Mac mini set to make external drive default for storing media

Running multiple computers in the home how do I set an external NAS device as the default for all iTunes content so it can work with my Mac Mini and AppleTV? Mac Mini does not have enough storage space for all the media and rather than keep music on one computer and movies and TV Shows on another would rather have it all in once place...

Update: I wound up going with a DroboPro, and I wound up filling it with 8 x 1.5TB Seagate drives (purchased for $100 each using this deal from techbargains.com ~
http://www.techbargains.com/tellafriend2.cfm/168063
For under $2,000, I have a 9.36TB single volume of backed-up awesomeness!
I realize alternate versions of this sort of rig could have been made cheaper, but the warm cozy feeling I get in my gut when I look at this beast was worth the extra penny

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Suddenly Mac mini won't "see" external drives. Possible related to OS software update to 10.6.8?

Suddenly Mac mini won't "see" external drives, neither Firewire nor USB. Possible related to OS software update to 10.6.8? Worked fine under 10.6.4. Any advice? Thanks.

Turns out it was nothing to do with the OS update, it was just a loose cable plug connecting my FireWire/USB hub to the computer. But your tip is a good one -- I'd been wondering why the external drives (even when mounted properly) weren't showing up in the sidebar. Thanks!

Mac mini does not recognize external drive

I have an 80GB external drive full of music files. I disconnected my computer to move to a new house and, with everything re-connected, the mini does not recognize the external drive. I wonder whether it is because the internal drive is nearly full. I have tried restarting the computer, disconnecting and re-connecting the USB cable to the external drive, serching for it with the disk utility, un-pluggin the external drive power cable and re-connecting it, but I'm out of ideas. What might have happened?

DBG413 wrote:
Any suggestions on why my XP laptop cannot view the mac info on the HD.
you'll have to install e.g. MacDrive or HFS+ for Windows on your winsloth machine.

Mac Mini sluggish when USB external drives connected

I'm not sure what's causing this issue, but I have a Late 2012 Mac Mini and when I plug in a USB 3.0 thumb drive or my WD My Book Studio (also USB 3.0), the mouse cursor is very sluggish and laggy. I will physically move around my mouse and the cursor is extremely slow to reflect such movements on the screen. It did it with an empty USB flash drive, so there's no indexing or anything else going on in the background. Ejecting the drive will not solve this issue until I physically remove the drive from the USB port. What's causing this and how do I fix it?

format the drives for MAC OSX extended journeled.....when you do that, is the problem still present?
Ive head of this before on WD drives (cant stand them) because they have some nasty bloat loaded onto them for installing them (no need for that EVER) on your computer.
when you insert the WD drive, does the drive come up AND ANOTHER icon saying something like "WD xxxx" (i recall its something like WD utility, or WD support) ???
Ive got nearly 100 hard drives, but wont own a WD, ....if i get a free one, i destroy anything on it with a erase and wipe with disk utility "format for mac osx extended journaled"
AS FOR YOUR STICK DRIVE,......are you sure its mac compatable??? most stick drives list that in the fine print, and mac owners buy a cheap stick drive that isnt 'kosher' with MAC

My G5 died, but I have connected it's hard-drive to my Mac Mini to use an external drive. How do I retrieve all my Fierfox bookmarks from it?

When I stat up Firefox on either my Mack Mini or the attached G5 hard-drive it is acting like its a new account. And I don't have a back up of my bookmarks.

Firefox would store its data in the profile folder. You need to search for the old profile folder, inside it there will be a folder called bookmarkbakups containing a few files with names in the format bookmarks-yyyy-mm-dd.json.
For details of how to find the old profile folder see the [[profiles]] article. It should be inside this folder - /Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/, there will likely be a folder with a name similar to xxxxxxxx.default, that will be the profile folder.
You can import the bookmarks from the most recent of those files into your current version of Firefox by following the restore procedure in the [[Backing up and restoring bookmarks]], using the "Choose File" option.

