I cannot transfer data from my external hard drive to my new mac

I had to get a new hard drive put into my macbook pro because it was failing. So, I moved all my data onto an external hard drive so I would not lose anything. But now I cannot get iphoto or imovie back onto my computer. It says I cannot open it because it is a time machine back up. I don't want to have to purchase iPhoto and iMovie again just because I had to replace my hard drive.

Copying the files directly from a Time Machine backup may be possible but I don't recommend it. Your new hard disk is essentially a new computer to Time Machine, and it will have problems understanding where to put the individual files. What you're trying to do is just not the right way to go about it.
To restore from a Time Machine backup, boot Lion Recovery and select "Restore from Time Machine backup".
See Pondini's explanation here: http://pondini.org/TM/14.html

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How do i transfer file from my external hard drive to my new mac

How do I transfer my files from my external hard drive (all files coming from a PC) to my new macbook pro?

What sort of files? Are you looking to transfer an entire user account or some data files?

I cannot transfer music from my external hard drive to my new machine. Help!

I backed up all of my iTunes from my old computer to my external hard drive. When I went to transfer them to my new computer, they did not show up. They can only be accessed if the hard drive is connected. I downloaded the iTunes version for Windows 7- the 64 bit version- on my new machine. Any ideas? Thanks! Also, anything new I have purchased and downloaded onto the new machine is fine. Just all the old stuff doesn't "stick." It's only about 3,000 songs. I'm sure it is something silly and simple, yeah?

Copying the files directly from a Time Machine backup may be possible but I don't recommend it. Your new hard disk is essentially a new computer to Time Machine, and it will have problems understanding where to put the individual files. What you're trying to do is just not the right way to go about it.
To restore from a Time Machine backup, boot Lion Recovery and select "Restore from Time Machine backup".
See Pondini's explanation here: http://pondini.org/TM/14.html

How do i transfer files from my external hard drive to my new macbook pro?

how do i transfer files from my external hard drive to my new macbook pro?

Hi niel, when I open my hard drive in my mac, I cannot find any files in there. I guess its not reading my hard drive.

I transferred data from my external hard drive to my restored Mac Book Pro via migration assistant and now my external hard drive in time capsule has red minus signs. How do I get rid of that without getting rid of any of my data?

I used Migration Assistant to transfer my data from my external hard drive via Time Capsule to my restored Mac Book Pro. When I now go into Time Capsule I there are red minus signs in the corner of all the folders that are contained in my back up. How do I get rid of this and access my previous back-ups?

Select the drive and Finder > Get info and at the bottom "ignore permissions on this volume"
You can copy the files, but the ownership on the files still belongs to the other user account, once your done copying, then perform a #6 Reset Users Permissions and that will set all the ownership to that account.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Another method is to copy the entire folder, then change it's permissions.

How do I move my old iPhoto library from my external hard drive to my new Mac?

Hi guys!
I recently bought a new MacBook Air as my MacBook Pro was on its last legs... I have my backup for my old MacBook Pro on an external hard drive and I'm trying to put a selection of albums from my old iPhoto onto my new MacBook Air iPhoto. I can't simply click and drag it over as I get an error message "The iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library...". I've tried to reopen iPhoto while holding option and selecting my old iPhoto library from my external hard drive to open... AND I get the same message.
If anyone could help me out that would be amazing!
FYI: The hard drive I am using is a G|Drive mobile with Thunderbolt 1 TB.
Thank you very much in advance!
Cheers,
Kendall

I may sound like a real rookie here, but on my new MacBook Air there isn't a "Pictures" folder under "Users/kendallwilson" like there used to be on my old MacBook Pro (Early 2011). I'm still working out the new software on my MB Air, so where exactly should I open this new window to start following the steps you just provided me.
Thanks again!

How to migrate iTunes Library from an external hard drive to a new Mac Book Pro?

How to migrate iTunes and iPhoto librarys from an external hard drive to a MacBook Pro?

With iTunes:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Quick answer if you let iTunes manage your music: Copy the whole iTunes folder and all its subfolders and files intact to Home > Music on your computer. It will replace the one that may already be there and anything you have in it will be lost -- you could give the folder a different name just in case, and delete it yourself later. Unplug the external and start iTunes.

How do I transfer data from one external hard drive to another larger one?

