Can't transfer files to External Hard Drive

I'm trying to transfer files to an external hard drive, Free Agent, which I was freely able to do from my pc.
Get Info on the hard drive gives me, Sharing & Permissions: You can only read.
I went into Sharing in System Pref. Added the hard drive and all it's folders to Shared Folders. Put a tick in File Sharing. And under Users it says that the System Admin. can Read & Write.
But I am still unable to transfer files to the H.D. Holding down CMD doesn't help nothing; they just go flying back to the orig. folder!
Where do I go next? Thanks.

Make sure the file format of the new hard drive is the same as supported by Mac OS
Is that HDD formatted with NTFS? Check it out via selecting the HDD icon and pressing CMD+I and look under format.
FAT32
Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
No individual file larger than 4GB.
NTFS
Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
To Read/Write NTFS from Leopard: Install MacFUSE and NTFS-3G. You can install both with NTFS-3G for Mac OS X.
To Read/Write NTFS from Snow Leopard: Guide: Enable native NTFS Read/Write in Snow Leopard
(Be aware that some are of the opinion that enabling native NTFS in SL is unstable/unreliable, and favor the MacFuse/NTFS-3G method for Snow Leopard)
HFS
Read/Write HFS from native Mac OS X
To Read/Write HFS from Windows, Install MacDrive
To Read HFS (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer

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Can't Transfer Files to External Hard Drive Anymore

I have a Toshiba External hard drive, 1 TB, (I've only used 140.51 GB) that I have been saving files and photos to. A window would pop up asking me what I wanted to use the hard drive for, and I always click decide later. The other day I accidentally clicked a different option and now it won't let me put pictures on it anymore and says read only. Is there a way I can change this back to where I can save my photos to the hard drive without erasing anything off of it?

In that case, I can guarantee the drive isn't formatted for Mac. The drive can't be recognized because NTFS which is a PC format. OS X can read a NTFS drive and copy data on it to your iMac but it cannot write to NTFS. If the drive is going to be only used with a Mac then it needs to be reformatted in Mac OS Extended) Journaled). This is easy to do and is explained in:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3509
If you are going to share the external HD with PCs and Macs you can still do this, here is a MacWorld article that explains how:
http://www.macworld.com/article/1165513/how_to_share_an_external_drive_between_a _mac_and_a_pc.html

I have deleted my private folder and do not have enough space to reinstall my operating system. How can i transfer files from my hard drive to an USB drive to free up space when the operating system isn't working. or do i need to erase disk?

i have deleted my private folder and do not have enough space to reinstall my operating system. How can i transfer files from my hard drive to an USB drive to free up space when the operating system isn't working. or do i need to erase disk through disk utilities without erasing data (but will it delete my programs such as photoshop, office, creative suite?

Connect the computer to another Mac and put it in FireWire Target Disk mode, or use the Disk Utility to clone the drive or image specific folders with the USB drive as the target. After you've copied off everything you want, you'll likely need to erase the drive and reinstall the applications.
(69695)

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

Transfer files from External Hard Drive to PC?

Sadly, my iBook g4 1.2 GHz (2005) is on the fritz (see my other question on Apple Discussions if you're curious as to why) and so I must get a new laptop. Unfortunately, I can't afford any of the Macs available, and so will be purchasing a PC. I have been using a 250GB external hard drive to store my iTunes library (about 25GB, too much for my iBook's 30 GB HD to handle) and as a Time Machine. I need to know how to be able to put all of my music and docs onto the new PC. Would it be best to not use TM and just put everything I want on the external HD and then access it from the PC? Alternatively, I do have a small home wireless network (using an Airport Express)...if that's the better option, how do I use it to transfer files? Any help would be wonderful!

The easiest solution is to erase the external hard drive and re-partition it to use on the PC:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
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. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to MS-DOS. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to MBR then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
Open iTunes and de-authorize your computer.
Copy your iTunes library in it's entirety (/Home/Music/iTunes/ folder) to the drive along with any other data you wish to transfer.
See the following about how to convert your iTunes library for the PC:
Macworld - How to transfer iTunes libraries between PC and Mac;
Geek to Live- How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back).

