Move Spotlight's database to an external drive?

Any chance I can move Spotlight's index xdb to an external drive? How so?

What is "Spotlight's index xdb?"
Better you don't use acronyms so we know exactly what you mean by them. But best that you don't make them up at all.
As for your question, best you read p 12 of the Spotlight Technology Brief: http://images.apple.com/macosx/pdf/MacOSXSpotlightTB.pdf. Otherwise the answer is NO! The index must be stored on the volume that is being indexed. Spolight only works on volumes that it can read and write to.
If you have further questions, TheXlab is a great site. http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/faqs.html

Similar Messages

How do I move an iTunes library from one external drive to another?

I need to move my iTunes library from one external disk to another, because the original disk is about to fail. So, I went into iTunes Perferences --> Advanced, and set the library to a new, empty folder on the new drive.
Nothing changed. I expected all my music to vanish from iTunes, so that I would have to re-import it. However, all the music remained, still on the old disk. At this point, if I were to recreate the library on the new disk, I would have all of my music twice.
Is it possible to move an iTunes library from one external drive to another, or am I stuck with my original choice until I buy a new machine? If I can move it, can one of you clever folks explain how it could be done?

Paul Seymour1 wrote:
However, those are all dealing with old versions of iTunes that still contained the Advanced --> Consolidate Library command which is no longer part of the app. (I'm on iTunes 10.6.1.)
Consolidate is still part of iTunes.
It is in iTunes menu File > Library > Manage library > Consolidate.
The article you linked to is old and it is (and was) a hacky way of doing it.
Just copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to new location, hold Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) when launching iTunes.

How to move an iMovie project to an external drive ?

Hi I need to move my iMovie project to an external drive, to free some space, please help. if it's possible.....

To make sure that all required media is in the library contain the project you need to "Consolidate media" see: http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov882dee351
You can then copy the library to your laptop with the Finder and open it with the same version of iMovie. The last phrase is important since Apple has made changes in the project format several times even between minor updates of iMovie 10. Earlier versions may not be able to read the library and later versions (not possible in this case) may cause the project to be updated so that it is no longer readable by the desktop version. iMovie on the laptop will not at first find the copied library - you will have either to double click on it or File - Open library - Other and navigate to its location.
Geoff.

How do I move a back up to another external drive and how does the Mac Book then find the new back up?

how do I move a back up to another external drive and how does the Mac Book then find the new back up?
I currently have the back up on a Time Capsule, I want to move it from the Time Capsule to another external hard drive.

Did you read the link to the Pondidni website? You will have to select the Time Machine HDD for the new MBP and the old one in System Preferences>Time Machine:
Ciao.

I have a new windows 7 pc and i want to move my iTunes mediathek (Music, movies) to it. by using an external driver (Hd.). But On the new pc iTunes does Not integrales the Media files.

I have a new windows 7 pc and i want to move my iTunes mediathek (Music, movies) to it. by using an external driver (Hd.). But On the new pc iTunes does Not integrales the Media files.

Copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder from old computer to /Music/ on new computer.
Launch iTunes.
That is all you need to do.

I just purchased an external disk drive to store my pictures. I want to keep the last 12 months of pictures on my iMac and move the rest to the new external drive. As new pictures are added I want them to be put on the iMac internal drive. How?

I just purchased an external disk drive to store my growing number of pictures. I want to keep the last 12 months of pictures on my iMac and move the remaining pictures to the new external drive. As I take more pictures I want them to be put on the iMac internal drive. Every 3 to 6 months I would then move some additional pictures to the external drive. I am nuervous about losing any of the pictures and want to make sure I follow the proper procedure. What is the right way to handle this?
Thanks.

Here's one way to do what you want:
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager

How do I move imovie 11 events to an external drive and then access through imovie?

How do I move imovie 11 events to an external drive and then access through imovie? When I copied to the external, it came through as clips and doesn't play using imovie...is there a way to do this? I have several imovie events and have no disk space left s trying to move them to free up space tp upload new photos and movies. Thanks.

joanne987 wrote:
So, then what do I do if I have files on the external and won't fit back onto my HD? How do I format it for imovie? any suggestions?
buy another HDD ... 500Gigs are ctually around 70-90€, saw yesterday a 1.5TB WD for 140€ ...
.... 9TB of harddrives in use here ... don't forget to have at last one backup/copy per drive

Spotlight comments backed up to external drive

I am using spotlight comments on JPGs to record information about the photo, such as the person who took it, their email, etc. I do not want those comments to be visible in the photo itself.
I know that these spotlight comments are not in the photo file itself, but in the .DS_store file.
1) How do I back these comments up on an external drive?
2) How do I insure that these comments are not lost when I use programs OnyX to clean up my drive?

