OS 8.1 - Trying to partition an external scsi drive and backup data.

Have an Apple PowerMac 6000 series minitower at work. It runs a program called 4D, that is a database we use to catalog images. Since I've been with the company, there has been no backup of the database, as an external scsi drive had died and never been replaced.
Since the system is running OS 8.1, I wasn't sure how I could do any sort of network backup, and in the end I managed to get a new 50-pin scsi 50GB LaCie External Hard drive with the 25-pin cable to connect to the PowerMac. Connected it yesterday, and it did appear on the desktop as you'd expect.
But when I went to point 4D to the drive, it didn't seem to recognize the file system. I tried erasing the drive, but it had the same probem. Norton Utilities is on the mac, so I tried replacing the partition. Specifically, I tried creating two partitions. One that's 40GB, that I could do 4D backups to. The other, the remaining space (about 7GB) so I could try to copy the entire drive to that partition and maybe even boot from it if the other drive failed.
However, the drive was still mounted when I tried to repartition and it ended up causing an error. I tried rebooting, and the drive wasn't showing on the desktop, but it still wouldn't repartition. Not knowing was else to do, I low level formatted the drive, told it to write zeros to it, and then create the two partitions. Given I was doing all this on a Saturday and didn't know how long it would take, I left it running in the background to check on Monday.
Anyone have any experience with OS 8.1? Is there a program like Carbon Copy Cloner that works with that OS? And any thoughts on what I'd need to do to get this drive working as indicated above? I started using Apple again with OS X, and it's quite a bit different than 9 and previous. Could sure use some help.

Hi, merkman2001 -
I would use the Apple utility Drive Setup (which comes with a normal OS 8.1 install) to initialize and partition the drive, rather than Norton or any other third-party utility.
As far as the format type goes, select Mac OS Extended when asked.
<hr>
Is there a program like Carbon Copy Cloner that works with that OS?
Generally such is not needed with OS 9 and earlier OS versions. All pre-OSX OS's and software can be copied using a Finder (drag and drop) copy process, and remain usable.
This means that the System Folder on the internal drive can be dragged to the icon of the external drive and dropped into it. Ditto any/all additional folders, those containing the programs and documents.
You should be able to successfully do a test boot using the freshly-copied OS on the external drive; this is the best way to verify the integrity of the copied OS.
Can't recall if aliases were used in OS 8.1. If they were, it may be necessary to 'fix' any of them used, since the pathname contained in an alias is not corrected when it is copied to another drive - it continues to point to the original original.
You can also copy the entire source drive to the external one in one action - drag the iccon of the internal drive to that of the external one and drop it in.
After Finder gets done copying everything (this may take some time, so disable any sleep mode or screensaver), there will be a new folder on the external volume - this folder will be named the same as the internal drive. Inside that folder will be a copy of everything that was on the internal drive, including everything left lying around on the desktop and anything left unemptied in the Trash (these will be placed in new folders named "Desktop" and "Trash" respectively).
In order to make that external volume bootable using the freshly copied OS, move the System Folder out of the folder it was copied into, so that it is at the root level of the drive, meaning visible in the window that appears when you first open the drive's icon.

Similar Messages

Partition of external hard drive for backup different computers

I have a macbook(40Gig) and an iBook(80 Gig); I want to make an external hard drive to backup.
1. Is this possible to partition the external drive into two to make a bootable backup for both laptops?
2.If so how big the external drive should be?
Many thanks

1. Is this possible to partition the external drive into two to make a bootable backup for both laptops?
Yes. Set up a partition for each on the external and then clone a bootable copy of your current drive to the appropriate partition.
2.If so how big the external drive should be?
At least 40 + 80 = 100 GB. You're probably going to end up with an even bigger drive. I'd set up partitions to roughly match each of your computer drives in size (so 40 GB and 80 GB), then another for any extra. Having them match size makes it easy when cloning. Don't forget that if you store files on the extra you will also need to back those up on yet another drive.
Cloning And Backup Tools
A bootable clone is an exact copy of your drive which is capable of booting your computer. Making a copy of your computer which is capable of actually starting the computer requires special copying procedures. Some people just back up data files but if you have problems you have to reinstall all your operating system and all your applications. With a bootable clone you just start up from the backup drive and clone back everything.
To copy files from one hard drive to another hard drive you can use:
[CarbonCopy Cloner|http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html] (donationware)
[SuperDuper|http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html] (shareware)
[IBackup|http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup/index.html] (free)
The Restore function of Disk Utility included in OS X. [Kappy's directions|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8799711#8799711]
[Tri-Backup (commercial)|http://www.tri-edre.com/english/tribackup.html] (payware)
[Silverkeeper|http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper> (free) - version 2 has some issues (references: [1|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d12jan2009],
[2|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d13jan2009]) and it is recommended Tiger users stick with 1.1.4.
[Kappy's Backup Software Recommendations|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9065665#906 5665]
[Overview of Mac OS X Backup Programs|http://8help.osu.edu/1247.html]

