External hd/back up advice needed

I'd like to know how everyone is organizing and backing up their files.
I have an early 2009 iMac with a partioned external for Time Machine plus a couple of almost full external drives. Except for Time Machine, nothing is redundant. It's basically a disorganized mess!

Julie Slade wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I can use the ibook to view the backup of the imac G5. I realise there is probably a long way of using the ibook to drag the info across to the new imac however I fear that may take some time (however considering how much time I have spent pondering this situation it would probably have been faster)!
You'd have to check the memeo documentation or website, or contact the maker, to find the best way to restore memeo backups -- there aren't likely many folks in the Apple Time Machine forum who'll be familiar with that product.

Similar Messages

Problem recreating iTunes from External H/D - basic advice needed

Hi. Would really appreciate some help on this - am sure it's very simple but I can't seem to get my iTunes back to the state it was in before I saved everything to my external hard drive and cleared my macbook iTunes ready to add new music to. I know that all my music is stored on the external hard drive but when I connect it to my macbook, click on the external H/D icon on the desktop and click on my External Itunes folder I created,I hoped that I would be able to see and use all my saved music. I'm sure when I've done this previous times (after saving and clearing) it automatically repopulates my itunes with everything I have stored on the external PLUS everything I have added since my save. Now, all I seem to be able to do is click through to an individual song (from the external iTunes)and this ONE song will then appear (with artwork) and i can play it fine (and it will stay in my macbook iTunes with an exclamation mark after external h/d is disconnected which is what I want) but there must be an easier way of retrieving all my old songs than dragging them through one at a time.
I understand that I won't be able to play the external hard drive songs when the external hard drive is not attached but I'd like to be able to SEE them to know what I have.
Can anyone help me with this please? Thanks

harveytorriti wrote:
I want to transfer around 160GB of iTunes files to an external hard drive that I can then use on my macbook to access my music, videos etc as I need to - but I also want that hard drive to work as a time machine back up drive too.
1. Is this in any way achievable as I lay it out above? Is it doable for some with basic mac skills?
Yes. I'd recommend buying an external disk of at least 320 GB (80 x 2 + 160).
2. Will there be any issues with iTunes accessing music bought on the imac with the external hard drive connected to my macbook?
Not really. You'll need to "authorize" your MacBook for your iTunes account. Be sure to "deauthorize" the iMac before you sell it.
3. I'm guessing I need to partition the new drive for it to be dual use on my macbook. Does it need to be partitioned on the imac before transfer of files?
You should partition it into two volumes so that the iTunes files and the Time Machine files don't share the same volume. Definitely do that before you copy files to it.
Disk Utility will partition a drive. Be sure to use the "Options" button on the partition screen to set the "Partition Map Scheme" to "GUID" and format the two volumes to "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".
4. Should I wipe the macbook and do a clean install of snow leopard before I attempt this? There is nothing vital on the macbook that I can't live without.
That's up to you.

Leopard on external fire wire drive, advice needed

Recently internal HDD has failed, waiting for replacement however in the mean time purchased Lacie firewire HD and installed leopard. Works great but after a week HD gives up and cannot install/disk utility etc. from leopard cd. On my second drive now, will macbook run happily from firewire drive or are these drives not designed to be used in this way, a hard drive is a hard drive isn't it? leopard install disc seems a little fragile too or is it just me?

Thanks for reply, i have the shiny black one from UK Mac store (250GB), well HDD number two. It worked great for a week then it froze one day with iTunes like the internal drive did then just clicked and whirred no matter what i tried. In/out errors while formatting from Leopard install disc, would not allow partioning and came up with invalid node structure/ BS sub system which it tried to fix but just crashes out. However when tried at the store seemed to work ok but i could not get Leopard on there again after crash period. Perhaps it was a faulty drive? Mac store told me thay had not had returns though but i guess they would say that! I will say new drive is working now but honestly for how long?

