Migration Assistant with External Hard Drive

Can the Migration Assistant be used with an external hard drive which has a complete install of OS X on it?
I am finally upgrading my old iMac for a new iMac. I plan on harvesting the old iMac's 60 GB drive and put it in an external enclosure for added storage. Though the old one's firewire ports work fine, I thought it might be easier to migrate the old iMac's settings from the "new" external drive rather than going through the targeted disk mode and all.
Thanks for any opinions,
Michael
iMac DV, G3 400 MHz, Grape Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I did this just yesterday yesterday. I put a new disk into a G4 iMac, installed a fresh copy of Tiger on it and then migrated the user folders across from the old drive that I put in a firewire enclosure. Obviously if you go for an Intel Mac then you will have to be careful with the applications.

Similar Messages

Migration Assistant finds external hard drive but says it has 0 kb in profile

I'm trying to transfer all my stuff from one MacBook to a Macbook Pro. I have been saving Time Machine back ups on an external hard drive for a few years on the original MacBook, running 10.6. I know it has been backing up properly because all of the files are there when I browse the backups folder.
When I go to Migration Assistant on the MacBook Pro and choose back up from Time Machine or other disk, Migration Assistant recognizes the external hard drive, but when I click through, it shows my user profile and says it has 0.0 kb in it. Also says 0.0 kb for Apps and Documents / Files.
If I do Mac to Mac transfer through Wifi, it finds the entire profile and all of the files. That takes too long, though, and I thought the purpose of having my stuff on a hard drive was to make this process really easy.
Appreciate any help anyone can give me about getting this to work right. Thanks.

I did this just yesterday yesterday. I put a new disk into a G4 iMac, installed a fresh copy of Tiger on it and then migrated the user folders across from the old drive that I put in a firewire enclosure. Obviously if you go for an Intel Mac then you will have to be careful with the applications.

