How to select external drive that is not showing in Time Machine

I have a WD My Cloud external drive. It shows in finder. However not in Tim Machine. How can I fix this so that it can be used for backups? Thanks.

A Networked drive will never show in Disk Utility. Only locally attached drives show in DU.
To my knowledge to use a Networked drive with Time Machine it has to be either a Apple Time Capsule or a external drive connected to an Apple Airport extreme router and formatted in the Mac OS X format or there are some other manufacturers that claim to have NAS boxes that are compatible with Time Machine.
Any other drive connected to some other router will never be available as a TM backup drive. First most routers can't format and or read and write to a drive formatted in the Mac OS X format (Some can but I don't know which router they are). Even if it the router can read and write to a drive formatted in the Mac format Time Machine more than likely won't see it as a valid backup drive.
You'll be better off conneting that drive directly to your Mac to use it as a TM backup drive.
It will be much faster connected directly to the computer then doing backups to it over your network.

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Usb hard drive on extreme not showing in time machine

Hi
I have connected a usb hard drive to my extreme but can not see it in time machine. I can see it with finder.
Help please

Did you download the latest firmware for your Airport Extreme? When I first bought mine, Time Machine was not supported. A few weeks later a firmware update was released that allowed Time Machine support, and Time Machine worked fine for me after that.

How do i repair or recover data from a corrupt USB external hard drive that does not show up on my Mac desktop or disk utility

How do i repair or recover data from a corrupt USB external hard drive that does not show up on my Mac desktop or disk utility?
Last night i was using my external hard drive, for some reason the folder just closed and i couldn't find it on my desktop.
After googling solutions, i found it in the disk utilities, i clicked on the 'repair' button many times, but it said the 'error...' message.
So i ejected it to try again, now when i connect the USB external hard drive it doesn't show up on my desktop or disk utilities.
I really just want to either repair or recover the data on it because it literally has everything (documents, work files, photos etc) on it,
I downloaded an application to recover my files but it needs the USB to at least show up.recognise it which mine doesn't.
I know i should've backed it up on another USB, this definitely teaches me for next time to back up all my files.
Are the files lost forever or can i recover them by going to a shop or using a software?

Thank you for responding.
This might sound stupid since i'm not really knowledgeable with Macs,
but since all my files were moved from my mac computer to the external hard drive,
is it possible to recover those files through my Mac - like recovering deleted files?

HT201737 how do you close a thumb drive that does not show in finder?

How do you close a thumb drive that does not show in finder?

What do you mean by "Close?"
Eject??
If so, you could use Go to Computer to find it if it is not in the Sidebar or on the Desktop. Ctrl-click or Right-click on the drive and choose Eject <diskname>
Or, you could set it to show in the SideBar in the Finder Preferences, SideBar tab. Then, it would have an eject icon next to it in the Sidebar.

HT201250 Can I include external drives to be backed up using Time Machine. Not only do I want to back up my IMac, but I have several extenal drives for one iPhoto, one iTunes and one for other files & documents.

Can I include external drives to be backed up using Time Machine? Not only do I want to back up my IMac, but I have several extenal drives for one iPhoto, one iTunes and one for other files & documents. How do I know if they are included in the backup process?

Yes, if they are not exclude then TM backs them up.
Allan

Is there a way to "force-mount" an external drive that doesn't show up on it's own when plugged in with firewire?

Hi, is there a way to "force-mount" an external drive that doesn't show up on the desktop? I have a new Hitachi SATA III 2 TB Ultrastar that won't show up like all the other drives when plugged in. So I can't partition, repair, format etc with Disk Utility, Disk Drill, Tech Tools etc. How do I make it visible?
I use the FW 400 to 800 adapter and a FW hub.
Thanks,
W.

