HT201250 Can I make my iMac think it has more (HDD) memory (not RAM) by using disk utility and an external 500GB drive?

I have a Macbook Pro and iMac which are both great. But my 500gb hard drive isn't big enough to backup my 320GB MB PRO
I thought maybe I can attach my HDD to my iMac to give it more memory. Then backup to the iMac
If this isn't possible, could I login as an iMac user on my macbook pro and just have a mini server using my iMac and MB PRO? (My sister and parents use the iMac as their primary computer, i use my MB Pro as mine, so they would have to be able to use the computer at the same time as me using my macbook)
In otherwords, I just want to be able to back up wireleslly but still acces all my files on both computers offline.

If you're talking about TIme Machine backup, it should be dleting as it goes but I agree you need more to run that effectively.
One solution, instead of TM would be to make a bootable clone with either SuperDuper or CarbonCopy Cloner
and use that as your backup solution until you get a disk large enough for TM.

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Can I Use Disk Utility from an External Hard Drive?

I would like to use Disk Utility to verify and/or repair my hard drive. I am too lazy to run this from my install disk. Can I merely copy the application to my external hard drive and launch it from there? Would this work successfully? Could it damage anything? Thanks!

Hi! You can't repair a disk that you are booted from so you could run the repair disk function IF you are booted from another volume such as a bootable internal or external drive or the install disc. You'll have to clone your boot drive and repair from the clone after booting to it. Tom

Can the MacBook Air be backed up using Clone softward and an external hard drive?

I want to find the best way for a new college student to back up her MacBook Air files. Can she use cloning software and an external hard drive? I'm unclear if the Air supports attaching an external hard drive.

The computer should be cloned using Disk Utility, so no additional software is required. However, it's preferable to incrementally update the clone using backup software. I would recommend using one of the following. They each have different capabilities and features. Each can be used for a free trial period. My personal preference is Carbon Copy Cloner. All of them can make and maintain bootable clones.
Suggested Backup Software
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
An excellent source of external drives is OWC.

I tried partitioning my HD to install linux, the installion was not successful and now I can't boot my mac, I tried internet recovery, it was not helpfull as the disk utility cannot delete the partition I created.

I tried partitioning my HD to install linux, the installion was not successful and now I can't boot my mac, I tried internet recovery, it was not helpfull as the disk utility cannot delete the partition I created. It was only showing me an error message "EFI files are missing", I realized that it is trying to boot from the new partition I created for the installation of the linux I intended to do.

It sounds like you may have multiple problems, but none of them are likely to be caused by malware.
First, the internet-related issues may be related to adware or a network compromise. I tend to lean more towards the latter, based on your description of the problem. See:
http://www.adwaremedic.com/kb/baddns.php
http://www.adwaremedic.com/kb/hackedrouter.php
If investigation shows that this is not a network-specific issue, then it's probably adware. See my Adware Removal Guide for help finding and removing it. Note that you mention AdBlock as if it should have prevented this, but it's important to understand that ad blockers do not protect you against adware in any way. Neither would any kind of anti-virus software, which often doesn't detect adware.
As for the other issues, it sounds like you've got some serious corruption. I would be inclined to say it sounds like a failing drive, except it sounds like you just got it replaced. How did you get all your files back after the new drive was installed?
(Fair disclosure: I may receive compensation from links to my sites, TheSafeMac.com and AdwareMedic.com, in the form of buttons allowing for donations. Donations are not required to use my site or software.)

How can I burn a disk image using disk utility with an external device?

I am trying to burn a disk image on DVD using disk utility in OS 10.3.9.
When I click the 'burn' button only the internal CD-writer appears allthough an external DVD-burner is connected via USB 2.0.
Does anybody have an idea how to make disk utility recognize the external device?

Try installing PatchBurn.
(26583)

If i back up my mac using Time Machine and an external hard-drive, can that same hard-drive be used on another computer and on a PC?

Hi!
I hav just got a macbook pro and am used to using a HP pc and am a newbie! I have backed up my macbook with my elements external hardrive and was wondering if i can transfer the music i have purchased and is now on my external hard-drive back onto my other laptop purely because i use both laptops for different things and want to use my music on both. how do i do this? and do i need a particular software to do so?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated
thanks
alex xxx

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can do it, but it's not recommended to use a Time Machine volume to store other files. In this case, you can create a second volume on the external drive, so you will be able to use it to store data and transfer it to other PCs.
As you are going to use the external drive with other PCs, you can make the volume and format it in "MS-DOS (FAT)" with Disk Utility > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html Finally, you will be able to copy files to the external drive.
If you copy files to a Time Machine disk, you may damage the Time Machine file structure, so you shouldn't do it. It may not happen, but it's better not to try that. Also, you won't be able to read the Time Machine drive in a PC

Can I move old video footage from Disk Utility to an external hard drive, to free up space?

I have a lot of old videos of my students located on Disk Utility.
I need to free up memory, so am wondering if I can move these videos to an external hard drive.
From time to time, I need to access these old videos, either to show to a new choreographer or to pull out a clip for a grant proposal, so I don't want to totally lose access to them.
Thanks so very much!!!