How do I partition my external hard drive without losing data?

How do I partition my external hard drive without losing the data already on it? I've been using it with Time Machine on my old computer, but want to use it as a regular drag-and-drop type back up on my new computer. Is there any way to basically split the hard drive so I can still access the Time Machine backups on my old computer, but also be able to use it with my new mac? Thanks!

If you reformat the drive all data is lost.
The only way to save the data is to copy it somewhere else during the reformat.
Drag & drop will not backup things correctly.
I suggest you set up partition for each Mac and then point Time Machine to each of the partition for each of the Macs.

External hard drive and backup

I just got a 750GB external hard drive that I need to format and/or partition and I am not sure what the best way to do this is. We just had the power source fail on the imac and, fortunately the hard drive is ok. I have saved my picture folders, idvd movies & itunes playlists to another external hard drive by exporting them. I am just wondering what the best thing is to do with this external hard drive. This is the only mac we have in the house, we have a pc & compaq laptop, when we had the imac in the shop I couldn't get to the pictures on the external hard drive because it was formatted with the mac. Do I want to clone the hard disk? Do I want to partition it? I still want to save my pictures, movies & itunes on this, is that possible also? If so, do I export these folders to the External HD or is there a backup utility I can use? Is there a way that I can save the pictures so that I can access them on the mac and on the pc if I needed to? Any advice or suggestions would be great. Thanks.

If I make a clone of my old drive, does this also copy folders (pictures, music, adobe...)?
A clone makes a full duplicate of everything that is on the one drive to the other.
Is this something that I would need to update and if so, how often?
Yes, but how often depends upon how much you change your files and how much you are willing to lose if your backup is out of date. A main drive failing is unpredictable. The extreme version of this is having a RAID where the minute you make a change that change is copied to backup drives almost as you do it.
Do I also do a separate backup? I understand that it would be best to have 2 copies of my pictures. I would like to have these on discs as well as the external hard drive, but I have thousands of pictures because I take tons at my children's sporting events. It would take so many cds or dvds, but that is what I will do, unless someone has a different suggestion.
One can write pages and pages on backup philosophies.
Backing up to CD/DVD is almost impractical these days due to the size of data and relatively small capacity of optical discs. That said, I do have things backed up to DVD. Files I know are never going to change (photos, other multimedia). I bought high-quality archival grade DVDs for this purpose. Price per GB though, hard drives are cheaper and easier.
Having multiple backups is not a bad idea. Let's say you keep one backup drive by your computer so it is handy for a daily backup. Somebody steals your computer and backup, well all is gone. Have a weekly 2nd backup stored in the garage somewhere then you still have most of your data.

External Boot Drive and Backup

My apologies in advanced if this question has already been answered.
I'm sending my Macbook Pro (Late 08) into Apple Care today to have the trackpad and optical drive replaced, so I'll be with out my computer for a couple of days. So I'm backing everything up, and I'd like to have a bootable external drive so that I can use some of my less CPU intensive applications (Namely, my STAMP Programer). So I have a Seagate 1.5Tb drive (USB unfortunately) that I can use, but it already has some large files on it from my old computer (FCE projects and media, garage band, Movie rips, etc) that I would rather not move. I'm using Carbon Copy Cloner, and I was wondering if I should add a partition to the drive and then tell CCC to use that, or if I should just use the drive as is.
Thanks!
Paul

Is the drive formatted with GUID partition scheme? If not, it will not be bootable.
That said, and if it is, you can create use a partition to make the bootable clone. My Time Machine drive (a USB2 MyBook drive) actually has this - one major (~600GB) partition for TM, and a second partition for a CCC bootable clone. It works fine.

