How do I format a stand alone hard drive for my imac

I have a Toshiba 2 gb hard drive that needs formating to the iMac, how do I do this.

Run Disk Utility, select the drive in the sidebar, and go to the Erase tab. Set the format to Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) if it doesn't default to that selection and click the Erase button.
Regards.

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How do I format a new external Hard drive for Mac?

Simple question I know for many of you out there but I could do with some advice as I have never done this before. I would like to buy a new external hard drive to store my music and photos on. I will get one with firewire and usb2 connectivity.Could someone walk me through the steps needed to format and prepare a hard drive for use with my Macbook (if it is not already Mac formatted). Will any brand of hard drive work with Mac or are some better than others?

In addition to what Templeto Peck said, make sure that you select the formating to be OSX Extended.
As far as the best esternal drive, type into the "Search Discussion" box: Best external hard drive. This will bring you to several previouslly posted threads that discuss quite thoroughly your question. The following is extracted from one thread:
The best drives are those that use the Oxford 911 chipset. I like the Mercury Elite Pro drives from OWC, but there are plenty of others that use the same chipset.

How do you format an NTSF external hard drive for use with Mountain Lion

I'm switching over to Mac from PC, and have an external NTSF formated hard drive I regularly use. I understand from the forum the initial file transfer should be no issue, but for ongoing use of the HD, does it need to be formated to something other than NTSF... and if so, to what and how.

Do this when you're ready:
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.

How do I format an old Windows hard drive for my 13in MacBook Pro?

My hard drive died and I am trying to replace it with my friend's old Windows hard drive. For some reason, the drive is not being recognized by my Mac, even though it is operational on his computer. Do I need to reformat it? If so, how?
Thanks!

launch Disk Utility.
erase with Option GUID partition Map.
[If re-purposing a drive, I always prefer to Security Erase, Write Zeroes, one pass. This takes several hours to complete, but if it completes without error, assures that the drive has 100 percent good blocks.]
create a Mac OS X Extended (jounaled) partition with a snappy name or the typical "Macintosh HD".
You need about 30GB to install and run Mac OS X 10.6.8, possibly a little more for later versions.

Is it possible to use aMacBoock Pro as a hard drive for my iMac?

Is it possible to use aMacBoock Pro as a hard drive for my iMac?

Yes, if both machines have FireWire ports (400 or 800, they're both OK):
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
Probably (maybe?), if both machines have Thunderbolt ports and you have a Thunderbolt cable:
http://www.cultofmac.com/thunderbolt-target-disk-mode-requires-apples-special-ca ble-tip/103270
If the same port isn't available on both machines, I don't think so.

Do i need to buy the same hard driver for my iMac or i can buy any hard driver 3.5?

Do i need to buy the same hard driver for my iMac or i can buy any hard driver 3.5?

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Note that Late 2009 and newer iMacs have the temperature sensor inside the hard drive, so it's important to get one with that sensor. In this case, I recommend you to take your computer to an Apple Store or reseller and get your hard disk replaced

Can I format and use a Hard Drive for my mac if removed from a Desk Top PC

Hi All,
I wondered if you can help with some advise. I have a mackbook and love it, will never go back to pc. But, I have a desk top pc with a fairly sizable Hard Drive in it. Even though I also have a WD external Hard Drive for my macbook back up, would I be able to use my old desk top hard drive if I found a case for it to make it an 2nd external hard drive?
Would I be able to format it for use with my mac? Or is it the bin for all the hardware?
Thanking you in advance.
Matt

It'd work just fine. Apple uses pretty much the exact same parts every other computer maker does. The one exception is now they have a temp sensor cable connection built onto drives. Before they just stuck a little plastic clip on them at a specific spot. Other than that, it's no different from any other SATA drive you might buy at the likes of Best Buy or NewEgg. So as long as you partition the drive into a format readable by Mac OS X, there shouldn't be any problems.

I receive songs or photos from friends on email, and when I download them, they stay in my Downloads file. How can I move these to my hard drive for long-term storages and organization?

How can I transfer song or photo files from Downloads on Firefox to my own hard drive for permanent storage?

