Issues after using an external hard drive.

I have a 15 inch macbook pro bought in mid 2009 and never had a problem with it till I decided to backup my files to an external hard drive. I plugged in the hard drive last week and now when I startup and login to my account my mouse often doesn't work (clicking won't register and I can't click on ANYTHING) and/ or the dock (which I have set up to hide) will not appear, forcing me to hold down the power button to restart my laptop. Restarting in this way sometimes works and puts everything back to normal. Anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this?
Additional information:
The hard drive I bought is just a WD passport that I erased through timemachine to format it for the Mac system.
I also have antivirus, have done a scan and nothing pops up.
I'm running the most recent version of OSX Lion.

It should be as simple as just setting the library location on each computer to read from the external drive
It is.
Sounds like you are referring to the *iTunes music folder* location in the prefs. This is not the same as the iTunes library.
The iTunes library file is located by default in \Music\iTunes\ on yoru boot drive.
This is all the info about what you have in iTunes. It is also the default location for your music but that can be changed in iTunes prefs -> Advanced -> iTunes music folder location. Changing this will change ONLY the location of the music, not the iTunes library.
Powerbook has no problem reading the iTunes Library on the external.
Great! Do this.
Connect to the drive Powerbook.
Copy the entire \Music\iTunes\ folder from the PowerBook drive to the external drive.
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
Select *Choose existing library* and select the *iTunes library* file in the *iTunes folder* you just copied to the external.
Everything should work.
Go to iTunes prefs -> Advanced and set the *iTunes music folder location* to the iTunes folder you hust copied to the external.
Tick *Keep iTunes music folder organized* and tick *Copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library.*
Now go to File -> Library -> Consolidate.
This will copy everything in iTunes, into the iTunes music folder in the iTunes folder you copied to the external.
Quit iTunes and plug the drive into the other computer.
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
Select Choose existing library and select the *iTunes library* file in the *iTunes folder* you copied to the external.
Everything is there with same playlists, ratings, date added, artwork, etc.
That's it.

Similar Messages

Using an External Hard Drive vs. a separate computer for music producing

Hi all. I have a dilemma. I'm currently using logic express to make my music and its installed on my 13 inch macbook pro that I bought last year. Granted, it works fine, however I am looking to upgrade to Logic Studio soon as well as purchase Spectrasonic's Omisphere, which for those who don't know is about 50 gb of sounds. That on top of the 50 gb that come with Logic Studio means about 100 gb of software which I frankly don't have the room for on my macbook pro. I've been looking at buying a new mac mini, 2.3 ghz i5 with 8gb of RAM and a 500 gb Hard Drive, solely dedicated to making music. However, my friends tell me I should just buy an external hard drive and install Logic, as well as the software, on the hard drive since it will be far less expensive than buying a new computer. However, I don't know how I feel about installing software on an external hard drive. So my question is, given what I am trying to do, what is my best option? Are there issues with using an external hard drive for this sort of work that would make buying a seperate mac mini more practical, or vice versa?

If you want to do this in a cost-effective way, you should delete some files you don't need from your macbook pro to make room for logic pro. Even though Logic Pro has around 50 GB of stuff, most of it comes from the Jam Packs, which I'm guessing you won't really need to use...So make room for Logic Pro on your laptop and install it there...then use the external hard drive to store and record your music to.
If you're going to get a mac mini with that type of spec, you might as well buy a new macbook pro with the same specs and better.
Option #3, you can always upgrade your internal hard drive...there are plenty of sites on the net that shows tutorials and offers hard drives that have plenty of storage, faster speed, and you won't even need to purchase an external if you upgrade to at least a 1 TB, 7200 rpm hard drive.

Can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition?

can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB external hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition? I now want to add another 500 GB?

Yes. Windows supports external USB drives.

Restoring using an external hard drive help

Ok so.. ive recnelty received my mac back from apple, after javing the hd replaced. To prevent the loss of all of my stuff i bought an external hd and used this as my time machine backup, so now its all on my external hard drive. The problem ive got is that ive got no idea how to restore my mac using the extermal hard drive so its like it was before it was sent off. ive been told one option is to launch my mac in recovery mode and choose to restore using. my external hard drive there. however i cant access recovery mode because i have a wireless keyboard, and the only wired keyboard i have is a windows one. also, to make matters worse, i cant use any discs because my optical drive is broken, so until i receive my extermal one, discs are also out. of the option.
any other ways to do it?
thanks!

