External Hard Drive with Masters is toast, Need to access previews

Hello,
If this is somewhere on here, please forgive me, the search function was not working correctly for me.
Our cat knocked over our external HD containing all our masters and the HD is toast.
Is there a way to access the files in the Aperture Library? I've tried everything I can think of through Aperture. I read in another post that these files are useable and accessible, but they didn't provide instructions.
Any help or suggestions are appreciated, I am desperate!

There's no need to do anything manually.
You can use Spotlight to find all image files contained in the Aperture library. The JPEG previews are image files. Again, control click on the library and choose "show package contents."
Then, in the Spotlight search box, type kind:image
Then on the left side of the Finder window, it says Search: and will default to "This Mac." Change it to "Aperture Library." You will immediately get a list of every image file in the Aperture library, and you can grab them all. Change to icon view if you want and you can see the specific pictures. If you want to get really fancy, you can show view settings (shortcut is command-J) and click the "show item info" checkbox and it will give you the pixel dimensions of all the photos. Then you can easily discriminate between the thumbnails and the previews.
And please, please do have a backup strategy. I continue to be amazed how people keep learning the hard way... it doesn't have to be that way in this day and age

Similar Messages

  • I made a bootable disc on an external hard drive, with Yosemite on it.  I am running Snow Leopard on my iMac.  How can I open the Yosemite disc from the desktop on my iMac?  Does the external hard drive need to be connected to my iMac by firewire to

    I made a bootable disc on an external hard drive, with Yosemite on it.  I am running Snow Leopard on my iMac.  How can I open the Yosemite disc from the desktop on my iMac?  Does the external hard drive need to be connected to my iMac by firewire to do that?

    kahjot wrote:
    Snow Leopard's Startup Disk pref can’t see Yosemite volumes. So the only way to switch from Snow Leopard to Yosemite is to do what Niel mentioned. Doesn't matter whether it's connected by USB or Firewire, although performance via FW would be faster.
    Are you saying that Yos/10.10, as a volume located in a mounted external drive won't appear as an option in Snow Leopard's Startup Disc, in Sys Prefs? I've never heard this one before. AFAIK any mounted volume, regardless of OS, should appear there. I would think that, if it appears in the Boot Picker/Startup Manager it would also appear and could be booted to from Snow's Startup Disk. I can't test this myself, since I don't have Yos. Is what you are saying documented somewhere?

  • Is there any way to create a time machine backup to an external hard drive with content already on it?  I have a hard drive that i have used for pictures but when i try to run a backup it says i need to start from a blank drive. Can i get around it?

    Is there any way to create a time machine backup to an external hard drive with content already on it?  I have a hard drive that i have used for pictures but when i try to run a backup it says i need to start from a blank drive. Can i get around it?

    It would be much better if you had separate drives for the pictures and Time Machine backups.....but, if you want to use the same drive for both purposes, temporarily move the folder with the pictures to another location for safe storage.
    Run the Time Machine backup on the hard drive and verify that everything is working correctly. Time Machine will format the disk for you in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as part of the backup process.
    Then move the folder with the pictures back to the hard drive with the Time Machine backups.
    When you have tested to make sure that everything is working again, then and only then should you delete the folder with pictures from the temporary storage area.
    Again....it would be much better to keep Time Machine backups on a drive just for that purpose, and other data on another drive for that purpose. This is clearly one of those times when the fact that you can do something does not mean to imply that you should do it.

  • Just bought a 2tb external hard drive with the intention of moving my iPhoto data files on it. I have so much of my 500 gigs being used up by images and video. Questions: Will this foul up my iPhoto app? Do I need to point iPhoto to this new location?

    Just bought a 2tb external hard drive with the intention of moving my iPhoto data files to it. I have so much of my 500 gigs being used up by images and video. Questions: Will this foul up my iPhoto app?
    Do I need to point iPhoto to this new location?
    Thanks!

    Are you running a Managed or a Referenced Library?
    A Managed Library, is the default setting, and iPhoto copies files into the iPhoto Library when Importing. The files are then stored in the Library package
    A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing because you made a change at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced. (You unchecked the option to copy files into the Library on import) The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.
    Assuming a Managed Library:
    Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    Regards
    TD

  • Cannot access shared external hard drive with other mac accounts

    I cannot access a shared external hard drive with other mac accounts (all accounts are on the same macbook Pro). The shared external drive is shared via time capsule and is connected (of course) in USB. I see well this external hard drive as a shared disk with my main account. Yes shared option has been activated with the Airport Utility .. but when I open other account these othe accounts can see the external drive but cannot access to its content that is flagged with a no way sign. Strangely enough when I close my main account and start opening a new session with one of the other account then fine I can access the external hard drive and its content .. BUT then it is from my main account than I cannot access its content the no way sign showing ..
    Looks like only one account at a time can access the content of this SHARED external hard drive .. any one as an idea on how to really make it a shared hard drive so that all accounts on the same mac can also access it ? I am at my wit ends on this case. THANKS ..

