Can I run an Imac on just an external hard drive via USB 3.0?

I erased the internal hard drive to clean install Yosemite (from Snow Leopard) but now it's not visible in disk utility. Got an external drive with Yosemite to boot and run on my Mac (2010 21.5" 4gb ram, Core i3). Can I use a usb 3.0 external drive to replace the HDD? Looking to use a WD My Studio that runs at 7200 rpm. Only issue I have is the fan is on constantly. How long can I get away using the external drive before I have to replace the internal drive?

Take care of the problem now. You can continue to use the external drive, but you will need to use fan control software to deal with the fan.
Macs Fan Control 1.1.12.2
HDD Fan Control 2.5

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IMac using an external hard drive via usb 2.0

I am currently using a brand new 20" iMac with 4GB of ram and since this computer only has one firewire 400 port I'm using that for the deck and plugging in the external hard drive via usb 2.0, but I do have the option of plugging in firewire 400 to the hard drive. I've recently been having trouble capturing footage. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

You're experiencing the number one reason why not to use an iMac for video work: complete lack of expansion beyond a couple of firewire devises.
Yet, many folks will disagree with this assessment and their decisions are made solely on cost over functionality and reliability.
Go iMacs!

External hard drive via usb. Can I use one?

I"m running out of memory. Can I use an external hard drive via a usb port?

You say "ripped" music. That is not stored on iCloud unless you subscribe to Match. As for iTunes Store purchases:
Downloading (using iOS or computer) past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519 - enabled with iTunes 10.3 and newer; not all media formats are available in all countries (see: iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match Availability by Country - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5085); apps, books (not audiobooks), music, t.v. shows, and movies (some - not all studios have permitted this). Downloading previously purchased movies and TV shows requires iTunes 10.6 or later. Discontinued items not available. For items not included in the iCloud list (e.g., ringtones, audiobooks), or locations or computer systems where iCloud is not (yet?) available, you only get one download per fee paid. Apple notes it is your responsibility to back up your purchases.
Select the iTunes Store on the left side of iTunes.
Click on Purchased on the right side under Quick Links.
You can re-download your available previous purchases.
Of course if you had a backup of your files you would have been back up adn running iTunes by the time you read all this.

Can i run i tunes/iphoto from an external hard drive?

does any one know if i can run ituens/iphoto from an external hard drive and if so how do i do it?

Drag the libraries to it, launch each application with the Option key held down, and point them there. The iPhoto library needs to be stored on a drive, partition, or disk image formatted as Mac OS Extended.
(85288)

Can I run my iTunes library from an external hard drive?

My iTunes library is too big and I need to set it up to operate from an external drive.
How can I copy it to an external and run it out of the existing MAC?

iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the library.

I made a bootable disc on an external hard drive, with Yosemite on it. I am running Snow Leopard on my iMac. How can I open the Yosemite disc from the desktop on my iMac? Does the external hard drive need to be connected to my iMac by firewire to

I made a bootable disc on an external hard drive, with Yosemite on it. I am running Snow Leopard on my iMac. How can I open the Yosemite disc from the desktop on my iMac? Does the external hard drive need to be connected to my iMac by firewire to do that?

kahjot wrote:
Snow Leopard's Startup Disk pref can’t see Yosemite volumes. So the only way to switch from Snow Leopard to Yosemite is to do what Niel mentioned. Doesn't matter whether it's connected by USB or Firewire, although performance via FW would be faster.
Are you saying that Yos/10.10, as a volume located in a mounted external drive won't appear as an option in Snow Leopard's Startup Disc, in Sys Prefs? I've never heard this one before. AFAIK any mounted volume, regardless of OS, should appear there. I would think that, if it appears in the Boot Picker/Startup Manager it would also appear and could be booted to from Snow's Startup Disk. I can't test this myself, since I don't have Yos. Is what you are saying documented somewhere?

IMac 10.5.8 is stuck on Apple logo loading screen , how can I back up my files with an external hard drive ?

so my iMac (10.5.8 its pretty old ) got stuck on the apple logo loading screen (as I call it lol) and it will not go beyond that .I've already made and appointment for the genius bar but now would I back up my files with an external hard drive ? No unfortunately I don't have any other laptop or computer just the external hard drive. how would I back it up? Does it have something to do with "target disc mode"?

Hi,
Thank you for great advice re SuperDuper.
You wasnt to know we didnt live in USA. We will try to get the full retail version of Leopard off the net. We will also phone round the apple resellers.
In the meantime, we are happy running Tiger with the knowledge that SuperDuper has cloned our hard drive in case of a disaster.
SuperDuper recommended backing up the hard drive with a new user account if we were using filevault on the master account. We backed up our hard drive without creating a new user with filevault as we could not read the pdf `Instuctions as preview was not responding.
Is this copy safe to use as a bootable drive or should we copy our entire HD again using a new user account without filevault?
Keith & Shem

On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture. How can I access the Aperture Library on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup? I can only access the application but not the library..

On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture. How can I access the Aperture Library on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup? I can only access the application but not the library..

