Recovering files from external hard drive

My external hard drive stopped working. Everytime I tried to access it, I'd get one or more of the following messages: "Time Machine Error. The backup disc is not available. Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "My Passport for Mac. The backup disc is not available. Your Time Machine backup disc can't be found."
That didn't cause me to worry, because my computer was in good working condition, so I just bought another external harddrive. However, I later discovered that I needed much of the information in the old external hard drive, because I had lost a great number of files from my computer. [I have to add that I partitioned my computer's harddrive about the same time under the step-by-step instructions of a second-level Apple technician.] Anyway, my problem now is to extract the files from my old external harddrive.
Data recovery is out. It's just too expensive. Ideally, I would just like to get my external hard drive working again. If that's not possible, I have to find another way, or just give up. Anyway, today I came to ask about Disc Warrior. I have read some reports that it can be used to do what I need done. Does anyone have any experience, successful experience, with it? Oh, I just discovered and downloaded StellarPhoenixMacData, but I haven't tried it yet.
Finally, judging by sound and vibration, my old external hard drive seems to be working. There is no clicking or other unusual sound, which I understand is a good sign.

Kappy wrote:
In any case if you connect the drive to your computer, then open Disk Utility, does the drive appear on your Desktop? If not, does it appear in DU's device list in the sidebar?
The new external hard drive appears in disc utility, but not the old external hard drive with which I'm having problems.
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads.
So, I guess you're saying that any of those you mention are better than Disc Warrior for my problem. Is that right?
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Okay, I have now disconnected the external hard drive. I hadn't realized that there was the possibility of overwriting files on the EXTERNAL hard drive.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.
Okay, I'll do that, but what about just repairing the external hard drive? Isn't that possible? I mean, couldn't it be something like a loose connection? However, I have certainly noticed that hard drive repair is not mentioned nearly as much as data recovery. There must be a reason for that.

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Recover data from external hard drive that was Windows format and connected on a Macbook Pro. Did I lose everything? What happened?

Hi there this is my first question here!
I connected my external hard drive originally formatted on PC on my new Macbook. The first time I connected it I could see all my files but today I connected it and after I couldn't see any file nor even on my pc appears as NO NAME with a different name and nothing on it. I think was reformatted, any help to recover all my data?
It's really important stuff for me

If the Apple Store couldn't get files off of the drive, it is unlikely that you will be able to. If you have backups, those would be the best way to go. You could also try booting up the computer and holding down T to boot into Target Disk Mode. Plug the broken computer into another one with FireWire and see if it works to recover data from external hard drive. If you can see it, try booting up the broken computer while holding down Option. Choose Recovery HD from the menu, then choose to Reinstall OS X.
It is unlikely that this will work, because I'm pretty sure that the Apple Store would have tried this. You could try using expensive software to get files off the drive, but it would be risky and the results might not be any good.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4273

I able to copy and paste files from external hard drive to mac, but not the other way around. Please suggest. Thanks

I m able to copy and paste selected files from external hard drive to my mac but not the other way around. Im not able to copy files from Mac to external hard drive.
The same is working fine with USB flash memory.
Please help.

Vijay Raymond Daniel wrote:
The only thing is we need to buy this software. if there is a free solution to inter change files between NTFS and HFS it would be better,
Don't use NTFS, remove your data off it first and change the format to something the Mac and PC can read, but doens't cost money or require software.
Drives, partitions, formatting w/Mac's + PC's

Recovering data from external hard drive

I backed up music,pictures and personal documents
It said backup was successful, I they to retrieve some documents and none of the those files were in that restored folder

Very similar with your experience
Last time when I was in Rio, I took part in the famous Carnival there with my boyfriend and we took a lot of interesting photos there. About one week ago, one of my friends asked me to show her the photos. However, it turned out to be inaccessible and the PC can not read the data on the drive. And the PC suggested me to format the external hard drive for reusing it again.
people often lose their data from External hard drive, a handy external hard drive data recovery software will be highly recommended to you, ---- EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Then click next button
Select the disk where you lost your data and click Scan button, the software will quickly scan the selected disk to find your target files.
Watch the video below, step by step, you can recover your data.
https://youtu.be/ZA4XzL1mD1s

