External drives erased

First my Segate drive was erased now my external DVD drive wont work. I plugged the DVD drive into my old MacBook Pro runniong Mountain lion and the DVD drive works fine. When is Apple going to acknoledge that there is a problem with external drives and Mavericks?

Look to the right of the page under 'More Like This' and read the other threads on the topic.
Cheers
Pete

Similar Messages

ITunes library on external drive erased after syncing.....

Here's the scoop....Been running itunes 7.0.2 on Windows XP w/ no problems at all. I ran out of space on my internal drive so I added a WD My Book usb external drive last night. I want to use it for my main drive for the library, so I changed my library directory and then consolidated it all to the external drive, according to the directions here. Everything seemingly went ok.
Everything works just fine, until I sync up my ipod. It does the typical "slow way down, and maybe occasionally lock up" that I've read about so much here. Sometimes it will "finish" syncing after about 2-3 hours. That's not the big problem though. The main issue is that the library in the ext drive disappears as soon as I plug in my ipod. After syncing, my ipod is still unchanged, no songs added or deleted, and the ext drive is empty. The songs appear to be in my itunes library, but if I try to play any of them w/ the itunes player, it says they can't be found. And when I search the ext drive w/ windows explorer, it shows up empty. I have to run system restore to get them back. After that, everything is back to normal until I plug my ipod in again, then the whole vicious cycle starts over.
So far I have tried 4 of the 5r's. I'm afraid to do a restore on the ipod quite yet, cause I don't wanna risk losing it all. I've searched the forums a bit, but can't really find anything addressing this issue. Not really sure where to go from here, so any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!
Emachines Pile-O-***** w/ Celeron D Windows XP
Emachines Pile-O-***** Windows XP

It sounds like your itunes is getting confused in the drive letter of the ipod since the new external hard drive was added you might want to change the drive letter of the ipod.....
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93499

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.

External Drive and itunes

I have an external drive that i have been using for quite some time as storage for my itunes library, I recently did a clean install of snow leopard and need to know how to connect the dots so itunes will recognize the content on the external drive. i do not want to move the data from the external drive. i just want itunes to manage the contnet again.

Hi Chris: I followed your instructions but then I lost all the ratings and Playlist I had when I had all my songs on the MacBook internal hard drive. Is there a way to move all the songs to an external drive, erase all the songs on the MacBook internal drive (I need space) and not loose Ratings and Playlist?

External Drive "Disk Erase Failed"

Hi All,
This is my first post to the supportcommunity and want to confirm i have searched around and while i found similar stories to my own, i did not find anything specifically helpful.
Recently i had the bright idea of moving my whole iTunes collection to a WD 500GB USB External Hard drive. The transfer was fine and iTunes was ok with the move of data. I Progressed and plugged the WD Drive in to my Airport Extreme and my Mac Book Pro recognised the drive no problems and again iTunes was able to connect to all my movies, songs etc etc.
I also tested this with my Apple TV 2 and found streaming a breeze in each room.
This morning however i noticed an error on my Apple TV 2 "Your Device does not have any movies" (or something similar), i checked my MBP and noticed the hard drive was no longer mounted nor available under the "Shared" drives list in Finder.
I tried the obvious steps first
Restart MBP
Restart APE
Restart MPB & APE after disconnecting WD Drive
Nothing above worked. I opened "Disk Utility", reconnected my WD drive directly and found my drive listed as expected. However if you see the image attached to this post you will see while my MBP recognises the drive, it does not recognise the partition created only a few days ago called "iTunes". Also the Verify Disk & Repair Disk options are not available which is a real bummer.
Finally i tried connecting the drive to a spare windows xp laptop i have, windows will start to install the device drivers which are the usual generic type and confirm the installation was complete, however My Computer does not show any drives attached.
I know i "Erased" the drive before moving my data in "Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and i did not set any security options.
I can understand Windows not recognising the drive, of course it is not NTFS or FAT32. But for my MBP to see the drive in Disk Utility and not show the partition is strange and frankly worrying.
Litterally every song, movie and TV series i ever purchased via iTunes is on that drive.
My iPhone has my music but im struggling to get that off the phone and back to my MPB, my iPad has a couple of movies but not all.
Finally i fogot to mention i tried to use disk warrior however this didnt recognise any drives other than my MAC HD.
Any help would be amazing thank you very much.