RomeoVersace wrote:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889?viewlocale=en_US
Try this, your going to be using a program called Migration Assistant to restore data from a different computer's Time Machine. Your computer is a different computer now because of the new Hard Drive, so instead of entirely recovering the Operating System, this will save time and data by allowing you to choose individually what you want to restore and what you don't want to.
Do not use Migration Assistant, instead you will use Setup Assistant (which starts automatically when you first start your Mac) if you already started you Mac and added a user then you will have to use MA, but you will need to remove a user afterwards.

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 do I transfer my data to my new macbook pro using an external hard drive?

I've already set up my new MacBook Pro is my issue. It asked me if I'd like to "Migrate" my stuff or use an external hard drive etc but at the time I didn't transfer my data from my old MacBook yet. I was going to manually do it later as I had to wait for my External hard drive to back my old Mac up. Now it's that time and I have no idea how to do it. I believe I've researched best of my ability.
I feel like I'm asking a pretty dumb question. If I were to just drag all my programs out like my Adobe Suite on to my new macbook pro would that work? I feel like that's just too easy and incorrect. Please and thank you.

The Adobe suite can be downloaded free, you dont have to copy it at all, under standard CS6 Adobe rules, if you own the suite, you get 2 computers "activated at any one time" Make sure, if youre not using the older computer, you deactivate the software under the HELP menu in Adobe.
format the new drive in disk utility ......APPLICATIONS.....UTILITIES.....DISK UTILITIES.......select the external drive and format (if its new and empty!!!) under the ERASE button with Mac OSX extended journaled
copy all your important stuff from older computer , pics, files, documents, personal anything.
most of you apps, i ASSUME you bought in the (other than Adobe software, or Office suite, etc etc,..... obviously) in the MAC APP store, so you can reload them on the new computer without copying them , makes things very easy......just open APP STORE, and download what you already bought.
really the only important things , is copy all important work files, documents, pictures, personal ABC...XYZ...... obviously.
the migration is about emails, contacts, etc etc etc, also data, just because you passed it by at the time doesnt mean you still cant do it, go to the SEARCH at menu at top and type in MIGRATION ASSISTANT to do it again , since you passed it by at first .
the only thing you NEED / SHOULD copy is all your personal stuff........Applications need to be reinstall from either ONLINE download,.......or from the MAC APP STORE,........ you cant just copy the apps over (in most cases) and toss them onto the new computer
Nahh, there are no dumb questions, just dumb mistakes because you DIDNT ask any questions, and we all make those here and there.

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

I used an external hard drive for my backups via Time Capsule. I bought a new computer and I want to transfer all my old fonts over to the new one but when I go into the Font Library from the hard drive backup but my downloaded fonts aren't there?

I used an external hard drive to back up my computer using Time Capsule before I bought a new one. I am slowly transferring information fromt he backup to my new computer and I want to transfer over my old font book. When I go into the Font folder on the hard drive the only fonts that show up are the ones that came stock with the computer not any of the ones I have downloaded over time. Could they be downloaded somewhere else?

The answer to that would probably be "Yes." If you don't remember where your fonts were stored, you may want to search your backups for any of the font files you know the names to. See where that takes you.
Ideally, Font Book and other font managers will temporarily store the fonts you "installed" into the System when you run the OS. When you shut down, etc. they are removed and reloaded on restart. The permanent place fonts reside is where you saved them when or after you downloaded them. I typically create a Resources folder on the root level of the computer and place a Fonts folder there. Then I install fonts from there, and they are available to all users on that iMac.
Perhaps if you did not have that kind of a strategy, perhaps many of them are still in your Downloads folder?

Using an external hard drive to connect the camera to the Mac Book Pro

I am about three weeks away from a 9 to 4 pin firewire cable. In the meantime, I am logging and capturing from my Canon AX HI through my external hard drive. I am not super amazed at the quality of the image, it's noisy.
I am using HDV tapes, and I don't beleive the lighting should be causing the issue.
Does anyone know if using the external hard drive to connect the camera to my Mac Book Pro is compromising the quality of the image? Can I expect a beautiful strong image on a lap top?
Thanks for any help.

