EXTERNAL HDD - the point of decision???

Hello everyone,
After much looking and research I have narrowed down a few external HDD With I believe to be compatible with my imac etc.... however I would really appreciate ANY help in choosing which is the best to get......
Some options I have found are: All 500GB
1: Mercury Elite-AL Firewire 400+USB2 Combo Drive Solution $199.99- OWC www.eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MAU4F7500G16/
2: Maxtor OneTouch III FireWire+USB2 $209.99 - Maxtor online store www.maxstore.com/product.asp?sku=3070584
3: Maxtor T01W500 FireWire 400+800, +USB2 $229.99 - Frys.com www.shop3.outpost.com/product/4951741#detailed
4: Maxtor OneTouch III FireWire 400+USB2 COMBO $299AU - Ezyshop.net.au www.ezyshop.net.au/?mod=product&catid=135,139&productid=644
5: Seagate FreeAgent Pro Data Mover esata, FireWire400+USB2 $179.99 - Frys.com www.shop3.outpost.com/product/5217457#detailed
Well there you go, terribly sorry there are so many, will be glad when my technical knowledge is better, I have already learnt heaps from reading other posts from around this site, thanks so much to everyone who contribute, I really think it's awesome.
Tim
17-inch iMac (isight) 2GHz Mac OS X (10.4.9) 2gb RAM, 160gb HD

OK, you install SD on your HD, it's controlled by your computer and will find your external drive when you plug it in. The instructions that come with SD are very easy, you simply mount the fw drive and instruct SD to clone to it. You'll be able to figure it out quickly, and after the first operation, things will be automatic.
You can partition your external drive, using Disk Utility, just make sure you have a partition that is the same size as your hard drive. The second partition can be used for whatever you like. You should format the drive as OS Extended (journaled).
Let me know when it's all set up and running smoothly, as I am sure it will,
Miriam

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External HDD: "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer"

Hi,
I have an external drive with important data on it (there is a backup, but there is also some non-backuped data as well...). I cannot access the external drive because I receive a "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" message connecting it. I was wondering, if you have some advice on how to get my data back?
I have a WD Elements 2 TB (about 2 months old), I am using is with an iMac, latest Snow Leopard. The drive used to work all fine. Now, I receive a "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" every time I connect it. Same thing happens if connected to my MacBook Pro.
What happened?: I was copying files to the external drive. I the middle of it, I received a message complaining I that assumedly ejected the drive by pulling the USB cable out instead of properly ejecting it software-side (I did not do this). The drive symbol was gone. Now, I plug the drive out an reconnected it. The drive symbol showed up again. I continued copying files on the drive, but after some 30 seconds, I received the same error message again. One more time, I disconnected and reconnected the drive - this time to another USB port. The drive showed up, but I was not able to copy files on it (I am using muCommander, it just kept showing 0kb progress). I restarted the Mac. Since then I am getting the "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." The drive symbol does not show up anymore.
I was googling the problem: in one forum there was a suggestion to click "initialize drive" and than to "repair" in DiscUtility. I clicked initialize drive and the drive is shown in DiscUtility, but "repair" and "verify" are greyed out. I read more posts on it, one posts suggested NOT to click initialize because that means format in Mac OS language (btw: ***, why is it not called format).
That is the situation at the moment. What is the best - if there is - way to get my data back? DiscWarrior?
I very much appreciate your advice!
Daniel

"Initializing" a drive has been normal computer terminology for decades. "Formatting" generally referred to the high-level preparation also called "erasing." None of this is "Mac OS language."
Disk Warrior will not likely fix the problem you have. DW can repair a damaged directory, but your error suggests an even worse problem of directory corruption. I suggest you try using DW if you have it. Visit the Alsoft site to determine the limitations and usage of the version you have. It may not be able to boot your computer depending upon what version of DW you have and how new your computer is.
If you have no success with DW then see the following:
Basics of File Recovery
Files in Trash
If you simply put files in the Trash you can restore them by opening the Trash (left-click on the Trash icon) and drag the files from the Trash to your Desktop or other desired location. OS X also provides a short-cut to undo the last item moved to the Trash -press COMMAND-Z.
If you empty the Trash the files are gone. If a program does an immediate delete rather than moving files to the Trash, then the files are gone. Recovery is possible but you must not allow any additional writes to the hard drive - shut it down. When files are deleted only the directory entries, not the files themselves, is modified. The space occupied by the files has been returned to the system as available for storage, but the files are still on the drive. Writing to the drive will then eventually overwrite the space once occupied by the deleted files in which case the files are lost permanently. Also if you save a file over an existing file of the same name, then the old file is overwritten and cannot be recovered.
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

How can I change an external HDDs Mount Point?