Issues with External Hard Drives

I hope this is the right forum for this one - please give me a steer if not! I've also posted it in 'Dock and Finder', but this forum seems equally appropriate, if not more so.
I'm getting repeated issues with External Hard Drives, including ones that I have been using successfully for months/years, suddenly failing to mount and then becoming 'unknown device' through the firewire branch of 'About This Mac'.
I've just bought a new hard drive on the grounds that the others had somehow failed, and the same problems are emerging. I decided to Repair Permissions on my iMac's internal drive, and am copying the results below, from repair runs conducted yesterday and today:
YESTERDAY'S REPAIR PERMISSIONS RESULTS
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.
Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Reading permissions database.
Reading the permissions database can take several minutes.
Permissions differ on "private/var/log/secure.log", should be -rw------- , they are -rw-r----- .
Permissions differ on "Library/Preferences", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxrwxrwx .
Permissions differ on "Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/lanArrow.png", should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/lanCheck.png", should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/lanDisabled.png", should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/wanArrow.png", should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/wanCheck.png", should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/Resources/wanDisabled.png", should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/Apple/ParentalControls/ALRHelperJobs", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Sites".
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/DVD.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSettings.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSources.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Movies.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Music.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Photos.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Podcasts.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/TV.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BackRow.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Desktop".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Application Support".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Assistants".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/MIDI Drivers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Digidesign".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds/Alerts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/ColorPickers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Compositions".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Favorites".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/FontCollections".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Fonts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie/Plug-ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie/Sound Effects".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Input Methods".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Internet Plug-Ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Keyboard Layouts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Preferences".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Printers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Screen Savers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Sounds".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Voices".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Movies".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Music".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Pictures".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Public".
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/InternetUtilities.bundle/Contents/ CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunesHelper.app/Contents/CodeResou rces", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.usbmuxd.plist", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are -rwxr-xr-x .
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/Filesystems/AppleShare/afpLoad" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources /DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "sbin/umount" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "bin/rcp" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/Apple/ParentalControls/ContentFiltering", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/Apple/ParentalControls", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iLifeMediaBrowser.framework/Versions/A/CodeRe sources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/CodeResourc es", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/BlackAndWhiteEffect.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/CubeTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/DissolveTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/DropletTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/FadeThroughBlackTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/FlipTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/MosaicFlipTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/MosaicFlipTransitionSmall.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/PageFlipTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/PushTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/RevealTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/SepiaEffect.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/TwirlTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/WipeTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/quota" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/rlogin" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/rsh" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Permissions repair complete
TODAY'S PERMISSIONS REPAIR RESULTS
Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Reading permissions database.
Reading the permissions database can take several minutes.
Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/Apple/ParentalControls/ALRHelperJobs", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Sites".
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/DVD.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSettings.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSources.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Movies.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Music.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Photos.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Podcasts.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/TV.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BackRow.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Desktop".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Application Support".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Assistants".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/MIDI Drivers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Digidesign".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds/Alerts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio/Sounds".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Audio".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/ColorPickers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Compositions".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Favorites".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/FontCollections".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Fonts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie/Plug-ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie/Sound Effects".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/iMovie".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Input Methods".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Internet Plug-Ins".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Keyboard Layouts".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Preferences".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Printers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Screen Savers".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Sounds".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library/Voices".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Library".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Movies".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Music".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Pictures".
ACL found but not expected on "System/Library/User Template/English.lproj/Public".
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/InternetUtilities.bundle/Contents/ CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunesHelper.app/Contents/CodeResou rces", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/Filesystems/AppleShare/afpLoad" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources /DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "sbin/umount" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "bin/rcp" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/Apple/ParentalControls/ContentFiltering", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/Apple/ParentalControls", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iLifeMediaBrowser.framework/Versions/A/CodeRe sources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/CodeResourc es", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/BlackAndWhiteEffect.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/CubeTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/DissolveTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/DropletTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/FadeThroughBlackTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/FlipTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/MosaicFlipTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/MosaicFlipTransitionSmall.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/PageFlipTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/PushTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/RevealTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/SepiaEffect.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/TwirlTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework/Versions/A/Resources/P lugins/WipeTransition.IAPlugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/quota" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/rlogin" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/rsh" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Permissions repair complete
My concerns are:
* Some of the permissions repaired yesterday appear to have needed to be repaired again today
* There are several files which carry a warning that they won't be repaired as they have been 'modified', and some of these clearly relate to disk management.
Does anyone have any ideas what is going on???
Thanks!!

Many problems with the 10.5.7 update have been fixed by a Restart.
If that doesn't help, something may have gone wrong with the update. Download and install the "combo" update, from: http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_7_ComboUpdate
If that doesn't help, try running the Apple Hardware Test, on the disc that came with your computer.
1. Disconnect all external devices (including the Ethernet cable) except the keyboard and mouse.
2. Insert the "Additional Software & Apple Hardware Test" disc that came with your computer.
3. Restart while holding down the "C" key. When the list of available startup volumes appears, click Apple Hardware Test and the right arrow.
4. When the Apple Hardware Test main screen comes up (after a moment), follow the on screen instructions.
5. If it detects a problem, an error code will be displayed. Make a note of it.

HT2729 Digital Copies to my IMac with external hard drive, then on my MacBook Pro I can see the movies, but if I close out my IMac, I can't access my movies on my laptop??? Can anyone help me out here? Thanks.

I have my itunes stored on my external hard drive of my IMac.
I have started to put my Digital Copies to my IMac with external hard drive, then on my MacBook Pro I can see the movies, but if I close out my IMac, I can't access my movies on my laptop???
Can anyone help me out here? Thanks.

I have my itunes stored on my external hard drive of my IMac.
I have started to put my Digital Copies to my IMac with external hard drive, then on my MacBook Pro I can see the movies, but if I close out my IMac, I can't access my movies on my laptop???
Can anyone help me out here? Thanks.

