Is it possible to use an external hard drive wirelessly w Leopard?

Upgrading to Leopard seems to have ruined my wireless home network, which worked very smoothly with Tiger. After a couple of tries, I was unable to connect wirelessly to my external hard drive (connected directly to Airport). I was then unable to even access the data directly. I am right now using Data Rescue II to see how much of the data on the hard drive can be retrieved.
I tried an old external HD with airport to see if that would work, and it failed also.
Is it even possible to set up a wireless network with Leopard that will let me move data to an external HD??
Any help is appreciated.
Message was edited by: Joe Mondo

I may have phrased my question poorly.
Pre-Leopard, my external HD was connected directly to Airport. I used it wirelessly.
When I upgraded my MacBook Pro to Leopard, it was almost impossible to access the HD wirelessly, and then outright impossible.
I tried the same setup with another external HD and that didn't work either. When I try to access the HD wirelessly, I get nowhere.

Similar Messages

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

I am using an external drive in the exact way that you described. You just keep it plugged in to the computer when you want to access the movies and files. In order to put files on it, just go to finder open up the drive under devices and drag and drop files onto the drive. It is just like using a usb drive with a terabyte of space.

Is it possible to use an external hard drive as the windows partition with boot camp?

I am looking to get a Macbook Pro adn was researchin the different software advantages over PC and found a program called oot Camp that allows you to run Windows on your Mac. I thought that this was interesting as it was sort of the best of both worlds. I wanted to know from people who have used this before: How well does it work? Does it slow down the computer at any noticable rate? Etc.
The last question that Ive been trying to find an answer to, but have no conclusive results, is wether you are able to select the partition as an external hard drive or not. Also how it affects your ability to use an external drive as well. Answers are much apreciated, thank you.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
Boot Camp is an application that emulates a BIOS so you can install Windows on a second volume on your hard drive. It can't be installed on an external disk because Windows can't be installed on an external hard drive. It works well if you need performance

Is it possible to use an external hard drive to store my music?

I am attempting to clean my internal hard drive. Is it possible to have my iTunes library on an external hard drive? If not, what about on a different internal hard drive?
Thanks.

Sure, it's possible to move your music library to a different drive, internal or external. You do have to be a little careful, though, or else iTunes can get very confused about the location of your files. This Apple knowledge-base article describes the exact process to follow:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748
If you search these forums, you'll find both many tales of success, and the occasional tale of woe, most typically from someone who didn't follow the correct procedure and ended up with an iTunes library full of little exclamation marks next to each song - the sign that iTunes has lost track of a file. But if you follow the documented procedure above exactly, you should be good to go.

Is it possible to use an external hard drive to use the music collection at home and at work?

I recently started using iTunes both on my home notebook as on my desktop computer at work. I also discovered it is not possible to download the songs I bought on both machines. It's a pitty, but I can understand Apple's point of view.
I was thinking of bying a small portable USB powered hard drive to store my music collection on but I'd like to know whether this is possible before I buy myself a USB drive only to find out it's a waste of time and money. I assume it is possible the USB drive is assigned a different letter on each machine, but I think I can work around that. But is there anything else I need to keep into account?

Sync iPod/iPad/iPhone with two computers
Although it isn't possible to sync an Apple device with two different libraries it is possible to sync with the same logical library from multiple computers. Each library has an internal ID and when iTunes connects to your iPod/iPad/iPhone it compares the local ID with the one the device normally syncs with. If they are the same you can go ahead and sync...
I have my library cloned to a small 1Tb USB drive which I can take between home & work. At either location I use SyncToy 2.1 to update the local copy with the external drive. Mac users should be able to find similar tools. I can open either of the local libraries or the one on the external drive and update the media content of my iPhone. The slight exception is Photos which normally connects to a specific folder on a specific machine, although that can easily be remapped to the current library if you create a "Photos" folder inside the iTunes Media folder so that syncing the iTunes folders keeps this up to date as well. I periodically sweep my library for new files & orphans with iTunes Folder Watch just in case I make changes at one location but then overwrite the library with a newer copy from the other. Again Mac users should be able to find similar tools.
As long as your media is organised within an iTunes Music or Tunes Media folder, in turn held inside the main iTunes folder that has your library files (whether or not you let iTunes keep the media folder organised) each library can access items at the same relative path from the library folder so the library can be at different drives/paths on different machines. This solution ensures I always have adequate backups of my library and I can update my devices whenever I can connect to the same build of iTunes.
When working with an iPhone earlier builds of iTunes would remove any file not physically present in the local library, even if there was an entry for it, making manual management practically redundant on the iPhone. This behaviour has been changed but it will still only permit manual management with a library that has the correct internal ID. If you don't want to sync your library between machines on a regular basis just copy the iTunes Library.itl file from the current "home" machine to any other you want to use, then clean out the library entires and import the local content you have on that box.
tt2

Is it possible to use an external hard drive to just copy files off a Mac?

