I need to do a clean restart from my external hard drive backup.  I know very little about computers

i have a 2010 MBP I installed a program that put files in wrong place I want to do a clean install fro my external hard drive back up and dont know how.  I know very little about computers

Hey champrider,
Thanks for the question. It sounds like you wish to revert to an earlier Time Machine backup. The following resource may assist you in doing so:
OS X Mavericks: Recover your entire system
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14185
Thanks,
Matt M.

Similar Messages

  • How do I copy my songs from an external hard drive backup to my new laptop

    Because my old laptop was . . . well, old . . I had to store my iTunes songs and iTunes onto an external hard drive where I backed up all my documents.  I now want to copy my library of songs on to my new Windows 8 laptop.  But I'm not finding it easy to figure out how to do this.   On another note (maybe related. . maybe not) I keep getting an error when I try to download the latest and greatest iTunes on to that external hard drive. 
    Thanks for any an all help before I'm tempted to climb out on the ledge (luckily I live on the first floor). 

    If the entire library (database & media) is already on the external drive (in the right layout) then you should be able to connect to it by holding down shift as you start iTunes and then choosing the library. If you only have the media folder on the drive then you need to do some preparation for the move first. See this migrate iTunes library post for details.
    tt2

  • Importing iTunes library from an external hard drive backup

    Hi,
    I would like to know how I can import my iTunes library from a backup on a external hard drive?
    If that's possible, I would like to keep organisation of files, playlists, iphone settings...
    I had a crash with my previous computer and I would like to keep all iTunes settings as before.
    There might be already a subject about this but I did not found it.
    Thank you for your help,
    Simon

    In Preferences/Advanced/General point iTunes to the folder on your external hard drive.
    Check Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library. This will put all new additions on your external hard drive.
    Now click File/Add to Library and point to the folder on the external hard drive. With 200 GB's of music you will think iTunes has frozen,. It hasn't. It will take several minutes to process everything.
    Tracy

  • TS1813 How about assuming the customer knows very little about computers? For instance I don't know how tolocate the ipodsoftware updates folder so i'm lost right from the start.

    I have no idea how to even answer the questions below such as operating system, selecting a community or categories. Is there anyone out there who can assume that there are people like me, age 68, who know little about computers and need very simple child like instructions. as to how to find various computet files all by myself, well that's a joke!

    Call Apple Customer Relations - 1-800-275-2273.  Ask politely & firmly that you want to be transferred to Customer Relations.  Tell them exactly what you stated in your post.
    GOOD LUCK!
    These are user-to-user forums where everyday folk (volunteers) post questions and offer answers (technical support) to each other.  

  • How to restore iTunes library from TimeMachine external hard drive backup after clean install

    I was not able to solve this problem, hence I decided to open this discussion.
    1. Recently, I clean installed Yosemite so my new Mac is completely empty.
    2. I have my time machine backup on my eternal hard drive and would like to restore only specific things - such as iTunes library.
    3. I did not manually copy iTunes library to my drive, I did the TM backup only, but I also do have all the files in my own "music" folder I manually backed-up.
    However, I cannot locate the library there, where is it?
    How do I move the library to my new Mac and then establish a new source folder that would be on my drive?
    PS: Previously, iTunes used my own music folder as a source = it contained all the music files. I had it on an external drive, later moved it to my Mac.
    This leads me to the conclusion that my backup copy of iTunes library did not contain the files anyway.
    Any advice?
    Thank you in advance.

    I am confused as to what you had or have where and when.  The bottom line is, your library (for the standard user) is everything in the iTunes folder.  As far as iTunes' organization and display is concerned, your library is a file called "iTunes Library.itl" which points to all the other host of files and folders normally in the iTunes folder which all work together.
    What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
    More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
    What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
    Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
    iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
    Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.
    If you kept everything together in one place then you need to put the whole iTunes folder on the drive where you want it, start iTunes while holding down the option key and guide it to that .itl file.  If things were split up and you had media on the external and the rest of the library on the internal you need to get them back to exactly where they were before.  If you can't find that iTunes folder holding the critical .itl file anywhere then you have a bunch of media tracks and no organization and will need to rebuild the organization from ground level.

  • Help! I need to open my iTunes library from my external hard drive

    Hey everybody
    I recently moved my iTunes library to an external hard drive. It worked great for a while; whenever I opened iTunes I made sure my hard drive was plugged in. Since then, I've used iTunes without plugging the hard drive in to sync my iPhone contacts, so there is also a local iTunes library without any files. My question: how do I tell iTunes to open the library on my external hard drive again? The hard drive is plugged in but iTunes won't open the library on the hard drive. I think there is some key I have to hold down while opening iTunes (?) it's not ctrl or option. Help! Thanks
    Ryan

    Yep. You're right. My problem was that I wasn't holding the option key down long enough... wow, epic fail... but thanks! I now have my music back!