I have a drive That is supposed to be just named 'Tera 3'
In disk utility I see it is actually named 'Tera 3 1'
There's aren't two externals plugged into my computer that are Tera 3 so I'm not sure why this is occurring.
I noticed this as I had added content on this drive to Plex. When I went to play some of the contents on the drive I got an error saying it wasn't there anymore.
Thanks for any help. I'd love to get it to just mount as 'Tera 3' again.

marklight wrote:
I have a drive That is supposed to be just named 'Tera 3'
In disk utility I see it is actually named 'Tera 3 1'
Dismount that disk drive, then use the Finder menu option Go > Go to Folder. In the field enter "/Volumes" (without the quotes) and click "OK". If you see a folder named "Tera 3", trash it. To prevent this from happening in the future, be sure you don't have any software that wants to refer to that disk running when the disk is not mounted.
If you don't see such a folder, I have no other suggestions for you.

Airport Extreme no longer recognizes external HDD

My Airport Extreme has suddenly stopped recognizing the external HDD I have attached to it. This happened about 2 weeks ago, and has been driving me absolutely insane since (I use this HDD to store all my music, and as such have not been able to listen while I work during this time). I've looked around and tried all the suggestions from other topics, but nothing is working.
• Airport Extreme is using Firmware 7.3.2 -- I did not want to update to 7.5.x, since I saw overall bad opinion about the latest firmware
• My MacBook Pro is using 10.6.7 -- I have all the latest updates from Software Update
• External HDD is a Western Digital 500 GB formatted in Mac OS Extended connect to the Airport Extreme via USB -- reformatting this HDD is not an option at this time
The Airport Extreme has had no trouble with the wireless connection, everything seems to be working for all computers on the network. I am able to successfully configure it using the Airport Utility. The moment I plug my external HDD into the Airport Extreme, I can no longer use the Airport Utility to configure. I receive this error message:
Make sure your AirPort wireless device is plugged in and in range of your computer or connected via Ethernet and try again. (-6753)
If I unplug my external HDD, the error message goes away and I am able to configure the Extreme again. In addition to the error message above, the external HDD does not show up in Network nor on the left side panel when opening a new Finder Window.
I have tried the following:
• I restored the Extreme to factory settings and then reconfigured it using my backup copy of the configuration file. The error persists.
• I have used Disk Utility to repair the external HDD and received no errors.
• I have plugged my laptop into the Extreme via Ethernet rather than a wireless connection. The error persists.
• I have used a different laptop (via wireless and Ethernet)-- a MacBook also running 10.6.7. It also cannot configure the Extreme nor see the external HDD when it is connnected to the Extreme.
I'm at wits end here, and I have no idea what else I can do. This problem happened suddenly and with no explanation, and no Snow Leopard updates have fixed it.
Do you all have any other suggestions?

JTelcontar wrote:
I just tried switching the HDD to another USB port on the hub, and am still having the same issue.
Hi,
Bob exaggerated a bit (or more); I'm not really a HD guru. I do help folks with Time Machine problems, and sometimes those are HD problems.
It is quite unusual. I'd suspect the hub, cable, or connections.
Try using the same port that your printer is working fine on (leave the printer disconnected).
Try disconnecting the hub and connecting the HD directly to the USB port. It may not recognize it if there isn't enough power, but see if the Airport goes berserk.
Try a different cable, or just swap ends. A plug that works fine in one port may not make good contact (or may short out) in another.

Airport Time capsul or Linksys wrt1900 + external HDD?

