Replacing an external drive

I am replacing an external drive that failed. It was previously backed-up with TM and I am restoring from that back-up. If I name the new drive the same as the old one, will TM treat the existing back-up versions as a continuous record??
I just want to make sure, after I restore 300GB of data, that TM doesn't immediately make another full copy of all that data.

meljturner wrote:
Thanks for the (bad) news Here's a follow-up question: How about if I turned TM off until after the restore then, before turning it on again, I deleted all the TM backups for the old drive to free up space. My thinking is that then the new full back-up of the restored drive would have enough space, without deleting back-ups of other important data. I hope this is clear!
If I follow you correctly, then yes, if you're careful.
Let me be sure: your internal HD did not fail; only an external that was also being backed-up by TM.
After you restore from TM to a new external, you propose to delete all the past backups for that external only (not the ones for the internal).
Enter the TM interface, and select any backup (except "now"), then select your computer name from the sidebar. That should list all the drives/partitions. Select the drive in question, then click the "gear" icon, and you should have the option to +Delete all backups of xxx".
I've never done this, and would appreciate a post by anyone who has, but it should work.

Similar Messages

I have a power pc (g5) computer that I will soon be replacing with a current i5 or i7 mini. How do I transfer the Time Machine files from the internal hard drive on the G5 to an external drive that I will later use with the Mini?

I have a Power PC G5 computer that I will soon be replacing with a current i5 or i7 Mini. How do I transfer the Time Machine files from the internal hard drive on the G5 to an external drive that I will later use with the Mini?

Hi, likely the easiest is to just poll the drive & get something like this...
Get MacScan...
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/macscan.html
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NVSPATA/
But if you have a good external drive already, just clone it.
Get carbon copy cloner to make an exact copy of your old HD to the New one...
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
Or SuperDuper...
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/

If I replace my old iMac with a new one can I burn DVDs on an external drive using Mountain Lion or Toast?

My 2006 iMac is getting a bit long in the tooth and I was thinking of replacing it with a new one. However, Mac have not included an optical drive and I back up my photographs on DVD as well as external hard drives. I also supply DVDs of my work to friends etc.
Will I be able to burn to an external drive using Mountain Lion or other software such as Toast? Does the burn option still exist on the new machines?

Hello,
You shouldn't have any problem, if you do just try Burn...
http://burn-osx.sourceforge.net/Pages/English/home.html

I want to replace the hard drive on my IMac but want to know how to transfer from the time machine external hard drive to the replacement drive?

I have reached capacity on my IMac hard drive. It is a 250 GB drive. I have an external drive backing up using the time machine utility. My question is once I replace the HD on the IMac, how do I load the new drive with the back up from the external drive?

So many possibilities.
I am not an expert, but I have learned this much is doable:
Buy an external enclosure to re-use you old drive.
Buy a new external drive at least as large as as your intended new internal drive. Make it self-powered.
Download CarbonCopyClone (free download, relatively small).
Make a CCC clone of the original disk on the new external disk
Install the original disk in the external enclosure.
Install the new disk in the main system.
Boot from that new external drive that has the carbon copy clone. CCC will be installed on it and it will be bootable.
Use CCC on the external to directly clone back to new drive you install in the main system (the "bootable" flag will copy).
NOTE THAT AT NO TIME IS YOUR ORIGINAL DISK BEING OVERWRITTEN IN THIS PROCESS. YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK AND REINSTALL IT.
Step 1 makes your old disk resuable as a spare copy for "anything".
Step 2 gives you something to use as CCC for after the recovery process.
Step 3 gets the software needed for cloning
Step 4 makes a bootable saved copy of your current system
Step 5 shifts your old disk to a usable place
Step 6 positions your new disk
Step 7 boots your existing install of OSX (just from a different drive)
Step 8 puts your original install on your new disk.
Now you have a bootable larger hard drive, and a bootable copy on a drive large enough to save all you can store on your new internal drive. And you have your old disk to use for "anything".
Now you have TM backup in one place, and CCC backup in another.
Two backups is better than one, and one of your backups is bootable in case of system failure.

I replaced my hard drive and I backed up my files on an external hard drive but when I reloaded my iweb to my imac none of my files were on it so I can't make changes to my Published web site have I lost my files what can I do

I replaced my hard drive and I backed up my files on an external hard drive but when I reloaded my iweb to my imac none of my files were on it so I can't make changes to my Published web site have I lost my files what can I do

By default iWeb keeps its data in (user)/Library/Application Support/iWeb in a file named Domain. Without this file you cannot proceed (other than by recreating the site from scratch using the published version as a reference) so you need to locate it on the original disk.
To confuse matters, Apple have hidden the user’s Library folder in Lion and Mountain Lion to casual viewers, in an attempt to stop new Mac users messing their machines up. To access it, in the Finder go to the ‘Go’ menu and hold down the Option (Alt) key; the Library folder will appear as a choice.