  • After clean install of Snow Leopard, Time Machine did not restore all files.  When I try to restore these files I get "Not enough disk space" error.  What do I need to do to get these important files back onto my Mac from my external hard drive??

    After clean install of Snow Leopard, Time Machine did not restore all files.  When I try to restore these files I get "Not enough disk space" error.  What do I need to do to get these important files back onto my Mac from my external hard drive?? 

    Janet.b wrote:
    About 3 years old...pretty dated now I guess.  Am thinking I may just need to have it upgraded by a Mac tech.
    For what the Apple Store's charge you can buy almost buy a new computer.
    Just for giggles I brought my old laptop in for a drive upgrade and asked, they wanted $600 for a drive that only cost $120 at the time and it was a slow 5,400 RPM drive. The new Mac's of a similar make were going for $1000.
    I did the drive replacement myself, got a faster drive of better quality for $300 instead.
    Then another time I asked for a RAM upgrade from 4GB to 8GB, they wanted to charge $400 + $35 for the labor.
    The same RAM is on Crucial.com for $90 and all I need is a 00 micro phillips screwdriver.
    So you see what's going on here.
    I think what you should do, if your out of warranty/AppleCare, is to call up the local PC tech guy who also does Mac's and have them fix you right up.
    They can offer more personalized care which you need. Clone your old drive to the new and everything.
    With Apple they are overworked at the Genius Bar and just place roadblocks so you buy a new machine instead.
    For instance, all new iMac's now have proprietary drive software installed on the hard drives for heat monitoring. So now the only choice a user has is to bring their iMac into a Apple Store for a very expensive drive upgrade, which a person then decides the money is better spent buying a new machine.

  • Restore from external hard drive backup

    How do I restore from an external hard drive backup of my old system. How do you import into iTunes 8?

    Hello,
    Sorry to tap into this thread but it was the only one that made sense.
    I have been trying to restore my kid's libraries from an external HD. I assumed I needed to be logged into their Windows profile to launch each of their own itunes applications. As I tried to launch with the Shift key held down, I got the appropriate request about choosing a library. But when I navigated to the HD and found their .itl file, it said it was locked or I had inadequate permissions and would not proceed.
    I then logged in as myself (admin) & then dragged & dropped the files into their respective folders. When I went back to open itunes, the songlist was where it should be but nothing played when I tried them.
    Is this where "consolodating" comes in and what is it and how do you do it?
    Thanks for your patience.

  • My computer shows the grey screen that says i need to restart when i tray and boot from an external hard drive

    It shows the grey screen that i need to restart when i try to boot from an external hard drive. both drives have snow leopard

    Kernel Panics? Don't panic too!
    "You need to restart your computer" (kernel panic) message appears (Mac OS X v10.5, 10.6)

  • I have an imac 2009 the disk drive is damaged and I have lost the passwords I need to reset passwords I tried booting with a macosx disk from an external hard drive but did not read the drive how else can I reset password ?

    I have an imac 2009 the disk drive is damaged and I have lost the passwords I need to reset passwords I tried booting with a macosx disk from an external hard drive but did not read the drive how else can I reset password ?
    I have a 2012 mac book pro can I use that to connect with firewire and load osx that way? and how woudl I do that?
    Thanks so much!

    To what password are you referring? Do you mean your user account's admin password? Or do you mean the master password for File Vault or do you mean a Firmware Password?
    For an admin password:
    Forgot Your Account Password
    For Snow Leopard and earlier
         Mac OS X 10.6- If you forget your administrator password
    For Lion/Mountain Lion
        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.
         When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu.
         Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow
         instructions in the dialog window that will appear.
         Or see Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password and
         OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.
    If you cannot do the above then try this:
      1. Boot to Safe Mode by restarting and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-S keys until a black screen with white type appears.
      2. At the prompt, type the following commands pressing return after each command line:
         /sbin/fsck -yf
         If you do not receive a "Filesystem OK" message then repeat this command until
         you do.  If after seven tries you still do not receive a "Filesystem OK" message,
         then the system is corrupted and needs to be reinstalled.
         mount -uw /
         cd /private/var/db/netinfo
         mv local.nidb local.old
         rm ../.AppleSetupDone
         shutdown -r now
    The second-to-last command above will cause OS X to think that the operating system is newly installed, and when the new owner starts up the computer it will send him/her to the startup wizard where he/she can start a new user without reinstalling.
    This last method does not actually change a password. It simply removes the user accounts and lets you create an initial admin account as if the computer were new out of the box.
    How to reset the OS X password without a startup CD:
    Reboot into Single-user Mode. Enter the following and press RETURN after each command line
       1. Type fsck -fy
       2. Type mount -uw /
       3. Type passwd <username>
    I have never tried this method myself.