Mac newbie cannot access Mac Mini's Iomega 200gb external firwire drive

After a power problem - I powered on my Mac Mini to find no external firwire drive
I have my data backed up - so I reinstalled OSX
I am now at the stage where Disk Utility
can see the disk,
I ran disk repair - it said all ok
but no icon on desktop (I am logged in as Admin)
I plugged in my work usb disk its icon appears ok
the firewire reports its mount point: /Volumes/Iomega HDD
when I safari that it returns "you dont have permission"
but when I safari my usb drive I get to see its contents
it looks like I (admin) dont have permission on the disk - and "repair disk permissions" is not clickable
Its a step forward but I'm stumped - on the plus side I am learning OSX's quirks having been a micro$oft user for so long and was pleasantly surprised with os reinstall ease.
also finder finds all my stuff (but its in ghost font - unclickable ! )
is there some utility to force admin permission?
or am I thinking about this the wrong way?
I also am not too worried about reformatting the disk, as I have 99.9% of the data backed up (the only thing I thank my years of Micro$oft use for lol)
however a part of me thinks a reformat will give me a blank disk - with no permission
help!

Do you have access to another Mac? It would be helpful to try the external drive with another computer to make sure the problem isn't with your Mini (it probably isn't, just good to eliminate that as a variable). I don't know Dublin, but surely there's a Mac retailer somewhere that has a few demo machines out.
Alternately, you can create a new admin user on your Mini, log into that user, and try accessing the drive there. This would show you if it's a problem with your main account or specifically permissions.
You should also check your Finder prefs and make sure you have removable drives set to show up on the Desktop. Since you just did a clean install and this is the default (I think), this shouldn't be a problem, but it's worth checking.
If none of these steps yielded positive results, the next thing I would do is run Disk Warrior. This is arguably the best disk repair app for Mac OS X; it's definitely my favorite. Your external drive could have a corrupted directory or some other problems that Disk Utility isn't seeing/fixing for whatever reason.
If none of this works, reformatting the disk is the last step. As long as the drive itself isn't physically damaged, and the problem isn't something on the Mini itself, reformatting should fix the problem completely. And since it sounds like you have your data backed up, maybe you should just skip to this step and be done with it.
Good luck.

HT1338 My Mac Mini stopped recognising Iomega external hard drive via USB 2.0 connection. Any suggestion to get way around? Thanks.

How can I make my Mac mini recognise again iomega external hard drive, if it has stopped to do so?
many thanks.

[USB and FireWire Quick Assist|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1151]
[Common fixes for USB device issues (unrecognized, etc.)|http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20070824012114701]
[What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire or USB device|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1317]

Mac Mini won't read external hard drive

Hello, I have an external Toshiba hard drive and my Mac Mini will not read it. It was originally used on Windows. I plugged the hard drive into my Macbook and it worked as a read-only device. I can take stuff off of it but can not write stuff onto it on my Macbook. I want to use it so I can back up files on my Mac Mini, but it will not read it. I know I have to format it to make it writable with Mac, but I want to make it a read only device on my Mac Mini because I want to back up all the data already on it and my Mac Mini has 400gb of its hard drive available. How can I get my Mac Mini to read the Hard Drive?

If the drive has more than one interface (USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, eSATA), try one of the other interfaces.
Check that the data cable is securely inserted at both ends.
Try a different cable.
If you're connecting the drive through a hub, connect it directly to a built-in port on the Mac.
If you're connecting it directly, try a different port.
Disconnect all other devices on the bus, or as many as possible.
Test the drive with another Mac. Test another drive with this Mac.
If the drive is bus-powered, but has an AC adapter, connect the adapter.
Boot into Recovery and launch Disk Utility. Is the drive recognized?
Start up in Safe Mode and test.
Reset the System Management Controller
If the drive doesn't work under any of the above conditions, and if another drive does work with the same Mac, then the drive has failed. You may be able to salvage the mechanism by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

Whats the best way to transfer everything from my old macbook pro to a new mac mini, i have a external hard drive which i backup to regularly via time capsule

whats the best way to transfer everything from my old macbook pro to a new mac mini, i have a external hard drive which i backup to regularly via time capsule

Check out > OS X Lion: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

What is the best way to set up an external drive for video storage

What is the best way to set up an external drive for video storage?

Check the formatting. It need to be formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled). This is also known as HFS+.
FAT32 and NTFS formatting will not work with iMovie.
If necessary, you can reformat using Disk Utility.
Make one large partition. No need for multiple partitions.
Do moves or copies to the external drive through iMovie as detailed in iMovie Help. If you move Events in the Finder, they may become unlinked from the projects that use them.

Mac os unable to format external drive

I am unable to reformat Seagate Free Agent Pro external drive used for Time Machine backup. Disk Utility gives error msg; "Couldn't unmount disk." I attempt to initialize an identical external drive and receive the same message. Any ideas?