Blue screen on start up with external Hard drive connected

On start up Imac freezes on light blue screen with external hard drive connected via firewire. Starts okay without hard drive connected. I have repaired the drive with no resolution of the problem.

tpetrini wrote:
On start up Imac freezes on light blue screen with external hard drive connected via firewire.
You might try starting the iMac in "verbose mode" by holding down command-V when booting:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492
That could show you some messages that might explain the problem.
Another approach is to launch the Console utility and look for messages dated around the time of a hang.

Mac air with external hard drive - not being found on Finder, Time Machine, Migration Assistant

I have been using an external drive (Imation Apollo) to access only, old files from previous computer (PC) on a new Mac Air. I had not transferred them across to new computer (didn't want to do that) just accessing them from the HD. It had been working fine until recently. Each time the external drive had been connected Time Machine would come up and ask if i wanted to use this drive for back ups, and I always chose 'Decide later'. So, as yetI hadn't as yet configured Time Machine to do back ups.
Recently I noticed that the extrnal HD was no longer showing up on Finder. Slight panic as i have 5 or 6 yrs of work saved on that HD
Further investigations - it's also not showing up either on on Disk Utility, or on Migration Assistant.
I've done the following:
Tried HD in each of different USB ports - made no difference, HD still not showing up
Tested different Hubs in each port with HD attached - no difference HD not showing up
Tried USB flash drives in the USB ports - These are working fine and show up on finder
Tried the HD on other comptuters (a PC though, don't have access to another mac to do this test)- working fine, the HD is showing up and is accessable
Interrogated the Console logs to try to see if the act of attaching the HD creates a log entry - couldn't find anything
Rebooted computer via shut down, power disconnect - no difference
Reset PRAM - no difference still not showing up
Reset SMC - no differnce still not showing up
So I think I have established that all the USB ports are functioning correctly and able to access other external drive devices, using hubs with external powersource is not the issue, identified that the external hard drive is working OK, and it appears that the Mac itself is functioning normally.
What would be the reason the Mac now does not allow this specific external HD to be identified and accessed. The only possible things I can think of are
if I had in fact pressed 'Do not use' when Time Machine asked 'do you want to use this drive for back ups'. Would that mean that the Mac now totally rejects this HD from being a source of accessible files - I hope not!
I also think that my husband may have disconnected the hard drive from my computer to access some stuff and he just yanked it out rather than use the safe eject method. Could this create an issue? The Hard drive works fine on his PC.
Why is my Mac Air now rejecting this HD and what can I do to access my historical files now.
Any assistance anyone can provide would be very greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Anna

I can't answer why it isn't accessing it, but I have a slightly related issue w my back up drive starting to get noisy.
Realizing that redundancy is safety for critical data. I talked to my brother about my situation the other day & he said he has 3 small Western Digital portable HDs that he rotates for backup. He even keeps 1 in the safe deposit box.
I have read for some time that we should have multiple back ups & also have our critical stuff backed up off site. Amazon HD reviews had a woman telling about how she was very backed up on multiple computers & hard drives, but they were robbed or burgeled & all of them were stolen including her thesis that was on the computers.
Hard drives aren't that expensive. I just bought a new Western Digital 1 TB drive for $89.99. I plan to use it to back up the Seagate that is getting noisy & then maybe alternate them.
Also, when I came back to Mac, I moved practially all of my documents to Mac. I think I just dragged & dropped or something. Photos, Office, & pdfs do fine that way. & then you could back them up to a couple of different external drives & remove from your MacBookAir.
Unfortunately I think most of us do not back up until crisis & then it may be too late.
Also use Time Machine. For the 1st time in my computer life, my computer is well backed up--although now realizing the need for redundancy so will start backing up to at least 2 different HDs alternatly.
So, not sure why it isn't working & hopefully you have come up w a solution by now.
I think what I would do in a situation like this, since you can access it on the Windows machine would be to transfer the data to the Windows machine & then transfer it back to a different back up.
I'm looking into backing up what I still have in Windows using a thumb flash drive. I think it should all fit ok now that they have the larger drives & I don't have very much left in Windows format.