How do I transfer files from external hard drive to my new macbook

I am new to apple and just received my lap top today, and i'm pretty clueless. When I connect my external drive to the mac it recognizes it and I see my files however I can not figure out how to transfer them to the hard drive on the mac. Any help would be appreciated I am sure there is an easy solution. Thanks.

Have you tried selecting the files you want to transfer on the external drive and just dragging them to your new Mac's desktop?
lenn

How do I transfer files from external hard-drive onto Macbook Pro?

How do I transfer files that were put on my external hard-drive (from my old Macbook Pro) via Time Machine onto my new Macbook Pro?

I've already set up my new MacBook (which is Lion, I think the other mac had the snow lepoard version)...so I guess I'll have to use the Migration Assistant, not the Setup Assistant? I know if I do that it'll set up a new user account instead of synching it up like I wanted but that's OK. But when I plugged my external drive into the new mac, it just backed up the mac and didn't give me an option to transfer files. I guess I'll study this link and see if I can't figure it out...thanks for the link! If you have any other advice about specifically migration assistant, let me know...

Can't delete file from external hard drive

Hi,
There is a permition problem with my external hard drive (no time mashine on it!) - can't delete certain files.
I copied my documents on my external hard drive from previous computer with windows and later with linux system on it and there had been changed icons at certain folders previously. I mention this, becouse what linux did was that it locked the changed icon files and I couldn't delete them until I unlocked them manually. But at least it showed me that i don't have permition and i could change it. Well, now I mounted the disk on my new macbook and wanted to delete some files and it seems that there is the same problem with permition, at least it seems to happen with the same files. When I want to delete them, the system asks me for admin password, I give it allright, it makes the sound as if the folder was moved to trash but that's all. the folder is still there even after dismounting and restarting. I already checked the permitions and it says in the info that i can read and write with the file so it looks as if my rights were ok...
Please help, I desperatly need more space for new backup and can't get rid of the files I don't need any more...
Thank you for any sort of simple-ish advice
Message was edited by: brevon

Thanx for such qucik reply!!! The pages were great, it had an answer for my problem, but unfortunately it also involved me dealing with it only on the MacIntosh HD itself, not on mounted external drive I suppose... So it didn't work they say that there is an icon in the left corner indicating locked folder - I don't see any icon on it. It says you can untick the box to unlock the folder - there is no tick to be unticked. Finally, they say that if I don't have permition or rights I cannot delete it. But how do i change permittion which already says that i can read and write in it? So everything appears to be normal only I cannot delete it. there is not even any warnig telling me I don't have enough rights, it just requires the password and after me typing it in it makes the sound of scraping paper but does nothing more. I aslo had some problems with emptying Trash after being seemingly succesful with one file and had got so far to have them appear in the Trash (no clue how this one actully got there though..) I followd the advice and emptied the Trash with Terminal. The Folder is still there but it shows 0 Kb... So far so good BUT: It is still on the external drive, so I obviously only managed to copy it into the Trash!!! Phew, innit a bit too tight to poor owners, this macbook?? I want my rights back!