ok, I did find the log in Diskutil of what happened, I just can't figure out why it happened and how to start over:
2014-04-20 13:42:08 -0400: Disk Utility started.
2014-04-20 13:44:30 -0400: Preparing to erase : “Terra 8”
2014-04-20 13:44:30 -0400:           Partition Scheme: GUID Partition Table
2014-04-20 13:44:30 -0400:           1 volume will be created
2014-04-20 13:44:30 -0400:                     Name                    : “Terra 8”
2014-04-20 13:44:30 -0400:                     Size                    : 2 TB
2014-04-20 13:44:30 -0400:                     File system          : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
2014-04-20 13:44:30 -0400: Unmounting disk
2014-04-20 13:45:00 -0400: Creating the partition map
2014-04-20 13:45:01 -0400: Waiting for the disks to reappear
2014-04-20 13:45:01 -0400: Formatting disk2s2 as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with name Terra 8
2014-04-20 13:45:26 -0400: Initialized /dev/rdisk2s2 as a 2 TB case-insensitive HFS Plus volume with a 155648k journal
2014-04-20 13:45:26 -0400: Mounting disk
2014-04-20 13:45:29 -0400: Erase complete.
2014-04-20 13:45:29 -0400:
- That was it, gone.....

HT201250 Is there a possibility to recover erased files from an external hard drive that was reformatted by the Time Machine?

Is there a possibility to recover erased files from an external hard drive that was reformatted by the Time Machine?

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 do I delete everything that's saved on my time machine so I can start afresh.

Can anyone help me. My time machine will no longer back up my computer - says its full - but I actually would like to start again and just have what I have at present on my computers instead of all the history. I cannot find any where that tells you how to do this.

Just use disk utility (it's in Applications > Utilities) to erase your external drive (whatever you use for time machine), format it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and then select the drive as the save location in time machine.

External drive not showing in Time Machine back ups

ok, I have several problems, the first one being the fact that my external drive, where I have all my data, is not mounting or sometimes it mounts but soon dissapears. I was not worried at the beginning since I thought, that is why I have time machine, I have all my files backed up. However, the external drive does not show in any of my back ups. It dissapears from Time Machine too so all my previous back ups from the external drive dissapeared too. I have all those backups before. Any ideas of what is wrong? I have 10.5.8

dakine2403 wrote:
Thanks a lot. I am sure I am doing somethign wrong but since the external hard drive can not be seen any more, I don't see it either in any one of my back ups. It does not show anywhere.
Also, my external drive gets detected sometimes, I run Repair Disk, it says it is fine, then it works for a while and then it stops working. I need to turn it off, then turn it back on and again it works for a while. I have run disk utility everyt time when the hard drive works and still says it is ok, then it stops working again after a while. Any ideas with either one of these problem ( or both)?
Try other ports and cables. If it has a separate power supply, try plugging-it in to a different outlet. Make sure all the connections are secure. Can you try it on another computer?
Your disk may be failing, or need a firmware update. Check with the maker's website, support and/or forums.

Can I backup the contents of an external drive to a network location using Time Machine?

I have just installed a Lacie Thunderbolt external drive as I want the speed to access large volumes of photographs. If I configure it as RAID 0 I will need to back up the data on that drive. I have a NAS drive which I already use for Time Machine and which works well. Can Time Machine be configured to include the external drive in the backups to the NAS?

You may find these useful:
Mac Basics
Mac OS X: PC to Mac
PC to Mac Guide - OS X Tips, Tricks & Tutorials

External Drive connected to Airport Extreme, need Time Machine 3 Mac's Help

I own an Airport Extreme and just recently added two new Macs with the Time Machine feature to our household. I would like to use Time Machine to backup to my Airport Extreme that has a 500 GB hard drive connected. It seems Apple has this blocked since they have released the Time Capsule version of the router. Is there a work around this feature so I don't have to go out an purchase what I basically have already got? Please help. We would like to upgrade our older macs to Leopard and us the same system to back them up as well. Please advise. Thank you.

