External hard drive for iPhotos and itunes

I want to move my iPhotos and iTunes libraries to an external hard drive. What are the best external hard drives for a
1. iMac running OSX Yosemite version 10.10.1
2. MacBook Air (I actually want to store my iPhotos library stored currently on my old macbook pro to an external drive but access the library with my new MacBook Air.

My personal preference for EHDs are these: OWC Mercury Elite Pro. I have 6 of them and have no problems with any of them. Be sure to format any drive you get to OS X Extended (journaled) with ownership set to be ignored.
To copy the iPhoto library to the EHD just drag the iPhoto Library package from your Pictures folder to the EHD. When the copying is completed launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and select the EHD library to open it. Once you've confirmed that the EHD library is good and working as expected you can delete the library from your Pictures folder.
Ask in the iTunes forum on how to move the iTunes library.

Similar Messages

How do i use an external hard drive for all my itunes music?

how do i use an external hard drive for all my itunes music?

Hi valleydave,
Here are two good links for you to check out:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
The first one goes over, in-depth, what you're looking for in regards to "off site" iTunes.

I found information on how to transfer my library to a new computer. I am going to use an external hard drive for this and transfer my itunes folder to the new computer. I will then download and install a new version of itunes on my new computer. My q

I found information on how to transfer my itunes library to a new computer. I am going to use an external hard drive for this to transfer my itunes folder to the new computer.
I will then download and install a new version of itunes on my new computer.
My question is this. When I do this, will itunes have all my album artwork for all my library? My library has a lot of my own music and I have spent quite a bit of time copying album artwork that itunes did not add. I am really hoping I don't have to do this again!
Thanks for your help!

If you follow the directions in this Link...
Copy iTunes to an External Drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
Everything should be carried across...

My external hard drive for backup and Time Machine is full. I bought a new HD. Can I just begin using it, or must I transfer old BkUp and TM to the new HD?

My external hard drive for Back Up and Time Machine is full. I bought a new HD. Can I just begin using it and rely on the old HD for past Time Machine versions, or must I transfer the old Back Up and Time Machine files to the new HD?

It is your choice.
If you don't want to be able to far back into the time slots covered by the old disk then just start using the new disk.
If you want to retain the ability to go back into those time slots then copy it.
Allan

Cannot Find Photos on External Hard Drive Using iPhoto and Time Machine

Hi everyone,
This is my first time posting on this forum and am really hoping for some help! I have a 2006 PowerBook G4 that is running iPhoto and Time Machine, and I've used an external hard drive to backup everything on the computer via Time Machine. When I plug the external hard drive into my newer 2010 MacBook Pro, I follow this path to try to access the photos:
     External Hard Drive > Backups.backupd > PowerBook G4 12" > Latest > Macintosh HD > Users > Me > Pictures > iPhoto Library
When I click "iPhoto Library", I get the following message:
     "The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another   library."
So, I do as the error message says and I hold down the "option" key and iPhoto launches and says:
     What Photo Library do you want iPhoto to use?
In this case, I choose "Other Library..." and again follow this path:
     External Hard Drive > Backups.backupd > PowerBook G4 12" > Latest > Macintosh HD > Users > Me > Pictures > iPhoto Library
When I choose this, I again get the following message:
     The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another   library.
So as you can see, I'm feeling a bit like I'm chasing my tail in trying to open these photos. I did follow another user's advice and confirm that all photos are infact on the hard drive by using the "control" button and clicking "iPhoto Library" under the pictures folder, and choosing "Show Package Contents". All looks to be in tact in the "originals" folder when showing package contents, however, I just can't find a way to actually view the photos in iPhoto. I really don't want to import all the photos to my current MacBook Pro, because I'd like them to live on the external hard drive (which is formatted for Macs) so that I can browse the photos on the external drive, rather than housing it on my computer.
One other thing I tried was opening iPhoto on my MacBook Pro and going to File > Browse Backups... which essentially opens Time Machine and shows me the photos on my MacBook Pro but gives me no option to view them from my External Hard Drive.
Any super users out there willing to lend me some help?
Thanks!

The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another   library.
You can have an iPhoto library on an external drive and use it from different machines
and you can have a Time Machine backup
The two can not be on the same volume - and iPhoto can not access the TM backup - it must be restored to use it
LN

ITunes Library to External Hard Drive...and iTunes Match???

