How do i transfer external hard drive content to macbook pro?

How do i transfer external hard drive content back to my macbook pro?
I do not see the hard drive icon or a back up icon, where should it be?

What kind of drive is it - a large drive with a power cord, or a portable drive? Can you tell if the drive itself is actually on? (Is there a light, or a power switch, etc, can you hear it?)
How is it attached to the Mac?
On your Mac, click on the desktop, then go to the Finder menu (top left), click Preferences, then under the General tab, make sure that everything is ticked.
If that works, you should then get the external HD icon appearing on your desktop.
Hope that helps.
Matt

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The easiest way would be to just attach the external drive to the MacBook Pro. iMovie should see it next time you open iMovie.
If you are going for portability, you can attach the external drive to the MacBook Pro. Then open iMovie.
Then click VIEW/EVENTS BY DISK. You should see your external drive listed in the Project Library and the Event Library.
To make a COPY just drag the icon for your project to the icon for the external drive in the Project Library List.
To MOVE it, hold down the command key while you drag.
If you want to edit the project, you will also want any Events, Photos, or Music referenced in the Project. To get those, click on the Project to select it (it is now on the MacBook Pro) and click FILE/CONSOLIDATE MEDIA.

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How can I move my project from external hard drive to my macbook pro? every time I try to do some editing, the sequence is very slow, thanks in advance

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Can anyone make a recommendation on the purchase of an external hard drive for my Macbook Pro? I am currently using OS 10.6.8 because I can't upgrade until I clean out my start up disc space. I have a ton of pictures to transfer. Thanks!

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best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim perfect for use with a notebook
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
2.5" USB portable High quality BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 2TB drive (have several of them, LOT of storage in a SMALL package) $117
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST portable external HD available that money can buy:
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive $88
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+7 2 00+RPM
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
Hitachi is the winner in hard drive reliability survey:
Hitachi manufacturers the safest and most reliable hard drives, according to the Storelab study. Of the hundreds of Hitachi hard drives received, not a single one had failed due to manufacturing or design errors. Adding the highest average lifespans and the best relationship between failures and market share, Hitachi can be regarded as the winner.

How do I a setup an external hard drive on my Macbook Pro?

How do I a setup an external hard drive on my Macbook Pro to my primary hard drive for my iTunes library?
I ask this because every time I try to do this it my Mac book pro always wants to use the external hard drive I plug in as a time machine back up rather than my primary hard drive. I figured it would be cheaper and more efficient to use an external hard drive rather than have apple charge me an arm and a leg to replace and upgrade my current hard drive in my Mac book pro.

I responded to this in your duplicate posting at: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2690347
I recommend giving a first post a chance before posting a second time, especially since it may result in a lot of duplication in effort from the people volunteering their time here.

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Welcome to Apple Support Communities
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How to use an external hard drive on a MacBook Air?

Hi there.
Recently I bought a portable USB external hard drive for my MacBook Air due to my full startup disk. I also bought multiple disks for the hard drive. I inserted the disk, hooked up the USB, and did everything properly. When I first hooked it up, I lost all internet files that I had saved. All images, videos and downloads (such as Minecraft and other gaming downloads) from the internet were gone and unable to find.
Now, I don't want to make the wrong move and lose all of my internet files again, so I am asking how to transfer files SAFELY to the USB without any files being deleted. I tranfered files before, but they were just short cuts to the original file, so I am also asking how to fix that as well. My Dad was a computer technician, although he didn't work for Apple, so he doesn't know how to use the USB.
I've tried everything to find my internet files, but nothing. If there is a way to get them back, I'd be glad if you shared that with me. My dock files aren't working due to this insanely full startup disk, so I'd appreciate it if you could tell me ASAP how to use the USB, how to SAFELY transfer files without them turning into shortcuts, and how to get my internet files back.
Thank you very much.
P.s My OS X version is 10.8.3 (Not with Mountain Lion)

You cannot format a drive so that files will be automatically put on that drive when you run out of room on another drive. Transferring the files must be done specifically by you. You will need to learn how to manage free space on the SSD because 64 GBs is a bit small for much more than OS X.
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 Partition 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.

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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 Partition 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.

HT201250 How do I get my information from my external hard drive to my MacBook Pro?

I have the WD My Passport for Mac external hard drive and backed up my computer last night. Had my hard drive replaced today and now trying to get all my info back on my computer. Tried using Time Machine, but I cant figure out how to get Time Machine to automatically put my info from the external drive onto my computer. Help please!

What follows assumes that you have been using Time Machine, backing up to that external drive.
The easiest way would be to connect the external drive, then reboot into Recovery HD. When you restart and you hear the chime, hold down the option key until the screen appears with the different drives displayed. Click Recovery HD.
In the screen that comes up, choose Restore from Time Machine Backup. You will then be given a choice of full backups to restore from; you would try the most recent one first.
Reply with problems or results please

How to send doc's pic's vids etc to an external hard drive from a macbook pro?

Hi,
I am new to apple technology and have just transferred from a PC. I am trying to back up the mac to my external hard drive, can you tell me how I do this as I can't seem to find an easy way to do it like on a pc the option is "send to drop box or external hard drive"
Thanks in advance
Jo

Are there files on the drive right now or is it empty?
If there are files on there DO NOT PROCEED YET
Time Machine will erase and reformat the drive
Time Machine will make
-Hourly backups for the past 24hrs
-Daily backups for the past month
-weekly backups for all previous months
The oldest backups are deleted when the disk becomes full
You can access these backups at any time to restore individual files (and versions of files since it backs up hourly) or to restore your whole computer. This all happens automatically as long as the external drive for Time Machine is plugged in.
Since you have a MacBook you can plug the drive in and run Time Machine manually whenever you want so that you don't need to leave it there.

How do i transfer external hard drive content to macbook pro?

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