Just got Prosoft drive genius 3 software, and it's telling me that the external hard drive that i am using for my time machine back up drive needs to be defragmented. is it wise to do this or should i not??

just got Prosoft drive genius 3 software, and it's telling me that the external hard drive that i am using for my time machine back up drive needs to be defragmented. is it wise to do this or should i not??

Let's hope a couple things: that you have bootable clones of your drives also; that the backup drive for TimeMachine has over 3x capacity of the data you plan and are storing. I would also switch TM backup drives so you have a 2nd.
Fragmented free space affecting performance happens when the drive is too full which may mean there isn't enough free space for a full backup set.
1.5TB for backing up 500GB, while WD Green 3TB is $140 and WD Black 1.5TB is, about the same price.
I'd be worried about the integrity and directory, and whether you can afford to lose that drive. Defragging is also a very slow operation. the ideal: to just clone a drive, or start over with another drive and wait. cloning TM volumes has not been done or has it? SuperDuper hoped to but I don't think they or Bombich's CCC made it there.
Trouble with highly fragged is when free space gets to 20% normally, 1/3 or so though for TM volumes, and finding where and a chunk of space for the file being written. Does TM use large spare image files of like 2GB?
Best would be to ask in the TimeMachine section Snow Leopard
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_v10.6_snow_leopard?view= discussions#/?tagSet=1009
where there are some good FAQ and tutorials, and people that know the ins-and-outs and shortcomings.

I just bought an iMac now running OSX 10.8.4. I have a G5 running OXS 10.5.8 - External HD connected to the G5 been using Time Machine to back up. Need to get my files, photos etc. but not applications etc. onto the iMac. How do I do it?

I just bought an iMac now running OSX 10.8.4. I have a G5 running OXS 10.5.8 - External HD connected to the G5 been using Time Machine to back up. Need to get my files, photos etc. but not applications etc. onto the iMac. How do I do it?

David JHS21 wrote:
Can I just plug the external hard drive into the iMac and copy the "Documents" and "Pictures" from the hard drive to the iMac?
Not those whole folders, but their contents, maybe.
If the user account now on the Mac has read rights to the user account(s) on the backups, yes. If not, you may have to do some finagling.
Try the Browse Other Backup Disks option, per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #17. If you find an account that can open those folders, restore what you want to an alternate location (#16 in the FAQ).
If not try creating one or more accounts temporarily.

Advice needed for backup strategy for office

My office is switching from PC to Mac (yay!) and I'm in charge of setting up the system. We'll be using 4 iMacs and a Mac Mini Server with ethernet connections. I'd like to ask what is recommended for backing up these computers.
My thought would be to back up the iMacs separately from the server - is this definitely the way to go?
I'm thinking to get a 3TB Time Capsule for the 4 iMacs so that Time Capsule will do automatic backups.
- Is it OK to have 4 iMacs backup to one Time Capsule like this?
As for the Mac Mini server, I'm not sure how to best back it up.
Since it has two 1TB drives, I'm thinking of using one drive for data and having it automatically backup to the other internal drive. Any thoughts on this idea?
Or, it is possible to connect an external USB drive to the Time Capsule's USB port, and have Time Machine backup the server to the external drive?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!

The TC is really a home solution.
For business I think you should consider something extra.
Although 4 computers and a server is not a big setup, it is worthwhile doing a more professional backup and use something more professional than Time Machine.
For instance..
http://www.retrospect.com/au/products/mac
I have not used it.. but I see it recommended in business / larger installs. It is not cheap but well worth considering.
I would not use the internal disk of the server for backup.
As for the Mac Mini server, I'm not sure how to best back it up.
Since it has two 1TB drives, I'm thinking of using one drive for data and having it automatically backup to the other internal drive. Any thoughts on this idea?
You can raid the two disks if you don't need the capacity.
But backup to a USB drive plugged in.. USB3 drives are cheap and speedy. Much more reliable than using network drives.
Raid for integrity of working data.. backup to separate change over disks.
So weekly you change over the USB drive for backup and store the other one at home.
I'm thinking to get a 3TB Time Capsule for the 4 iMacs so that Time Capsule will do automatic backups.
- Is it OK to have 4 iMacs backup to one Time Capsule like this?
You can do this.. It is fine to have 4 Macs backup to it. But if you are not using the wireless router it is a waste.. you can just backup over network to the server.. TM works fine on network.
You can buy another 3TB USB drive for backup of the clients.. normally though you want all the working data on the server and back that up. You are thinking a more peer to peer model.. once you introduce the server you can work on a more server client model where the current files are held on the server.