I Need to get a new wifi and also back up device. I currently have the old flat airport time capsule. I live in a 3 story house made from steel frame. So my wifi is not strong at all. I also use a small express to extend the wifi. But still bad.
I Have been reading about the below wifi router and they say it is quite powerful and even good for multiple story homes.
Linksys WRT1900AC Dual Band Smart Wi-Fi Wireless AC Router (2.4 + 5GHz)
IF I got this and an external HDD the cost is about the same. Anyone have any experience with linksys? I would prefer the apple one but I just want to improve my wifi throughout the house.
CHeers
Bryce

I would spend a bit of time in the charts and actual reviews here.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/bar/111-2_4-ghz-dn-c?see=P_D
There is a lot of info which you can get the charts to show you.. various location.. different bands etc.
However the tests are done on PC clients and PC wireless cards.. and you are not going to get the same results in Apple products..
As with most of these things.. wireless promises much but delivery is always less than expectation.
I would doubt any single wireless router can cover adequately a 3 storey house.
I can also tell you support for Time Machine will be sorely lacking even if it is listed.. these routers cannot format the disk HFS+, so they will be different and no where near reliable for TM.
It is much better to plan on running an ethernet connection between the 3 floors in some central location if that is at all possible.. and to run 3x wireless AP around the house.. if that is not possible then proper wireless mesh gear will perform much better than domestic stuff.. so look at ubiquiti unifi etc.
Linksys new products since being sold by Cisco and taken over by Belkin have been a disappointment.
Asus has tended to be the preferred units.. and do seem to work well with apple devices.

LaCie External HDD issue

I have a LaCie Porche external HDD (the SAMSUNG HD753LJ model) connected to my iMac. When I unmount the HDD it stops spinning. But when I turn off the computer, it still keeps spinning and make noise unless I turn the HDD off as well.
Any ideas if this behavior can be fixed or not? I searched the LaCie website but couldn't find a patch or something for fixing this issue.
Is possible to fix this using OS X tools and utilities?
Thanks in advance,
Behrang

This is an "old" one - I think. I tried to find the last thread but failed. Anyway, here goes - there is a slight difference in what you have said your problem is and the problem I had (have). I have two La Cie Porsche drives. The first a firewire 250GB. This has worked fine from the first day and whether connected to the iMac or the MBP shuts down after a period of inactivity or when the computer goes to sleep. It stays permanently plugged into the mains and the iMac.
The second drive is a 500GB USB 2.0. This is where the problem starts. If it is plugged into the mains and switched on it will spin. It does not matter if the computer is asleep or not. It does not matter whether it is connected to the computer or not - if it is powered up it will spin. The only way to stop it is to unmount it and switch it off. I only switch mine on when I need it.
I contacted La Cie about this. Initially they said it should spin down but later contacted me to say the early ones did but there was a design change in the driver and now they do not. So there you have it - not sure if these are Samsung drives or not. Your observation that it spins down when you unmount it does not match the above so they may have changed something else again.
Hope it might help.
TY

Permissions and problems with external HDD

Starting today I have been unable to copy anything to my 1T Seagate FA GoFlex external HDD. I can access the drive, I can copy files FROM the drive back to my Mac Mini, but I cannot copy anything to the drive. Whenever I try to copy anything I get the error "The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -50)." I have spent the last four hours doing an exhaustive search, and have tried every solution I've come.
Somehow, over the last few days, something has happened to change this external HDD--the permissions and possibly the format. I have been in Disk Utility and am unable to repair. I have tried accessing Disk Utility from startup and am unable to repair. I have also copied the content off of the HDD and have tried to reformat the drive, but I'm getting an error when I try this as well.
When I tried to verify the disk I got this error:
When I tried to repair the disk I got this error:
After copying all of the important files to other drives, I attempted to reformat and got this error:
Then I tried the secure option and got this error:
I did notice that when I click on the Erase tab, the format shows as "Mac OS Extended" but when I click on the RAID tab the format shows "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". Shouldn't these match?
I have been using this external HDD for several years now and have never had a problem. This does coincide with the copying of some .mp3 files. Could this be the culprit? (I was unable to remove one zip folder of these mp3 files.)
The permissions for this external HDD seem out of whack as well:
It states "You can only read" but the admin account "MiniMel (Me)" sholws Read & Write.
I am completely stumped and irritated. Is there any help for this HDD or is it just failing? It was no where near capacity. Could the mp3 files have caused the problem? I think this is unlikely, the the timing is coincidental. Should I worry about this happening to the other external HDD and my HD where I copied the files so I could reformat?
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your reply.
I tried that last night. When I tried to verify the disk from startup, I received this message:
when I tried to repair the disk I received this message:
After the second message, I moved what I needed off the external HDD and tried to reformat. Which led to the errors in my OP. So frustrating.
Message was edited by: web-betty (replaced screenshots)

How to rename two external hdd's, that are exactly the same brand and model, in order to distinguish?