Hi guys,
Wondering if you can help me out...
I made a time machine copy on a 500gb external hard drive of my 13" MBP with a HDD currently in it.
Then took my 500gb SSD from an old 15" MBP, removed the HDD and put it in my 13" MBP.
Opened up 13" MBP in restore mode. Chose restore from time machine back up.
Choose the time machine external drive as source. Then chose the SSD drive to restore to.
Said it was erasing the drive... Asked for a password...
I typed in my usual password. It then said the SSD drive couldn't be erased.
Took the SSD out and put the original HDD back in.
Plugged the SSD into a firewire 800 caddy to try erase it in disk utility as an external.
This drive will show up in disk utility but the erase option isn't available.
I can repair the disk but it says the disk is perfectly fine.
I can click on the partition option but everything is greyed out and I can't partition it at all.
This drive will now no longer show up on the desktop or finder.
This is driving me crazy!
Just want to erase the SSD, use time machine to restore onto it and get busy.
Please help!
Thanks,
Chris

Started to run recovery disc assistant on a backup hard drve-stopped when it said it would erase all data-but now can't inialize the external drive nor repair it with disc utility?

started to run recovery disc assistant on a backup hard drve-stopped when it said it would erase all data-but now can't inialize the external drive nor repair it with disc utility. what to do?

Activity Monitor – Monitor Performance Problems
Performance Guide
Why is my computer slow
Why your Mac runs slower than it should
Slow Mac After Mavericks
Things you can do to resolve slowdowns see post by Kappy
Try running this program and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read.
Etrecheck – System Information

USB External Drive Backup & Erase Woes

I have been using a Lacie 500GB USB external drive allocated as a backup disk for time machine. Over the last couple of weeks, the disk has been spontaneously ejecting itself from the desktop. This could happen when not backing up to time machine, or during the backup.
I am not a daily time machine backup-er, as I don't have much to backup on a daily basis (and I weekly backup to an alternative disk using Super Duper). What I had noticed with the time machine disk, is that the preparation prior to the backup beginning was a massive 40+GB, certainly not the amount of data which would have been 'new'.
To try to resolve this, I have used disk utility to verify the disk, and the snow leopard disc to check my boot disk on the Macbook Pro... there has not been a problem identified with either.
Today, I decided to erase the time machine disk, zero the data, and re-allocate the drive for time machine backup. After setting these preferences in disk utility, and clicking 'erase', the disk again erased itself, with the error message :
'Disk erase failed with the error: Assert: internal error, or unimplemented'
I then had an external disk which was not present on the desktop, and apparently in some sort of limbo between erased and mounted!
I was able to do a simpler format function on the disk via disk utility, the disk will mount, but the allocated disk space previously used by time machine is still present, and the format has only done that remaining space on the disk.
Anyone know what the above error message refers to, am I able to reformat the disk using the 'zero function', or has the disk failed and become unrecoverable?
Answers / suggestions kindly welcomed.

Welcome to Apple Discussions.
When you use Disk Utility to erase totally you need to click on the LaCie drive name not the name that appears on the desktop. Select how many partitions you want and give each partition the name you want it to have and perhaps also the partitioning scheme and other options that are available, then erase.
Doing this will of course make all that is on the drive unavailable to you.
These are LaCie's directions for their drives.
Some LaCie drives might also have firmware updates available - worth a check on their website.
Note that LaCie seem to have 2 yr warranty on their drives, at least the one I looked at on their website. If the drive is younger than this you might have a warranty claim.

Hello! I am new to the MacWorld and I love I tunes! but I have bought TV shows and now I am running short of storage, Can I transfer my TV shows to an external drive, or if I erase them can I download them again since I paid for them?

Hello!
I am nes to Mac computers and I love ITunes. I have bought some TV shows and I am running short of storage and I have some questions.
1) Can I transfer my TV shows to an external drive?
2) If I erase these files, can I download them again? I bought a movie I erase it to make space, but I went to the Itunes store again and it says I have to pay for it.
3) Can use ICloud to store my TV shows? and how is it done if possible?
Thank you so much!!
CB

You can move the files to an external drive. Delete the entry from your collection but don't let iTunes delete the file. Copy the file to the external, then drag to iTunes to add it again. Hold down the option key while doing this so the file doesn't get copied to the internal again.
Alternatively use: Dougscripts: Relocates selected files to a folder of your choice - http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=relocateselected - replaces "Move Files To Folder" to move files.
2) I wouldn't trust Apple or the media companies. They could decide tomorrow to not allow a second download and you'd be stuck. The media company could decide to pull an item from iTunes Store. You are the only person who can be relied upon to ensure you always have access to your media copies.