    Results of my enquiries at Apple Genius Bar .. the guys found the problem interesting. They've been unable to provide a fix neither to give any explanation as to the reason why. To be fair I was not much impressed by the technical level demonstrated ..
    In the mean time I have found that if account no.1 can see the shared external drive content and in such case account no.2 (same Mac computer) cannot see its content (only the external HD with a no way sign) this account no.2 can UNMOUNT (by ejecting) this external HD from account 1 and then remount it (just clicking on the TC shared part in a finder window) and .. see and access its content ; whilst account no.1 cannot see its content anylonger. Unless it unmounts the shared external HD and remount it .. then account no.2 can see its content anylonger. This can goes on an on.
    So eventually YES the TC can allow to share a USB external drive between several accounts and a same Mac .. BUT this require to unmount and remount EACH time the external drive is accessed from a "no.2 account". So OK to share files with seldom access but not practical in case of frequent access needed.
    I just I have now to figure how iTunes can automatically unmount and remount a shared external HD when it needs to access one of this shared HD content from on time account no.1 and then next time from account no.2. May be I am asking too much ..

  • Re Time Machine I have an external  hard drive with files I backed up manually over the past 2 years 1TB of memory. I am finally taking the leap to use Time machine to back everything.   will I have to reformat that drive, thus wiping my previous bac

    Re Time Machine
    I have an external  hard drive with files I backed up manually over the past 2 years 1TB of memory.
    I am finally taking the leap to use Time machine to back everything.
    will I have to reformat that drive, thus wiping my previous back ups?
    can I split it the drive in two partitions?
    Also
    as I have two separate Macbook Pro's- one older than the other.
    OSX 10.68
    the other is
    OSX 10.75
    can I back them up separately?
    or even synch and merge files and folders etc? between the two?

    You CAN use a drive with files already on it to store Time Machine backups. But long term, that is not recommended. You do not need to reformat or re-partition the drive to do this. Once Time Machine Backups are established, you could remove the old files.
    But do not delete Time Machines files with the Finder -- that can cause it to lose its place and lose everything.
    With the cost of backup drives under US$100, it might be a better idea in the long run to get another drive. Best results from Time Machine is a drive about 3 times larger than the drive(s) you are backing up.

  • Can I connect an external hard drive, with a FireWire connector to AirPort Extreme?

    I am considering getting AirPort Extreme. I need to be able to connect an external hard drive with a firewire connection. Can it be done?

    Sorry, but no.

  • Can you use external hard drives with the HP Omni 10 5600US

    Since this a Windows tablet, can you use external hard drives with the HP Omni 10 5600US?
    I know there is a micro-sd reader for additional storage but can you use the usb for external hard drives like a regular pc?
    I tried looking at the spec's for this tablet and it said the usb port was host only. I'm not sure what that means exactly.

    Yes you can.  You'll need to purchase a USB OTG (on-the-go) cable.  I recommend using a drive that has its own power supply but I've successfully used small USB powered drives also.

  • My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my iTunes library. Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer? It was the only computer authorized to play library.

    My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my saved iTunes library from it. That was the only computer authorized to play library. I do not have an iPod or iPhone with any of that library (which has over $2K in music purchases & over 5K in songs I ripped). Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer?

    You should be able to access your past iTunes purchases. You'll need to re-rip your CDs See: HT2519 - Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.
    See also this backup tip so you don't get caught out again.
    tt2

  • I have an external hard drive with numerous WMA files that I would like to download to iTunes. How do I do this on my MAC?

    I have an external hard drive with numerous WMA files that I would like to download to iTunes. How do I do  this on my MAC?

    You can't write to it because it's formatted as NTFS which OS X will read but not write to. If you want to continue using the drive with both a PC and OS X you will need to download and install NTFS-3G so you can then write to it from your Mac. You can get NTFS-3G at:
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24481/ntfs-3g
    If you want to use the drive exclusively with your Mac then move the data off it and reformat it in Disk Utility (Applications - Utilities - Disk Utilities) as Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)

  • How can i use external hard drive with mac and pc!

    I've been using a Lacie external hard drive with my mac to keep the itunes library and other things since day one. Since i have a dvd with files for windows and an old pc without a dvd drive, i decided to copy and paste the content of the dvd to the external hard drive. The only problem now is that when i plug the external hard drive to pc, it won't open. I know it has to be formatted in a different way, but i need to find out the best solution!
    Any idea?