Hello again.
First of all excuse me if I mistype anything or fail to use some terms correctly. English is not my mother tongue and I am kind of new to MacBooks.
Here's my problem.
I've got a macbook pro (yosemite 10.10.1, retina, 15", late 2013, 8gb memory, 250gb ssd), and I am using an external hard drive which I found to be quite good for what I wanted (in case it matters it's the lacie porsche design 2TB USB3).
I wanted one more external hard drive, and since I was satisfied with the one I had bought before, I decided to go for that one again.
Now the thing is that, when I go to finder I see 2 disks with the same name (and their "share" partitions) and I don't know which is which.
I'll try to post a screenshot that might clear things out.
What I would like to do would be to somehow rename the second disk so it appears in the finder as (for example) Lacie1 and Lacie Share1.
Apparently, the system kinda thinks in a similar way as I do.
As you can see below, it has done exactly what I want to do in Lacie's manager (or however it's called), but that does not appear in finder.
(some words are in Greek, but you'll get the point)
So, is there any way I can do something that will make the disks appear like that in finder so I can differentiate among them?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Connect the external HDD to the MBP. Click in the title below the icon two times. It should then allow you to change the name.
See this example:
Ciao.

Lacie 1TB external HDD recently stopped doing Time Machine backups. Disk Utility recommends that the disk needs to be repaired.

I've been using my Lacie 1TB external HDD for my Time Machine backups for quite sometime. Its never given me any problems until now.
It recently stopped doing the backups, so I checked Disk Utility and it recommended that I repair the disk. How long does it take for Disk Utility to repair a 1TB external HDD?
Other things to consider:
- Cant find the disk in the Finder, I used to be able to do that before.
- When I tried to go a Time Machine backup, it said the disk was not available.
Upon using disk utiliy, I successfully verified the disk. Then I initiated the disk repair process.
The current status:
- checking file system
- Volume repair complete
- Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
The progress bar says "Verify and Repair volume "LaCie"" - the progress bar does not indicate how much has been done or how long it will take.
Capacity: 1 TB (1,000,204,476,416 Bytes)
Mount Point: Not Mounted
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
All other status fields blank.
Any one know how long it will take for Disk Utility to repair the external HDD? Any other ideas as to how I can get the Lacie HDD to reconnect with the Macbook and resume normal operations? i.e. Time Machine backups, accessing contents through the Finder.

purduegrad_macguy wrote:
I've been using my Lacie 1TB external HDD for my Time Machine backups for quite sometime. Its never given me any problems until now.
Mine Failed after 3 years and 4 months of using it as a Dedicated TM Backup drive...
When I used Disk Utility for repairs... it went from 7 minutes to 4 hours and after about 10 minutes it was saying 40 hours...
So I just replace it with a New EHD...

Can I store the apps in my iTunes library on an external hdd but keep my music on my mac

can I store the apps in my iTunes library on an external hdd but keep my music on my mac?
thanks

I don't know if this is me adding files to iTunes when the external wasn't connected
it is.
is it OK to just keep deleting that library on the Air?
i wouldn't - at least not until i
mount the external
point iTunes media folder location back to the external via preferences > advanced
consolidate my library via file > library > organize library
The ntfs hasn't seem to be causing any problems, but I've always wanted to know.
in order for your Mac to write to NTFS drives, it needs some help by installing e.g. the NTFS 3G driver. apparently that or something similar is installed on your Mac already. preferably, it would be formatted for Mac but then windows machines would need to have e.g. MacDrive installed to recognize the drive.

If I import my pictures to iPhoto from an external HDD, does it mean I have 2 sets of the pictures?

If I import a folder from my external hdd to iPhoto library, does it mean I can remove the HDD, and I have 2 copy of folder?
And if the folder is 10gb in my HDD, does it also took 10gb in the Mac HDD after import to iPhoto?

Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

Using iTunes, MacBook and the external HDD.