There is ZERO quality loss when you capture via firewire. It is a digital transfer of files...that's it. The issue you have is that you are trying to judge the quality of your image based on what you see with your computer monitors, and that is simply the LAST thing you should be doing.
And since this is HDV, the only way to monitor that is with an HD card or I/O device, and an HD monitor or TV. Like the Matrox MXO2 mini or AJA I/O Express mini and HDTV.
Shane

Using an external hard drive with Airport Extreme

I'd like to use an external hard drive to store movies and music through my Airport Extreme. The drive is connected to a powered usb hub which is connected to the Extreme. I can see the drive in Airport Utility but I can't figure out how to use it.

Hi,
I have just tried to set up an Airport Extreme with an external hard drive at home. I have 4 computers connected to the "network" - an iMac, a MacBookPro and 2 x windows machines. A printer is connected wirelessly to the two Macs.
I cannot find the hard drive - I have tried the steps mentioned by Bob Timmons Mar 17 2010, but the only things I see under "Shared" in Finder are the iMac and the printer - not the Airport Extreme (seems odd??), not the windows machines, and most importantly, not the hard drive connected to the USB port on the Airport Extreme.
I therefore expect that the iMac and printer are connected wirelessly and directly, rather than through my network (& I'm happy for the printer to be connected this way, but I do need the PCs and the hard drive all networked).
According to my network connection, (in top bar on the screen) I am definitely connected to the network - yet nothing else shows in finder??
I do, however, see the USB hard Drive when I go into Finder>Applications>Utilities>AirportUtility.app, under my Airport Extreme >Disks. I've also gone through all the set up procedures for "File Sharing."
I have read other posts about formatting the hard drive ether FAT32 or NFTS - is this something I now need to do?? If so, which one should I use, and once I do it, will I then see it?
Presumably, in order to format the Hard Drive, I will need to disconnect it from the Airport Extreme, and connect it directly to one of the Macs too?
My apologies for so many questions, but this is all very technical stuff for the non-techie layperson.
Many thanks for any help anyone can provide on one or more of the questions / issues.
Martin

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.

I have my iTunes music folder stored on an external hard drive. I recently purchased a new Mac. After attaching the external hard drive, all the songs imported without any problem except my Playlists. Any clue about where they are or how to revive them

I have my iTunes music folder stored on an external hard drive. I recently purchases a new Mac. After attaching the external hard drive, all songs imported without a problem except my playlists. Any clue about where they are or how to revive them for use on my new Mac?
Thanks!

Rysz wrote:
To retain your playlists, artwork, play counts, etc, you need to move the entire iTunes folder, not just the music files..
Correct.
After that just select the new folder location in iTunes> Advanced settings.
Incorrect.
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
Select Choose library and select the iTunes folder.
This will read the iTunes library.itl file in this folder and the library as it was previously will be opened.

I am not able to use my external hard drive with my Mac.

I am not able to use my external hard drive with my Mac. It was initially used with my Windows 7 laptop. Now when I insert my Hard drive in the Mac, it doesn't allow me to delete, format, make folders or copy new files on to my hard drive. I no longer have a Windows PC and am stuck. I tried going to Disc utilities,selected my HD, clicked on Erase and then changed the Format type to MS-DOS (FAT) but no luck .. Any other steps or advice?

It was likely formatted in NTFS which is readable by the Mac, but not writeable.
You should be able to reformat the disk in Disk Utility.
After having copied all the data off of it, you can try re-partitioning it.
Select the hard drive in the disk list in Disk Utility. Hard drives are the device itself, are left-aligned in the list, and are usually named with the manufacturer, size, and model number.
Click on the Partition tab.
Select 1-partition from the partition menu.
Click the Options button and set to GUID
Set the format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Give the Volume a name and click Apply.

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

Hello, i am new to the mac and i need to learn how to re image using an external hard drive

Hello, i am new, like baby fresh new,...lol, to the mac and i need to learn how to re-image using an external hard drive.

How to replace or upgrade a drive in a laptop
Step One: Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Step Two: Remove the old drive and install the new drive. Place the old drive in an external USB enclosure. You can buy one at OWC who is also a good vendor for drives.
Step Three: Boot from the external drive. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears. Select the icon for the external drive then click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Step Four: New Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your new hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Step Five: Clone the old drive to the new drive
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the new internal drive. Source means the old external drive.
Step Six: Open the Startup Disk preferences and select the new internal volume. Click on the Restart button. You should boot from the new drive. Eject the external drive and disconnect it from the computer.

Issues after using an external hard drive.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for