How do I transfer the information on my Mac to an external hard drive?

I bought a Segate 500 GB external hard drive because my computer keeps telling me my start up disk is almost full but I don't know how to transfer everything onto it and still be able to access it. I can't add photos, songs, update my software, or anything. I tried using Time Capsule but from what I can tell, all I can do is put the info back onto the computer and I can't use it in any other way. Maybe I'm misunderstanding it but I'm not sure what to do help?

Time Capsule is for backing up your data. It's not really a solution for live file storage; using it will not reduce the bloat of your boot volume.
If you have a lot of movies, music, etc. in your iTunes Library, that can be a good thing to move to an external drive. Here's how:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
After you follow those instructions to copy your media over to the external drive and point iTunes to it, you can delete it from your internal drive.

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I have a video that I created for my daughter's first birthday. The hard drive on my computer crashed and I lost the video file. The only place I have it is on my iPod Classic. How can I transfer the video from my iPod to my new hard drive?

I have a video that I created for my daughter's first birthday. The hard drive on my computer crashed and I lost the video file. The only place I have it is on my iPod Classic. How can I transfer the video from my iPod to my new hard drive?

You are in luck, Refer to this recent post by tt2, on recovering media using 3rd Party Software.
He has made a comprehensive list, browse through them and decide which suits your requirements.
Have a nice day!

How do I transfer downloaded movies from my iMac to my external hard drive?

Hi folks
I am trying to transfer movies downloaded to my iMac 7 on to my external hard drive. How do I go about this. Many thanks in advance

No not an error message. Whilst I am transferring the document there is "o" with a strike through it and this symbol is carried along with the file that I am transferring (if ya know what I mean). It may actually be my actual hard drive. For example, I tried to rename the hard drive and right clicked on it and went to the "get info" tab and, where I should be able to change the title of the hard drive, it is greyed out and cannot change the name.
But I am more concerned with transferring files to my hard drive to be honest.
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How do I get the pictures from my iPhoto on my external Hard Drive to show up in the already existing iPhoto on my MacBook?

I have an early 2008 MacBook. I had been using iPhoto on this MacBook until I purchased an iMac in 2011, at which time I copied my iPhoto Library from my MacBook to my iMac. Then I realized that my pictures and music were consuming the memory on my iMac, so I moved iPhoto and my iTunes LIbrary to an external Hard Drive. Now I am in a situation where I do not have access to my iMac, but will need to use my MacBook as my main computer for the next year. So, I have my iPhoto on an external hard drive and I plug it into my MacBook and see the iPhoto Library folder, but when I click on it, it opens up the old iPhoto that is still existing on my MacBook and will not show any of the new pictures?! At first I thought it wasn't able to show up anything because my MacBook was running two operating systems behind what my iMac was when I was running my iPhoto Library from that computer. So, I upgraded to OS X 10.7.5 and upgraded the existing iPhoto on my MacBook to iPhoto '11 version 9.4.3. However whenever I plug in the external hard drive and click on the iPhoto Library folder to open it up, it is still just opening up the already existing iPhoto on the MacBook (with my older pictures) rather than the iPhoto on the hard drive (with my newer pictures). How can I access my pictures that are on my external hard drive?

Thank you for your advice. I followed your directions, but came up with the same results. However, I did discover that whenever I open up the iPhoto Library that is already existing on my MacBook a certain set of pictures shows up. But then when I open up the iPhoto Library from the Hard drive another set of pictures shows up. BUT not ALL of my pictures are showing up on the iPhoto Library from the hard drive. At least the last two years of pictures are not showing up?! Actually, it appears that all the pictures are there from when I started using iPhoto about 5 years ago up until around the time that I got my iMac desktop computer and started using that (2 years ago). I have noticed that more recent videos I have made are showing up in a folder on the hard drive, but will not appear when I open up iMovie?! Any ideas on how to access my pictures from the last 2 years off of the hard drive???