So, my iTunes library is getting too large for my computer's storage capacity. I'm thinking of moving some of my library to an external, USB hard drive. However, I've never done iTunes through an external hard drive before and I have some questions.
Can I copy new discs (import) straight onto the external hard drive? Or do they need to go onto my computer first then get transferred to the hard drive?
Can I still use iTunes Match and pull songs from the library on my hard drive and from the main computer?
To partition a library between a computer and an external hard drive, do I need to activate sharing or anything special? Or will the computer/main iTunes library just consider the external drive to be a different location for some of the tracks?
How would I backup the external hard drive? Would Time Machine (running off a separate hard drive) back up another external hard drive if they were both plugged in?
Can you burn the entire library to data discs anymore? Or do you need to make a playlist of your entire library? If the latter, is there a way to turn off the message about iTunes in the Cloud playlists only accepting songs matched or uploaded? I have some songs that erroneously did not get matched or uploaded. If I try to put them in a playlist and burn it to a data disc for backup, iTunes won't do it.
Please help!

I recommend you keep everything inside the iTunes folder.
Quit iTunes.
Copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder from internal to external.
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
Select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder you copied to the external.
This is all you need to do. Everything will work normally.
You can delete now /Music/iTunes/ folder on the internal.

External hard drives, media folders and iTunes Library folder

Hello All,
I have an external hard drive with all of my iTunes media files and am wondering if I should also have the iTunes Library folder and related iTunes files on this same drive. Is this the preferred arrangement? It seems that backups would be greatly simplified.
If it is a preferred solution that all these files reside on one drive location, how do I set these files to the external drive?
Thanks in advance for any assistance?
Warren

Warren Willows wrote:
you specifically back up the "iTunes Library" to your thumb drive on an hourly basis
no, i back up my iTunes folder (which is devoid of media content as my music files etc. are on the external).
the +apple of my eye+ is the +*iTunes library file+*
which is the heart (database) of the iTunes library (which is the whole thing: media files, support files, artwork folder)
while your media files are on an external drive which you mirror to a second drive.
exactly.
Do you use Chronosync to mirror your externals?
yes.
Have you consider a NAS?
well, i have a test library on an external USB drive hanging off my TC. it's not a NAS exactly but pretty similar.
i found that a firewire 800 external HD @ 7200 rpm provides superior speed to any networked library which is important (to me) if you e.g. stream HD movies to an TV and don't want to experience a lot of buffering.
JGG

I want to format a Seagate Expansion External Hard Drive for Mac and PC

I ordered a Seagate Expansion 2 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive to use with my new Mac and my old PC (or at least get my photos off of both and put them on the drive). I thought all HDs could be formatted to use by both, I was able to get a Mac HD to work with my PC in 2008 (but it died). I am reading that this drive is PC only. I have Parallels and Windows 8 on my Mac if worse comes to worse but I would like all of my computers, real, virtual old and new to be able to access the external drive. Has anyone encountered this issue before? What should I format it in? FAT32? If yes, how would I go about that on a Mac. Or should I just return it?
I'm kind of Mac clueless. I spent my childhood through college on a Mac but I graduated right when OSX came around and I don't know how to work with the Mac "under the hood" like I did with OS9 and with Windows. So please talk to me like I am an an adult idiot.
Thanks!!!!

The optimum choice is to format it ExFAT, but do so on the PC, not the Mac. Alternatively, you can make two partitions - one for the Mac; one for the PC. Partition the drive using GUID when you make the two partitions. Format one using Mac OS Extended, Journaled. Format the other on your PC using NTFS if you won't need to write to it from the OS X side or use ExFAT if you do.
Drive Partition and Format
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. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to two. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) you will use for Windows from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to MSDOS.
6. Click on the Erase button.
When you connect the drive to your PC reformat the PC volume to either NTFS or ExFAT.

External hard drive for PC and Mac, how to format?

Hi
I have 3 laptops at home which I use for different roles:
1. A recent Macbook Pro with Leopard;
2. PC with Windows XP SP2;
3. PC with Windows Vista.
I have just ordered a powerful external drive (actually four drives of 1TB each in one enclosure, configured into the fastest RAID 0 for my work and storage needs.
I will need to edit High Definition movies directly from that hard drive, so I need to have very fast access to all files (up to 100MB/s - have eSATA connections sorted).
Now my question is how should I format the hard drive so it is read and write accessible by all three computers?
FAT32 is not an option because it has performance issues (and I need my HDD to be really fast) and wouldn't support files larger than 4GB (many of my videos are larger)...
I probably also cannot create 2 separate partitions as I need to use the same files with both Mac and Windows systems (not at the same time but e.g. download a 10GB file with my Vista computer while I am away, later edit it with MBP, then maybe record it onto a blu-ray in my Windows XP machine.)
I am sure there are many people out there with both Macs and PCs that need fast external hard drive where FAT32 is not good, so how do you format it?
Many thanks!