External hard drive and backup advice please

hi,
Sorry if this is a common question to the forum but I have only just registered and need advice that is a bit more taylor made than the other posts I've read.
I am going to be buying an external hard drive - firstly I have read that it's better to get firewire so that if need be I can boot up from it. Is this the case??
I want to make a clone of my hard drive, this can be done using deja vu, but is this the best thing to use? or do i need to get something like carbon copy cloner?
next.....partitioning disks. How is this done and what are the advantages? Why do this? This may be the answer to my next question.....
...I want to use the external drive for (1) making a clone of my HD that I can do each week for backup purposes and (2) using it to copy files onto daily/weekly - keeping it separate from the clone
help would be much appreciated
thanks

I am going to be buying an external hard drive - firstly I have read that it's better to get firewire so that if need be I can boot up from it. Is this the case??
Yes.
I want to make a clone of my hard drive, this can be done using deja vu, but is this the best thing to use? or do i need to get something like carbon copy cloner?
You can also try SuperDuper to perform the clone.
next.....partitioning disks. How is this done and what are the advantages? Why do this? This may be the answer to my next question.....
To partition a disk, use the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder. Partitioning a drive on your model of computer will usually only give you benefits if you want to maintain multiple bootable installations of Mac OS X or Linux on a single disk.
(13860)

HT201250 Can I partition my external hard drive and use one partion for time machine and the other one for data that i may want to use in different computers?

I have this doubt. I've just bought an external drive, especifically a Seagate GoFlex Desk 3 tb.
I want to know if it is recomendable to make a partion exclusively for time machine and let another one so I can put there music, photos, videos, etc that I should need to use or copy to another computer.
May half and half, 1.5 tb for time machine and 1.5 tb for data.
I have an internal hard drive of 500 GB (499.25 GB) in my macbook pro.
Any recommendation?

As I said, yes. Be sure your Time Machine partition has at least 1 TB for backups.
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. 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 two (2). Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

Trying to use a external hard drive and getting a error message

My issue is with the Silicon Power H10 1TB Wifi drive. I got everything to link up but my Macbook wants to see it has a remote disc. So when i go to drop a File or movie on it i Get the message i need to Auth the remote Disc click here. When i do the box closes and nothing happens. I am new to IOS programming but I am good with windows.

Howdy pbfrost,
You should first check to make sure that your device is compatible with the iPad. See this article -
If you need help with iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch accessories - Apple Support
According to the Apple's store requirements for the Seagate Backup, it needs to be used with a computer. See this page -
Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim for Mac Portable Hard Drive - Apple Store (U.S.)
If you are trying to back up your iPad, you can use either iTunes while connected to a computer, or iCloud. See this article -
Back up and restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iCloud or iTunes - Apple Support
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

Partition of External Hard Drive

I am trying to partition an external hard drive into three partitions - one for the time machine backups, one for miscellaneous storage and one for storage of files that I can share with a PC. I was able to partition the drive successfully but all three partitions are in the Mac OS Extended (journaled) format. I understand that I need to change the format of the part I want to share with the PC into FAT but when I click on that drive, I don't have the option. I tried looking under the "erase" tab but the only options are: Mac OS Extended (journaled); Mac OS Extended; Mac OS Extended (case sensitive journaled) and Mac OS Extended (case sensitive). Now, if I look at the entire hard drive (not clicking on one of the partitions), the option is there. I could erase the entire thing using the MS DOS (FAT) option, but I don't want to do that. How can I format only one of the partitions in the MS DOS (FAT) format?

I think it's because of the drive's Partition Map Scheme. In Disk Utility, select the drive in the left side bar. Look at the bottom of the window, and find Partition Map Scheme. If it is Apple Partition Map, you will not be able to format it as MS-DOS (FAT).
The way to fix this is to go to the Partition tab. For Volume Scheme, select 3 Partitions (even if it already is 3 partitions). Click on the Options... button. In the window that opens, select either GUID Partition Table or Master Boot Record. GUID Partition Table would be best for use on the Mac, as long as the PC is OK with it (I'm not sure). Now, when you return to the Partition tab, you should be able to select MS-DOS (FAT) for one partition while keeping the others formatted for Mac.

