
are clear answers to this problem. The best I can
wish for you is that iTunes will magically fix the
problem, like it did once before. Then, maybe there
are some preventive measures you can take.
Since iTunes did fix it once before, I would not
throw your current iTunes Library file away, no
matter what. If you decide to start a new library so
that you can actually listen to your music, rename
this Library file and keep it around, since it has a
lot of your metadata in it. You can try it every now
and then and see if iTunes spontaneously revives it.
Okay, I will post what I do next, provided that I don't hear any compelling advice and make my own decision (though I should be even more gun-shy after my recent blunders).
Grant

When I check my boot SSD drive using Disk Utility under Mavericks, I often get "Incorrect number of extended attributes" errors. But if I boot off an external drive and check the same SSD, no errors are reported. Is this a bug in Mavericks?

When I check my boot SSD drive using Disk Utility under Mavericks, I often get "Incorrect number of extended attributes" errors. But if I boot off an external drive and check the same SSD, no errors are reported.
This happens not just with the SSD in my Mac Mini, but with another SSD in my MacBook (both now running Mavericks). So far as I know, all of the kit I am using is in good order (despite the file corruption reports). So I am beginning to wonder if it could be due to a bug in Mavericks? Both SSD drives have been formatted to MacOS Extended (journaled) format. Should I have used a different format, I wonder?
Has anyone else encountered this issue?
Does anyone have a solution?
Or an explanation that might help my investigation of the issue?
Thanks guys,

I understand that the Corsair Force 3 is not one of the SSD drives that are supported on Apple Macs.
I did try downloading and using Trim Enabler, but the error message came up both when it was off and when it was on.
I understand that not everyone thinks Trim Enabler is a good program, though there is a new version out now, so I may give it another try.

Using Disc Utility to copy my hard drive to a brand new external drive and am having the error "Unable to create...(Cannot allocate memory)".

I'm not very tech savvy but am trying my best to use Disc Utility to copy my hard drive to a brand new external drive and am having the error "Unable to create...(Cannot allocate memory)".
Last night no problems, woke this morning and it was freezing so I forced a restart and got the grey screen with the folder and question mark. Ran off to best buy to get an external drive... Please help! Thank you!

I have done both. When I hold down the "C" key it pauses for a few seconds while the cd spins and then the flashing folder icon appears.
Could be you have the wrong cd/dvd. The mac will only boot a supported cd/dvd for your machine. The flashing question mark indicdates your machine could not find a valid os.
When I hold down the "option" key for the startup manager the cursor comes up and moves but the actually manager doesn't come up no matter how long I leave the laptop on.
Not sure. Could be your machine does not support the startup manager. You would think the machine would ignore the key.
Where did you get the dvd? What is the number on the DVD?
What machine do you have anyway?
This site provides more information, but lacks security.
"A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
or
This site provides more information, but lacks security too.
"A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It's used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac's serial number for and more importantly... what is it hiding and what can it do for you ?"
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
( hint by K Shaffer )

How to Format external drive previously formatted for NSLU2

Windows XP.
I've had two external hard drives connected to my NSLU2 for several years. Always worked properly. Nevery any problems accessing files from either drive. Now, I'd like to remove one external drive and no longer use it with the NSLU2 (Disk 1). I just want to use it as a "regular" external drive and connect it directly to my PC by USB. When I plug it into my PC, it is not visible in Windows Explorer. When I right click "My Computer" and select "Manage", I can see it in the "Disk Management" section, but there is no drive letter assigned to it. It has partitions. When I right click on any partition, the "Format" option is grayed out and cannot be selected. Also, the "Change Drive Letter..." option is grayed out and cannot be selected. How can I format this disk back to whatever it needs to be in order to use it as a regular external drive? NOTE: I do not need to keep any files on the drive. I've already transferred the files I need to another drive. Thanks!

Never mind. I figured it out. I downloaded a free utility for formatting large drives in FAT32. The utility ran a quick format in just a few seconds and then the drive became available in Windows Explorer where I can now perform a complete format or just use as-is.