Hi,
if what you are looking for is a 4-disk-raid NAS with e-sata connection, you are looking at US$1000 (without drives) for something like the Allnet ALL6700 or the QNAP TS509pro which can use a 5th disk for raid-5 redundancy. (With a 4-disk-raid-0, the chance of losing ALL data is 4 times higher than when storing on a single disk)
With many NAS-devices, you don't have to worry about the format/file system - as capaho wrote, the box does it for You (don't take my word for it for a specific model). My DLink Nas ist Ext3-formatted and runs fine with OS X and/or XP - but can only be connected via LAN.
If you have connected it to a switch/router and you are accessing it via LAN, don't expect a transfer rate of more than 20MByte/s (Gigabit-Lan) unless using professional equipment.

External hard drive for Mac and Windows?

Hey all,
Is it possible to set up an external hard drive with a partition that has one side compatible with Mac and the other with Windows, similar to a Boot Camp setup on an internal drive? If so, how do I do that? Thanks for any advice you can give.

Rekishika:
Yes it is possible. Use Disk Utility from Leopard and partition the external drive to the desired space for each. Format one side with Mac HFS+ Journaled and the other with FAT32 (You can reformat the FAT32). You can also format both external partitions to FAT32 if you want Leopard and Windows to access (read and write)either one of them.
Axel F.

Partitioning an external hard drive for Mac and PC

I want to partition an external hard drive (3TB) into 3 even partitions. I want to use one for PC storage, one for Mac storage and the last for Mac backup. Is this possible and how do I do it?

Drive Partition and Format
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. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
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 Security 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.
7. Re-partition the drive to create the three partitions. The one you wish to use on a PC you should format MSDOS (FAT).
When you connect the drive to your PC it should have no problem reading the partition set up for a PC. Now while on the PC you may wish to consider reformatting that partition using ExFAT (if supported on your PC.) This format is more compatible with both OS X and NTSF supporting long file names and other FAT filesystem irregularities.

Same External Hard Drive for Mac and PC?

Hello,
I just bought an iMac and a Lacie external hard drive. I plan to format the Lacie for the Mac. However I'd like to use it to tranfer my files from the PC. Will the Mac formatted Lacie External Drive work with both the iMac and the PC?
Thanks!
Jim

Another alternative is to get a Lacie drive and use it native to MAC. To acess read/ write capacity to your NTFS partitions refer to my post in:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1425010&tstart=0
regards,

External Hard Drive for Mac AND PC

I need to purchase an external Hard Drive to be able to back up both my iMac and my partner's PC. I am currently looking at buying either:
Iomega UltraMax Hard Drive 500GB FireWire 400/USB 2.0
OR
Iomega 500GB Minimax Hard Drive with Dual Interface + USB/FireWire Hub
Can anyone tell me is it possible to format either of these Drives to be able to accept both Mac and PC, and if so, do either of these drives let you have a permanent connection to both at the same time, so they can be set up and left to do their backups automatically without always swapping cables over etc.
Does anyone have a preference between these drives?
(Oh, and for info, I won't be using Time Capsule as I only have 10.3.9!)
Thanks

I think there is a decent amount of BS in there...
I have a USB HD that came out of the box formatted as FAT32- both my MacBook Pro and PC laptop can read & write to it just fine. I haven't had it long enough to comment on stability, but haven't had any issues yet. I don't have any special software on the PC, either- I think the info from the Seagate forums sounds like people remembering the "old days" of Windows 98 and pre-OS X systems, when you did need software like that for true cross-platform drive access.
As for the drive not working on a LAN- well, the hardware doesn't know the difference, so as long as it's connected via USB to the AEBS, it's fine. What could cause an issue would be your PC OS version. I have found WinXP to be really good (well, for a Win OS, anyway) at playing nice with others. Vista is a train wreck for many, many reasons, but may be OK for this too. Anything earlier than XP may be a bit more troublesome.
Hope my 2 cents helps...

How to format an external hard drive for vista and snow leopard?

I want to format an external hard drive to attach to Airport Extreme base station to us with Snow Leopard and a PC with Vista. What format should I use for read/write access for both?

I use NTFS for my external drives being used on both Macs and Windows. To get the Mac to write to NTFS, you need a separate program. I use Paragon for Mac software. It works behind the scenes. There are also some free things that do the same thing but I found them cranky and unreliable. YMMV.
Windows can not read any of the Mac disk formats without additional software.. FAT32 is fine but is extremely limited.
For the last year, I have had absolutely no problems on any computer, Mac or Windows.

External hard drive for pc and mac

How can I format my external hard drive to use it with both my pc and mac without deleting everything that's already on it?

No. The process of reformatting the drive wipes out all data on the disk drive.
Allan

External hard drive for iPhotos and itunes

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