Cannot backup to external drive since installing updates for Lion.

Since installing updates to Lion os, my external 2TB western digital drive now cannot backup and disc utility cannot repair.
I apparently now need to reformat the external drive but first must back up the files on the external drive or they will be erased.
Does this now mean that I have to buy a second external drive and transfer all the files (one and a half TB's worth) on the existing external drive to the new external drive and then reformat the old drive and then transfer the files back onto the old drive?
Why do software updates for os cause problems with external backup drives?
I thought the whole point of updates was to keep the system running smoothly and not create havoc.

if you backup to the device it should not matter if the backup is erased as long as your main hd don't explode before you can back it up to the external hd once more after it have been formatted
if the hd is empty timemachine does a 100% full backup of everything on the hd to the ext hd

Similar Messages

Macbook won't boot after mavericks - how to backup to external drive and install new OS

I have a macbook pro - mid 2011 running 10.6.8. Tried to install mavericks and now computer can't boot, constantly restarts. I've tried reinstalling twice and repaired the disk, everything is OK and reinstallation didn't work. I bought 10.8 to install- apple sent me a link via email. How do I backup the drive through an external drive, erase the current drive, and then install 10.8?

You will have to boot from your Recovery HD:
Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
Install or Reinstall Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Erase and reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.

LR 3 will not link to external drive since install of Cache file for another program?

Thumb nails link to the new Cache file on the external hard not the original catalog location on the drive. I can find the files on the drive doing a search in LR but each has to be located individually and confirmed and I have thousands. I deleted the Nikon Capture NX 2 Cache file and its contents but the LR file search still comes up (General> Capture NX Cache). General is the name of the HD with the catalog links. 2 Generals show in both program browsers even though the new Cache file was deleted and does not show when you scan the General HD. Beware LR users keep HD dedicated to LR files only!
Can anyone tell me how to get LR 3 to recognize the original General HD?

Error -36 = I/O error
I have this similar issue before with my external HD. The worst case is that suddenly my external HD would not connect at all. Mac OS does not recognize the device. I end up reformatting the whole HD to Mac format.
I guess the problem is that Mac is having problem reading and writing to a windows formatted drive. I have a few thumb drive that will only work on windows pc but not Mac. Couldn't reformatting it under Mac either. Weird...

What is the best way to backup my external drive?

Since it seems you cannot backup an external drive via Time Capsule (as far as I can tell) does anybody have a good solution for backing up an external drive? I keep all of my media (roughly 230GBs) on an external drive but I am not backing it up as of now for lack of a solution.
Thanks in advance

If the data is from your computer then you have a copy with your Time Machine. You can use Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to clone the hard drive.

Did a backup on external harddrive since had to have a partition restored. When reloaded mail on computer, none of the folders in "on my mac" reloaded. in m

Did a backup on external drive since had to have a partition repaired. When restored data, mail "on my mac' folders did not restore.
How does one retrieve the 'on the mac' folders? Thanks.

How was the backup made?
Allan

I am having issues with my external hard drives since installing Mountain Lion

I am unable to get my time machine to backup consistently on my external hard drives since installing Mountain Lion. One of my drives seems to have lost all data since installing Mountain Lion. Is this problem cropping up with other folks? BTW, all of my drives are Lacie brand.

Marzomo wrote:
One of my drives seems to have lost all data since installing Mountain Lion.
Do you mean, when you select it to be used for backups, the Preferences window shows "none"? If so, that's not a problem. That doesn't get updated until the next backup to that disk is finished. See #B3 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting

ITunes Error Code -36. Unable to BackUp to External Drive.

iTunes Error Code -36. Unable to BackUp to External Drive.
As of yesterday 9th Jan,2009, I am unable to backup up all
my 79Gb iTune tracks unto my external Iomega MiniMax Hard drive.
Which is very odd, as I never had a problem doing likewise
in the past.Each time it went smoothly and as planned.
Drag and drop procedures.
Here is the error message I keep getting every time I
try to execute the transfer:-
The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data
in"FBCIndex" could not be be read or written.
(Error code- 36)
Tried all previous soloutions including repairing and fixing
Mac Hard Drive using Disc utilities.
Should I do an Archive and Install or perhaps deleting the
iTunes preference files...all possible soloutions will be gladly
recieved.I'm in your hands.
My Music is my life... you probably
can relate to my level of anxiousness in this one?
CJ

*I should have been a Genius!*
Problem solved; I can now drap and drop to update
my itunes folder without any error messages etc,.
Memo to self and others.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS when updating your OS
install the COMBO update and not what Software Update selects
for your particular Mac in Software Update.
CJ

Cannot See FW800 External Drive in Finder (other Mac confirms is there)

I cannot see an external drive connected via Firewire 800, yet it is definitely there from two tests: 1) when I disconnect it I get the typical warning of not ejecting first; and 2) from another Mac on the network, when logged into this Mac, I can see and access the drive in that Mac's Finder. Seems weird that the other Mac can see it connected to this Mac, but the Finder on this Mac cannot. Any tips/suggestions appreciated!