HT201250 What does it mean to "partition" an external hard drive? Is it something that I want to do?

What does it mean to "partition" the external hard drive? Is it something I want to do? How do I save files from another hard drive to the new one? I have to reformat the old one as it was not set up correctly. The drive I have is Seagate but not specifically for MAC, so I have to format it.. never have done this before. Don't know the jargon. I read that Time Machine will back up automatically but I want to take files from the old drive to the new one. Do I have to take them to the computer first and then to the new drive? I need more memory on my computer. It's way too cluttered and congested. HELP!

Whoa! Slow donw. TRhere's a lot here. I would suggest you buy a good book on computers in general or macs in particular, one is "OSX the missing manual".
What does it mean to "partition" the external hard drive?
It means you take one large drive and make it into more than one volume. This means that it might show up as 2,3 or 4 inde[pendenmt drives. Each one could have, for example, a different operating system on it. Its a good thing to do if you want to use a drive for several purposes
Is it something I want to do?
beats me, you didnt way what you're trying to accomplish. Sorta like sking "should i turn left?" Depends on where you want to go.
How do I save files from another hard drive to the new one?
See advice n book above. Copy them in finder. Copy them in unix. Use a backup or sync utility. No different from Windows in that respect.
I have to reformat the old one as it was not set up correctly. The drive I have is Seagate but not specifically for MAC, so I have to format it.. never have done this before. Don't know the jargon.
Hook it up. Run disk utility. Partition 1 or more partions. GUID map. Format each partition Mac OS extended, Journaled. for more, read book, above. Seriously - we could give you more tips, but you really should learn enough to be comnfident.
I read that Time Machine will back up automatically but I want to take files from the old drive to the new one. Do I have to take them to the computer first and then to the new drive?
I have no idea what you are asking.
I need more memory on my computer. It's way too cluttered and congested. HELP!
What kind of memory and why? RTAM? Hard drive space? Explain. By the time you are done explaining, i suspect you will have ansered your own question.
Good luck,
Have you read the PDF manual for your cmputer?
Have you used a search engine to look for info, for example, in two seconds i got this from google and wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_partitioning
Grant

[Solved] how to partition my external hard drive?

I just got a new 750gb external hard drive and want to create 2 partitions on it with arch, but
sudo cfdisk /media/Iomega \HDD \750GB/
just tells me
"Opened disk read-only - you have no permission to write".
So how can I create an ext4 partition with 450 gb and another fat32 partition with 300 gb on it?
thanks for the help in advance
deF
Last edited by deF291 (2011-02-24 05:51:33)

okay I tried it but in my browser (thunar) the device is still mounted under /media/Iomega[...] and the previous files that were on the hdd from the beginning are still there..
sudo fdisk /dev/sdb10 says
Disk /dev/sdb10: 750.0 GB, 750021214208 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91184 cylinders, total 1464885184 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb10p1 * 63 878900084 439450011 83 Linux
/dev/sdb10p2 878900085 1464870959 292985437+ 86 NTFS volume set
but sudo fdisk -l says
Disk /dev/sdb: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders, total 1465149168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
Disk /dev/sdb doesn't contain a valid partition table
why didn't cfdisk write my partitions? or if it did, why can I see but not access them oO
/e: mount says
/dev/sdb10 on /media/Iomega HDD 750GB type hfsplus (ro,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=hal)
Last edited by deF291 (2011-02-23 12:41:38)

How do I encrypt my external hard drive and subsequently a specific file within it, using my Mac? I tried creating a disk image but permission was denied.

Encrypting an external hard drive and specific folders within. Permission denied using disk image.

VKP90 wrote:
When I tried to encrypt a single file within the hard drive itself, I got the following: Disk Utility Progress: Unable to create "Name of my file" (Permission Denied).
When I tried encrypting the entire hard disk itself, I got: A GUID Partition Table (GPT) partitioning scheme is required.
I have also currently used Time Machine on the external hard drive, along with saving other data. Hence, I am not sure if partitioning is going to delete any of this (a video I watched mentioned that using the + button when creating partitions retains current data). Backing up the external hard drive is out of the option since it is the back up to my Mac.
You can't encrypt a single file. I'm not sure what you did to try. You can make an encrypted disk image which begins with a folder, if desired. Or, you can just create a blank, encrypted disk image, then move your desired files into that.
While you could partition off the free space without erasing the disk, you cannot encrypt it because you need a GUID Partition table which requires you to repartition the entire drive, not just the free space.