Can't delete file from external hard drive

Hi,
There is a permition problem with my external hard drive (no time mashine on it!) - can't delete certain files.
I copied my documents on my external hard drive from previous computer with windows and later with linux system on it and there had been changed icons at certain folders previously. I mention this, becouse what linux did was that it locked the changed icon files and I couldn't delete them until I unlocked them manually. But at least it showed me that i don't have permition and i could change it. Well, now I mounted the disk on my new macbook and wanted to delete some files and it seems that there is the same problem with permition, at least it seems to happen with the same files. When I want to delete them, the system asks me for admin password, I give it allright, it makes the sound as if the folder was moved to trash but that's all. the folder is still there even after dismounting and restarting. I already checked the permitions and it says in the info that i can read and write with the file so it looks as if my rights were ok...
Please help, I desperatly need more space for new backup and can't get rid of the files I don't need any more...
Thank you for any sort of simple-ish advice
Message was edited by: brevon

Thanx for such qucik reply!!! The pages were great, it had an answer for my problem, but unfortunately it also involved me dealing with it only on the MacIntosh HD itself, not on mounted external drive I suppose... So it didn't work they say that there is an icon in the left corner indicating locked folder - I don't see any icon on it. It says you can untick the box to unlock the folder - there is no tick to be unticked. Finally, they say that if I don't have permition or rights I cannot delete it. But how do i change permittion which already says that i can read and write in it? So everything appears to be normal only I cannot delete it. there is not even any warnig telling me I don't have enough rights, it just requires the password and after me typing it in it makes the sound of scraping paper but does nothing more. I aslo had some problems with emptying Trash after being seemingly succesful with one file and had got so far to have them appear in the Trash (no clue how this one actully got there though..) I followd the advice and emptied the Trash with Terminal. The Folder is still there but it shows 0 Kb... So far so good BUT: It is still on the external drive, so I obviously only managed to copy it into the Trash!!! Phew, innit a bit too tight to poor owners, this macbook?? I want my rights back!

Cannot delete Time Machine file from external hard drive

Hello,
I'd like to delete my original Time machine file from an external hard drive ( Lacie mini ). I move the file into the trash bin and it constantly "deletes". At one time I left it deleting overnight and the file still wasn't trashed.
I am going to hook up Time Machine to a different, dedicated external hard drive, but I'd like to gain space on the drive that Time Machine is currently on.
I currently have Time Machine turned off ( I do have everything backed up with my home folder on another external HD ). Should Time Machine be turned on for me to trash the file? Is there a better way to delete the file?
Much thanks in advance.

V.K. wrote:
... the best and the quickest way to delete it is to erase the TM hard drive....
But what if a person doesn't want to erase the TM drive? My MacPro came with tiger installed, but since tiger-intel-retail discs don't exist, my copy of tiger is what i have. I was all manner of foolish directing TM to that drive, but damage is done. What can someone in my position do?

Permissions problem when copying files from external hard drive

Hi.
I have recently reinstalled leopard (wiped the hard drive clean) on my macbook pro. (10.5.4). I had used Time Machine so I have a complete backup. But I only wanted a few of the files so I didn't do a backup restore. I went into the file directory of the backup on my external hard drive and dragged the folders I wanted back over to my laptop.
But I'm in permissions **** though! When I want to copy them over I get an alert saying you may not have privilege to do this and asks for my password. I enter my password and it copies fine. But every time I want to do anything with those files (like move them, or delete them) I have to re enter a password.
So, inside of the terminal I do a "ls -al" command to see whats going on and find that everything is the same as a natively created folder except for a '@' on the permissions column. I do a "ls -al@' to see more details and I get this:
drwxr-xr-x@ 6 xenition staff 204 Jul 20 17:08 Assets
com.apple.metadata:_kTimeMachineNewestSnapshot 50
com.apple.metadata:_kTimeMachineOldestSnapshot 50
I did run repair permissions from Disk Utility and it didn't solve it. How can I resolve the permissions on these files?
Message was edited by: risingtiger

run ls -aleO on the copied files and see if there are any ACLs or flags.
BTW, another (and possibly better) way to restore files from an old TM drive is via TM interface. control-click on TM in the dock and choose "browse other TM disks" select a disk to browse and go at it. when you try to restore something you'll be prompted for a location to restore it to and maybe a password.

Troubles deleting files from external hard drive!!