I am looking into getting a WD Passport as my MacBook's hard drive has recently crashed. All I want to do is use it like I use a USB stick, so take it out, plug it into another computer occasionally and generally just store info and photos etc externally as a back up. Is TimeMachine the best thing to use or just manually take it from the MacBook and onto another PC when I need without using any software?

If you wish to use Time Machine as your backup system, it is best to use an external HDD dedicated to that one application.
If you want to use the new WD HDD on PCs as well as your Mac, the make certain that it is formatted so it is compatible with both systems, Macs can read PC formatted HDDs but not write to them. FAT or exFAT are two choices you may consider.
Ciao.

It keeps saying my hard drive is almost full even though I delete as much as possible and use an external hard drive, cant figure out where else I need to look?

I've tried to keep my computer as organized and clean as possible. I only have 400 songs and not a ton of pictures. I can't figure out where else I need to look on my hard drive. Any suggestions?

I can't really figure out how much I have left in memory but here is some basic info:
Model Name:          MacBook Pro
Model Identifier:          MacBookPro5,5
Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:          2.26 GHz
Number Of Processors:          1
Total Number Of Cores:          2
L2 Cache:          3 MB
Memory:          2 GB
Is there somewhere to look to see a breakdown of what memory is used where?
Thanks for your help!

HT201250 if I used external hard disk for backup time machine, is it possible to use that external hard disk to save another else from diffrent computers?

If I used external hard disk for back up time machine, is it possible to use that external hard disk to save another else from diffrent computers?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can do this, but you should make a new volume on your external disk. Time Machine needs a volume that is only used to store backups, so you can't store other data in the same volume as the one you are using for making backups.
If you want to create another volume on your external disk, use Disk Utility to do this > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html Anyway, you should get another external disk to store other files, but if you don't want to, you can create another volume in it

Will using an external hard drive cause me to have duplicate files on my itunes library?

I put all my ITUNES MEDIA folder on my external hard drive from my older computer.. I recently bought a new computer and installed Itunes. I synced some of my Itunes purchased songs back on by using my Ipod.. however the songs I ripped from my cds are still not reinstalled in my library.. I will have to use my external hard drive or re rip those.. and there are a lot of them.. since I have already replaced some of the ones I purchased back on using my Ipod will it duplicate them if I use the prefrences method and return them all from my external hard drive? If i delete my files that I have already returned on my new computer before using my external will Itunes remember which are Itunes purchased music and which arent as well>??? also how exactly do you move music from an external? just plug it in and click the prefrences box about syncing files and keeping Itunes library organized?? any other thing to click?

An iTunes library consists of both the media and the database that knows which files are in the library and hold details of ratings, playcounts, playlist membership and other details not stored in each file's metadata.
Depending on how you have moved content to your external drive you may find you are only moved the media, but not the database. If you import this media into a new library it will work, but your library will be seen as "new" with respect to any devices that you have and iTunes will want to erase and reload them, losing you current selections, settings and data on the device.
These are two possible approaches that will normally work to move an existing library to a new computer.
Method 1
Backup the library with this User Tip.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
Method 2
Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entire iTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
Both methods should give the new computer a working clone of the library that was on the old one. As far as iTunes is concerned this is still the "home" library for your devices so you shouldn't have any issues with iTunes wanting to erase and reload.
I'd recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library.
If you have an iOS device that syncs with contact & calendar data on your computer you should migrate this information too. If that isn't possible create a dummy entry of each type in your new profile and iTunes should offer to merge the existing data from the device into the computer, otherwise the danger is that it will wipe the information from the device.
If your media folder has been split out from the main iTunes folder you may need to do some preparatory work to make it easier to move. See make a split library portable. Alternatively you could copy over the iTunes folder and make sure your external drive has the same drive letter on the new system as the old, however moving the library into a portable form will make every subsequent move that much easier.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library, or a backup of it, then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
tt2

How can i use an external hard drive with my ipad

I just got a new ipad 2 I am trying to see it is possible to connect a external hard drive to take my picture and documents with me.

Basically you can't, though there are a few (fairly expensive) drives coming onto the market which are said to be compatible. There is no USB port on the iPad, and the optional camera connection kit is only for the transfer of photos/videos, so wouldn't recognise other file types - if you were able to connect a drive via it then the drive would need it's own power source, the photos would have to be in a specific format, and there is still no guarantee that it would work.
There are apps available for the iPad which can use/access cloud services such as Dropbox.

