Do you lose data on an external drive if you partition it after the fact?

Can I partition a LaCie external drive after using it regularly for Time Machine? If so, how? Won't I lose the data backed up on the drive if I do this?

Partitioning a hard drive:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html
To resize (or delete) an existing partition without losing data, you will need to use, for example, iPartition:
http://www.coriolis-systems.com/iPartition.php

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Can I transfer data from one external drive to another using my MacAir as a platform?

I am trying to transfer about 94 Gigs of data from one external drive (Touro) to another (Seagate) using my Mac Air which only has about 14 Gigs of available space. How best can I accomplish this operation?

Niel - I know that I must be a real dunce on this. I tried opening the additional window on finder and then dragging and dropping from the Touro drive to the other open finder window for the Seagate drive. Again, it bounced back. What is NTFS? And how do I find if either or both of the drives are formatted in that manner?
Again, thanks for you help on this.
JC
PS I just got the info on the Seagate that it is Windows NTFS formatted. What do I do now? Is Paragon something I can download off the Internet? Why, since I formatted the Seagate to run on my Mac Air would there still be a problem? The packaging on the Seagate says it is compatible with Mac OS systems. jc

Hi, I have a hard disk failure so to recover my data I am using disk utility to restore the data on an external drive while booting from a second external hard drive. When I perform the operation it gives me an input/output error and stops. Any tips?

Hi, I have a hard disk failure so to recover my data I am using disk utility to restore the data on an external drive while booting from a second external hard drive. When I perform the operation and after having selected both my destination and source drives, the operation begins but soon fails due to input/output error. If I try to create an image of the drive it gives me the same error message. Any help would be much appreciated.

Disk Utility only creates a image of the drive, so it's no help getting exactly what you want, which is your files. If the file structure is messed up or the drive is failing then it's no help.
If you have a external boot drive and you can't access the internal non-booting drive though the typical Finder and windows to transfer your files via drag and drop methods, then you need to install Data Rescue on the external boot drive and it will do as best as it can to recover your files. (works on non-encrypted/non-Filevaulted drives only)
.Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
Are you sure you have hard drive failure, or that OS X isn't merely not booting?
Because if the drive is working physically, then there is a host of fixes
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents#/

Transfer music from PC to Mac using data disks or external drive?

I have my iPhone synced with my office computer (a PC running XP Pro) and originally had my iPad synced with the same PC computer.
But now I synced my iPad with my Macbook pro at home.
Is there anyway to transfer the music and playlists via data disks (or external drive) from the office PC to the home Macbook?
If so, can you please tell me very slowly how to do that. What do I need to transfer and what is the file called, etc... I'm not very familiar with PCs (I'm more of a Mac person).
Thanks in advance,
Anne

Open iTunes and go to Store>Authorise Computer or play a purchased song in iTunes. If the computer has not yet been authorised, iTunes asks you to enter the Apple ID and password you used to purchase the song:
About iTunes Music Store Authorisation and Deauthorisation
iTunes Music Store - Authorization FAQ

How can i get to itunes to store all data on an external drive

how can i get to itunes to store all data on an external drive rather than the drive ITUnes run off. I can get photos and music off but my apps and movies seem to go to the drive where itunes is run from?

See if this helps:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364

Data rescue 3 external drive recovery .Invisible external hard disk 1 tb., I want a refund.

data rescue 3 external drive recovery .Invisible external hard disk 1 tb., I want a refund.

I personally would use Disk Warrior before attempting to recover any data for that exact reason.

Will Mac allow you to boot from an external drive...specifically for windows programs?

Will a new Mac allow you to boot from an external drive...specifically for windows programs?

ps...I've read the threads on Bootcamp.

What external drive do you need to read discs

What external drive do you suggest purchasing to read discs

Assuming you are referring to a late 2012 or 2013 iMac that does not included a DVD drive. Almost any external USB DVD drive will work, Apple offers the external SuperDrive however there are a multitude of alternatives. If you choose to use Apple's solution, in the US online store it is availalble:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive?fnode=5f
If you have a Mac or PC with a DVD drive that is on the same network as your iMac you can also use Remote Disc which Apple explains in the DVD or CD sharing: Using Remote Disc article located at:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5287?viewlocale=en_US

How do you get Photos to recognize the "old" iPhoto Library on an external drive without it copying it to the internal drive on the computer which is low in HD space?

How do you get Photos to recognize the “old” iPhoto Library on an external drive without it copying it to the internal drive on the computer which is low in HD space?

Launch Photos while holding down the alt/options key.
This will show the Library Chooser panel. Select the library on the external drive. Photos will create a Photos Library on the same drive.
Photos may not be able to open the library, however, if your external drive has an incompatible file system. It needs to be formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled) and locally mounted, not a remotely mounted volume, as described here: Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture

HT1553 I'm trying to restore data from an external drive to the Macintosh HD that is was originally recovered from. I'm using disk utility and hit a brick wall when I click restore it asks me to scan the Macintosh HD but doesn't let me do this. what do i

I'm trying to restore data from an external drive to the Macintosh HD from which they were originally recovered. I hit a brick wall where it says I have to scan it first and it doesnt let me.

How do you move pictures to an external drive to open space on the Mac hard drive? Or what is the best way to store photos safely?

How do you move pictures to an external drive to open harddrive space? Or what is the best way to store large photo files? Ive tried copy/cut and paste and it doesnt work. I have nothing on my Mac but photos and its telling me startup disk is too full to download updates.