I found I was able to backup my Spotlight comments to an external drive without using carbon copy cloner.
I used OnyX and under the Finder options, I made the invisible files visible. I then manually selected the .ds_store files from the internal hard drive to the backup drive. Now the Spotlight comments appear on the external drive.
The disadvantages to this technique is that I must do this for every folder that contains files with Spotlight comments. For me, that is only five folders. The other disadvantage is that once the .ds_store file appears on the backup drive, it appears that I am not able to delete, replace or update that file on the backup drive. I would guess that I could trash that folder and replace it with the folder on the internal drive.
When I was finished, I used OnyX to once again make those files invisible.

I wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.

i wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.
currently i am managing my own folder structure, but have decided to bite the bullet and let itunes organize my media.
i moved the media library location in advanced options to the external drive i would like iTunes to us, checked 'keep iTunes media folder organised' and copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library'.
approx a third of my music transferred. the remaining music is now greyed out. when i click on information on the greyed out tracks, the location is given as iCloud. how do i download these songs?

benefit: To move the library in the future you drag the whole iTunes folder to the new drive, hold down the option key while starting iTunes, point to new location, iTunes starts as if nothing happened. You can also use the library with a different computer. It's easy to back up when it's all together.
You cannot simply move a media-only folder to a new drive by dragging unless you maintain the folder structure exactly, and the new drive has the same name as the old one. Yes, there's fixes but it's not as fast.
The main disadvantage to having the whole library on an external is if for some reason you keep some media on the external and some on the internal. You can use iTunes with a bunch of broken links for media on an unattached external if you only want to play the files on the internal. Then, of course, you need the library file (library.itl) on the internal drive.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391

How do I move my itunes media to an external drive?

My hard drive is getting full. I would like to move my tunes media to an external drive but now I have music all over. Has anyone done this succesfully?

Copy the entire iTunes folder to the root of external drive, e.g. as X:\iTunes where X: is the drive letter. Click the icon for iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the file X:\iTunes\iTunes Libary.itl. Use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Files and click OK. iTunes will create local copies of any stray files in the media folder. You can then delete the originals stored elsewhere.
Backup the library with this User Tip. (And yes, that means you really need another drive.)
tt2

How do i move aperture library to from MBP external drive

Perhaps I am not searching properly,but was unable to bring up a 2011 answer to this question. Does anyone have more current help than 2011?

Thank you, léonie, for your extensive help. I do not wish to impose on you, but have answered the first part of your response below. If you were to continue helping, I would appreciate that greatly. I also hope continuing the conversation within the community this way is ok. If not please advise.
Hansjurg
“What exactly is the mess now? I do not want to contribute to it inadvertently by missing details.”
I meant that, the original library remained on my MBP and the copied library was on my new dedicated external drive. My original problem of only 50 gigs on my MBP meant the beach ball was quite active.
I set the library from within aperture to the file on my new dedicated external drive. Images I looked at appeared and all functioned well but slowly.
Since I had a vault set, had a clone of my original MBP hard drive from before the library copy and a time machine backup to another dedicated hard drive, I sent the original iMovie library to trash and deleted it.
I then reindexed spotlight and the MPB worked much faster, reflecting some 150 gigs available much better than 50 from before.
Is this summary correct?
My external drive was formatted correctly. I did user finder to move my "iPhoto" library from my mac to my external drive.
I did redirect Aperture to the external drive. but I see that the original library remains on my mac. (Which, as I mentioned above, with much care and several types of backup, I trashed the original file, which was on my MBP).
So you could open your library on the external drive? Is it working correctly? Yes
Are you able to open all images? Yes, based on a sampling of images.
Is your library referenced or not? That means, did you import your images into Aperture or photo with the "Import Settings" set to "Store Files: In the Aperture Library"?
I am not sure from where you got the graphic labeled “Aperture Library”. My Aperture version is 3.5.1.
When I go to Aperture preferences and select import, this is what I see:
In advanced this is what I see:
I think the difference is in my version.
Continuing, when I look at iPhoto, it references the new library on my external drive. Here’s that screen shot.
So, the Aperture setting says it is currently set to use iphoto for camera imports and iPhoto is set to use the new external drive’s library. I am not sure how file imports will be affected, but assume it will be the same. Is that correct?
Any comments up to this point?
I will now try the smart album comment.

How do I Move Events from an Internal to External drive?

Hello,
I am trying to move events on my internal drive to my new external drive. Everything is set up and I see the external drive, but after reading other posts and replies it seems I can't just move the files from the internal to external drive by dragging and dropping using finder.
Can anyone give some guidance on how I do this so i don't have to reload all my videos on the external drive.
Also, when they are moved over, will i see the external drive when I open iMovie, or do I ahve to do something to see it in my Events Library.
Any help be be appreciated.