Backup problems with external hard drive

I bought a WD passport external hard drive and copied my itunes library onto a file there. I re-set the location of the library on itunes to the drive on the external hard drive. So far I have not deleted anything from my computer hard drive. However, when I am in itunes and click onto a song, nothing comes out of my speakers. Everything looks normal, as if the track is playing, but nothing is happening. I tried buying a new track off of itunes online, downloaded it, and installed it on my ipod; it plays fine, on my ipod, but will not play on the computer. Something is obviously wrong, but I can't figure out what has happened. Any help out there?
Thanks!
Delany

It sounds to me like your iMac is on it's last legs....at least the internal hard drive. If you can't make a new Time Machine backup I would advise you replace your iMac as soon as possible.
Assuming your three-week old backup is sound you should have no problems moving everything over to a new Mac. I would recommend you use the Setup Assistant that appears when you start up the new Mac (and note: It only appears the first time you start the new Mac; you can move everything over later on via Migration Assistant, but you may see issues with accounts if you opt for that route).
I don't think you need the Genius Desk for Setup Assistant. You only have to power up the new iMac, answer a few questions....select "....From Another Disk..." When it asks how you want to move everything over....connect up your Iomega external drive...and wait for it to finish. (Could take several hours depending on the amount of data you're moving).
A couple of notes:
1. If your Iomega is a Firewire drive you'll need a Firewire to Thunderbolt adapter to connect it to your new iMac.
2. If you need to load CDs or DVDs remember the new iMacs don't contain an optical drive. You would need to get an Apple SuperDrive or third part external burner if you need that functionality.
I'm puzzled by the comment made in Seventy One's post questioning the reliability of the new iMacs. I upgraded from a 24" early 2008 model to a 27" model and everything works flawlessly. I hardly ever see the beachball anymore.

Target disk mode with external hard drive?

Hi all,
I have a very annoying problem. I've just bought a new Mac Mini, previously I had an iBook G4 600 (about 6 years old). My Mac mini works perfectly, but...
1) I don't want to copy everything over from the iBook with Migration Assistant, I'd rather pick and choose what to copy. Is buying a firewire cable and using Target Disk mode the only quick way to do this?
2) I was intending to transfer files using my external HD. But the Mini doesn't recognise my poor old external drive. However, all my iTunes music is on the external HD. It seems by far the fastest way to get the music off (as long as I can't get the mini to recognise the HD)would be to boot the iBook in Target Disk mode then somehow be able to read from the external HD as well. Is this possible? If not, what on earth can I do??
Thanks in advance,
Suz
Message was edited by: Suz

Okay after testing, I am ready to conceded that you are correct that you can daisy chain an external drive and a TDM Mac together and have them mount both drives.
However. unless Suz proves me wrong (Which is always a possibility), I do not think that it will fix her initial problem. Since all's TDM does is allow the computer to act as a Firewire device, so it and the external hard drive, are simply 2 FW devices on a serial bus. If the new Mac Can't mount the external drive from the old computer, I doubt it would mount it with the old computer connected to it. (Unless there is just some funky thing going on that having another firewire device on the bus corrects?)
Let's see if it shows up in System profiler, and if it shows up there how does Disk Utility see it?
Have you also tried resetting the NVRAM?
Also just to be on the safe side, do you have another Firewire device that you can connect, to let us know that the port on the new mac is actually working?

