I am selling my broken Macbook for parts, how can I erase my old hard drive without the computer working?

I destroyed my Macbook in a car accident and have found somebody to buy it for parts. To be safe I want to make sure the Hard Drive is void of all personal information before I hand it over. What are my options?

they do sell them at best buy. I just went to the best buy website and searched for "external enclosure". Make sure it is 2.5" as that is the size of laptop hard drives, not 3.5" as that is to hold desktop hard drives.

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Macbook screen cracked. How to transfer files from old hard drive to new computer?

I had a 13" white macbook, but the screen cracked, and the computer wouldn't work anymore. I took it to be fixed, but they weren't able to fix it, so they gave me a macbook pro. I asked them to try and transfer the files from my old macbook to the old one, but they said that they couldn't, and gave my the hard drive and said I could have someone else try to fix it for me. How do I connect the old hard drive to my new macbook to see if I can get the files off of it? I don't have the old computer anymore, just the hard drive itself. Thanks!

Sorry, I don't understand all of this stuff. Do I have to buy a certain one for Mac? Or will any enclosure work? Would this one do what I need? http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/startech-startech-external-hard-drive-enclos ure-with-integrated-usb-cable-sat2510scb-sat2510scb/10192449.aspx?path=9e9804b6f 287edbfe4f83d36c2a6aa71en02

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro (it has been taken out of the computer) to my new macbook pro? I need to transfer files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro, which has been removed from the computer, to my new macbook pro? I need to transfere files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

No eSATA to USB. Just a SATA/IDE to USB adapter. Google SATA/IDE to USB adapter and you will get tons of links to buy them. Most likely your local computer electronics store has them, although they might be more expensive buying locally than online.
I have several. You can get either USB 2, which what I recommend, or USB 3. USB is backward compatible so a USB 3 adapter will work on a USB 2 port and a USB 2 adapter will work on a USB 3 port. Backward compatible in both directions.
I suggest a USB 2 type because there have been some problems with certain USB 3 devices, the USB 3 interface used isn't all that good in those certain devices. USB 3 is still fairly new where as USB 2 has been around for over 10 years.
synghem wrote:
Thank you LowLuster,
At the apple store they said I needed an esata to usb wire. But looking at wires on line has been confusing. Is sata the same as esata? How do I know if I need a usb 3 or usb 2?

How can I replace my internal hard drive on my Macbook?

I have a 13 inch aluminum late 2008 MacBook. The processor is 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 running OS X Lion 10.7.4. The hard drive is currently set up as follows:
Macintosh HD 132.5 GB (with only 1.32 GB free)
BOOTCAMP 26.69 GB (with 6.15 GB free)
I am unsure if this matters but here is the info just in case:
On my Macintosh HD I have:
Audio 3.04 GB
Movies 33.11 GB
Photos 36.98 GB
Apps 15.27 GB
Backups Zero GB
Other 42.78 GB
I only use 1 software program on my Bootcamp (which I hardly use but must keep to run an electric vinyl cutting machine). I have thought of re-partitioning the drive. But then I got thinking that maybe the drive is just too small and it's no use.
I also have an older Lacie 300 GB external hard drive that I use to keep all of my iTunes Library, most of my iPhoto library and most of my data. I have another older Lacie 300 GB external hard drive that I use exclusively for my Time Machine back ups.
I also have a Western Digital 2 TB external hard drive that I use to put all of my movies on so that I can play them on any of my computers or plug into my Play Station 3 and play them on any of my TV's.
I have considered just getting another Western Digital 2 TB external hard drive to use for virtually all of the files/pictures/movies/music etc. on this internal hard drive.
Right now I am unsure what the best move is to make. I spent 30 minutes on the phone with Apple Tech Support today trying to buy an internal hard drive to install myself. They were not very helpful (in fact he told me I would have to ship in my machine just to replace the battery which is NOT true). Is there anyone out there who can give me some advice on this situation? Any help or suggestion would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