I had my USB drive on my APE working with Time Machine under 10.5.1 very reliably. A few days ago however, I needed to suspend a backup operation, and when I came back to restart it, time machine refused to mount the disk image on the drive. After several attempts to get it to connect with no luck I decided to delete the image (the sparce image file) and start over. Now TM refuses to create a new image.
BTW, on the Mac OSX hints site there have been suggestions to start a backup with the drive directly connected, then stop the backup, move the sparce image file to the root of the drive, reconnect the drive to the APE base station to get it working. I tried this again, but I think Apple has changed something in 10.5.2, because when directly connected TM no longer creates a sparce image file.
Anybody else seen this behavior after upgrading to 10.5.2?

How can you back up your ipod onto your external hard drive that you're using in time machine?

I just bought an external hard drive and want to put my ipod music on it but can't figure out how. My ipod has music that my itunes library on my computer doesn't have. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would also suggest you get a 2nd, much larger hard drive, partition it if desired, move your data to it, and start a 2nd Time Machine backup on it. You can set Time Machine to alternate between the 2 drives by adding the new drive to System Preferences/Time Machine. If you want to make a copy of your current backup on the new drive, you can do that using the Disk Utility Restore tab. If you chose to do that, make the copy first since using the Restore tab erases all data on the drive or the partition.

HT4527 After copying my iTunes library across from an external drive it does not show in iTunes. Why?

My old computer died. I had my iTunes library backed up to an external drive. I have followed the steps outlined and moved the itunes folder from the external to the music folder on my new imac. I have checked that the addres is correct but when I opened itunes non of my music shows up. I can find a track file click on it and then it will open up, play and stay in itunes. But I would spend the rest of my life importing the songs one by one. Help ?

Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow? In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Imac has crashed..need new hard drive....had external drive connected...was using time machine.....so...itunes file should be on external drive....how do i import them to my new mac mini?

my iMac has crashed...was told I need a new hard drive.....meantime I bought a mac mini.....I had an external drive connected to the mac....and was using time machine for backups....so....how do i move itunes music files to my new mac mini from the external drive?

Turn Time Machine OFF temporarily in its preference pane. Leave the window open.
Navigate in the Finder to your backup disk, and then to the folder named "Backups.backupdb" at the top level of the volume. If you back up over a network, you'll first have to mount the disk image file containing your backups by double-clicking it. Descend into the folder until you see the snapshots, which are represented by folders with a name that begins with the date of the snapshot. Find the one you want to restore from. There's a link named "Latest" representing the most recent snapshot. Use that one, if possible. Otherwise, you'll have to remember the date of the snapshot you choose.
Inside the snapshot folder is a folder hierarchy like the one on the source volume. Find one of the items you can't restore and select it. Open the Info dialog for the selected item. In the Sharing & Permissions section, you may see an entry in the access list that shows "Fetching…" in the Name column. If so, click the lock icon in the lower right corner of the dialog and authenticate. Then delete the "Fetching…" item from the access list. Give yourself read access if you don't already have it. Click the gear icon below the list and select Apply to enclosed items from the popup menu.
Now you should be able either to copy the item in the Finder or to restore it in the time-travel view. If you use the time-travel view, be sure to select the snapshot you just modified. If successful, repeat the operation with the other items you were unable to restore. You can select multiple items in the Finder and open a single Info dialog for all of them by pressing the key combination option-command-I.
When you're done, turn TM back ON and close its preference pane.

I have an issue with time machine, it doesn't find the Lacie external driver it use to use. it is the same drive that I usaly use for time machine back ups. It is corectly plugged. What can I do ?

Hi,
I'm trying to back up my macbook with time machine on the Lacie external driver I usualy use for this, but today my computer doesn't find the driver. I haven't done back up in 6 month.
Today, the Lacie driver is pluged and running, but the computer just does'nt find it.
what shall I do ?

Some things to consider:
Is the drive mounted, i.e., visible via Finder and/or on the Desktop?
Is the drive still selected in System Preferences, Time Machine? If not, use the "Select Disk" button.
Is Time Machine still turned on (System Preferences, Time Machine)?
Can you see the drive (and mount it) using Disk Utility (in your Utilities folder)?
charlie

How to select external drive that is not showing in Time Machine

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