What's the file extension of the DVD in question located in Disk Utility? That's why I was asking for a screenshot. Is that .cdr? Can you do a File>Save As? If it's .cdr can you try dragging it to the external. Doesn't have to go to Disk Utility. Can just be to a folder there. As you drag it does it show with a + inside a green circle? That will mean it's copying it, but leaving the original in place. If it can be moved successfully, you can then remove the original from Disk Utility.
Or just copy (drag) it to your Desktop, then move it over to a folder on the external.
Message was edited by: WZZZ

Can not repair disk using disk utility

I tried using disk utility to repair the main drive of my imac 24" (2007) model and it says that the number of files are off by 1 from the total number that should be there so it could not be prepared it said to start up using the install disk but that was crack in a recent move. We tried disk warrior and it would not repair the main drive because thats where disk warrior is so i did a graph and it said 950,000 (ball park) files are out of order and could not be graphed. The only reason i could think that files would be out of order is my 3 year old he has a game on here and learned the awesome concept of click and drag so before we put a lock on it he was dragging things from the dock and putting them in the trash so he may have rearranged things without knowing. the computer has been extra slow recently and the "white screen" when you restart stays for about 2 mins before the apple timer appears. We have an antivirus so the drive is clean as far as that goes. Please if anyone could help respond back!!
Thanks
Luke

you can not repair a boot up drive while you are booted from it. You really need to get your leopard install DVD replaced. You need it just for these kinds of situations.
You can repair the drive from Single user mode
restart the computer and hold command+S at the chime. a black screen with white text will come up. at the prompt enter
*/sbin/fsck -fy*
that's the drive repair command. wait for the repair to finish. If there are any errors, run it again till no errors are reported.
Once done, enter
reboot
to restart normally.

When I open a pdf, it used to open in Preview. Now my iMac requires Adobe Reader, but I prefer Preview. How can I make my iMac open pdf in Preview again?

When I open a pdf, it used to open in Preview. Now my iMac requires Adobe Reader, but I prefer Preview. How can I make my iMac open pdf in Preview again?

If an image opens in a different application but you want it to always open in Preview when you double-click it, do this one time: Control-click the file, let go of the Control key, press the Option key, then choose Always Open With > Preview. Or, select the image file, choose Get Info from the File menu, then change the "Opens with:" pop-up menu choice to Preview.
Mac Basics: Preview app views and edits PDFs and images

How can i make my iMac stop asking for passwords?

How on earth can I make my iMac quit asking me for passwords? I've tried a few attempts at resetting Keychain passwords. Nothing I do seems to change any behaviors. I'm also complete noob to Mac so go easy with the jargon. I've even had a session an apple support person and fixed it temporarily.
my imac is current with OS X 10.9.2

OS X: Keychain Access asks for keychain "login" after changing login password
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1631
Resetting your keychain in Mac OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1544
If you can read through these, are these steps similar to what the Apple advisor had you do?

Can I make my iMac 10.6.8 work with a usb superdrive? The internal disk reader stopped working.

Can I make my iMac OS X(10.6.8) work with a usb superdrive? The internal disk reader stopped working.

There are a couple of Apple Superdrives - one will only work with a couple of semi-resent Mac models without a Superdrive; the other supposedly works with all newer models without a superdrive. One of them will not work with any Mac which has a (non-working) built-in Superdrive.
So, the best way around this is to buy a third party DVD drive/burner.

I have a mid-2010 iMac and just purchased a 2TB TC, can't join existing wireless network with AC standard so attached to iMac via ethernet with TC wifi turned off. How do i access TC now? not showing up in disk utility or on desktop. working fine with TM

I have a mid-2010 iMac and just purchased a 2TB TC, I just found out that it can't join existing wireless network with new AC standard so attached to iMac via ethernet with TC's wifi turned off. How do i access TC now? not showing up in disk utility or on desktop. It is working fine with TM. My cheeper seagate drives etc kept crashing, so i didnt trust cheeper back up options anymore. Connected those drives to TM via firewire and could see the drives and access them.
Also, I didn't want to bridge TC with my new fios router that I paid 100 dollars for, to get N speed and also paying 10 dollars more a month for fast speed. I heard that bridging slows down everything and then there can be port issues with mail etc. I connect to the internet via airport only and it is pretty fast. Getting over 50mbs downloads and over 30mbs uploads. Plus everything in my home it connected to my fios router, airport express for music streaming, two apple tvs, vuezone camer system. I really didn't want to monkey around too much with my system. But are there other options to connect the new TC. Can't find info anywhere for this and called apple who gave me the info above. after hanging up, i see that i cant access my TC and I am wondering if i would have to reset it to turn wifi on again to make changes to the drive, turn off blinking light or repair it in disk utility if it should become corrupted.
For other with similar issues i did solve some other problems: when i connected it to my ethernet port on my iMac wifi stopped working. Found that I had to turn off the ethernet in the system>network screen, but then TM didn't see the TC so i restarted after changes and then it saw it.
Now a rant. I can't believe in this wireless age that Apple would make a product that cant join a wireless net work. The apple rep said i could return it and look for the previous TC that would join an existing wireless network. Are we going backwards?
Thanks!
lennydas