I had my external hard drive plugged into my Macbook but i cannot delete any folder or file in it! There is not 'Move to Trash' option from the drop-down menu! Does this have anything to do with 'Folder Action' thing? please help! sorry i jst switched to Mac from Window recently so still trying to find my way through! Thanks

Hi,
Mac OSX can read and write/delete files and folders on harddisks that use the FAT32 file system.
Mac OSX can only read and not write/delete files and folders on harddisks that use the NTFS file system.
Use Disk Utility to check what file system your HD uses.
To enable write access from OSX to NTFS drives, you can either use NTFS-3G http://www.ntfs-3g.org/ or buy Paragons NTFS for OSX http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/
Regards
Stefan

ITunes 11 won't import .mov video files from external hard drive but will from internal.

Hi Everyone
I'm having a problem with iTunes 11.0.1. I can't import .mov video files stored on an external hard drive. I can however import .m4v files from the same external drive. Using either the add to library option or dragging files from the finder.
I can add .mov files from the internal though. Strange I know.
The reason behind this posting is that I'm using iFlicks to convert my TV and movies from my external drive for Apple TV and add all relevent meta data, keeping the files on the external drive and having iTunes link to them.
I would like to be able to simply create a general iTune compatiable file using iFlicks which only takes a minute or two per file to convert. I'm currently converting them to .m4v just for the sack of being able to import them into iTunes from an external drive takes 45 minutes per file.
Has anybody else had this problem? Any ideas on a fix to allow me to import .mov files from an external drive into iTunes without copying it to the iTune library file.
Many Thanks
Dave

This might be worth a shot - basically seeing if Vista permissions could be the culprit.
Give yourself FULL control and ownership of the exHD, let's call it M:
How to Take Ownership and Grant Permissions in Windows Vista
Take control of the top level folder and ALL subfolders.
Try creating a new blank ITL file on M: by pressing *and holding* the shift key while itunes starts. See if you can add everything again.

Can't permanently delete song file from external hard drive

Hi Guys,
I want to be able to delete actual song files from my external hard drive as well as from my iTunes library in one easy, lazy step, via the iTunes window. I am not interested in finding and manually deleting the files through my external hard drive.
When I hit delete it only deletes the song from my iTunes library but not the actual destination music file aswell (from my external hard drive). I am aware this is because my external hard drive is not the original "Music\iTunes\iTunes Music" destination that the apple crew have designed and so I am not offered the option of sending the file to the recycle bin or "trashing it" when I hit the delete key (this permanently deletes the file).
I am also aware that I can find the music file destinations and delete them through the iTunes window by hitting "CTRL & R" or by the "show in windows explorer" command. I am not interested in these options either.
Basically, I have 20,000 songs to clean up and don't want to have to take my laptop with me to my grave...
I suspect there is some way of changing things around, possibly via some particular parameters to be set in the "Edit" > "Preferences" > "iTunes Music Folder Desintation" command area but still haven't been able to crack it.
Any help would be welcomed with open arms.
Cheers.
Labia.

Camoracer,
You are right. Pardon me. The majority of the music that I was trying to delete off my external hard drive was in a separate folder (on the external hard drive), not in the directory specified in my iTunes preference settings.
Problem solved!!!
This should also be a lesson to those who believe a one step delete function (from iTunes library and actual music file) is not possible when the music files are stored on an external hard drive (or other storage medium for that matter). I have read a host of other forums who say a one step delete function is not possible without additional software.. Perhaps these posts were from the authors of the software trying to make a $.
Cheers.

Hard Drive Crash--Restoring music files from External Hard Drive

My hard disk crashed, but I think (at least I hope) that I'm backed up. I had copied all of my Itunes music onto an external hard disk before the crash, although I'm not sure I copied everything that you are supposed for a full backup (i.e. all files in the Itunes folder). I'm uncertain as to the process to get everything restored.
Right now, Itunes is not installed on the new hard disk. Obviously I need to download and reinstall Itunes, which I'll do. But from here I'm confused, and I haven't seen a straightforward explanation of the next steps. Is it then as easy as copying all the old music from the external hard drive into the new Itunes music folder once Itunes is reinstalled, then synching? Or, do install itunes, then reopen it while the external hard drive is attached, and "consolidate" the old library into the new? Or do I first have to plug in the Ipod, authorize the new drive, and move the purchased music from the Ipod to the new drive through the manually managing music process that I've read about? Is there a relatively straightforward "step by step" process someone can point me at?
I'd appreciate any guidance anyone can provide, or any directions to some materials that I can read. Thanks very much.