I have tried and failed to copy my iTunes library and playlists from my Windows 8 desktop to my Windows 7 laptop using an external hard drive. Can it be done? Help would be appreciated.

I have tried and failed to copy my iTunes library and playlists from my Windows 8 desktop to my Windows 7 laptop using an external hard drive. Can it be done? Help would be appreciated. I have followed instructions found online but the library of music doesn't pull in. Thanks!
Nate

Migrate an iTunes library from one computer to another
These are two possible approaches that will normally work to move an existing library to a new computer.
Method 1
Backup the library with this User Tip.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
Method 2
Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entireiTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
Both methods should give the new computer a working clone of the library that was on the old one, with ratings, play counts, playlists etc. preserved. As far as iTunes is concerned this is still the "home" library for your devices so you shouldn't have any issues with iTunes wanting to erase and reload.
I'd normally recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library and unlike copying with Windows Explorer the process can be resumed if it is interrupted and it will continue to the next item if there are any read/access errors.
Note if you have iOS devices and haven't moved your contacts and calendar items across then you should create one dummy entry of each in your new profile and iTunes should merge the existing data from the device.
If your media folder has been split out from the main iTunes folder you may need to do some preparatory work to make it easier to move. See Make a split library portable.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library or a backup then then seeRecover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
tt2

Is it possible to format an external hard drive on my mac?

I purchased a portable external hard drive to back up my former pc in the hopes of using it on my mac. Obviously, I did not research this seeing now that I can integrate my files and photos from my pc to my mac. It appears possible to format the external hard drive to my mac os, which should be done prior to downloading files from my pc to the hard drive. Has anyone dealt with this or am I the only idiot that purchased the external hard drive thinking that was the thing to do before my pc dies completely?

A HD formatted in EXFAT will transfer data between both PC and Mac.
However dont make the titanic error most do in having merely a single external HD backup of your data, thats a tragedy waiting to happen.
HD are cheap as dirt.
Ideal situation is 3 HD , 1 for Mac backups, 1 for data archives stored away safely and updated as needed / often.
and a 3rd HD in Exfat for data transfers (or a thumb drive for the same thing to save $$)

When using as External Hard Drive: can I install programs?

Is it possible to install a program to the iPod when it's being used an external hard drive? I just thought of this, because I was wondering if it would help me conserve disk space. So long as I kept it connected to the computer, would the program still work?

Possibly, but will reduce space usable for media playable by iPod. If it will be for use as external hard drive exclusively there shouldn't be an issue. You could get higher capacity discs in external enclosures for about the same size though.

HT201250 Time machine back up using a external hard drive connected to the Airport extreme

How can I setup a time machine back up using a external hard drive connected to the Airport extreme? Even better for time managment purposes I want to use the Eithernet Thunderbolt connection for the first back up and then through the wifi there after for daily routine Time Machine back ups.

You can attach a hard drive, but Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port at the AirPort Extreme are not supported by Apple, so it's not possible to say what your actual results might be.
If you decide to try this, it would be wise to have a secondary backup plan in place as well.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15139.html

Is it possible to setup the time capsule as an external hard drive (wireless)

Hi, I have purchased a time capsule and looking to use it to automatically backup my data but also would like to see it on my mac book pro as an external hard drive (wireless); is that possible????????????? if yes how???

OK.. the TC is really designed for wired connection.
There is a hidden option.. hold the option key, when you select wireless mode, to join a wireless network. This is hidden because it is poor.. you join the TC to the mifi myfy and then yes, you can access it over wireless network.. but it is now half the speed of direct access due to double hop wireless. The TC is also going to not allow access directly by wireless or ethernet. So the option is there .. it is hidden due to being bad.
You will particularly notice what happens now is during backups your internet will crawl.. because you are saturating the local connection.
If I was in your situation.. I would buy thunderbolt to ethernet adapter and plug directly into the TC.. or scrap the TC and plug directly into a hard disk. The TC now gains you nothing.. it is unsuited to this sort of network.
But another solution is to buy USB wireless stick.. these are tiny things.. and cheap and plenty are Mac OS compatible. Plug it in and use it as a secondary wireless client.. with fixed IP you can now connect directly to the TC .. single hop wireless.. much faster and no interference on the myfi link.
You also don't have another wire plugged into your laptop which is messy.
OR
Scrap the myfy for a proper 3G router with ethernet.. you can usually just swap the sim over.. this is a much better solution as you put the TC back to its native correct operating mode..
Well there are some possible solutions.

Is it possible to use an external hard drive wirelessly w Leopard?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for