Go into Time Machine (the program not the bundle on the extrnal disk) and using Time Machine's browser go to the Folder where the library lives. You could look in the library bundle in Time Machine but that won't really tell you much,
If you want to make sure it truely has backed up your library you will need to restore it and open the restored library with Aperture.
If all this still has you confused you need to read up on Time Machine in order to get a feel for how it works, for what it is doing and for how to restore files from it.

Can i use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a backe up?? im thinking for music and photos

Can I use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a back up? I'm thinking for music and photos

Nickles96 wrote:
Hello friends.. I have a similar question, in that I would like to purchase the 2TB TC for use as a NAS device, in addition to taking advantage of the Air Port extreme.. Then I could dump my Linksys router.
I was originally looking at a Synology NAS solution, but the TC seems like it can meet my needs.
I have a Synology NAS as well as the Time Capsule. If you look at the 3.2 beta program, the Synology actually attempts to replicate TC functionality in that you can use it with Time Machine on your Mac.
I must say, Airport on the TC is definitely a nice feature!
Nickles96 wrote:
In addition to the obvious feature of the backup, can I indeed also use the TC as a NAS drive to access from remote locations (example from the office)?
I'm surprised more people aren't using the TC as a dedicated NAS deviced.. I've searched high and low on forums around the web, and don't seem to see many people trying to use it as I've outlined.
I can't see why this wouldn't fufill my needs, and take the place of a separate NAS solution (like the Synology, or iOmega, Seagate, etc....)
Has anyone used this TC as such?
Yes, you can do this and it's something I've been trying to do, but I'm currently having issues. I have another thread stating I consistently get "connection failed" messages. I'm basically storing my music/photo/video files on the TC and keeping my Mac hard drive fairly lean. In terms of NAS functionality, the TC is very basic. Synology/QNAP and others have a lot more features so don't rule them out.

Can you use TC as just an external hard drive

Can a TC be set up as just an external hard drive?

Yes, as long as you use ethernet or wireless.. not USB.
Then you do have some setup issues. Because for instance if you use ethernet for network, it is much better to put the TC onto the network.. just use bridge modem.. or you can use wireless.. but it is hard to use the same service for both internet and the TC connection if they are separate.
Beaten by Bob.. BBB.. second time this week.. (in Maxwell Smart voice).
Good point he makes.. you can use a straight external disk at half the price. USB direct to the computer is much faster than wireless and not that much slower than ethernet. Maybe even same.

How can I set up my TC as an external hard drive only?

How can I set up my TC as an external hard drive for my iMac and my MacBook?
I baught it for the extra space but don't know how to use it. I just keeps on wanting to back up files.
Help me please.

Hi,
Thank you for great advice re SuperDuper.
You wasnt to know we didnt live in USA. We will try to get the full retail version of Leopard off the net. We will also phone round the apple resellers.
In the meantime, we are happy running Tiger with the knowledge that SuperDuper has cloned our hard drive in case of a disaster.
SuperDuper recommended backing up the hard drive with a new user account if we were using filevault on the master account. We backed up our hard drive without creating a new user with filevault as we could not read the pdf `Instuctions as preview was not responding.
Is this copy safe to use as a bootable drive or should we copy our entire HD again using a new user account without filevault?
Keith & Shem

Can't access Password Protection Manager on my External Hard Drive to unlock it

I can't access password protection manager on my External Hard Drive to unlock it , I got updated antivirus and I always use safely remove to remove the hard drive. I see the UNLOCK APP Drive, and the Public Area, but when I run the "Password Protection Manager.exe" file at UNLOCK APP Drive, the bar will just be fulfilled by approximately 60% by showing "Loading...", then it stops for many seconds, and it starts to run the Installation file (PasswordProtectionManagerSetup_F.exe) which will delete all unlocked files if I accept it to install.
2 TB External Hard Drive Model HD-E2
Model No.: OAW1AGK370300BF
201307
Please let me know how I can access my protected files (the locked drive).

Hi vahid22! Please provide the model number (usually on the bottom of the unit) of your Sony External Hard Drive. Thank you!

Where can I find the files using up my external hard drive?

I have a 1TB iMac and have two external hard drives attached to keep the computer free of hard drive use for two reasons: Disk 1-is a 250GB hard drive I have dedicated to perform Time Machine backups of my home folder. Disk 2-is a smaller 120GB hard drive I keep my compete iTunes library of music in case the computer has a malfunction, so all the work I've done putting the library together will be secure. Here's the thing...the iMac's hard drive is hardly used, just as I want containing about 150GB total. Meanwhile, the Time Machine disk is nearly full with 225GB used, and just 25GB remainibg. The hard drive with the iTunes files looks pretty good too using about 70GB of it's 120GB. I believe Time Machine is in no way, backups the iTunes library just the iMac.
How can I figure out where the additional space is getting used up on that disk? I do have a couple of extra logins I use for alternate use such as a different iPhoto library I want kept seperate from mine, but I did not think the backup was saving those files as they are not even under the Time Machine setup.
Can anyone advise why the backup is larger than the use of the computer? I knew when I dedicated a smaller hard drive to back up a larger one that it was possible the backup drive would get too full, but I can figure out what's happening. I've erased the Time Machine disk and allowed it do a completlely new backup and again, it's always sigificantly larger.
Thanks!