Backing up - advice greatly received.

Advice needed on adequate but not overkill in terms of backing up my data.
Machine came with Leopard, I upgraded to SL and have both sets of original discs. I maintain Time Machine backups, however the external drive for TM is getting full so I'm losing the oldest backups, but I don't believe that's a problem,
Any recommendations would be welcome in terms of taking precautions against losing data and ease of starting from scratch if forced to? Assuming worst case scenario and a new machine is required, it would come with latest OSX Lion, would this present any issues in terms of retreivung data from my SL TM backups?
Thanks.

My advise is to maintain two separate backups: 1. Time Machine, as you're now doing, and 2. Clone your drive, on a regular basis, to a separate bootable external drive. You can use Carbon Copy Cloner(free) or SuperDuper for this. That way, you can be back up & running very quickly if something were to happen to your internal drive.
If you get a new machine, with Lion, you won't have any issues transfering your data from your Time Machine backups.

I have an external hardrive for MAC, I needed to save something from my work computer so I can pass it on to my MAC, it requiered me to re-format my external HD and now when I connected to my MAC I only have "read only rights". How do I fix it?

I have an external hardrive for MAC, I needed to save something from my work computer so I can pass it on to my MAC, it requiered me to re-format my external HD and now when I connected to my MAC I only have "read only rights". How do I fix it? I run my Itnues from this external and now my library is gone. Luckily I have it saved somewhere else, which is not a problem, but I won't be able to write to this HD for right now. I can't see an option to give those permission back.

cptjuanjvarona wrote:
I have an external hardrive for MAC, I needed to save something from my work computer so I can pass it on to my MAC, it requiered me to re-format my external HD and now when I connected to my MAC I only have "read only rights". How do I fix it?...
Unless what you have to transfer is enormous, skip the external HD altogether and use a USB flash drive; you can get them with capacities to 128GB. Format the flash drive as FAT32 or ExFAT as LowLuster suggests so it can be read and written to on both PC's and your Mac.

Video intensive work on Mac Pro? Advice Needed

Hi everyone,
I've been originally saving up for a while now for an iMac 24" as it offers the best specification price wise. But now I leaning on the Mac Pro and therefore need some advice.
I know that there are alot of posts on advice - need to buy mac etc. so therfore I would really appreciate if I am afforded some help.
I am mostly going to do ALOT of video encoding (via handbrake) and I am looking for the best configuration available to achieve lowest waiting time.

I think you should go back and look at the other threads with advice, your budget. There is "ideal" and "affordable."
Will it pay for itself in 24 months so you can afford the next revision at that time?
Start with an 8-Core 3GHz.
Add a Port Multiplier controller and two drive cases, 5 drives each, nearly 400MB/sec RAID.
Throw in 8GB RAM.
Add in costs for software upgrades, two sets of backups, four internal 500GB drives.
Seagate has 750GB, as does WD. Hitachi has their $450 1000GB monster.
Give yourself time to build, test, and optimize your setup, and expect to change it over time as you learn more.
Can't afford that? then trim the 8-core. But Apple has shown how efficient next generation applications already are for video when it comes to 3GHz 8-core Mac Pro.

Computer case advice needed.