Can anyone give some guidance on how I do this so i don't have to reload all my videos on the external drive.
Best approach is to import files directly to the external drive during the initial import process by selecting the appropriate drive in the import window. However, for Events already stores, here is A QUICKIE VIDEO TUTORIAL.
Also, when they are moved over, will i see the external drive when I open iMovie, or do I ahve to do something to see it in my Events Library.
You must activate the "external drive" icon in iMovie '08 to make your external drives visible in the Event Library list. (I.e. Press the icon to the right of the "Event Library" title and to the left of the actual Event Window.) Sorry, answered your e-mail message before seeing the second question here.

How do I move time machine files from one external drive to another?

My original external drive isn't big enough. So I've bought a second larger one. How do I move the earlier Time Machine backups from Ext Drive #1 to Ext Drive #2 so I can access my full history, and leave Drive #1 for other backup items?
Ext Drive #1= SimpleTech 120 GB
Ext Drive #2= WEstern 500 GB

When you are ready to pass the 320GB drive on, I would format it. That will make the entire drive available to him to use as his TM. I would be sure that each drive has a unique name so that there will be no confusion for TM as to which computer goes with which drive. If you want to start fresh with the 500GB drive, I'd format it as mac-extended-journaled. When you connect it the first time to your computer, you will be asked if you want to use it as your TM. If you are not prompted to select it as your TM, you can configure TM by opening system preferences, click on TM, click on "change drive" and choose your new drive.
Another choice is to follow the steps in my previous response for restoring your current TM to the new drive by booting from a Leopard start up disk and accessing Disk Utilities from there so you can restore the drive. It is essential that the new hard drive is the exact name as the old TM hard drive. In this last scenario you would continue adding to your current set of backups.

How do I move my iTunes Library to an external drive and retain everything?

I'm sure this is a common [stupid] question, but I couldn't find a clear answer and I want to be sure I'm doing it correctly.
To clarify; I want to move/relocate my iTunes Library folder to an external drive (FW800 two-disk RAID1) to free up my system drive and have a backup. Do I redirect iTunes to the new location and use File>Library>Consolidate Library, or, can I just move or copy the 'iTunes' folder to the external drive and then change the iTunes 'music folder location' to the new location? Will this now save all subsequent imported/purchased music, movies,,..etc to the external drive and retain all my library details?
Message was edited by: Sakahara

Hello, Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Below you will find more information about your options of relocating iTunes Library and backing it up.
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Music folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1329
Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
How to back up your media in iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1382

How to move Startup Disk clone from one external drive to another?

I thought this would be a question easily answered on the WWW and easily found via search engines, but so far no luck, hence this question.
Prior to upgrading from Lion to Mountain Lion I followed some very good instructions from Tom Nelson on ask.com (http://macs.about.com/od/backupsarchives/ss/diskbackup.htm) related to using Disk Utility to clone my internal Macintosh HD drive to an external hard drive, making it a bootable drive. I cloned to a very nice LaCie external FW drive that had far more room than that needed for the clone. This drive booted just fine as a startup disk, so mission accomplished:   I have now a bootable clone of my Lion system prior to upgrading to Mountain Lion.
The upgrade to Mountain Lion went well, and now, before I put any additional apps or much additional data on the original internal Macintosh HD drive, I want to use Disk Utility again to clone the drive so I'll have a snapshot of the system right after the upgrade to Mountain Lion.
Questions:
Is there any way to use the same LaCie drive that now holds the Lion startup disk clone to hold the yet-to-be-done Mountain Lion startup disk clone?
If not, how can I move the Lion startup disk clone from the oversized LaCie external drive to a drive more the size of the Lion clone (approx 140G)?   The LaCie drive is far too roomy and nice to have sitting gathering dust for only 140G to be used in an emergency restore.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

Good info Csound1, and thanks.
So my final question (I think): How does one move/copy a startup disk clone from one external drive to another, and still have it bootable on the new external drive?   I'm still considering freeing this LaCie drive up for more dynamic storage and getting another drive for the bootable startup disk clones IF I can move this Lion startup disk clone to a new external drive.
I guess the summary question is:   how does one clone a startup disk clone? As I think about this, and recall the Disk Utility screens, couldn't I simply select the Lion clone on the LaCie FW external drive and do the same operation I did with the original internal Lion drive? Basically the same steps as before but this time the source is the LaCie FW external and the destination is a new external drive?
Thanks again; wonderful forum here with very smart people.

Move Spotlight's database to an external drive?

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