Ok... it is getting a bit clearer but there are still some questions.
I connect to the internet via airport only and it is pretty fast.
I was assuming airport in this statement in your first post meant the TC or the Express.. but I now realise we are still in the mass confusion stage where apple calls everything wireless an airport. So what you mean is the airport internal card of the computer??
Also, I didn't want to bridge TC with my new fios router that I paid 100 dollars for, to get N speed and also paying 10 dollars more a month for fast speed. I heard that bridging slows down everything and then there can be port issues with mail etc.
I think this is mistaken.
Putting the TC in bridge mode plugged into your FIOS will not slow the network.. nor will it cause mail or port issues.. in bridge the TC is just a fancy WAP and switch plus the network hard drive.
If the computer is close it will be faster than the FIOS.
You can run both wireless networks with different names.. so it is clear which is which. But you can also setup roaming so the computers themselves pick which is the best wireless.
I tried extending the wireless net work and tried joining wireless network, but the TC kept crashing and I had to keep resetting the TC. the Apple support person said these, extend wireless network and joint wireless network, are no longer a connection option with the new TC because of the new AC protocol.
Thanks again!
You cannot extend to a non-apple wireless router.
You cannot use join a wireless network because when you do the ethernet ports will be cut off.
But that has not changed.. I don't think Apple support is correct.. there has been no change with the AC model.. it is simply a fact that apple routers do not work in join wireless mode other than as a dumb client. The same applies to AC as to the earlier version.. but I have asked another person to check this.
Join in the express is the only apple router that still allows an ethernet connection.
For now you best use of the TC is bridged to the FIOS. Wireless you can sort out between several options.

Can time machine back up an imac and an external hard drive?

I currently back up my imac via time machine but to reduce space on my hard drive I want to move my itunes library onto an external hard drive. If i do this can time machine still back up my imac and the external hard drive with the itunes library on automatically?
Regards
Toekoms

toekoms wrote:
I currently back up my imac via time machine but to reduce space on my hard drive I want to move my itunes library onto an external hard drive. If i do this can time machine still back up my imac and the external hard drive with the itunes library on automatically?
yes, given enough space on the destination drive (your library may grow over time). also, the drive needs to be connected directly to your Mac.
you might want to make sure the drive is not excluded from TM backups by checking in system preferences > time machine > options.
also, as for moving your iTunes library, see this read for tips/instructions.
JGG
edited by the Jolly Green Giant (where Green stands for environmentally friendly)

I synced two of my email accounts via gmail's POP3 thing. But now my iphone's gmail inbox shows a random selection of emails (not most recent ones that are in my inbox). How can I make my iphone inbox match what I see when I log on using a PC?

I synced two of my email accounts via gmail's POP3 capabilities. But now my iphone's gmail inbox only shows a random selection of emails (i.e. right now it is May 31, 2013 but the emails in my inbox are a couple from Nov 12, a few from Oct 12, and then some way older than that and so on.When I log into my gmail from a computer, I see all my emails in the logical, standard order. How can I make my iphone inbox match what I see when I log on using a PC?

If you're trying to decide between using POP and IMAP, we encourage you to use IMAP.
Unlike POP, IMAP offers two-way communication between your web Gmail and your email client. This means when you log in to Gmail using a web browser, actions you perform on email clients and mobile devices (ex: putting mail in a 'work' folder) will instantly and automatically appear in Gmail (ex: it will already have a 'work' label on that email the next time you sign in).
IMAP also provides a better method to access your mail from multiple devices. If you check your email at work, on your mobile phone, and again at home, IMAP ensures that new mail is accessible from any device at any given time.
Finally, IMAP offers a more stable experience overall. Whereas POP is prone to losing messages or downloading the same messages multiple times, IMAP avoids this through two-way syncing capabilities between your mail clients and your web Gmail.
That is from the page that you linked- does highlighted part of message ring a bell?

I have to reinstall Mail as it's not working well. How can I make a back up of my emails so as not to lose them all?

I have to reinstall Mail as it's not working well. How can I make a back up of my emails so as not to lose them all?

Thank you for your time Woody. Recently the Mac seems to freeze a lot, seemingly due to a problem with the airport, especially if the computer is inactive for anything more than a few minutes. Then yesterday I suddenly couldn't send or receive messages so I got in touch with my server and they reconfigured the mail account. I can now receive messages but can't send them, always getting a timed out message when I try to send an email. I phoned the server again and they said it must be a problem with Mail as we tried sending a message online from the server's webpage and it worked fine, so they suggested I reinstall Mail. So hence my original question. Sorry for the rambling! I'm not very computer minded.

HT201250 Can I make my iMac think it has more (HDD) memory (not RAM) by using disk utility and an external 500GB drive?

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