Multiple (related?) issues with external hard drive connectivity

Apologies if this has been discussed but I have been unable to find a solution or explanation after searching here and on other forums.
I recently purchased an external hard drive (1TB Iomega Select Portable, bus powered, 2.5", USB 2.0). After formatting with two HFS+ partitions the device began disconnecting unexpectedly and afterwards was often not recognisable by my mac until I rebooted. I returned the product and had it replaced by another of the same model.
The replacement external hard drive worked fine at first but hours later began showing the same symptoms. _It now connects briefly then a few seconds later disconnects._ Occasionally it seems to mount and work fine, but the problem always comes back. In the times when it is working, _Time Machine recognises the drive but only backs up at a rate of about 1KB/s!_
_I don't know if this is a problem with the external hard drive, my USB ports, or settings on my mac._ Any advise you could offer would be greatly appreciated as I've run out of troubleshooting options with my limited knowledge of computers.
_**Some tests I've done:_
1) When it's not being recognised in Finder, it's also not recognised in either Disk Utility or System Profiler
2) At one stage after repeatedly disconnecting, two other external hard drives and two thumb drives that I know work fine normally also failed to mount, but strangely two wireless mouse USB receivers worked fine. Both thumb drives were formatted as FAT32, one of the external hard drives had one HFS+ and one NTFS partition, and the other was entirely NTFS. When they weren't recognised in OS X, the two FAT32 drives and the NTFS partitions of the external hard drives were all recognised in Windows 7 via VMWare Fusion. After restarting the computer all of them now work on both Windows 7 and Mac OS X.
3) I tried the external hard drive on another computer (a PC) and it was recognised in Vista's 'Disk Management' with both partitions marked as 'healthy', but it just called it 'Disk 1' rather than showing the names I'd given each partition.
4) When I first started transferring files onto the drive I often got 'error code -36', but found a solution that seemed to fix that by deleting the '._' files from the source folder through Terminal.
5) I've tried different USB cables, both USB ports on my mac, and also connecting with and without the secondary part of the 'y' cable that was supplied with it.
Thanks very much,
Andrew
Message was edited by: andrewcarter

I have the same problem with some 2.5 drives. My iMac on 10.5.8 sees the drive fine but my older 2007 Mac Book Pro 10.6.6 would not see it and now my new Mac Book Pro had problems seeing the drive from my old Mac Book Pro in that box. I had to use migration utility over the network that took 18 hours to copy my user over. I bought a new drive box and now the drive seems to work fine. I have ejected it a couple times and all seems well. I hope it continues to function properly.

Can I migrate from an external hard drive to new Macbook Pro?

Can I migrate my Macbook 13" Aluminum Late model 2008 data from it's external hard drive to my new Macbook Pro? I have a complete back up of my old Macbook on that drive, but there is no way to connect that to the new Macbook Pro (no firewire etc on old Macbook).
Thanks for any help!

Yes; if it's an USB drive, you can just plug it in, and there are adapters to connect a FireWire drive to a Thunderbolt port. You'll be given the option to migrate data from it when setting up the new computer or by launching the Migration Assistant in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder.
(113054)

Windows Easy Transfer (WET) Issues with External Hard Drive - "Can't read from the source file or disk"

I work for Office Depot, in the tech department. Basically, one of our associates was supposed to do a data backup, and re-install Windows 7, then transfer the files back. He used Windows Easy Transfer and compacted everything into a 163 GB file.
Now comes the hard part. When we try to put it back on his computer ((drag-and-drop to the desktop) which has been wiped back to factory settings using the recovery partition), it stops at 79.5 GB remaining (you know how it doesn't give you a % of completion,
it just shows how many GB are remaining) and then says "Can't read from the source file or disk" and gives you an option to try again, or cancel. It gets hung up on the same point each time.
Normally, this wouldn't be a huge issue, but the contents on the drive are his wife's architect blueprints and interior design stuff, along with wedding photos, etc, which are the only copies they have. On top of those, they have court documents and other
important files that we are unable to access now.
I wasn't involved with this transfer, so I'm trying to clean up the mess as best I can. I remembered that the customer's wife was Russian, and had some files typed with a Russian keyboard, so on and so forth. I wonder if that's the issue? If not, I really
have no idea how to manually extract things from a ".mig" file, or how to diagnose what area is potentially corrupted.
In light of this situation, we tried using "Recuva" to recover the files post-wipe, but everything was corrupted or unable to be opened, and it also extracted and recovered all of the "useless" photos, such as the skype logos, up and
down arrows for browsers, etc (it was 160,000+ photos).
Trying to avoid a potential lawsuit, unhappy customer, and costing the company lots of money to see if professionals can get into this external hard drive.
Other relevant information:
We used a Toshiba 500 GB (465 GB) external hard drive.
Customer's computer is an HP Pavilion P6000 Series (Model No. p6520y) running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Service Pack 1.
Any other information that is needed can be provided, thanks in advance, and hopefully we can find a solution to this issue quickly!
-John

