Can I use my old external hard drive?

I have my old external hard drive from my old PC computer. Is there a way to convert my files on my hard drive without deleting them. Or do I just need to get a new hard drive?

Depending on how old the hard drive is, it may be fine. If it's a USB hard drive and formatted correctly, then you may be able to use some of the files if they're cross-platform. For example, Microsoft Word and Excel files will work on both Windows and Mac.
Best to just plug it in and see what happens. If your iMac can't read the drive format, then you can either get a new drive or re-format the old one (which will erase all your old files). But if the drive shows up on the desktop, then you may be able to use the old files.
If the drive doesn't show up, you could use a Windows computer to put the files on a CD-R or something to transfer them to your new computer.
Lots of options, really depends on how things are formatted.

Similar Messages

Can I Use an Old External Hard Drive to Back Up my MacBook Pro?

I am currently using a 2010 MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6.8) and I am thinking of upgrading to Mountain Lion when it comes out. So that means I should really back up my Mac. I have never backed up my Mac before nor have I ever backed up any of the PC's I owned in the past. With this being my first Mac and my first time backing it up I want to make sure I do this right.
So my question is can I use my old exteral hard drive (Got it back in 2004 for University. Used with a PC) to back up my MacBook Pro with out running into any issues if I have to restore my Mac??

tokine wrote:
So my question is can I use my old exteral hard drive (Got it back in 2004 for University. Used with a PC) to back up my MacBook Pro with out running into any issues if I have to restore my Mac??
yes. connect it to the usb port, open disk utility, erase the disk and format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). That is the most common format. Then backup as necessary.

Can I use a usb external hard drive larger than 2TB? I have tried to use a 3TB but it shows up as 800GB.

Can I use a usb external hard drive larger than 2TB? I have tried to use a 3TB but it shows up as 800GB. Even tred to reformat in disk utility but only shows as 800 gb as well. It is a Seagate 3TB harddrive and enclosure. Nothing on the Seagate site about it other than it says Mac os through 10.6 is supported for larger than 2TB (might be old).

You might have better luck in the Snow Leopard community. I'll ask the hosts to relocate your post.
10.6 Snow Leopard

Can I use my old internal hard drive and copy everything into the new one?

My internal hard drive is running out of space, and I want to buy a new one. But to do that, I'll have to buy a external hard drive to back up everything and then copy it back onto the new internal hard drive , right? I don't have that much budget. So can I use the old internal hard drive that I took out of my Macbook and copy everthing back into the new internal hard drive after the repalecment? so I don't need to buy a external hard drive to back up everything
Tks!

You will have to buy a new HDD and an enclosure to make the transfer. You can use Disk Utility to make the transfer.
INSTALLING A NEW HDD IN A MBP
1. Make certain that you have backed up all of your important data.
2. You will need a HDD enclosure. One with a USB connection will do. A 9 pin Firewire is better.
3. Install your new drive in the enclosure and connect it to your MBP.
4. Open DISK UTILITY>ERASE. From the left hand column drag the new drive into the 'Name' field. Make sure that the format is 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)'. Click on the 'Erase' button.
5. Click on the 'Restore' button (on top). Drag the old drive into the 'Source' field and the new drive into the 'Destination' field. Click on the 'Restore' button on the bottom right hand corner.
Depending upon the amount of data you are transferring, this may take a couple hours or more. A Firewire will speed up the transfer. This will result in both drives having identical information on them. INSTALLING
6. After the data transfer has completed, you may swap the drives. Start the MBP and you have finished the installation. The initial boot may take a bit longer than you are accustomed to, but that is normal.
7. When you are satisfied that the new hard drive if functioning properly, you can erase the old drive and use it for any needs that you may have.

Can a use a partitioned external hard drive to create a disk image? I tried, doesn't seem to work using disk manager.

Can a use a partitioned external hard drive to create a disk image? I tried, doesn't seem to work using disk manager.