    You can format the external drive in Fat32 (which I don't recommend but is the most compatible between both platforms), or NTFS (which requires some work to get your Mac to recognize), or HFS+ (which requires special software on your PC so your PC can use it).
    If you use this drive mostly with your Mac, get MacDrive for your PC:
    http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive
    If you use this drive mostly with your PC, here's some software for you Mac. I haven't tried this myself, but the professional reviews have been good:
    http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/

  • External Hard drives with ibook.

    okay,
    I have a 14" ibook G4.
    I also have 2 Windows PC's (1 Atlon 3.6GHZ, 4GB ram (for gaming) & a P4 2.8GHZ (for everyday use)) and i was wondering if i could get an EXTERNAL harddrive that will work for all my computers. I dont know anything about External hard drives. So i just need to know before. If there isnt one that works with both, what would be the best for my ibook. Thank you very much

    My external hard drive was formatted in the FAT32 format--my iBook had no trouble reading or writing on this drive, and neither did my family's Dell deskop.
    If I recall correctly, the FAT32 format cannot store files larger than 4GB. Also, you will have to partition the drive. My 160GB drive was split into 4 parts, each about 30GB in size. This is another limitation of the FAT32 format.
    Formatting my drive was such a pain--and time consuming--that I didn't bother to format the remaining 30 or so gigabytes.
    I've reformatted my drive to be HFS and will likely do some work with our home network so that our Dell will be able to send files to my machine & then to the external hard drive.
    Programs exist for Windows machines to allow them to read a HFS (Mac-formatted) volume. If you want to be able to use all space possible on the hard drive, purchasing such a program may be your best option.

  • Using the same external hard drive with two computers

    I recently started sharing an external hard drive with my roommate because I was running out of room on my computer. I have had no problems until he added a new cd to the external drive. When I plugged in the drive to add it to my ipod, it didn't show up in itunes (or on the external drive) but it is there when he plugs the same drive into his computer.
    Did I set up something wrong? Do I need to synch something whenever I plug the drive in after he adds something? I have searched around anc can't find an answer. Any help is appreciated!! Thanks.

    As Kappy says, Time Machine will put both sets of backups in the same Backups.backupdb folder. That may not be a good idea for the future; your best bet may be to partition the drive.
    See #4 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

  • Can this device be used as an external hard drive with a macbook pro laptop to use files on the airport?

    can this device be used as an external hard drive with a macbook pro laptop and use files on the airport time capsule?

    If you mean an AirPort base station other than the Time Capsule, it doesn't have internal storage.
    If you mean a Time Capsule, its internal drive can be used for regular file storage but shouldn't be; as with all drives, it'll eventually fail. You're better off using a standalone drive and setting Time Machine to back it up as well.
    (112309)

  • I am running my first backup on Time Machine using a Seagate external hard drive with a thunderbolt adapter and cable.  I have a MacBook Pro 2011. It is backing up 11GB, and is telling me it will take approx two days. Is this normal?

    I am running my first backup on Time Machine using a Seagate external hard drive with a thunderbolt adapter and cable.  I have a MacBook Pro 2011. It is backing up 11GB, and is telling me it will take approx two days. Is this normal?

    Download the supplemental fix to 10.7.5 
    http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1599

Maybe you are looking for

  • Help needed in setting up Japanese Database

    Hi there, Help needed in setting up Japanese Database. I created database with UTF8 character set on Sun Solaris O/S. Oracle version 8.1.7. I am accessing the DB through SQL*Plus (Windows client). I downloaded the Japanese font on client side and als

  • I can no longer get into my Hotmail.

    I can no longer get into my Hotmail. I am using OS 10.8.4 with Safari as a browser. I get an error message saying Safari cannot find the server. My Hotmail account is very important to me. Please help.

  • Sub-line of credit in case of facilities

    Hi, I have created various lines of credit in TCL1 such as 1.Funded 2.Non-Funded, etc I created a facility using 56B. At the structure tab, there is an option 'Other lines'. Here, I want to have the Prim.line of credit as the Main line of credit and

  • Final Cut Pro takes time to share/export a 40 minute video

    I bought a brand new new Macbook Pro (4 GB RAM, i5, HD 500 GB (300 GB available) Mid 2012 model and it takes 3-4 hours to share/export a 40 minute video without any effects applied on the clips. I have another Macbook Pro, same model and same specs a

  • Sample testing with routing

    Hi, Is there a possibility to have 2 next steps in the router and force example 10% of the products to go through the other operation and rest 90% through the other (sample testing). Or every 10th product to the other and rest to the other? Br, Pete