Are the photos being stored in iPhoto now?
How is the external disk formatted?
Allan

I have moved my Itunes media folder to an external drive and Itunes does not find the items in the folder

Running Win7. I moved my entire Itunes library to an external drive to free up space on my laptop. Itunes recognized the change and all was well. That worked fine and I have synced several times from the laptop with the library on the external drive. Now the laptop is in the shop (sigh, not Itunes related a dead network card). I connected the external drive to my desktop, made sure my software was up to date. opened ITunes went to edit/preferences/advanced. Went to change Itunes media folder location and navigated to the proper folder on my external drive and clicked OK. None of the music, videos, etc, that are in that folder show up in iTunes on the desktop. Restarted ITunes, no help, reboot computer, no help. Have I done something wrong or left out a step. I could copy all the media onto the desktop individually and build new playlists but that seems like something that should not be needed? One of the reasons I moved my Itunes media folder to the external drive was so I could use the laptop for iTunes while travel and the desktop for iTunes while at home. Do I have to copy the entire folder to my desktop and take up space there? That would be counterproductive to using the external drive. I searched and saw a hint to hold down shift while starting ITunes but that did not change anything. Any help would be most appreciated!
Jim in WV

Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow? In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Time Machine - backup System Drive and External Drive to 2 partitions? Help

Hi all, I'm a bit confused with Time Machine. Here's the situation:
I have my internal system drive (500GB) and an external FW drive (500GB). I have a backup drive (1TB). I would like to partition my backup drive and have Time Machine backup my system drive to partition 1, my external drive to partition 2. The Time Machine interface does not make it obvious how to do this. Is it possible? How?
Thanks!
js

js,
No, Time Machine will not do this. While it can back up both volumes, it will do so by creating two folders within the "Backups.backupdb" folder, each named for one of the volumes being backed up. In other words, it backs up both volumes to the single volume.
You'll need to carefully consider whether or not it makes sense to use it with both. Obviously, the backup drive (1 TB) will need to have just one partition to contain everything. Additionally, Time Machine really needs at least twice the amount of space required for the initial backup. Closer to 3X, if it can be managed. This is to insure that it will always have enough room to "do its thing" with subsequent backups. In order to evaluate this, you'll need to add the amount of data being stored on both source volumes, then estimate how much that data might change and/or grow over time. I would recommend strongly against using Time Machine to backup both volumes if you think the total might ever exceed 500 GBs (that is, the total used on the two source volumes). Even if you think it might come close, this would tend to recommend against using Time Machine.
If you really have the kind of data that fills up 2 500 GB drives, especially if one of those is your boot drive, you should seriously consider some hefty file management. This doesn't rule out Time Machine; quite the contrary. However, you'll need to separate your data into "live" data, and that which can be "archived." Your installation of OS X, all your applications, and your day-to-day "user files" would obviously be considered "live." To this total, you would add any files on which you might be working, in various "projects."
Anything and everything else is a strong candidate for "archival." These files would be best stored separately, where their need for constantly updated redundancy is eliminated. If they can be archived to DVDs, all the better (I would want to do this in addition to storing them on a relatively static and rarely used external drive).
If you adopt such a routine, you should realistically be able to whittle down your boot volume to no more than 100 GBs. Perhaps a little more if you are using Pro apps such as the CS suite, FCP, etc., along with their attendant template libraries.
Under such a scenario, Time Machine would work very well in backing up your boot volume and any external drive you would use for additional "live" project files. Everything else could be stored on an external drive that you would use only when you need access to the old archived data, and it could be made redundant by you, manually, as and when you see fit. Since this data would be and remain "static" in nature, it would not need regular and recurrent backup.
Scott
For example,

I moved all my music from c: drive(because it was full) to an external harddrive and now itunes can't find any of my music. Is there a way to get Itunes to find music on external drive without having to place all the music back onto the c: drive? Thanks

I moved all my music from c: drive(because it was full) to an external harddrive and now itunes can't find any of my music. Is there a way to get Itunes to find music on external drive without having to place all the music back onto the c: drive? Thanks

Hopefully you moved the entire iTunes Media (or iTunes Music) folder to a new path on your external drive. Copy your iTunes library folder out to the root of the external drive, e.g. X:\iTunes (where X: is your external drive), then move the media folder inside it. Hold down shift as you start iTUnes and keep holding untila asked to choose or create a library. Choose the library at X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl. Should all be good.
Failing that, download and run my FindTracks script and point it at the new location of your media folder.
tt2

How can I back up to an external drive with three partitions using Time Machine?

I have an external drive connected to my MBPro. The external drive has three partitions: one dedicated to the MBPro, one dedicated to my iMac and one for Photos. How can I be sure that when I backup my MBPro, it does so to the dedciated partition?
Also, I eject each of the partition icons on my desktop through the Eject selection in Finder menu and then I turn off the external drive and disconnect it. However, when I connect and turn the external drive to start it up again, the a message comes up that it has not been ejected properly. How am I supposed to eject the partitions and drive?
Thanks for you helpl
Vernon

When you set up time machine you should select which partition to backup to, after that it should be automatic, mine is.
I have not encountered your second problem, after ejecting the disks do you immeadiatley switch the drives off or leave them for 10-15 seconds to let them write the info stored on the disk drives internal buffer to disk?
I usually use the CNTL Click on the drive and select eject, but that should not be any different than using the Finder menu.

Do you lose data on an external drive if you partition it after the fact?

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