OK, it's very bad computing to use a backup disk for anything but a backup. The reason being is if/when the HD crashes you will have lost not only all your backup but the data files. While I commend you for wanting redundant backup, you really need separate EHDs for doing so. Format each EHD using Disk Utility to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using the GUID parttition. When you connect, OS X will ask if you want to use that drive as a Time Machine backup drive, select yes and then let it backup. On the second EHD format the same way however do not use TM as a backup, this time I'd suggest an app such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone of the internal HD. Leave both EHDs connected and TM will backup new or changed files automatically on a hourly basis. The clone you will need to set to backup on the schedule you want. For example I have my SuperDuper EHD set to backup only changed or updated files at 2AM every day.
The advantage of a clone is that if the computers internal HD crashes you can boot from a clone and continue working, TM will not do that but it's great for keeping an archive of all files. So if you want a version of a file from many months ago, TM will help you locate and restore it.

Time Machine: Can I use a smaller external hard drive with larger internal?

Can I use a 250G external hard drive with and 500G unfilled internal drive with time machine? Or will time machine require I a 500G? I don't plan on filling the internal drive for a long time and don't want to buy a new external drive right now.

Yes, but you are very likely to get in trouble very quickly.
The problem is that TimeMachine saves multiple versions of any file modified, and if that file happens to be large, you can quickly fill up your TimeMachine drive such that it is throwing away older versions faster than you would desire.
Also if your boot drive's storage usage gets even close to the 250GB external drive's capacity, TimeMachine is likely to stop working.
If possible, I would suggest an external drive that is twice as large as your boot drive, or at least 1.5 times larger.
I guess you could repartition your boot drive so it is smaller than your external disk so you would be less likely to use more space than could fit on the external.
Personally, my opinion about backups is that much of my data is impossible to replace (family pictures, etc...), and spending money on backup hardware is a small price to pay for securing those memories. I also try to have it backup in more than one location in more than one way.

Can i use my old mac hard drive to boot with my new mac?

just bought a new mac identical to my old one (13 inch) the last one got water damage and the logic board and screen were the only part that needed to be repaird. can i use my old hard drive in an external and boot it from my new mac ? so i can access stuff like book marks and other setting?
the old mac was the 2011 model on snow leapord and i just got my new one yesterday currently running the latest OS will there be any issues if i do, if i can?

you should be able to get and external enclosure, install the hadr drive from the old machine inside, then connect to your new computer.
You need something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-3-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-3US35/dp/B003CJQ69A /ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1394736238&sr=8-7&keywords=hard+drive+enclosure
You can use migration assistant to move your data and programs:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5872

Can I use the same external hard drive for time machine and storing other files

I have a 640GB external hard drive that I have been using for over a year for time machine backups. My mac hard drive is now starting to fill up and I am looking to move audio, video and picture files to my external hard drive. How do I do this without messing up my time machine backups? Can I do both on the same external hard drive? Do I just make new folders on the external hard drive to move the files I want? Thanks for the help.

If you move the files you will need to get another disk to back the files up to. You don't want to have only one copy of certain files (personal, professional etc.).

Can I use an NTFS external hard drive with my mac?

I am running version 10.6.8 and the operating software is Snow Leapord. I want to upgrade to Lion but firstly I want to back-up my files just incase s*** happens. I've bought a used 500gb external hard drive and I understand it's in the NTFS (Windows NT File System) format. Although I am able to view what's on the hard drive as well as use it, for example, open photos, watch movies, I cannot delete anything on it. I could get a mac compatible hard drive but that's going to be at an extra cost! Any help much appreciated.

You can format it for Mac compatibility with Disk Utility. However, you will likely lose your files. Here's the options you have:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3003

Can I use a Usb external hard drive on my macbook pro?

I have a new macbook pro and have tried to connect my usb external hard drive , it shows up on the home screen and i can view and read only i cannot save anything into the external hard drive can anyone help.