I think there's a lack of understanding somewhere.
"If you even can't start the process, please unplug it from your new PC. Then head back to your new computer and plug
the external drive back in to your new computer. "
Unplug from new, head back to new, plug it back in? That doesn't make much sense! Haha.
I knew what you meant though, somewhat. When I search through the drives after clicking yes (Has windows easy transfer
already saved your files blah blah blah) I click on the transfer file and it says "Windows Easy Transfer could not open the file".
Rather than drag-and-drop the file to the desktop, I now tried to double-click on the file itself while it was plugged
into the computer. It opened, and it started transferring until it was about 70% completed, and then an error popped up saying "WET can't open the easy transfer file, make sure your USB device is plugged in or check your internet connection".
I checked, and the USB hard drive's light wasn't on. Now, I unplug it and plug it back in, and the light comes back on,
so I click Retry, and it resets the bar back to nothing and says "Transfer time: 1 minute".
Rather than continue trying, I clicked "Cancel" instead of Retry, and it says "Your transfer did not complete successfully."
It says to click "view report" for more information, but there's no "view report button".
At the moment, I am scanning the External Drive for bad sectors using the check disk tool in properties. It's frozen
at "0 USN bytes processed".

Error code 36 (problems with external hard drive)

I have just upgraded to Yosemite and am now having major problem with my external western digital hard drive. I cannot create new folders and when I hit command N I get error code 36. I also cannot move files from one folder to the next. When I try to move them I get the error message: "The operation cannot be completed because a file of that name already exists" and that simply isn't true. None of the files' names exist in the other folder.

Ok, It appears to be the fault of Western Digital. I ejected the hard drive and then plugged it back in and it said that the drive was broken but I could still read the files and it told me to save the files on another disk and reformat. So it was just a coincidence that I upgraded to Yosemite at the same time that my external hard drive broke.

Disk Utility and DiskWarrior trouble with external hard-drive.

I got an external hard-drive that doesn't show up on finder. On both Disk Utility and DiskWarrior it keeps mounting and unmounting. Disk Utility when trying to repair, spits this out when it unmounts...
2011-07-28 22:43:43 -0700: Problems were encountered during repair of the partition map
2011-07-28 22:43:43 -0700: Error: Some information was unavailable during an internal lookup.
2011-07-28 22:43:43 -0700: : Some information was unavailable during an internal lookup.
2011-07-28 22:43:43 -0700: [DUDiskController mountDisk] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
On DiskWarrior it simply says 'Directory cannot be rebuilt due to disk hardware failure (-36,2747)
Earlier today it would stay mounted and Disk Utility would spit out...
Verify and Repair volume “Back-up Hard Drive”
Checking file systemChecking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Invalid sibling link
Rebuilding catalog B-tree.
Invalid node structure
The volume Back-up Hard Drive could not be repaired.
Volume repair complete.
Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
while DiskWarrior would try to fix it, but on
Step 5: Locating directory date...
Speed reduced by disk malfunction: 339,474, er make that 340,239, er make that 341,327
and I finally gave up there.
I try to fix the Invalid sibling link error via Terminal and I get this...
imac-2:~ Migrated$ fsck_hfs -r /dev/disk2s2
** /dev/rdisk2s2 (NO WRITE)
Can't open /dev/rdisk2s2: Resource busy
Is there ANY THING I can do to get it to stay mounted and possibly fix this? This is my back-up hard-drive!!