Can't delete files from external hard drive

So here's an interesting problem that I've never run across. I have a Western Digital hard drive plugged in and I was deleting some files off it today when suddenly it started saying that there were some files in use and it couldn't delete those. I hit "Continue" which usually does the trick but it just deleted everything else and left a bunch of folders with these weird empty files in them. So I quit all programs and tried again. Same thing, "Cannot delete, file in use." Tried rebooting both my computer and the external, again "Files in use." Did a google search, followed numerous suggestions, terminal sudo rm -r +file name, a force delete app, secure delete, holding down the option button while deleting... No dice. When I try the sudo rm thing in terminal it tells me that the folder doesn't exist AND that it isn't empty and won't delete it. (I love computers) When I do a right click->Get info on it, it says that I have read-write permissions but that the files are locked but won't let me unlock them (I'm the system administrator). When I look at the files in finder, it says they're actually aliases. What's really weird is that the file names are all messed up and have asian characters and stuff in them. I didn't create these aliases or have files with those characters in them. Soooo... Any suggestions? Cause I've read the threads and tried just about everything. I'm concerned this drive is headed for a crash or maybe just needs to be wiped and then put my stuff back on cause it's gotten errors over time. I don't know, I've never had this happen before and I'm pretty good with computers. If it was a windows computer I'd be doing a scan disk and defrag on it but I don't know how to do that on a mac to an external hard drive. I honestly don't know if this is a hardware or software problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Oh... well this is interesting... disk utility is say that it IS formatted MS-DOS (FAT32). Is that what's causing these errors? This thing has been running with my mac beautifully for years. So do I pull my stuff off, wipe it and reformat it for a mac? Or since it is FAT 32 can I hook it up to a windows computer and fix the problem? Since I had the wrong format, I can delete the files but if I don't fix the format this will keep happening?
Volume repair reported:
Verify and Repair volume “750GBEXT”
** /dev/disk1s1
** Phase 1 - Preparing FAT
** Phase 2 - Checking Directories
/.../SpryAssets/_NOTES has entries after end of directory
Truncate? yes
/..../My Work has entries after end of directory
Truncate? yes
** Phase 3 - Checking for Orphan Clusters
95906 files, 181003968 KiB free (5656374 clusters)
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Volume repair complete.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
And thanks!

(Error code -36) Can't delete files from external hard drive

So as I was copying files to my hard drive (Seagate Backup Plus Drive) my Macbook Pro went flat, and so the files obviously didn't get to finish copying. Now they're greyed out in my folder and when I try to move the files to the trash it comes up with this message:
"The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “-----” can’t be read or written.
(Error code -36)"
Does anyone know how I can fix this? I've tried a couple of different things and nothing has worked, and I don't wanna stuff around too much in case I lose everything.

Presumably you are using the Seagate as an external HD.
"my Macbook Pro went flat" means the MBP shut down or powered off suddenly for some reason?
If your Seagate was not properly ejected that would cause problems. You should run Disk Utility and Verify and Repair the Seagate, if needed. Then you should be able to deal with the uncompleted files.

Can't open file on external hard drive?

Hi,
I'm using an external hard drive for mac backup and also to store photo files. I copied some photo files to the drive about two weeks ago and their icon appears, but when I want to open them, I get an error message: "The alias “...” can’t be opened because the original item can’t be found." There is also a small arrow on the icon. My other files can be opened okay.
What's also strange is that I found the icon of the external drive in the folder with the picture files, even though I did not drag it there (the main icon is till on my computer's desktop, where it should be.) That icon also has a small arrow on it. When I click on it, it opens and I can see my folders, but the photo folders with the arrow on it will still not open.
I tried ejecting the drive and reconnecting it, but it didn't help. Is there anything I can do to recover the missing photo files, or are they most likely gone? I have deleted these pictures from my computer hard drive. What should I do about the mysterious second external drive icon? Delete it or keep it? Can I somehow use it to restore the photo files?
Any help appreciated! Thanks!

The Hard Drive is a :
Toshiba Canvio® Connect 1TB Portable Hard Drive (Silver)
Model: HDTC710XS3A1
This one: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=1 0001&krypto=3zEkJ%2BPHCwJUtrlzjGByIaVT405Hn%2BOkggwamseD1O2Y0FHbJ9AUp%2FvPow7k22 XRWnJ6JpaVN8kRgl1%2FsFLgpeXF3MELtwm2GBihw8f7efXGqDPuH1gOcMRylnlmBw9gsk%2BTp1l7y9 CIe9KKQs5NR6dOV3HVJyJoGFWpJuhiI4ebeznLAndHONOpAQH7BG04MKAdFPnSHdRzYEBcRoM%2FVHQM k2PSq4vj%2F684ZdSvLVCllSq4ffM7sqpFRf0VO825mlCiumRBMCpX4RLzBCDAjoVpsvSrfRAuJkk4ZW NwBP3Qfzok8RiYCyj3rmcmGc1iFsFS6dhKjH9xnnhEkb5%2Bag%3D%3D
I copied the photos by dragging and dropping them into the folder on the external drive. I highlighted them all and dragged them together, then clicked "Arrange by Name", so I would find them. As the folders were visible, I assumed they were copied correctly, however I'm not sure I actually opened one to make sure.
Other than the photo folder I have the hard drive connected to Time Machine and it automatically backs up files. I still have about 700MB of space left on the drive.
I used my Mac (disk utility) to format the drive, not the software that came with it, as someone on this forum recommended. Format is: Mac OS Extended (Journaled). So far, it had been working great.
Just looked at Disk Utility and it's strange, it's as if the Toshiba drive appears twice, with its original name and then the way I renamed it "Mac Backup". Not sure if that's normal? When I click on Mac Backup it correctly states how much storage I have left, but it lists over 230,000 folders and over 1.3 million files, which seems way too much, even considering the regular backups.