For a new hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the Aluminum Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_unibody/
To transfer your current hard drive I like the free application Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes a bootable copy of everything on your hard drive http://www.bombich.com/index.html You'll need a cheap SATA external hard drive case. Put the new drive in the case then format and partition the new drive and clone your old drive to the new one. Check that it's set up right by booting up from the external drive. Then replace your old hard drive with the new one and put your old one in the external case.
Here's a cheap SATA external hard drive case on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Aluminum-External-Enclosure-Capacity/dp/B000XPS3U6/r ef=pd_cp_pc_3
If you don’t have the tools to open up the MacBook OWC has a set for $5
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TOOLKITMHD/

I have a new MAcBook Air and my photos don't fit on the internal hard drive. I want to store my photos on an external hard drive which I will connect to my Air when using Iphoto. How do I set an external hard drive as the default drive?

I have a new MAcBook Air and my photos don't fit on the internal hard drive. I want to store my photos on an external hard drive which I will connect to my Air when using Iphoto. How do I set an external hard drive as the default drive in Iphoto?

Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

How can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory?

i don't know if this question has been asked before: how can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory? just like itunes all my song are save on my external hard drive. make sense?

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

HT1229 My iPhoto Library (version 8.1.2) is 280GB (greater than 50% of my 500GB total storage memory on my iMac. It was too large for me to drag it to a new hard drive so the Apple geniuses did it for me. However they did not delete the Library from my

My iPhoto Library (version 8.1.2) is 280GB (greater than 50% of my 500GB total storage memory on my iMac. It was too large for me to drag it to a new hard drive so the Apple geniuses did it for me. However they did not delete the Library from my iMac (that's my responsibility). I dragged it to Trash and when it started to move I clicked over to the new hard drive to confirm it had indeed been copied. I became nervous when I didn't see among the few files on this otherwise empty new hard drive anything that resembled a 280GB Library so I cancelled the migration to trash.
How can I be sure that my iphoto has been copied and that all my "metadata" survived in tact?

the new backup drive
I thought the new drive would be your data drive to host the iPhoto library. Do you also use it for TimeMachine backups?
I am unable to search either in email as well as Finder. I AM able to search within iPhoto though, thankfully
Spotlight may still be busy rebuildig its index.
You could try to rebuild the Spotlight Index, if you do see no progress:
Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes
I hope, other frequent posters will drop in. I have not used iPhoto 8.x in long time.

My old computer has broken and I had not backed up my Itunes. I now have the hard drive from my old computer but cannot transfer the music. How can I transfer the music from my old hard drive to the new laptop?

My old computer has broken and I had not backed up my Itunes. I now have the hard drive from my old computer (windows 7) but cannot transfer the music. How can I transfer the music from my old hard drive to the new laptop (windows 8)?

Copy the entire iTunes folder from \Users\<User>\Music on the old drive into your music folder on the new computer.
Or see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

Can i connect thunderbolt duo hard drive to the mini display port of a late 2008 macbook pro which do not have thunderbolt port, but have mini display port.

hi, i have a late 2008 15 inch macbook pro, which have a mini display port.
I noticed that thunderbolt and mini display port looks a like. So, my question is :
can i connect thunderbolt duo hard drive to the mini display port of a late 2008 macbook pro which do not have thunderbolt port, but have mini display port.
thank you

ken94538,
no, you’d need a Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter or Thunderbolt-to-USB adapter to be able to access your Thunderbolt hard drive from your 2008 MacBook Pro.

How can I use a firewire hard drive on a new Macbook with one USB-C only?

How can I use a firewire hard drive on a new MacBook with only one USB-C?

kaz-k is correct about FireWire not being supported by any possible connector or adaptor to USB-C and never will. However, there is no such thing as a FireWire Hard Drive. There are only SATA (or if it is a really old one, ATA,) drives in a FireWire enclosure. If you can remove the drive from the case/enclosure - bust it open somehow if it is a glued-up unit - then the drive can be placed into a regular USB3 enclosure. Then it can connect to the new MacBook via any one of the adaptors Apple sells.