Hi,
I would like to upgrade my computers case for better cooling, larger size, quieter running and to allow more internal hard drives to be fitted.
I'm pretty much decided on the Coolermaster Haf X. All the reviews I've read seem favourable, i.e. great cooling/airflow, plenty of room, good build quality, etc, etc.
There's one aspect that I would be particularly interested in hearing about, noise levels. I'll upgrade my stock cooler for a better, quieter one, probably at the same time and I might add a fan controller if it's a worthwhile investment. But what I would really appreciate some advice on is if the Haf X is a good choice for a case, primarily for video editing, mainly regarding noise levels, or any other points that may be relevent.
Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I have the HAF X and it is everything I wanted. It is quiet with the stock case fans. I use Speedfan to adjust fan speed but even at full speed, the stock fans are quiet and move a lot of air. I take advantage of the removable bay (I only use one) for a backup HD. Only complaint I have is that the case didn't come with stock connectors for the two USB 3.0 on the top front of the case. In reality, I don't have any 3.0 devices so I modified the connectors to plug into an optional set of plugs on my MB. The build quality of the case is the best I've had. I don't need a second fan on the top of the case (it's optional) for cooling but if you want it or need it, it's there and you can get a fan from CM that will work (with some effort I understand). The MB I have needed a case that could handle an oversize MB; this case does that with no problems. I have 5 HD's, and the drive bays are fully occupied. I would need to start using the external drive bays if I needed to add other disks; which I don't anticipate. I don't use or care for external lighting but if you're into that, the front fan has LED's that you can turn on or off. I don't move my case around much but if I did, I would be careful as the wheels don't look like they would take a lot of punishment.
I would recommend this case without reservations as long as it can accommodate your hardware.

Had to have a rebuild of my laptop....advice needed!

Had to have a rebuild of my laptop....have now lost all my music from my itunes, but I can't transfer back on from my ipod. Also had to register my laptop (same) as another computers, so now no music showing as purchased, though I have. Also have hours of uploaded music from my own purchased, legitimate CDs, but won't transfer from ipod...it says it will erase. So very frustrated....thanks mr technician! PLEASE ....help, advice needed!

I believe that if you do a clean reinstall from your HD's recovery sector (D) or Recovery disks, the hard drive sector C is wiped clean. Everything goes, apps, data, address books, music, pix, viruses
Is that what you did?

Advice need - Tuxwdo/ Win2000

Hello,
We are in the process of porting our product (a high end repository)from
VMS to WIN2K/NT.We are not
very happy with COM+/MTS performance and flexibility so we are
thinking of replacing it with Tuxedo.
None of us have any experience with Tuxedo. Here are my questions:
1. We want to use the existing data access layer (‘Microsoft
embedded SQL) to access SQL7 server. Are
there any problems in terms of Tuxedo SQL facilities that would
prevent us doing this ? (Looks like
in NT you cannot enlist a distributed transaction with DTC unless
you use ODBC or OLEDB)
2. MTS provides a resource dispenser called Shared Property Group
used for
keeping/sharing variables between servers. Is there anything similar
in Tuxedo ?
3. Is there a Tuxedo clustering solution for NT/Win2k ?
4. How is the deployment made in NT/Win2k.Are there any tools
available ?
I know that some of my questions sound vague but I would highly
appreciate any thoughts or pieces of advice regarding TUXEDO/NT
development.
Thank you for your help
Regards,