I can't copy files to External Hard Drive : Please help..

Evening,
I've just bought a Macbook and am just getting to grips with it. This is my first question on this forum...the first of many no doubt.
Problem I've got is that I can copy file's from an external hard drive on to the MAC but I can't go back the other way and copy file's from the MAC on to the external hard drive - it says 'New Folder cannot be modified'.
When I go into 'Ownership and Permission' of the external hard drive it says I can read only.
The Hard Drive is a Octigen USB 2.0 drive if that helps..
Any ideas?
Thanks for your help
R
Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

How confident are you that MacFuse/ntfs-3g is a reliable option for ordinary humans? It is at version 0.2.2, not long out of beta, the FAQ mentions slow write performance and other rough edges (possibly fixed in the current version), and this is a comment by the author as of 1/11/07:
"Small disclaimer: Please note that MacFUSE is a complex piece of software, and it is a work in progress. We believe in releasing early and often, so we're releasing it now so that the community can help us to make it more robust."
I have no need for it whatsoever, but if I did, I would have concerns about using it for a backup drive.

My Mac Can't See Files on External Hard Drive

Hi,
I'm having some trouble with my iMac today. It can't see any files on my NTFS External Hard Drive after a sharing change, I'm using Paragon NTFS for Mac OSX v8.0.0.
Yesterday evening I tried to share the drive over my network by clicking System Preferences / Sharing / File Sharing and then adding the drive as a shared folder. It is since doing this that I cannot see my files on this external HD. I have a second NTFS HD here which I connected and I can see the files on that drive so I don't think it's a software issue.
I have tried a few things to try and fix it but to no avail.
1. I have tried removing it from the shared folder list but that hasn't solved the problem. I tried adding it a second time just in case but that didn't do anything either.
2. I have repaired the disk permissions via disk utility
3. I have tried "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder" to show hidden files but they still don't appear. I have reversed this so hidden files are no longer visible.
If I connect the drive to my Windows 7 laptop I can see and access all of the files.
I hope someone can help out with this issue. If you need any other information just let me know.
Kind regards,
Kim
System Details
iMac 24" Early 2008 Model
Core 2 Duo - 3.06Ghz
4GB RAM
OSX 10.7.2
iomega 1TB External Hard Drive
Formatted NTFS
Paragon NTFS for Mac OSX v8.0.0

I had the same problem but only after I upgraded to Lion. I could see the files on my external drive on other Macs using older software. It seems that Lion wasn't seeing old files on the external drive. So we accessed the files on a Mac using Snow Leopard, copied all the files into one new folder on the same external hard drive and now they're there on Lion. Problem solved! I hope this helps

How do i transfer files an external hard drive to a new macbook pro

how do i transfer files from an external hard drive to a new macbook pro?

thank you. i did that with my old computer, and it saved it as a whole other computer on my new macbook. now if i do the same for the external hard drive, i guess it will save it as another separate computer on the new one. so i guess what i should have asked is, is there any way to copy my whole old computer and external, but have the files integrated into the new mac, so i don't have to log in and out of 3 computers just to use my old programs or to see pictures or movies or files from the past. ??? and i now have the apple tv and i have to turn on my macbook and log into the old computer to see certain old files and pictures or home movies???? there has to be an easier way???

How can i transfer photos to external hard drive

I have tried everything I can think of but it's not letting me copy photos overt to external hard drive.

to transfer the photos select them in iPhoto and export to a folder on the external drive - to transfer teh iPhoto librtary
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
LN

Can't transfer files to External Hard Drive

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