Drive Erase for Lion/Mountain Lion
1. 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. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select the volume you wish to erase from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.

I've got a late 2009 mac mini with a 320gb hard drive and I want to upgrade it to a 1tb drive or bigger. What HDDs are compatible with my mini?

I've got a late 2009 mac mini with a 320gb hard drive and I want to upgrade it to a 1tb drive or bigger. What HDDs are compatible with my mini?
Because of the price I'm not interested in solid state drives, unless of course you want to send me $1,000.
I've already got external drives but I take my mini back and forth to work and don't want to carry those drives with me.
I'm not interested in buying a laptop. My mini works great so why waste $1,000 or more when I can buy a 1 to 3 TB hdd for under $300 and have exactly what I want. My late 2009 Mac Mini with a large hdd.
I went to Crucial's website and they can't tell me what drives fit my Mac Mini. That's where I got my ram (8GB). I'm ONLY interested in name brand quality HDDs.

The limiting factor in your 2009 mini is the max 9.5mm drive thickness.
One of the largest capacity 2.5" drives that meets this criteria is the HGST (formerly Hitachi) at 1.5GB
Any reputable SATA HDD you can find that is not thicker then this 9.5mm will work.

I have my iPhoto set to an external drive yesterday when it was in use the usb disconnected i now have a message saying (your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable) I have tried shutting down and restarting.

I have my iPhoto set to an external drive, when it was in use the usb disconected as i was moving my mac air, when i re-conected a message said (your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable).
I have tried shutting it down and then re opening iPhoto but get the same message.
The reason for the external drive was there was not enough room on my hard drive, I have around 7000 photos on it.
is there a simple fix?
Regards
Dale

These are your options:
1. Restore the iPhoto library from the most recent backup that predates the issue.
          Advantages: Always works, if library damage is causing the problem and the backup is intact.
          Disadvantages: Impossible if you don't have a backup. All changes made since the backup are lost.
2. Repair or rebuild the library. Be sure to back it up first.
          Advantages: May solve the problem with no loss of data.
          Disadvantages: May fail. May take a long time if the library is large.
3. Scavenge the library with a third-party application called "iPhoto Library Manager," which you can find in a web search. From the application's menu bar (not the iPhoto menu bar), select Library ▹ Rebuild.
          Advantages: All images and albums should be preserved.
          Disadvantages: All books, calendars, and slideshows will be lost.

Does Mac OS firewall also protect external drive connected to iBook?

Hi all,
I have an iBook G4 to which I've connected an iomega external firewire drive divided into two partitions (a clone of my iBook, plus a section used for photo storage).
I have the firewall turn ON in my iBook's system preferences, and none of the sharing options are enabled.
I'm wondering if this firewall will also protect my external drive?
I'm connected (authorised user) to the internet via airport coming from a network set up by my landlord, who lives downstairs.
I'm wondering if it's OK to leave the ext. drive plugged in all the time (if it's protected by the firewall), or should I unplug it when not in use?
Anyone know?
Thanks

The external hard disk drive is accessed via your computer,
so the only way an external off-site attack could be performed
would be through the System; it has the Firewall, if turned on.
Unless the external hard disk drive is of the type or configured
to be accessed remotely or through some wireless setup to
share it via a base station or other device for backups or other
uses, it should be as safe as the hard drive in the Mac. But, if
the external drive is on an unsecure wireless network for shared
use, then the settings of the wireless base station should be set
and when not present, if no shared use is expected or desired,
an external unit could be unmounted from the desktop & powered
off until the next time it is needed.
So, under normal wire-connected use, an external drive should be
protected and as secure as the System itself; with some exception.
It is possible to change settings inside the computer and allow
other users or persons with access, to get into a computer remotely.
If you do not have these possibilities open, they can't gain access.
Hopefully this helps...
Good luck & happy computing!

Can the mac osxlion usb jump drive be used after as a external drive for storing media files

can the mac osxlion usb jump drive be used after as a external drive for storing media files

If you are talking about the Lion install USB thumb drive sold by Apple then no it can't. it has some specail formatting that makes it show up as a DVD drive and is securely locked from any changes.
But I must ask why would you want to. That would destroy that drive and wipe out the Lion installer.
USB thumb drive can be bought for $8.

Mac mini set to make external drive default for storing media

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