If the hard drive that crashed is the one that stored the itunes library, be sure to restore the library from Time Machine (mac) or whatever backup you use on windows. That will get back your music. I suspect that the replacement drive has an empty itunes library and thus, perhaps, the itunes match used that to sync to its servers.
Try posting in the iTunes Match forum, you'll probably find more knowledgeable folks there.
https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_match

How to scan my computer and external hard drives for pictures with out importing duplicates.

how do i scan my computer and external hard drives for pictures with out importing duplicates.

iPhoto doesn't scan anywhere. It imports files offered to it. If it spots a duplicate it will warn you.

Time Capsule as Hard Drive for older iMac

After upgrading to Snow Leopard on my MacBook, my family now has four laptops that can take advantage of time machine for wireless backups, so I want to buy time capsule to do that easily. Will I also be able to use it as a hard drive for an older non-intel iMac that can't be upgraded from Tiger to Leopard? In other words, will I be able to simply drag files to time capsule via ethernet or USB (no airport card on the iMac either!)

Will I also be able to use it as a hard drive for an older non-intel iMac that can't be upgraded from Tiger to Leopard?
Yes.
In other words, will I be able to simply drag files to time capsule via ethernet or USB (no airport card on the iMac either!)
Through Ethernet. USB won't work.
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How do I format and mount a hard drive?

I was successfully using Time Machine to back up my MacBook Pro to an iomega USB portable hard drive. I was doing it the low-tech way by simply plugging the HD into the USB port of my laptop and letting Time Machine run to its heart content. Then I decided to get smart, or dumb. I plugged the HD into a Netgear Router thinking I could use the wireless network to access the iomega for Time Machine backups. That didn't work as well as I expected so I tried to revert back to the old low tech system of plugging the HD into the USB port. Unfortunately, now the disk won't mount and all efforts using disk utility to verify and repair the disk have failed. How do I get back to where I was? Or, have I messed this up to the point where I shoud just buy a new HD at the Apple Store and start from scratch?

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.
The drive should now be properly partitioned and formatted for the Mac. You can now use it as you wish.
Note that you cannot us Time Machine to backup to an external drive connected to a router unless it's an 802.11ac AEBS model. Prior to that model Time Machine was not reliable when used to backup to a drive connected to the AEBS even though it seems to work. You could consider replacing the Netgear Router with a Time Capsule.

How do i format a USB attached Hard drive?

Hi
I want to use a Lacie USB hard drive I have for Time Machine backup. This HD has been used on Windows XP and has some data on it which I do not need to keep. How do I reformat the disk so it can be used as a clean empty disk for MAC Time Machine?
Thanks

Can't speak from experience as I don't use TM but I'd open Utilities and run Disk Utility. Open the Erase tab. That will give allow you to erase any attached drive. Make sure you choose the Mac Extended (Journaled) format. Finally, start TM and use the Set Up button to point to the drive you wish to use.

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My hard drive is full. I have a Lacie 3 TB external formatted for Mac Journaled. I want to keep my photos and other iPhoto 11 media on the external. Should I just move the iPhoto library to the external or some other way? For iTunes, I moved the iTune media folder location and copied my existing iTunes media folder over and deleted the old after telling iTune to go to the external drive folder.
I don't want to point iPhoto to the new location every time I open it. Any better way or just move the iPhoto library?

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 import data from external hard drive onto new iMac?

How do I import data from an external hard drive onto my new iMac?

If you think about it logically if you want to move something from one place to another well do just exactly that
Drag & Drop its as simple as that click on the file/folder keep it pressed down & move the file/folder to where you want it on your Mac
If its photo's drag them onto the iPhoto icon on the dock if its music drag it onto the iTunes icon documents into guess what documents
Hope this helps

How to clean the connectors on internal hard drive for oil?

Hi
I've a 2008 Mac Pro 3.0GHz with 4 internal hard drives...while putting in the newest internal 1 TB hard drive, the guy who did this pointed to the brass/copper connector bit on the hard drive, the part that slots into the motherboard connector in a Mac Pro, and he was touching, briefly, the connector with his finger...should I pull that hard drive back out and try to clean off the connector because of oil? Also the connector part (seat) inside the Mac where the HD slots into? How and with what?
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K

Cleaning those things would require tools so delicate probably only a computer could manage it right. Don't worry about it, or take care of it right away by getting a new drive. I've pulled hard drives out of their socket only to have one of the pins permanently bend out of shape, and become unreadable. I've also had one that was repaired by a person with a soldering iron. I dare not remove it from its case after that event!

How do I format a stand alone hard drive for my imac

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