I need to erase my hard drive and start anew, will time Machine(external drive) and all the discs I got with my computer be enough to restart things

I need to erase my hard drive and start anew, will time Machine(external drive) and all the discs I got with my computer be enough to restart things. And secondly does RAM memory cards go bad. Here's the info on my IMac:
Model Name:          iMac
Model Identifier:          iMac6,1
Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:          2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors:          1
Total Number Of Cores:          2
L2 Cache:          4 MB
Memory:          3 GB
Bus Speed:          667 MHz
Boot ROM Version:          IM61.0093.B07
SMC Version (system):          1.10f2

I need to erase my hard drive and start anew
Why do you feel you need to do this? That is such a 'Windows thing' to do!
And secondly does RAM memory cards go bad
Very rarely, but nothing in life is guaranteed (except death and taxes)! If you purchased RAM from a reputable source like Crucial or OWC it will carry a lifetime warranty.

How can I restore my library that was erased off external drive....

I just accidently erased 90% of my itunes library that was reading off an external drive. The last 10% was recently purchases music that I downloaded directly to my laptop hard drive and remains intact (makes sense?). Basically I wiped out the external drive that my 90% library read to.
I was able uncover hidden files off my ipod and inturn copy my library back to the external drive but the big question is - is there a way to restore all this without having to start over Itunes? Can I reimport it off the external drive from the ipod copyover? One thing I can't do is copy it back onto the laptop hard drive because there's nowhere near enough space. Thanks for you help!

OK first thing you might want to do is read this post of mine from the other day...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6296361&#6296361
because, well I am too lazy to type much of it again.
But the part that really is for you is about half way down, just above the link where it starts with "If it was me, " which is what you want to do. In your case, you would use the "Add to library..." command twice. Once to add all the files from the external, and then again to grab all the ones off the internal, if you want everything located in one location. You can then remove the ones from your internal AFTER you verify that they made it to the external ok.
As noted in that post at the end, but worth repeating, doing it with that method keeps everything all together (database files, media files, etc) in a single folder for your library rather than your database files on the internal and your media on the external or spread across both drives. If you ever need to move the library or want to use your library on other computers, you can simply move the folder or the entire drive and use the above instructions to open your library.
Patrick

How to fix errors when trying to erase an old external drive?

I have an external drive I used to use on my windows machine, which I wanted to erase and start using on my mac.
When I plugged it in to my windows laptop, the drive was there and I could access files.
I plugged it into my iMac and again I could see the drive and the files.
I went to disk utility and tried to use the erase feature. I got some errors and retried. The last error was 'file system formatter failed'.
Now the drive appears to be invisible on both the mac and the windows laptop! Is there anything I can do?
Veronica

I agree with dianeoforegon the drive sounds like it is dead or dying, to be more specific it sounds like it is suffering from 'bit rot'.
You could try going to the partition tab in Disk Utility and making sure it is on GUID and not MBR or APM, then set it to a single partition and try to format it. Also you could try the security option in the erase tab to force it to write to each block as a test. The lowest level is to do no security erase but the next level up will make it write once to each block, this will be sufficient to make it test each block.
Disk formatting utilities are supposed to be able to detect bad blocks during formatting and to mark them bad and to use 'spare' blocks. Unfortunately Apple's Disk Utility seems to be totally useless at doing that. Even if you have a tool which can do this it is not wise to trust a drive with lots of bad blocks (a handful might be ok) as a large number is a sign the problem is spreading hence the term 'bit rot'.
The only tool for Mac I have seen which even attempts to map out bad blocks is Scannerz from SCSC.