I've got several drives from OWC, some using the Hitachi drive and two with Seagate drives. Most of them are FW800 or what they call Quad interface (esata, FW800, FW400, USB2). I'm not aware of any other reports of problems with OWC drives. OWC does have great tech support both at their site: http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/index.cfm and by telephone: http://eshop.macsales.com/Service/contact/
I move them around quite a bit to different Mac's with Leopard and Snow Leopard without a problem. Since you said the drive shows up on other Mac's (running SL?) I suspect a problem with your OS or the FW800 port on your machine (could be hardware or driver related). I'm assuming that the drive does mount properly in FW400 and USB2, right? Also, I'm assuming that you have already used Disk Utility to Repair your boot drive's permissions.
Just for drill, I always create a temporary admin user account to verify that a problem is actually in the OS and not some left over code in my user account.
If you do this, and the problem continues in the new account I'd make sure you have a bootable backup and look at re-installing SL from the boot disc (it will automatically do an "Archive and Install). I like this explanation of the changes with the SL installer:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10330467-263.html
Hope this helps.

IPhone Backup To External Drive with iTunes 11

I'm trying to backup my iPhone 5 to an External Drive since my Macbook Air does not have enough space for the backup. I'm using iTunes 11.01 and OSX 10.8.2. I've tried holding down the option key when opening itunes to create an itunes library on the external (succesfully) yet i still run into the same "not enough space" message. Any suggestions on how to change the backup location would be much appreciated.

I'm trying to backup my iPhone 5 to an External Drive since my Macbook Air does not have enough space for the backup. I'm using iTunes 11.01 and OSX 10.8.2. I've tried holding down the option key when opening itunes to create an itunes library on the external (succesfully) yet i still run into the same "not enough space" message. Any suggestions on how to change the backup location would be much appreciated.

Time Machine backup on external drive no longer working after upgrade to Yosemite

Can anyone explain why, after upgrade to Yosemite, Time Machine is no loger working? Backup on external drive stops few seconds after it has started. What can I do?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Try running a DVD Lens Cleaner disc through it, a little bit of dust or dirt is all it takes to throw them out and it might just be co-incidental with the upgrade.

Can I partition an external drive and install 10.6.8 so I can run some older software?

I have older software that won't run on my 21.5 iMac. Can I partition a 3TB Lacie external drive, then install 10.6.8 on it so I can use the older software?

The computer that I purchased did come with Parallels Desktop 10 for Mac, but I thought that was only for running some Windows software. Not a clue how to use it.
I actually asked a similar question about installing the older system on the external drive when I talked to Apple yesterday. They guy said go ahead and try it! Huh?

Using Time Machine to Backup an External Drive (RAID 1)

Is it possible to backup an external drive to another external drive using Time Machine in Mountain Lion?
The following diagram describes what I want to do. I am basically trying to use Time Machine as an external RAID 1 system. However, I don't want to buy a RAID 1 box. I want to have control of TWO OR MORE time machine setups. I don't want to backup my OS every time. I simply want to backup one external drive to another external drive. The drives are 2TB each, so the advice to buy a big hard drive to back everything up on won't work. Also, I am often swapping drives and would like to use this system for all of my projects and all of my drives. Any help would be great. Thanks for your time.
NOTE: I am on Lion and wanted to know if this was possible before upgrading.

To be clear, TM can back up your external drive perfectly well, provided it's in MacOS format. What it can't do is back up the external drive alone to one destination, and everything else to a different destination.
As for what you should use instead of TM, I don't really have an opinion. SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner are well regarded. You need to make some decisions about backup strategy before you choose a backup method. TM makes incremental backups, so you can revert to any of several earlier versions of a file. Those third-party products can do that too, though not as efficiently as TM. Also bear in my mind that a single backup is inadequate. You need more than one backup to be safe, and to be truly safe, at least one backup must be stored off-site at all times.

What kind of external drive should I get for my macbook pro for backups etc

what kind of external drive should I get for my macbook pro for backups and storage

Hi, i have a Mercury Elite-AL Pro from OWC, www.otherworldcomputung.com
this is the one;
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEAQ7S1TB32M/
have had this for over two years, moved around a lot with the drive, ( to date ) no problems, they have good after sales support; give them a call if you need info.
There are a lot of drives out there as others here will let you know, there are good NAME drives but they also fail, POPULAR drives also fail, select the one you are happy with for your system and how you plan to use.
i suggest if $ is not a problem get a big drive you will find someting to put on it and is better.
hope this helps.

I cannot install updates for iMovie, or iPhoto.

I cannot install updates for iMovie, or iPhoto. It keeps telling me "You have updates for available for other accounts. To update this application sign into the account you used to purchase it." The thing is, I am logged into the only Apple ID account that I have.
What do I need to do to fix this?
I have a MacBook Pro, with a Retina Display.

No I did not. These apps came with the MacBook Pro I recently purchased. I merely logged into the AppStore and checked for updates. Updates for iMovie and iPhoto both showed up and I clicked on update all and I got the message "You have updates for available for other accounts. To update this application sign into the account you used to purchase it."

Time Machine can't find external drive after installing Lion

Time Machine can't find external drive after installing Lion. I have a Laice 1 terabyte external drive that worked fine with Snow Leopard and now no show ... tried connecting it to front port and Mac Pro can't see it. Also lost Office,Quicken, and Final Cut Pro says: " You can't open application because Power PC apps are no longer supported" this is Not a good surprise!

Does the drive work when just directly connected? If so, have you prepped the drive?
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
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 Options 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.

Cannot backup to external drive since installing updates for Lion.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for