Hi there, however much I love iTunes, I absolutely despize the lack of function when it comes to splitting the music library between my MacBook and an external HDD.
I have a rather large Library and it is a real issue when using a HDD limited MacBook.
Why is there no simple function to allow a user to pass data back and forth between these?
iMovie has a very simple and wonderfully easy to use 'drag n drop' function which allows a user to move video between any or multiple external HDD and the HDD on the MacBook.
When connected, the media on the HDD is available to use in iMovie. When it is not connected, only the media on the MacBooks HDD is available.
Would it be conceivable to adopt a similar system whereby iTunes would 'show' an external HDD and allow a user to drag and drop media straight over?
Now THAT would be amazing! Please, it is terribly limiting and self-defeating to have a portable device without being able to EASILY move ones media from a 'home' based large external HDD and the more versatile, smaller portable MacBook HDD.
iMovie does it, can you adapt iTunes to do the same?
Yours,

click here and here for information.
also, peruse this user tip:
In iTunes 9.
iTunes prefs -> Advanced.
Set the iTunes media folder location to the external.
Then select the movie files (or any files in iTunes) and right click Consolidate.
This will copy only the movies to the external location.
After it finishes, iTunes prefs -> Advanced and set the iTunes media folder location back to the internal. This will tell iTunes to use the internal drive for new files.
You can then delete the movies from \Music\iTunes\ on the internal to free up space.
To copy a movie back to the internal, simply right click - Consolidate (since you pointed iTunes back to the internal).
just edit these instructions to meet your needs.
JGG

HT1229 Can i move the iPhoto folder onto an external HDD? Will it work the same way after moving onto an external HDD? do I then need to have the external connected at all times, even when I don't use iPhoto?

I have a macbook pro, but the amount of pictures I have now exceeds 500GB
I want to have all the pictures in iPhoto, so I could see them and edit them in iPhoto.
Which means... I need the iPhoto file folder in an external HDD to use iPhoto that way.
Can i move the iPhoto folder onto an external HDD?
Will it work the same way, as if the iPhoto folder is on the internal drive?

yes
yes
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

How do I use an iPhoto library stored on an external HDD (time capsule) on the new photos app?

I have recently upgraded to a MacBook Air with the latest 10.10.3 updates as such it has photos installed, not iPhoto. The MacBook I'm upgrading from still had 10.9 and as such had iPhoto app.
The MacBook air has a smaller SSD (128GB) than the HDD from my 2008 MacBook, and isn't big enough to store my iPhoto library (over 150GB). I want to just keep my library on the external HDD (which is an Apple Time Capsule).
When I follow the steps on Designate a System Photo Library in Photos - Apple Support it seems to want to import all the photos, it took hours to get to just 3% of importing so I left over night. In the morning it said my MacBooks storage isn't big enough, which of course it isn't - I didn't want to import the library on my new MacBook Air !
I just want to change the location that photos looks for the library every time it opens, I don't actually want it to import the whole library which it appears to have tried to do. thanks!

Thanks for getting back to me!
It is connected over wireless. I don't have an RJ45 connection on the MacBook Air (although will purchase an adapter if needed). Even if I do have an RJ45 connection does this mean I can only ever use wired to view my external photo library?
I suppose having the wired connection will give me the time to organise my photos and delete some of the rubbish (which I would have liked to do on my old MacBook first but it was running too slow, especially with such a big photo library - so I treated myself to a new MacBook Air so I did!).
And I guess I could then put my favourite photos on the MacBook Air and have a separate library of older/lesser used photos on the Time Capsule and just access those as and when over RJ45 network cable. I prefer to use wireless as much as possible as the Time Capsule is normally stored in a room I don't use the MacBook or other wireless devices !

I have a new MBAir 2013 13", and I had a MBPro 2010 13". I've installed iPhoto 9.4.3 but now iPhoto says my library (stored on an external HDD) cannot be read until I update the software because it's made with an updated iPhoto... but it IS updated!

As the tile says, I've recently bought a MBAir 2013 13". When I installed and updated iPhoto, I wanted to use my library, stored on an external hdd, which I used until the day before on my old MBPro 2010 13", without any problems. Now iPhoto says that this library cannot be opened by my iPhoto but it has to be opened with an updated iPhoto... but I had iPhoto 9.4.3 on my MBPro and I have iPhoto 9.4.3 on my MBAir! What can I do? Thanks a lot (sorry for my english, I'm Italian)

It's mac os format
BTW I solved my issue! I repaired my library with the last option... and I did not lost anything thanks anyway!

EXTERNAL HDD - the point of decision???

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