How do I transfer an existing Aperture library to a new external hard drive

I have a new external hard drive where I want to store my pictures to free up room on my iMac
How do I take an existing Aperture library and move it to the external hard drive so that Aperature can find and use it? Once it is moved can I delete the library from my iMac without causing problems with my new hard drive library?
thanks

Hello Barty,
is your library referenced or managed?
If your Aperture Library is managed, then you can simply copy it to your new external drive using the Finder. Make a backup of your old library and convince yourself that the backup is working.
If your library is referenced, then use Aperture to relocate your master image files to the external drive (select all images, then File -> Relocate Master), then copy your Library to the external drive using the Finder.
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You might consider only to relocate the master images to your external drive and to leave the then much smaller Aperure Library on your system drive. That way Aperture will work faster, and you will be able to browse and share your images, even when our external drive is not connected.
Regards
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How can i transfer an itunes downloaded movie on to an external hard drive

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Movies purchases via iTunes will only play in iTunes or on an iOS device.

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I was trying to drag-and-drop the contents (most of them are downloaded torrent movies) of my Mac-OS formatted portable hard drive to my Windows-formatted portable hard drive. It didn't work. How do I go about this?

Hi FornPLAY,
Your Mac will not be able to write to an NTSF formatted drive, as Mac OS X only supports reading from NTSF natively. You have a few options to be able to use that Windows formatted drive. You could try reformatting the drive using Disk Utilty to a format like MS-DOS (FAT). That would allow for both Mac and Windows cross-compatibility.
~~
Austin

How do i move a file from my mac to an external hard drive?, how do i move a file from my mac to an external hard drive?

how do i move a file or folder from my mac book pro to an external hard drive? the hard drive is formatted just for the mac.
i backpacking and taking loads of RAW pics so i need to get them off my mac onto the hard drive. it seems i have to copy them, only some times then some pics dont work!!!!!!!! pain in the arse!!! im quite new to the mac and loving it, but on the old p.c it was easy as!!!!!!!!!!!! help please

You just drag them and drop them where you want them to go. If you don't want to keep the original on the source drive, you'll want to delete it afterwards.
What do you mean "some pics don't work?" Don't work how?

I cannot pass information from my Mac to my external hard drive, what can I do?

Hello,
This is my first Mac and I am new to all of it. I have an external hard drive that I use to use with my old PC . On the external hard drive box it says its compatible with both windows and Max os x. I can pass files from my external hard drive to Mac but I cannot pass files from my MacBook Air to my external hard drive. No messages comes up or anything explain why it simply doesnt allow me to do so. What can I do?

Your hard drive is formatted NTFS for windows. That format is read-only from OSx. If it's not needed on Windows anymore, you can use Disk Utility and format it for the Mac. Mac OS extended (Journaled) - Partition Map scheme of GUID Partition table.
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I have 2 imac computers and here are my questions: first, how to I transfer the information from my contact directory from my old imac into my new imac and once the information is transfered how can I print it? Second: I have a large music collection in m