I hope I am posting in the logical area for this topic. I have an external hard drive connected to my eMac. My iTunes library and some backup files reside on this hard drive. I am contemplating purchasing another, larger external hard drive so that I can archive more data--more music and some photos. How do I transfer my data from the first drive to the second one, and is this a risky move? (I have a lot of music!)

Hello,
Take a look at SuperDuper (link). This 'clones' any drive across to another; it should suit your needs just fine.
Firewire drives with an Oxford chipset are recommended for PowerPC Macs (like the eMac and iBook) as you can boot the Mac from one to recover the system if the internal drive suffers any issues.
mrtotes

HT3500 how do you transfer data from an external hard drive to a mac time capsule

I am trying to use my Mac Time Capsule as a wireless external hard drive for my MacBook Pro, so how do I transfer the data from a toshiba external hard drive, to my Mac Time Capsule?

Drag and drop or copy and paste files just as you would do with any normal Finder operation.
The Time Capsule is located under the SHARED heading in the Finder.
Click on the Time Capsule icon and double click the folder that appears representing the drive....named Data....unless you have changed the name......to mount the drive on the desktop.
Drag/drop or copy/paste files to the icon on the desktop or to the open window there.

Can't transfer data from one external hard drive to another?

I have just purchased my first Mac book Pro a few weeks ago and i seem to be having alot of trouble transfering data between my to hard drives.
One is a 500gb and the other is a 1tb both with movies and photos on them, i want to tranfer the last data from the 500gb to the 1tb and format the 500gb.
I have tried to drag and drop and copy and paste but nothing seems to work? The movies are in avi format too so not sure if that makes a differance or not but that is another issue i would like to sort. How to change the complete hard drive to mp4 or do i do them one by one?
Any help would be great as i dont want to regret this purchase so early in the piece.
Thanks to all in advance.

Yes.

I can't transfer my user settings from my external hard drive to my new Mac

I purchased a new MacBook because I had an unfotunate accident with my last computer. Everything is saved on my LaCie mini external hard drive under my User Folder. Everytime I try to overwrite my user file (click and drag from the LaCie) I get a message that the transfer cannot be completed because something is in use. It's a different file everytime. Once it was the file for the Times New Roman font--I don't know how it could have been in use.
What am I doing wrong?!

Hi rockstardeb, Welcome to Apple Discussions.
You shouldn't try dragging it, rather use Migration Assistant in your Utilities folder and choose "Transfer my data from another partition".
-mj
[email protected]

I'm attempting to transfer files, address book, etc from an external hard drive to my new Mac-mini using migration assistant. The external drive is showing up on my desktop but Migration Assistant is not seeing the drive when searching for devices

I'm attempting to migrate files, address book, maile, etc to my new Mac Mini using an external hard drive and Migration assistant. I followed the instructions on using Migration Assistant to do this but Migration Assistant is not seeing the external drive, which is displayed on my desktop

I've been chasing this problem all afternoon. I had to reformat my internal drive on my MBP and reinstall Mountain Lion Start up assistant wouldn't see my extrnal drive with the Time Machine files on it. After many tries, I skipped the restore there and let the system boot. I could see my external drive from Finder and the files looked OK. I was told to use Migration Assistant and it had the same problem.
I saw a hint on one of these posts that the icon that you see and is label Macintosh HD is actually your backup disk and it is telling you that it has a copy of your internal Macintosh HD. I went ahead and told it to continue and it started to restore my apps, settings, and documents. It's been going for a couple of hours, and is close to being done. I expect to see my old system restored when it is finished.
Wish that Apple would put some type of note that it is seeing the backup. That is most confusing and seems to be a problem for lots of users.
It's been a month or so since your post Did your get it to work?

How do I move my iTunes library from an external hard drive to my new Mac Mini?

My MacBook Pro couldn't handle my iTunes library so it was moved to an external hard drive. I want to move the content without losing the settings and playlists. Can anyone help?

Hi, see if these help...
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527

HT201553 How to transfer data from windows portable hard drive to a new MacBook air?

I am getting a new MacBook air and need to transfer my data. I have a windows 7 laptop and a 2TB wd passport. I have several large home videos (larger than 4 GB) home videos. Any help would be appreciated!!!

Yes, so copy it elsewhere temporarily

HT2518 How do I transfer music from an external hard drive to my itunes on my mac? I have put the files into the itunes media, but they are not showing up in iTunes!

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I cannot transfer data from my external hard drive to my new mac

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