How can I format or erase an external drive connected to a wireless router

I am working with a mac mini running OS X 10.7.4. The mini is connected to the internet via a linksys router. I have an external drive connected to the router. The router is listed under the shared list in Sidebar. If I select the router in the sidebar the external drive is displayed as a folder. Is there a way to have this external drive treated as a drive and not a folder? I would like to be able to erase/format the drive from my mini. I know that I can connect the external drive to the mini and perform the erase but I would like to know if there is a way to do it through the router.
thanks for the help

It is not usually possible to do this with router connected
hard drives. Routers with this capability basically have
its own OS, usually some minimilistic form of Linux or
propriotary RTOS, that actually interface to the drives
and runs the file server. This in itself prevents any
"outsider" from formating the attached drives. Much in the
same way that you cannot use Disk Utility on one Mac
to format a network connected volume on another Mac.

Partitioning External Drive w/o Erasing Data

I have one 500GB external drive (USB) that I want to partition. I have 85GB on data on it now and really don't want to copy it back to the Mac HD (if at all possible).
When I run Disk Utility/Partition and select 2 partitions, it allows me to shrink either partition to ~52GB - smaller than my current data size. So I'm not confident what I am doing will partition w/o erasing data.
The drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
My eventual goal is to use SuperDuper for a clone backup. I'm using the free version that only allows erase & copy. If I purchase SD, could I add a clone to the external w/o erasing existing data?
Any other suggestions?

yes you can.
quote from disk utility help:
Creating new volumes on a disk
You may be able to create multiple volumes on your disk without losing any data. Each volume works like a separate disk. You may need to create a new volume if you want to install multiple operating systems on your computer. Volumes can also help you organize your files.
NOTICE: Back up your data before creating new volumes on your disk as a precaution.
To create new volumes on a disk:
Select the disk from the list at the left, and click Partition.
Select an existing volume in the Volume Scheme list, and click Add .
Disk Utility splits the volume into two, leaving the data in one of the new volumes. If the volume is less than half-full, Disk Utility creates two volumes of equal size. Otherwise. it creates one volume large enough for the data, and another volume with the remaining space.
Resize the volumes as needed.
You can drag the dividers between the volumes in the Volume Scheme list, or you can select a volume in the Volume Scheme list, and then enter a value in the Size field.
Choose how to format the volumes that will be erased or created.
For each new volume, select it, enter a name, and then choose a format.
Click Apply.

Installing my iMac has erased my external drive! What happened?!

I've just upgraded to a nice new Imac from my ancient G4 Tower. Fired up straight out of the box! Beautiful! What happened to the install disks? I had it humming along in no time. Next I plugged in my Lacie external drive. The Imac recognised it and I was able to use a photo from it for the desktop. The only thing that took a while was the internet connection. The usual story for me with a new computer. Once the internet was up I went to register with Apple and was presented with an urgent "system critical", (or words to that effect), download, that had to be done before I could proceed. No problem I thought. This thing's been sitting in a box for a few months so there are bound to be a few updates. Once the download had finished and installed I noticed that the desktop had returned to factory setting. Hmmm, no problem I thought, I'll set it up again. Only now there is nothing on the external drive? Not a cracker! Checked it with Disk Utility. It said it needed to be repaired so I clicked Repair. Then I checked and repaired permissions. Still nothing on it. Plugged it into the old G4 (yes it's still going) and same thing - nothing there! At no stage did I see any warning about erasing files, let alone entire drives, unless it was buried somewhere in the Agree To terms. Can someone please tell me what has happened? Everything is on that drive!

Spoke to Applecare today and the news is not good. The drive appears to be empty and the best they could do was put me in contact with a Data Retrieval firm where I will get a discount if I mention my Applecare reference!
This external drive has worked faultlessly with a G4 Quicksilver for about 5 years. The imac recognised the files on it, and indeed I was able to use some of the files. After the OS update the external drive was empty!
The Applecare rep said he'd never encountered this before, nor had his supervisor. So at least I'm breaking new ground.
Not impressed.

How can you erase old back up from my external drive which i placed in the trash?

I removed some old back up from time machine which are on my external drive and it now in the trash. But the old back up is not erasing from my trash can. How can you removed this from the trash without reformatting the external drive.

You really should not remove any Time Machine backups using that or any other method.
Go to > Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions 12 and scroll down to the section in gray at the bottom of the article.
For more great Time Machine info, see > Apple OSX and Time Machine Tips

External drives erased

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