  • I recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library.  When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found".  need help

    I recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library.  When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found".  But when I have my external hard drive plug in the song will play with no problem.  What do I need to do to play my music without having the external harddrive plug in ????????  Please help

    Because the location for each song in your library is on your hard drive.  If the hard drive isn't there, how can iTunes play it?
    You'll have to move/copy the music from your hard drive to your computer's hard drive.
    Basically, EASIEST way to do all this, if you don't care about your play counts, etc...
    -Delete EVERYTHING from iTunes, so that your library is now empty.
    -Go to "Advanced" inside of the "Preferences" window, found in the "Edit" drop-down.  You can also access Preferences by pressing Ctrl+, (Press Ctrl and the comma key)
    -Change your iTunes Media Folder Location to something simple, but on your computer. I use C:/iTunes.  Make sure "Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized" and "Copy files to...." are both checked.  You can close Preferences now.
    -Now, drag and drop your music from your hard drive into your iTunes library.  iTunes will automatically add the music to your library, as you would expect, and also creates a copy of each file to place into that iTunes Media Folder you just created.
    Shouldn't have any more problems...

  • How do I fully import my itunes music from my external hard drive to my new HP computer so that I don't need the external HD attached to listen to my music? It won't promt me to fully import songs when I import the folder from the EHD.

    When I select File> Add folder to library and then press "select folder" after finding the iTunes music folder I wish to import from my external hard drive, it does not promt me whether to fully import it or not. After the importing is complete, the external hard drive must be attached in order for me to listen to my music. I do not wnat this; I wnat my music fully imported so that I don't need my EHD. What can I do? Thanks!

    To import music into your iTunes library on the computer go to iTunes>Help>iTunes Help>Add items to iTunes and follow the instructions

  • How do i recover data from an external hard drive that was accidentally deleted?  After I verified the drive, a message appeared that said my drive needed to be repaired.  When I tried to access the drive again, the 700 Gigs of music is gone!

    How do i recover data from an external hard drive that was accidentally deleted?  After I verified the drive, a message appeared that said my drive needed to be repaired.  When I tried to access the drive again, the 700 Gigs of music is gone!

    Stop using the drive immediately, un plug it.
    Buy a copy of ProSoft DataRescue 4 and use it to search for deleted files.

  • My iTunes is running from my external hard drive because I need to make space on my C drive. Could/should I delete the music on the C drive?

    My iTunes is running from my external hard drive because I need to make space on my C drive. Could/should I remove the music from the C drive?

    Hello Willlig
    If iTunes media is taking up a good majority of space on your computer, you can move it by following the steps in the article below.
    iTunes for Windows: Moving your iTunes Media folder
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1364
    Regards,
    -Norm G.

  • Need to move (consolidate) my iTunes files (media/library) from my external hard drive (i use time capsule as an ext hd)  back to my main iMac where my iTunes is located.

    I used my time capsule (1st gen) as an external hard drive to store my iTunes files and my iTunes app is on my main iMac.  Now, I've decided to move those iTunes files from my external hard drive (TC) back to my iMac where my iTunes app is located.  What is the best way to do this?

    Is the Time Capsule the right piece of kit for the job?
    Not really, no.
    TC is a dumb as board hard disk in an airport extreme router. It has no media servers.. no backup.. it is slow and designed for TM target for laptops. The major one here is lack of backup. Any files you put on the TC can and will be lost at some point.. and to backup you need to have a computer connected to it with an external hard disk.. and a 3rd party backup because TM is too dumb to back up network drives.
    TC is designed to spin up slow and spin down quickly at the end of backup. You will have issues when you stream media from it.
    ATV needs to connect to itunes server.. not the library. You will still need a computer running. Same for lots of things.. since apple designed their system to be dependent on itunes.
    The best idea is a media computer.. a mac mini is ideal. Don't need the latest greatest.. but an actual mac running itunes. Unfortunately it doesn't have large internal drives.. so it is still a bit kludgy in needing a fast external drive.. but at least you have automatic backups.

Maybe you are looking for