If you copied the entire iTunes folder to the external, then all you have to do is install iTunes like normal, then start up with these instructions and point it to your backup on the external...
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304447
Assuming that works, you can either leave everything as is and continue to use it directly off the external. Or close iTunes, then again copy the entire iTunes folder back to your internal drive, then reopen iTunes with those instructions again and re-point it back to your internal drive's copy.
Patrick

Copying Large Blocks of MP3 files from External Hard Drive to iTunes

I'm trying to copy large numbers of MP3 files from my external
hard drive to iTunes. I tried putting them in the iTunes music folder but this did not work. Then I tried selecting blocks of the songs and dragging and dropping them in iTunes. This also did not work because when I select a large block of files and then click on them (holding down the mouse button) to drag them, then they become "unselected." So, I guess my question is 2 fold: Why can I not copy and paste these files to some folder on the Macintosh Hard drive where they will be recognized by iTunes (show up in iTunes) and what is wrong with my clicking and dragging technique? Am I losing it?

If you are trying to add tunes to your library then do the work from within iTunes not via the Finder. Droping the tunes into the iTunes folder will not create a reference for iTunes to find the tunes. You should be able to drag-drop the tunes/folders into the main iTunes window.
It is usually easier to use the 'keep' and 'copy' features selected. This way iTunes will keep your tunes organized and all in one place. If you work from in the iTunes interface then you will likely not go wrong.
From the iTunes File menu select 'add to library' (+O) and navigate to your ext HD and iTunes should bring those tunes into your library.
MJ

Transfer files from External Hard Drive to PC?

Sadly, my iBook g4 1.2 GHz (2005) is on the fritz (see my other question on Apple Discussions if you're curious as to why) and so I must get a new laptop. Unfortunately, I can't afford any of the Macs available, and so will be purchasing a PC. I have been using a 250GB external hard drive to store my iTunes library (about 25GB, too much for my iBook's 30 GB HD to handle) and as a Time Machine. I need to know how to be able to put all of my music and docs onto the new PC. Would it be best to not use TM and just put everything I want on the external HD and then access it from the PC? Alternatively, I do have a small home wireless network (using an Airport Express)...if that's the better option, how do I use it to transfer files? Any help would be wonderful!

The easiest solution is to erase the external hard drive and re-partition it to use on the PC:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
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. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to MS-DOS. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to MBR then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
Open iTunes and de-authorize your computer.
Copy your iTunes library in it's entirety (/Home/Music/iTunes/ folder) to the drive along with any other data you wish to transfer.
See the following about how to convert your iTunes library for the PC:
Macworld - How to transfer iTunes libraries between PC and Mac;
Geek to Live- How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back).

How to import video files from external hard drive?

I receive an error "You're trying to import a file from a DVD or Removable Media. Please use Video Importer for importing Videos..." however when I try this I still cannot import video files. This is extremely frustrating as we have 32 copies of this software and this is sarting to become a common issue. Please help and many thanks.
Attached is a screenshot...

jasonkmtr
Premiere Elements 12 Mac
A few more questions for now.
Taking your particular .avi files out of the equation, can you import any other format from Add Media/Files and Folders pointed to this external hard drive? What is the format of the external hard drive? NTFS or FAT32?
It is my recollection that AVCHD.avi has always been reported as highly problematic. Yet you seem to be saying that you have no problem importing them in to the project from the desktop with the program's Add Media/Files and Folders/Project Assets to Expert workspace Timeline.
Did you purchase your Premiere Elements 12 from the Mac App Store or from Adobe? If Mac Store, what do you have Adobe Premiere Elements Editor or Adobe Premiere Elements Quick Editor or some variation thereof?
You wrote
A number of users are experiencing this issue - they connect their hard drive, load Elements, start a new project and go to add media (from the ext hard drive) using the files and folders option.
Could you supply more information on this via link(s) which have reported this issue.
Thanks.
ATR

Moving files from external hard drive to library

Hi,
I have recently bought a mac and transfered my library from my old laptop to it. There are a number of songs missing from the library though.
I have a number of them on an external hard drive and want to move them from this to the library on my mac.
As there are around 97 missing I don't want to this individually for each one and wondered if there was a way for itunes to look on the external hard drive and then copy the file to the library by itself. I can point the library to look to the external hard drive but obviously once i disconnect it, it can no longer play.
Is it possible for itunes to look in the extrnal drive and then move the files itself?
Thanks in advance

And after you relocated the files, did you trash the 'originals' on your internal drive?
(dumb question, I know, but I gotta ask...)
Clinton

Recovering files from external hard drive

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