Can I back up an external drive and an airbook with a third drive

I would like to back up an external drive and an airbook with a third drive. This was the setup I used with my Imac. The third drive was linked to the external drive which was linked to the imac. I used time machine. Both the third drive and the external drive were visible on the desktop of the imac. Now I want to use this system to back up the airbook and the external drive, but the third drive doesn't appear on the airbook's desk top, in fact it is invisible and doesn't seem to be recognized in finder or anywhere else from the airbook. Is there some distinction that prevents the airbook from allowing this back up configuration, but that allowed the imac to work in this configuration.
Thanks,
Daviiiiiiid

Of course, always that the external drive is formatted in “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)”. Apart from that, you shouldn't have any issue,
Then, open System Preferences > Time Machine > Options, and remove the external drive from excluded items. The next backup will include your external drive.
Note that you may not be able to back up the external drive if it's connected to your Time Capsule. If it doesn't work, connect the external drive to your computer

HT1751 Hi, I tried to restore my itunes library from an external drive and did everything that's written here step by step.when I chose the itunes library to import itunes just said that its accessing the itunes store but nothung happened. I'm working on

Hi, I tried to restore my itunes library from an external drive and did everything that's written here step by step. when I chose the itunes library to import itunes just said that its accessing the itunes store but nothing happened. Does anyone know how to do this so that all my playlists are also imported and not just the music itself?

When I have done this, all I did was network the two machines and copy the contents of the iTunes folder to the other machine, and that's it.
My understanding (which may not be 100% correct) is that the one file that is absolutely necessary is iTunes Library, and that the XML file is actually a copy auto-generated from the iTunes Library, appearing in a different format only for non-iTunes apps that take advantage of the iTunes Library data.
As far as I know, if you simply have the Library (database) file and all your original music files, iTunes on that computer should operate as it did on your old computer. I believe that the Album Artwork, Genius Data, and XML files can be regenerated from the Library file. Not sure about the Extras file.

Hooked up my external drive and having some major problems??

So I put my info from my pc onto my new external drive and then plugged it in to my mac (usb) It reads it just fine and I can pull info off it . . .
But, I cannot put anything on it (claims the drive is "read only") and I cannot delete anything off of it (I don't have the right permissions)
So what is the problem here?
I don't recall how i formatted the drive but i did do it with my PC. I am wondering if mac can't write to fat32 or ntfs or something like that.
Any thoughts are appreciated. I am using a hitachi drive in an ADS 835 enclosure.
By the way, where and how do you set "permissions"?
Kal

Sorry for being too late. You will not have any permission problems after reformat.
I hope it works now... I am using an external 60 GB VFAT drive without a problem with my ibook.
haris

Best external drive for Air Tunes?

My eight month old Western Digital My Book Pro just died. I had used it to backup various files but mostly to house my 260 GB iTunes music folder. I use iTunes to stream music to my living room receiver, so I'd often leave it running all day.
While the drive itself is still good (I was able to remove the drive from the case and copy the data thanks to my local Mac tech guy), the circuit board that powers it apparently broke down. Could it have been all the heat generated by running it for such long periods?
In any event, my question is: What is the best external hard drive to run a large iTunes library off of? I've seen references to music servers, but I don't need any special connections or capabilities. I'm just looking for a reliable external drive that can stand up to running for hours at a time without burning out its circuit board. A good warranty and near silent fan would be nice too, as would an affordable price tag.
Any recommendations?

I have to tell you that I have had more problems with Western Digital than Seagate or Maxtor. A long time ago, I bought a firewire external drive (ATA) from Club Mac. The Western Digital drive inside it died, but the case was still good, so I put a new drive in it. The great thing about the case is that it has a fan!! That puppy can run all day and it doesn't really seem to get very hot. I have a feeling that it would be expensive to buy a case with a fan in it now, but you could look for that specifically.
I also have one Seagate 400 GB external drive and a 500 GB Maxtor external and both have had no problems running all day. Last, I have built three external hard drives that are always on when the computers are on and they run fine. 2 of the cases were CompUSA brand and one was something from OtherWorld Computing. All are the kind that are made of aluminum, where the case acts as a heat sink. The case gets hot, but if it is sufficiently ventilated then there should be no problems. So far so good.
Hope this helps. If I were you, I would visit http://www.otherworldcomputing.com and just take a look at what's available. There are other great places like http://www.macgurus.com where they can give you very specific advice about hardware upgrades. If I were in your situation, I would go ahead and use the WD drive in a new enclosure and be sure to back up your music.
Good luck!
Jim

How do I move imovie 11 events to an external drive and then access through imovie?

How do I move imovie 11 events to an external drive and then access through imovie? When I copied to the external, it came through as clips and doesn't play using imovie...is there a way to do this? I have several imovie events and have no disk space left s trying to move them to free up space tp upload new photos and movies. Thanks.

joanne987 wrote:
So, then what do I do if I have files on the external and won't fit back onto my HD? How do I format it for imovie? any suggestions?
buy another HDD ... 500Gigs are ctually around 70-90€, saw yesterday a 1.5TB WD for 140€ ...
.... 9TB of harddrives in use here ... don't forget to have at last one backup/copy per drive

Best external drive and format?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for