Creating a backup of functional drive removed from broken laptop

I have a new Macbook Pro running Mountain Lion that is damaged and won't turn on. I have the drive removed and can access it using a docking station attached to my iMac running 10.6.
What is the simplest way to backup the data from this drive so that after the laptop is repaired I can return my data to the Macbook Pro?

Using Disk Utility to clone a drive will automatically erase the Destination drive if it isn't already erased. To backup to a drive with stuff already on it you would need to use a backup utility like one of these:
Suggested Backup Software
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Data Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Be sure the backup utility is NOT configured to erase all files on the destination that are not on the source. If there are files identical to those already on the drive, then they will be overwritten.

Similar Messages

My hard drive removed from a laptop no photograph files left can I recover them?

Please HELP with advice someone if you can. I had a white unibody laptop which was snow leopard but upgraded to Lion. A couple months ago my daughter splashed a small amount of water on it whilst it was unplugged when I was working on it. No apparent damage but the battery was low. Later after I forgot about the water splash I (stupidly) unknowinlgly plugged into a power source but it must have 'blew' as it never started up. I may have tried a few times after trying to power up, including holding down power key for a good while but nothing dead.. kaput.
A few weeks ago I got myself a new laptop, with mavericks on it. But I really needed my data off old laptop, so I took it to a simply fix it store who do apple repairs, and they took out the hard drive and put it in a case that could be plugged into my new laptop. I got it home and tried it, but it would not open iphoto obviously because, different system/update issue ect. SoI searched to see if i could find the photo files maually but ll I could find were a few files from my documents. Everything that was on the desk top, music and photo files were missing!. I took it back to simply fix it and they said that they searched everywhere and tried booting it up on an older sytem but they could not find any of the files that were missing.
I am gutted, as all my personal photos of which I never backed up are gone. I really need /want some of these pictures back . Does anyone know what may have happened? The guys at simply fix it said , all they done was removed the hard drive, and encase it. They never moved files or anything. Is it possible they may have been damaged with the water and plug into electric? Or could it have been me trying to start it up after water damage and I ruined part of hard drive.
The rest of my applications and documents are all ok, its weird just music , desk top, and photo files gone.
Is it worthpaying for a data recovery which simply fix it will charge me £100?
Any advice much appreciated. Sorry I cant tell you what sytem my old mac was as I dont have the hard drive with me to find out it was bought in Jan 2011 new white unibody snow leopard.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Again, Well I found Carbon Copy Clone on my old hard drive so I didn't even need to download it. I just dragged it onto my desktop and I did as you said. Using CCC and within the folder of users which has my folder of old hard drive there now shows a file called.autodiskmounted (whatever that means) and then it has a version of my hard drive below that called hard drive 1, which has nothing, but above both of these folders, there is a folder with an old user name which shows up empty on the hard drive when I search it, but actually shows lots of folders on the CCC. So without getting too excited, it lists some folders and amongst them are folders I cant see normally in the old hard drive, like my safari settings and favourites, and movies music and pictures. However in the movies pictures and music folders I can only see a blackish square that looks a bit like a blank screen with the text.localised after it .
Does this mean anything to you / Is there apossibility they may be there? When I selected my new laptop as the destination i got this message below so I did not proceed any further as I'm not sure it will back up the files I need..
To avoid system instability, CCC has applied a filter that will exclude system files from the backup task.
If you would like to restore your Mac OS X system files, restart your computer from the backup volume and try the backup task again.
If you are trying to restore a single item or folder, click the "?" button for additional suggestions.
Is it worth giving it a try? Thanks for this btw, its further than I've got before!!

Why has the airplay function been removed from 5th generation ipod touch?

Why has the airplay function been removed from 5th generation ipod touch?

It has not.
See:
Apple TV: How to use AirPlay Mirroring
Using AirPlay
Troubleshooting AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring

Can time capsule keep backup files that are removed from my computer

Can time capsule keep backup files that are removed from my computer? I am a photographer and have a ton of files that take too much space on my computer. I'd like to have a backup of them but keep them off of my computer. Does time capsul allow this?

files you remove from your computer will be removed from your time machine backups sooner or later.
better store important files on an external HD which, if connected directly to your computer and given enough space on your TC, can be backed up using time machine.

Macbook pro-hard drive read from windows laptop

can we read mac book pro(early 2011 uni body 13") hard drive from windows laptop using SATA hard drive en-closer. My boot was corrupted and i could not start my mac. so i was exploring the options to recover the data.

MacDrive for PC - http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/ - allows Windows PCs to read and write to Mac HFS+ formatted drives

HELP! Hard drive removed from old Mac Pro won't work as external in USB enclosure...