Okay...I have some more information and perhaps we are getting closer. On the 250GB, first I went into that disk and used Disk Utilty to re-format it once using Mac OS Extended (Journaled) then a second time, zeroing it out. I did a screen shot to review if needed, and both times it looked perfect...249GB available. Then I went into the Time Machine preferences to get ready to backup again, and it had not excluded the other external 120GB with iTunes so I excluded it. I may has previously, never noticed in that screen that it takes a bit of time for it to calculate the information to save. I may have just clicked on it quickly without reviewing it first. Today I did, and gave it time to calculate. At one point the actual 250GB itself, showed up and I excluded it too like the 120GB. After it finished, the calculations are still it wrong - claiming it has a 200GB backup when the iMac either contains 150GB (based on when I do Get Info) on it or from OmniDisk which calculated about 100GB. I have not allowed Time Machine to do a backup yet, until this discrepancy can be clear.
One thing that I thought I had seen or reviewed previous on the Time Machine settings was my home folder - I could be wrong but wanted to mention that. Another little tidbit to ponder an well is that I have a files of icons that I use for the Hard Disks, and a few folders where I Get Info on the Icon and on the destination and just cut and paste. I did that today to the 250GB after zeroing, but while I was in the Time Machine settings the change was deleted and neither the manufactures icon was there nor mine, and it has the default blue-green one the software uses. I know, because my sister's is that way on her system-unchanged.
Feedback?

Is it possible to run an operating system from an external hard drive?

Really weird question here, but I've always wanted to know this. I have a MBP 13" mid-2012 and I installed a 256GB SSD. I currently have OSX 10.9 and Windows 8.1 installed on the drive, but is it possible to actually run an operating system from an external hard drive. I don't want to install anymore operating systems onto the internal SSD because I don't want to run out of space. So, I'm wondering can I install Linux on an external hard drive, the same way I would on an internal hard drive and just plug it in via USB 3 or Thunderbolt? Is it actually possible to use a computer this way? I know I can boot from a usb stick, so is it possible to actually use a computer with an operating system installed in an external hard drive?

windows don't support being installed on usb mass storage installs like usb

New imac doesn't locate old imac hard drive via usb port

I have an old iMac from ~2006 that recently stopped reading the harddrive. I pulled the HD out and connected it to my new imac via USB port but I can't locate it. The HD spins/powers up so I know the connector is strong enough to supply power. We connected it to my husband's PC and he can see that there is a harddrive but cannot see any files to read. He even tried Catacombe to try to read files but it didn't work. My first issue is how can I locate my HD on the new mac? But the main issue is how can I pull data/pictures off of the old harddrive and import them to my new computer. I don't hear any clicking sounds from the harddrive so it seems to be working. I can't reformat it because I don't want to lose the pictures on it. I don't need the old harddrive to work/write. I just need to pull the information off of it. TIA.

I was not familiar with catacombae , but now I am .
You have a problem with either a corrupt file system on the hd or a hardware problem with the hd. I'd say try mounting in disk utility. Try reparing filesystem on hd. Try one of the disk repair utilities. Some have a free trail that let's you know if they can do anything. You pay to get the data. Seek profession help. Pay $$$.
How to mount with disk utility.
Repair the file system. see repair disk button on lower right.
here are some more data recovery apps. I left out a few & am posting my complete list.
Perhaps Disk Warrior will be of some help:
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
"Stellar Phoenix Macintosh - Mac data recovery software, recovers data from damaged, deleted, or corrupted volumes and even from initialized disks."
They have a trial version, so I guess you can see if your data can be recovered...
http://www.stellarinfo.com/mac-data-recovery.htm
"Data Rescue II is the best data recovery software on the market for recovering files from a problem hard drive. Data Rescue II works when other tools fail. Data Rescue II is also completely safe to use since it does not attempt any risky repairs to the drive while its scanning."
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
FileSalvage is an extremely powerful Macintosh application for exploring and recovering deleted files from a drive or volume. FileSalvage is designed to restore files that have:
-- been accidentally deleted.
-- become unreadable due to media faults.
-- been stored on a drive before it was re-initialized/formatted.
http://subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id= 1
"TestDisk is a free data recovery utility. It was primarily designed to help recover lost data storage partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally erasing a partition table)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TestDisk
Wondershare Data Recovery for Mac
"Recover lost photos, video, documents, email and archive files from any Mac-based hard drive or external hard drive, iPod, USB drive, SD card, digital camera, mobile phone, and MP3/MP4 player, due to accidental deleting, formatting, virus infection, improper operation, unexpected power failure, and other unknown reasons. Also, iPhone recovery allows you to recover lost photos, videos, SMS, contacts, note, calendar and call history from iTunes backup file. With the free trial, you can preview all your recovered images, videos, music, documents and archive files prior purchasing this Mac Data Recovery."
http://software.bigbigsoft.com/data-recovery-mac

Can I run an Imac on just an external hard drive via USB 3.0?

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