Partitioning an external Firewire drive

Hi,
I'm trying to partition an external 150gb Lacie Firewire drive with the Disk Utility under OSX10.3.9 and I've gone through the Erase procedure and DU is telling me I'm left with 149.1gb after formatting.
So now under the partition tab I'm trying to set out the size of each partition and I know these sizes are gonna sound a bit random but bear with me so I want :-
3 partitions of 10gb = 30gb
6 partitions of 8gb = 48gb
1 partition of 71.1gb
After setting, naming and locking the first 9 partitions, when I get to the final partition, which I want to be 71.1gb, DU won't let me set a figure above 16.81gb.
Now I fully appreciate that disk sizes are, to a degree, 'approximate', that after formatting you do 'lose' a few gb's and that each partition will have a filesystem installed on it but where the heck am I losing 54.29gb of storage space from ?!!
I have experimented with fewer partitions and, to be fair, it seems you lose less space with less partitions but is it really the filesystems on each partition eating up that space ?
I'm using HFS+ (journalled).
Many thanks for any help you can give as this has been a real headache today !
Nick

Hi roam,
Many thanks for your continued input into this thread and my apologises for the delay in replying to your last post.
Anyway, I thought I'd give SuperDuper a go and downloaded v2.1.4 as you suggested and must agree that it's very simple to use. The backup took twice as long as my old way of backing up (restoring from the internal drive to the external drive) and I checked the log file for any errors and there weren't any, so all good there.
I again restarted with the option key held down and yet again I'm only ever presented with one drive icon to boot from, not two, so I'm really not sure why this is happening.
However, I've been giving this quite a lot of thought and I've come to the conclusion that if my internal system drive was to suffer a catostrophic failure (I'm touching loads of MDF here as I type that !!) and the drive is either wiped clean or damaged to the point that I replace it, I wouldn't be booting from my Firewire drive anyway, I'd be restoring from it, so I'd insert my install CD and reboot whilst holding down C, I'd then run Disk Utility and restore from my Firewire drive to the new internal drive.
So what I really want is a mirror image of my internal drive which is what my method of restoring via the restore route gives me.
Is that a correct hypothosis of have I missed something ?
Nick

HT201250 Do I need to partition my external hard drive if I'm using Time Machine and other storage?

I never used Time Machine before. I was storing select files on my external hard drive as well as using my libraries (IPhoto, ITune, IMovies) directly off of the external hard drive. That hard drive is giving me problems, so I bought a new one. I want to set up Time Machine on this one, but I also want to keep my active libraries on it. Do I need to partition the external hard drive?

You can partition the new drive, just don't make one of the partitons a TimeMachine drive, save a TM for a entire drive with more space than the boot drive as it saves "states" thus requires more room than most people expect.
I highly advise one drive to one drive for backups, and not placing too many backup eggs in one vulnerable hardware basket basically.
Drives are cheap, data is not. Hardware can fail just as often as software, so you need a multiple backup and storage stragedy to protect even against theft and fire.
Most commonly used backup methods

I have itunes directory on an external hard drive and want to direct a new installation of itunes on windows 8 to use it. I tried holding down ctrl and clicking itunes and after many tries got it to work one time. When I went back in later it had reverted

I have itunes directory on an external hard drive and want to direct a new installation of itunes on windows 8 to use it. I tried holding down ctrl and clicking itunes and after many tries got it to work one time. When I went back in later it had reverted back to a blank version of itunes and I cant get ctrl to work again. Any other ideas?

This is sometimes caused by a problem with the iTunesPrefs.xml file, normally found at C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunesPrefs.xml. Try dragging this to the desktop and trying again.
Alternatively the problem may be that you have McAfee AV and it is preventing iTunes from updating the same file and thus causing the problem. See Why does iTunes delete my itunesprefs.xml? for details.
tt2

OS 8.1 - Trying to partition an external scsi drive and backup data.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for