When using imovie for Ipad, how can I fast forward a project to cut the length down?

When using imovie for Ipad, how can I fast forward a project to cut the length down to fit under the 15 minutes required for Youtube? My current project is 23 minutes, and need to cut it down below 15 minutes. I was hoping to speed up the video. The content would actually be better viewed in at a faster speed anyhow.

Jon,
It sounds like you did, just as you should, Save_As and Delete everything that is unwanted. If you did the Deletion from the Timeline, there should be nothing from the old Project, that should be included. A DVD is Transcoded and burned from the Timeline. If the Assets are not there, they will not included in the DVD, even if you did not Delete anything from the Project Panel.
Tell us about the Clips now on your Timeline. Also, can you check the Timeline, by hitting the \ (Backslash key), and looking near the end of the Timeline. Do you have any "orphans" out there? Check all Video Tracks, even if you have to scroll to see them all. Does the Duration of the Timeline (viewed in the Program Monitor) match what you think that it should? If not, then you most likely have orphans, that you missed Deleteing.
Good luck,
Hunt

Best program for mac to retrieve info off an old Hard drive?

What is the best program for mac to retrieve info off an old Hard drive? I have the raw Hard drive in an enclosure and plugged in, but it will not read files...any past experiences? I have been looking at Data Rescue 4 and Recuva thru wondershare. Anything helps.
thanx

Volume is too much for disk utility

How can I back-up my hard drive when my MacBook won't power on?

The other day my 2 year old MacBook Pro just turned off abruptly and has not powered on since. I took it to the Apple store today and they determined that it's more than likely a problem with the logic board since its not getting power at all and now I'm going to have to get that replaced. Before I send it away I need to backup my hard drive to an external but have no idea how to do that when it won't even power on. We don't have any other working computers in the house but if I absolutely need another computer to accomplish this, I could try to ask a friend to help me out.

dzwick1 wrote:
I lost power to my PC. Neither the battery nor the AC adapter works. I'm shipping the laptop back to the manufacturer for repair, but they advised that I should back up my hard drive before shipping it. Is there a way to back up my hard drive without having any power on my laptop?
Do you have another machine?
You can remove the hard drive and put it in an external enclosure in order to copy the contents to another machine.
If you don't have another machine, you unfortunately are going to have to find someone to back it up for you.
*disclaimer* I am not now, nor have I ever been, an employee of Best Buy, Geek Squad, nor of any of their affiliate, parent, or subsidiary companies.

Can i hook a external hard drive to the tc usb port and fire wire from the computer for faster movie transfer ?

Will i be able to hook a WD 3tb external hard drive via the TC USB port for network storage as well as a direct firewire to the same WD 3TB external hard drive for faster transfer of home movie for storage?

In general, no. I do know of any drives that support simultaneous use of the USB and Firewire ports. (Or eSATA, if equiped.) I have several USB/FW drives from Seagate, Western Digital, Iomega and others that I used my own hard drive and none allow this.

How can I use an external hard drive to both back up and free up storage on my macbook?

I've used a hard drive to back up my 2012 Macbook Pro via Time Machine, but I'm not sure how to use it as external storage to move things like video and music off of my Mac to free up memory and then how to move the same things from the hard drive on to other devices like my iPad or iPhone. For instance, I have a ton of movies and would like to store most of them on an external hard drive so that they aren't taking up all of my memory on my Mac, but want to be able to move them easily back onto my phone or iPad. Also, can I use the same hard drive to both back up my computer and use it for external storage? If so, how do I do that?

Always use two drives for this: one for backup; the other for storage. Don't mix the two uses on one drive. There's a greater risk of data lost without that redundancy.
If you plan to backup using Time Machine, then be sure the backup drive's capacity is at least twice that of the drive you are backing up.

I am selling my broken Macbook for parts, how can I erase my old hard drive without the computer working?

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