"Manoj SASIDHARAN" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
Hello Friend,
Pl find my cents for the port/migration:
1. BEA Tuxedo and SQL Server XA Interface
I remember reading a doc pointing out some limitationsof XA
with SQL server!!!.
These limitations are imposed by SQL Server XA library
and not by the BEA Tuxedo product. Pl check out thedetails
to analyse possible
limitations. It would be a better idea to call upBEA Customer/Technical
Support.
2. You can use ur existing data access layer (MS Embedded
SQL)
Tuxedo components can be developed using MS VisualStudio.
ESQL/C code base can be re-used to generate Tuxedoservers.
Your Application clients may need to be modified asthey need
to Tuxedo clients
to access and use the Tuxedo application. 3. Shared Property Group
I am not sure Tuxedo has any built-in way of achievingthis.
An implementation strategy
would be having a Tuxedo Server/Service maintain allur Global
Parameters.
Every other service uses this service to get and setthese
parameters.
(Pl devote sufficient time in designing this serviceas this
could become
ur system bottleneck)4. FailOver/Load Balancing/Clustering Solutions
Tuxedo provides built-in features to allow failoverand load
balancing. These are totally
configuration settings and invisible to applicationdeveloper.
That means, developer need not
worry abt these implentation issues at time of coding.
FailOver - Refer MP Configuration (UBBCONFIG)
Though the above feature of using MP is sufficientfor Machine
Failover too. But a
Clustering software is always recommended to ensurea high
availability application.
HP has one for its HPUX - MCGuard. MS Cluster Servershould
prove a possible candidate
in MS Windows platforms. You can also consider othersolutions!!!!
5. Deployment
A Tuxedo application deployment does not require anyother
tool except BEA Tuxedo.
But ofcourse, you may consider using the above mentionedClustering
solutions. And
don't forget ur database MS SQL Server...
(R u looking for this info or some other!!!!)Do write back incase u need more help in some specific
area.
regards
MS
"marcel" <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello,
We are in the process of porting our product (a highend
repository)from
VMS to WIN2K/NT.We are not
very happy with COM+/MTS performance and flexibilityso
we are
thinking of replacing it with Tuxedo.
None of us have any experience with Tuxedo. Here aremy
questions:
1. We want to use the existing data access layer (‘Microsoft
embedded SQL) to access SQL7 server. Are
there any problems in terms of Tuxedo SQL facilitiesthat
would
prevent us doing this ? (Looks like
in NT you cannot enlist a distributed transaction with
DTC unless
you use ODBC or OLEDB)
2. MTS provides a resource dispenser called Shared Property
Group
used for
keeping/sharing variables between servers. Is thereanything
similar
in Tuxedo ?
3. Is there a Tuxedo clustering solution for NT/Win2k
4. How is the deployment made in NT/Win2k.Are thereany
tools
available ?
I know that some of my questions sound vague but I would
highly
appreciate any thoughts or pieces of advice regarding
TUXEDO/NT
development.
Thank you for your help
Regards,
Thank you MS

I have just upgraded to Mavericks and have been using Time Machine on an external disk with Snow Leopard. Can I continue to backup with Time Machine on the same external disk or do I need a new disk since the operating system has changed?

I have just upgraded to Mavericks and have been using Time Machine on an external disk with Snow Leopard. Can I continue to backup with Time Machine on the same external disk or do I need a new disk since the operating system has changed?

Hi there,
I found that Time Machine in Mavericks will sort it all out for you. You shouldn't need to buy another backup drive, unless you have insufficient space left and can't afford to delete whats on there. It should just work fine.

Trying to install all my MP3s from new external drive back into iTunes

Hi,
I'm hoping anyone can help me out here...
I had a major PC upset and have had to rebuild it from scratch (with the help of Dell Tech Support!).
I've now downloaded and installed latest version of iTunes and I'm trying to reload all of my (thankfully) saved MP3s, still in their relevant folders etc, from my external HD back into iTunes.
Despite all attempts, it isn't happening!
Short of having to 'open with' (Tunes) each and every single file, can anyone help with how I can do this?
Thanks in advance for all help offered!
Cheers, Robin
Dell Dimension 8250 Windows XP

I just seen your post here, I'll reply the rest of what I was talking about here

I have a new mini mac and i want to use my existing external hard drive but it needs to be reformated how do i do this without loosing all my old photos?

i have a new mini mac and i want to use my existing external hard drive but it needs to be reformated how do i do this without loosing all my old photos?

Formatting will erase the drive.
You need to copy the photo's to either your old computer, the Mac Mini or to a new external drive and then decide what to do with your existing external drive.
For example: You could use one External drive for Photo's and one external drive for Time Machine to backup both your Mac Mini and the Photo drive.

External hd/back up advice needed

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