Hi guys,
I guess we've all been in this position at some point with our music technology, but today it is my turn to panic!
I have sold my Mac Pro (2010) and moved over to an iMac, now that they have great performance and internal SSD, etc.
Before selling the Mac Pro, I removed the internal HDs I was using for audio, instruments, backup, etc...
I have now installed the audio HD into an external USB3 enclosure, which I had assumed would mean I could access my audio work (pretty much all of it over the last 4 years) and move tracks over to the iMac or a new external HD as necessary.
Unfortunately when I switch the enclosure on, I get the message "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"... pretty much what I would expect if it were a new drive, but not what I was expecting given this drive was fine in my Mac Pro, and was obviously Mac formatted.
So I'm in a bit of a panic! I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can solve the issue - obviously without initialising the drive (which is the only option the warning message gives me!).
I do have a friend who has a Mac Pro, so I have the option of taking the drive over to him and pulling the audio off onto a standard external drive... but if there is another way to solve the problem I would be pretty happy!
Thanks in advance for any advice or info you can offer!
Cheers,
Mike

yeloop,
Well that depends...
In the past I have managed to restore/repair drives with DW that nothing else would recognize let alone fix... so it's one of the 'tools' that I keep in my 'repair bag' and the few times i have needed it, it has paid for itself over and over again.
However, the fact you can mount the drive with your MBP but cannot with your iMac, is a little strange and points to something else that maybe is not related to a physical issue with the drive but something else going on with either the enclosure you used or even your iMac and it's USB3 ports. If it wasn't for the fact you can mount it on your MBP I would have said disk corruption but I don't think that is the problem now....
Got anything else you can plug into those USB3 ports on your iMac.. like another USB2 drive that you know is fine, just to test the ports themselves?

Hard drive removed from old, dead mac. I need your help!

So the logic board failed on my 2006 15" MacBook pro. Apple were charging £500 to replace the board, so I've decided to get myself a new MacBook. At the Genius Bar, while we were discussing how I could go out fixing the laptop, the genius was kind enough to remove my hard drive for me. He explained that there are simple USB cables you can buy that literally connect to the loose hard drive one end, and pop into the USB of the new mac the other. My first request is can anyone link me to a cable to buy (preferably uk). Every time I search I get external USB hard drives. The second piece of help I need is how I go about restoring some old files. I want everything as clean as possible; no migration type processes, just drag and drop. Once this is done, I have some worries about connecting my iPhone and getting things to carry on as normal (without losing apps and photos).
I appreciate any feedback.

The driive enclosure required will be the SATA enclosure. (The IDE would be for a much older machine.) The best policy would be to take the extracted drive with you if you are shopping in person; that way the tech help on site can identify exactly the model needed. Just one word before opting for a FireWire enclosure: the newer Macs have FireWire 800 only, no longer FireWire 400 ; your old 15" had both ports but the new Mac will have only 800. That means you might need an adaptor cable 400 to 800 if the enclosure is 400. There will be no similar complication if it is USB only. The advantage of FireWire is speed and Mac compatibility.
Once you have this bit of kit, then you are ready to tackle the main task of Migration or simply copying to the new Mac.

My hard drive crashed. Replaced my hard drive. Installed Yosemite. Restored from Time Machine most recent backup before hard drive crash. Now laptop won't start up. Grey screen with circle and slash through it.

How to start up laptop from grey screen with circle and slash through it?

After you installed Yosemite and prior to restoring from the backup, were you able to start the Mac?

Critical Functionality Apps Removed From the App Store?????

If it was not for Wifitrak (wifi scanner), which I have been using for over a year and a half, the Ipod Touch would not have become such an invaluable tool. I had almost gave up on using my Ipod Touch daily because the Apple scanner is so poor. It is no different since the IOS 4 update which I unfortunately recently allowed to update.
Now I at a loss since I figured I would just go to the App store and download 2.6 which from I understand fixes the problem. But it seems ALL wifi scanners including wifitrak have been removed. I see what seems to be thousands of kiddie apps but something so critical has been removed?
Why would Apple remove such a valuable tools that are so integral to my/users daily use. How can I get version 2.6 of wifitrak from the app store or a code safe wifi scanner?
thx

I sure hope Apple will GET the message and vastly upgrade their Wi-Fi Networker Scanner. It is their weak link in the chain to fully enjoying their wi-fi devices and the wi-fi. They need to add numeric signal strength and an adjustable signal sensitivity bar so we can adjust and scan MUCH farther out than the short range they have it tethered to.
The Wi-Fi Trak is/was my favorite app. I use it on the bike trail, in the parked car, and traveling.
Steve, it is an insanely great app!
They(Apple) have really crippled current IPod/IPhone users by pulling these wi-fi scan apps and leaving us the worthless and old hotspot database apps.
Basically Apple left an unfilled vacuum that only angry screams and disappointed customers are currently filling!