Yes. You have to prep it for your Mac. Currently it's setup for Windows.
Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

Can you use the same external hard drive for Time Machine backups and as an additional storage drive?

I have an external HD that I've been using exclusively for Time Machine backups. I need to clear space on my hard drive, so I was thinking to move music & photos to an external drive. Wondering if I can use the same one I have (which I'll aslo keep using for Time Machine) or if I need to get another drive.

Hi Jossydtaylor,
Time Machine can use either an entire external disk or a partition of that disk:
OS X Mountain Lion: Disks you can use with Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11171
You can use Time Machine with a Time Capsule, and with USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt disks. The backup disk can be directly connected to your computer or be on a network. If the backup disk has been divided into partitions, you can use one of the partitions.
If the disk is partitioned using the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition type, some partitions may not be available for use with Time Machine. The GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition type is recommended.
For more info on partitioning, see this article:
Disk Utility 12.x: Partition a disk
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845
Cheers!
- Ari

Can I use one 2tb external hard drive for time capsule and file storage?

I would like to use time capsule, but also keep the hard drive on my desktop for file storage. Can I do this?

Apple advises against doing that.
Any data stored on the disk that Time Machine is backing up to can not be backed up.
Plus the data outside of the Time Machine backup database cause problems when Time Machine starts cleaned up old backups to recover space for new backups.
For these reason it is advised that the Time Capsule disk be used for one or the other but not both.
Allan

Can I use an old Windows hard drive with Boot Camp?

I have an old windows desktop that has FL Studio files I want to transfer to Logic Pro. I'm working on a Mac Pro with 4 hard drive bays and only 3 hard drives.
I understand that Boot Camp lets you boot Wndows, but can I install Boot Camp without erasing the hard drive? I just want to be able to plug my PC drive in, hold the option key, and choose to boot the Windows drive from time to time.
Alternately, could I make a disc image of my PC hard drive, reformat it to FAT and reattach the disc image?
Thanks,
Jon

You can, but it's illegal. A OEM version is designed to be installed on a new computer, not on a computer with an existing operating system, so you can install Windows from there but you should know that's illegal, so Apple doesn't support it. To do this legally, you have to get a full Windows 7 disc version and use it to install Windows.
If you need the steps to install Windows on the MacBook, read > http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.8.pdf

Can't use or fix external hard drive in Disk Utility or Terminal

I have a 1TB Toshiba external USB drive that I was using for Time Machine and other storage. A couple of weeks ago I accidentally unplugged it when it was in the "Preparing Backup" stage of Time Machine.
Since then, when I plug it in, the light on the drive goes on and it spins, but it doesn't show up on the desktop or according to Time Machine. It DOES show up in Disk Utility with the correct partition showing. However, I have tried to erase and partition the drive and I keep getting the message that Disk Utility can not unmount the drive. I tried using Terminal to force unmount the drive and it also failed.
When I run the repair on the physical drive in Disk Utility, it says everything is fine but when I run it on the partition within the drive, I get the message, "Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
No using the drive, no repairing, no unmounting, no partitioning, nothing works.
Any suggestions to simply make it usable. I don't care about the data on it, I just want to be able to clean it and start again OR access the data.
Thanks!

Boot into Recovery mode, launch Disk Utility, and try to partition the drive. If you can't, it's not working (or perhaps the cable is damaged.)

Can I use an Iomega external hard drive with USB 3.0 on my iMac?

I ordered a 1T Iomega hard drive because Time Machine tells me that my Verbatim drive is full. I see that it is USB 3.0. Will it work on my Mac?

Gloria Haebich wrote:
I ordered a 1T Iomega hard drive because Time Machine tells me that my Verbatim drive is full.
How much data is it backing-up? If the current drive can keep enough old backups for you, Time Machine will just delete the oldest ones when it needs room for new ones.

Can I use my old external hard drive?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for