It's the cord that's being used that decides if it shows up, or if it shows up and then goes away over and over. Using a cord where it stays on in the programs, when I run Disk Utility of the darked out part of the hard-drive, it spits out...
Verifying and repairing partition map for “MICRONET”
Checking prerequisites
Checking the partition list
Checking for an EFI system partition
Checking the EFI system partition’s size
Checking the EFI system partition’s file system
Checking all HFS data partition loader spaces
Reviewing boot support loaders
Checking Core Storage Physical Volume partitions
Updating Windows boot.ini files as required
The partition map appears to be OK
while the part of the disk just below it that's light spits out
Verifying volume “Back-up Hard Drive”
Checking file system
Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.
Verify and Repair volume “Back-up Hard Drive”
Starting repair tool:
Checking file system
Volume repair complete.
Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
Disk Utility stopped repairing “Back-up Hard Drive”: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
while DiskWarrior tries to rebuild it and spits out a memory error.

Rescue and Recovery backup with external hard drive

When I first backed up my computer to my WD 1 tb external hard drive using R&R, boot files were placed on the drive. Recently, some files I had corrupted my external hard drive and I had to fully erase it. Now, after making the drive recognizable again, I went to go back up my computer using rescue and recovery. This time, it asked me whether or not I wanted to make the drive bootable, I said yes, but an error popped up saying I needed 1000 more mb, even though I had 931 gb open. The backup started anyway, but it did not include any boot files. Is there a way to make the drive bootable the next time I backup? What is the difference between nonbootable and bootable? Help? Thanks.

I do NOT have a external Hard drive. If you just zeroed the drive, it is blank. Go into control panel,administrative tools, computer management, disk management. See if you can get a PROPERTIES of the external drive and post a Screen shot of that here. This will show what partition(s) are there, Fat32 vs NTFS. My experience is after you zero a drive, You have to boot your system, then use a Vendor (WD) standalone format utility or windows Disk manangement format, Make partition, etc. The screen shot i need is the one that says: DISK 1 (d 298.09 GB NTFS
Healthy(active,primary partition). This is what my 2nd drive, D, says. 1 partion on the drive.
When i added my second hard drive, it was blank. Booted up, BIOS recognized drive, Then i Formatted it with windows disk managment. I then pointed R&R to take backups to that drive. Create rescue media then made a Master boot record, install standalone R&R boots files, then took the backup. This makes my 2nd drive bootable, should i ever care to boot my D drive up and have R&R standalone program in control. Thus i have 2 bootable drives. C boots into windows, D boots into the rescue and recovery standalone program. I can also boot my C drive into R&R by hitting PF 11 at startup (bios) time.
Which version of r&r you have? Which version of windows? Windows 7 changed the way Master boot records are written.
You can go into R&R, advanced menu, create rescue media. Point to your External drive. WARNING. make sure the do not destroy existing data block is checked. IF YOU ARE brave, uncheck the destroy existing data. This will erase everthing on the drive!!! <<Warning. And be sure NOT to point to any drive you really love.
Buts lets 1st get the screen shot requested to make sure the drive is FORMATTED correcly.

How to use Final Cut pro with external hard drive?

I have too little space on my computer so I have to use final cut pro x with an external hard drive, but whenever I have the hard drive plugged in and Final cut going, my computer goes very slow. I just upgraded to 16gb ram... but can't seem to run FCP x while an external hard drive is plugged in. FCP just freezes up and I have to force quit.

craigbuckley wrote:
all the files and events in final cut are still on my internal, so my internal drive is still full.... Do I have to go and delete everything off my internal?
In addition to the excellent advice to keep your media on an external HDD, you need to make sure that your system (boot) drive has a decent amount of free space if you want to have a satisfactory editing experience. Many people recommend not going below 20% free space. That's especially so for the boot drive, but as you fill up the external, its performance will also slow. Ideally, we would have separate media and backup drives,
You don't need to "delete everything". Rather, you first figure out what needs to be moved. You copy those files to the other drive and then verify that all the files you copied are in two locations. At that point you can delete those files from your boot drive.
Good luck.
Russ

Migration Assistant with External Hard Drive

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