I want to transfer bookmarks from firefox on old HDD ( removed from old laptop) to the firefox on new LAPTOP

Hi, My 5 yr old Acer laptop stopped functioning due to a motherboard problem. I have a replacement HP laptop . So instead of repairing the ACER laptop i have removed the HDD and connected it to my HP laptop via USB adapter. I want to transfer the bookmarks on the firefox from the OLD HDD to the firefox in my new HP laptop.
How can i do this . ( All other data on the old HDD is safe and accsessible but i just cant find the bookmarks data of the Firefox )
Regards
Sunil

On Windows Vista and Windows 7, profile folders are in this location, by default:
C:\Users\<Windows login/user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile folder>.
The AppData folder is a hidden folder; to show hidden folders, open a Windows Explorer window and choose "Organize → Folder and Search Options → Folder Options → View (tab) → Show hidden files and folders".
On Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7, you can also use this path to find the profile folder, even when it is hidden:
%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile folder>
%APPDATA% is a variable represents the C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>Application Data folder on Windows 2000/XP and the C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming folder on Windows vista and Windows 7. Image:Appdata.png
To find a profile folder in the default location on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Windows 7:
Press "Windows key Image:Windows_Key.png + R" to open the Run box
(or, you can click "Start → Run..." on Windows 2000/XP)
In the Run box, type in %APPDATA%
Click OK. A Windows Explorer window will appear.
In this window, choose Mozilla → Firefox → Profiles.
Each folder in the "Profiles" folder (e.g., "xxxxxxxx.default") is a profile on your computer.

I have a HP Laptop computer. How do I backup my photos to icloud from the laptop?

How can I make sure that all my photos make it up to the cloud from my HP PC?

This explains how to add photos to your photo stream from your PC: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2606. However, they won't be backed up there. They only remain in iCloud for 30 days.

I just had my hard drive recovered from broken time capsule. Where are my files?

They retrieved the 1 TB harddrive for me but now that I have put it into an enclosure, I cannot seem to find any of the files.
Are they gone forever??

Ok, you have lost the data partition which is really bad.. I think you might need a data recovery centre.. if I take a hard disk from a TC I can see the three partitions.
This popped up in another post. I wonder if the issue is Lion.
If you have a computer with SL can you try that.
When I have had issues with some TC hard disk, I have found files via windows PC.. download the free HFS+ tools for explorer. They do not allow you to copy to the TC.. but that is fine, see if you can read the files on the disk.
I know it is too late.. but we advise people never to use the TC as a storage device.. this is why.

Moving iPhone from broken laptop

Have wifes XP laptop, screen smashed, keyboard damaged, total loss.
Have accesss to drive, drive ok
Moving her iPhone to her xp desktop
copied last backup from laptop to correct folder location. C:\Documents and Settings\USER NAME\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync
I then transferred purchases from phone to PC
Question is, is this the right method, is next step to restore from backup? If I select sync applications in itunes iphone window, it wants to overwrite everything, lots of essential/non essential data in a variety of apps, don't want to lose.
there are some music files, but they are already on desktop.
Message was edited by: Gurkha