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I think you may find helpful information here:
A Basic Guide for Migrating to Intel-Macs
The Knowledgebase article Intel-based Mac: Some migrated applications may need to be updated refers to methods of dealing with migrating from PowerPC chips to Intel with the Migration Assistant safely. The authors of this tip have not had a chance to verify this works in all instances, or that it avoids the 10.6.1 and earlier Guest Account bug that caused account information to get deleted upon use of the Migration/Setup Assistant. However, a well backed up source that includes at least two backups of all the data that are not connected to your machine will help you avoid potential issues, should they arise. In event it does not work, follow the steps below.
If you are migrating a PowerPC system (G3, G4, or G5) to an Intel-Mac be careful what you migrate. Keep in mind that some items that may get transferred will not work on Intel machines and may end up causing your computer's operating system to malfunction.
Rosetta supports "software that runs on the PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor that are built for Mac OS X". This excludes the items that are not universal binaries or simply will not work in Rosetta:
Classic Environment, and subsequently any Mac OS 9 or earlier applications
Screensavers written for the PowerPC System Preference add-ons
All Unsanity Haxies Browser and other plug-ins
Contextual Menu Items
Applications which specifically require the PowerPC G5 Kernel extensions
Java applications with JNI (PowerPC) libraries
See also What Can Be Translated by Rosetta.
In addition to the above you could also have problems with migrated cache files and/or cache files containing code that is incompatible.
If you migrate a user folder that contains any of these items, you may find that your Intel-Mac is malfunctioning. It would be wise to take care when migrating your systems from a PowerPC platform to an Intel-Mac platform to assure that you do not migrate these incompatible items.
If you have problems with applications not working, then completely uninstall said application and reinstall it from scratch. Take great care with Java applications and Java-based Peer-to-Peer applications. Many Java apps will not work on Intel-Macs as they are currently compiled. As of this time Limewire, Cabos, and Acquisition are available as universal binaries. Do not install browser plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave from downloaded installers unless they are universal binaries. The version of OS X installed on your Intel-Mac comes with special compatible versions of Flash and Shockwave plug-ins for use with your browser.
The same problem will exist for any hardware drivers such as mouse software unless the drivers have been compiled as universal binaries. For third-party mice the current choices are USB Overdrive or SteerMouse. Contact the developer or manufacturer of your third-party mouse software to find out when a universal binary version will be available.
Also be careful with some backup utilities and third-party disk repair utilities. Disk Warrior, TechTool Pro , SuperDuper , and Drive Genius work properly on Intel-Macs with Leopard. The same caution may apply to the many "maintenance" utilities that have not yet been converted to universal binaries. Leopard Cache Cleaner, Onyx, TinkerTool System, and Cocktail are now compatible with Leopard.
Before migrating or installing software on your Intel-Mac check MacFixit's Rosetta Compatibility Index.
Additional links that will be helpful to new Intel-Mac users:
Intel In Macs
Apple Guide to Universal Applications
MacInTouch List of Compatible Universal Binaries
MacInTouch List of Rosetta Compatible Applications
MacUpdate List of Intel-Compatible Software
Transferring data with Setup Assistant - Migration Assistant FAQ
Because Migration Assistant isn't the ideal way to migrate from PowerPC to Intel Macs, using Target Disk Mode, copying the critical contents to CD and DVD, an external hard drive, or networking will work better when moving from PowerPC to Intel Macs. The initial section below discusses Target Disk Mode. It is then followed by a section which discusses networking with Macs that lack Firewire.
If both computers support the use of Firewire then you can use the following instructions:
1. Repair the hard drive and permissions using Disk Utility.
2. Backup your data. This is vitally important in case you make a mistake or there's some other problem.
3. Connect a Firewire cable between your old Mac and your new Intel Mac.
4. Startup your old Mac in Transferring files between two computers using FireWire.
5. Startup your new Mac for the first time, go through the setup and registration screens, but do NOT migrate data over. Get to your desktop on the new Mac without migrating any new data over.
If you are not able to use a Firewire connection (for example you have a Late 2008 MacBook that only supports USB:)
1. Set up a local home network: Creating a small Ethernet Network.
2. If you have a MacBook Air or Late 2008 MacBook see the following:
MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)- What to do if migration is unsuccessful;
MacBook Air- Migration Tips and Tricks;
MacBook Air- Remote Disc, Migration, or Remote Install Mac OS X and wireless 802.11n networks.
Copy the following items from your old Mac to the new Mac:
In your /Home/ folder: Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites folders.
In your /Home/Library/ folder:
/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder) /Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder) /Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder) /Home/Library/Preferences/ (copy the whole folder) /Home /Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder) /Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder) /Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
If you want cookies:
/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist /Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft.
Credit goes to Macjack for this information.
If you need to transfer data for other applications please ask the vendor or ask in the Discussions where specific applications store their data.
5. Once you have transferred what you need restart the new Mac and test to make sure the contents are there for each of the applications.
Written by Kappy with additional contributions from a brody.Revised 5/21/2011

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How do I transfer the information on my Mac to an external hard drive?

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