How to Copy and Move (Clone) your iTunes Library from One Computer to Another – or Archive Prior to a PC Re-Image or Reformat
This well-written iLounge Article is a must-read for anyone considering moving their Library to a new computer or a new location. Or, just wants a better understanding of how iTunes manages your music.
Below is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply and adapt it to your specific situation and equipment resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder (directory) structure, rather than just copying just the song files. By copying the entire ‘iTunes’ folder and all sub-folders, you capture not only the music files, but the all-important ‘iTunes Library.itl’ database file (usually located in the ‘iTunes’ folder), which contains all the data about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). See: What are the iTunes Library files?
Install iTunes on the new computer. Then go back to your old computer and move (copy) the "iTunes" folder which usually resides inside your "…\My Documents\My Music" folder from the old computer to the exact same place (both Drive Letter and complete Path) on the new computer. When you open iTunes on the new computer it will look and behave exactly the same way it did on the old, Play Counts, Ratings, Comments and all!
NOTE: It is usually safer moving files between computers with the same version of iTunes!!
iTunes Files to Copy and Move to your New PC (for iPod, iTouch &/or iPhone – use as needed)
1) All Music Files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘iTunes Music’ folder)
2) All Application Files in their current folder structure (usually located in the ‘Mobile Applications’ folder)
3) All Album Artwork Files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘Album Artwork’ folder)
4) The Library database file: ‘iTunes Library.itl’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
5) The Library XML file: ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
6) The iTunes Library Extras.itdb and iTunes Library Genius.itdb files, also in the ‘iTunes’ folder
Some additional files to consider also include in a backup:
7) Any XML playlist files created for Playlist retention
8) The two iTunes.pref files (optional)
i) C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
ii) C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer Inc\iTunes.pref
9) The XML file of Ratings, Play Counts and Last Played attributes saved from the main Library and created by Otto’s SaveRatings script (also optional, but recommended):
“Download this: http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/SaveRatings.zip . It's a program, just run it like any other program. Run it on the machine where you're copying the info from BEFORE you move the files to the new machine. Click the "Save Ratings" button and it'll create a ratings.xml file. Now when you move the files, move the program and this file as well. Then after you make your new iTunes library, run it again and click the "Restore Ratings" button. Voila, all your information is back in the Library. Well, most of it anyway, it's not perfect. It'll tell you what songs it couldn't figure out though, and there's usually not very many.”
10) The folder(s) used to store and sync photos to your iPhone (if applicable)
11) The iTunes created Backup of your iPhone usually located at:
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
Here's a list of methods to copy and move your music files from one computer to another:
1) Use an External Hard Drive (ExHD) to move the complete files and Folder structures from one computer to another (my preferred option). You can clone’ the entire ‘iTunes’ folder structure in one very easy step. Also great to have available for complete backups of your Library. External hard drives now run less than $100 for 500GBs-1TB of storage. See This Link
2) Directly connect the two computers:
2a) Connect them through a Router &/or Network
2b) Directly connect using an Ethernet cable: Straight for using at least one Mac; or Crossover for PC/PC Instructions here.
2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. Example here. There are various types out there (use Google).
--Then copy the files from one computer to the other.
3) Use the iPod as a transfer device, as this extensive Apple link explains. It will be a bit easier if your iPod has a larger capacity than your music collection, otherwise you will need to perform multiple copy/move transfers. This well written process also works fine while using any other data transfer medium (ExHD, Flash Drive, DVD, CD, Zipp, Jazz, etc.).
4) Burn several DVDs (at 4.7GBs each) with your music data files and folder structure, and load them onto the new computer. Re-writable DVDs are more cost effective (if your DVD drive can manage these types).
5) Burn 6x more on CDs (at 700MB each) than in #4 above and load the files and folders on the new computer. Re-writable CDs are more cost effective (if your CD drive can manage these types).
6) Use a larger USB Flash drive (1GB - 4GB) to move the files and folders. Best if the flash drive is larger than your Library, otherwise you will need multiple copy/move transfers.
These are links to various additional instructions on performing the transfer (read them all, but some listed steps may not be required depending on your specific situation):
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers
Also, remember to Deauthorize your PC before you reformat it, dispose of it, or retire it from iTMS use (if applicable).
Best of Luck

I have removed the hard drive from my laptop and connected it to my netbook as an external drive. Now, I can't find or acces my saved Firefox bookmarks on the external drive. How do I get it to display like it did on the original laptop?

Now that I am using it as an external drive, how do I get the harddrive I removed from my laptop to display like it did when it was still in the laptop , when I connect it to a new computer?. I can't locate my Firefxox bookmarks that I originally saved to the HD when it was in the laptop. The laptop is dead but fortunately I was able to salvage the hard drive. I Need help urgently since I have tons of bookmarked pages and saved passwords that are critical to my work and life. The original laptop that the HD came from has a Windows Vista OS. The netbook I connect the HD to uses Windows XP.
== This happened ==
Every time Firefox opened
== when I converted laptop HD to an external drive.

See this:
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile

How do I delete all or multiple synced apps from iTunes where the app has already been removed from iPad?

I have recently purchased the latest iPad and been trying lots of apps. These apps are synced with iTunes on a regular basis. I want to delete synced apps from my iTunes backup that I have removed from my iPad.
I am aware of a manual way of removing apps from the iTunes backup but it is far too painful and cumbersome. You have to select the iPad under devices, click the apps tab up the top, and then see which items are not ticked (which runs very slow I might add, but it is a big list). After noting them down, I then visit the apps section under library on the left, highlight all the unwanted apps, right click and delete.
Unless there is some special way of doing this that I am un aware of, it would be really helpful if the libary application view had a column which informed me which ones were still on my iPad. I could then sort by that column, and then delete all the removed apps.

Yes, delete all the apps currently in iTunes, then transfer all the apps currently on the iPad back into iTunes. Of course it will take some time to sync the apps back into iTunes, but it satisfies your desire to remove all apps from iTunes that are not on your iPad without the need to laboriously note what is and is not there. In fact as a bonus after removing all the apps from iTunes you could open the ..\iTunes Media\Mobile Applications folder and delete any remaining orphaned files that might still be there, before you transfer purchases.
tt2

Creating a backup of functional drive removed from broken laptop

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