External Drive replacement for iMac "SuperDrive" ?

From reading this forum, it seems some iMac SuperDrives (mine included) have serious problems with reading and/or scratching discs. Apparently the only real solution is to use an external drive.
Can anyone recommend an external drive (USB or Firewire 800) that is compatible with the Mac CD and DVD disk-burning functions, iMovie and iDVD, will download software, play movie DVDs, and music CDs? In other words, it should do everything the SuperDrive is supposed to do. Also, it should last more than 6 months!
Thanks!

only store they have is by chicago, which is also their office & where all of their tech support staff are located. they have hrs you can call in 7 days a week for help & are great about fixing or replacing anything that quits. haven't heard the same about lacie at all. the lacie drive are prettier tho, but seem more expenisve for what you actually get, imo.

Apple physically replaced the HD on my Imac. I backed up everything on a Seagate Go Flex Desk for Mac external drive for Mac. I went through the motions to restore my Iphoto Library back to my computer. Can't find them!!!!!

Apple replaced my hard drive on my Imac. I'm lucky I backed up everything on a Seagate Go Flex Desk for Mac external drive via Time Machine . I followed directions in order to restore my iphoto library , but I can't seem to find it on my computer. Are the files locked?

No reason to assume they are locked. The library will be restored to the location it was backed up from, unless you specified somewhere else. Have you looked in your Pictures Folder?

Should I replace failed hard drive in imac 4,1 or run from external or mac mini?

My hard drive failed in my iMac 4,1 (early 2006 intel). I am running from an external drive, but slow. Should I replace the hard drive ($300 at Apple), purchase a better external to run from or a mac mini? I'm trying to determine if it makes sense to invest further in this iMac since its 5 yrs old already. Can any one offer some insight/opinion?

Hi moreenie
Your profile does not indicate your geographic location, but there are Authorize Apple Service Providers that can and will do the work for considerably less than your local Apple Store.
http://www.apple.com/buy/locator/service/
Call around, at less than $200 to replace the Hard Drive, it makes a little more sense to fix and use it for another year or two...
I replace the Hard Drive in my Early 2006 a couple of years ago not because it died, but because it became to small.
Sorry I can't honestly help you decide, because I'm torn and can't decide for myself. Not liking the Glossy iMac's, I've also been toying with the idea of either a Mac-Mini or used Mac Pro? My biggest problem with the Mac-Mini is, that by the time you do a few upgrades it cost as much as a base iMac.
Dennis

HT201250 Hi, I had updated folder on my hard drive wich was wrongly replaced with a folder from my external drive. I m not using time machine. How can i recover that updated folder? (it was done on 3-5-12)

Hi, I had updated folder on my hard drive wich was wrongly replaced with a folder from my external drive. I m not using time machine. How can i recover that updated folder? (it was done on 3-5-12)

If the folder was replaced, it was written over.
Nothing short of forensic data recovery (probably involving taking the drive apart to scan the discs seperately) is going to recover anything (if indeed even that will).

Hard Drive Replacement and Bootable External Drive

Hello All,
I've got a Ti-Book (late 2002) with the original Fujitsu 60 gig HD that's out of room. My thoughts are to replace it with the popular Hitachi Travelstar ATA 160 gig HD that most people seem to like. My question is about partitioning an already partially full 250 gig G-Drive (G Technology, Inc.) with about 100 gigs of space left, and making it bootable. My thoughts are that I'd like to clone (using Carbon Copy Cloner) my current 60 gig HD onto that G-Drive if that's possible and how? Is it possible to make it bootable without fear of erasing the current information on the G-Drive?
My other thought is to buy an enclosure (most people like the Macally PHR-250cc) and put the old 60 gig HD into that, and cloning it back to the new Hitachi 160 gig HD when it's installed in my Ti-Book. I suppose my fear makes me want to transfer my 60 gig HD info first to an external source before pulling it out of the machine. I hope I'm not too paranoid about this.
Any words of advice are most welcomed.
Thanks,
Jack

It sounds like your Mini is no longer under warranty.
I'd consider either this service:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/mac-mini/install/
or getting an external firewire hard drive and using it as your startup drive. The external drive could even be a much larger and faster 3.5 inch model, or a bus-powered 2.5 inch portable.

Replaced HD in my imac,had external backup drive that had everything i needed, but i only transfered a few of the files before Time Machine started a back up before i could transfer all files over, now i no longer see the old files on my external drive

My external drive looks like i still have all the info(taking up a large ammount of data on drive) but i cannot see it.

It does not immediately delete the files that are missing.. it merely tries to backup the new files it has discovered on the external drive. Since you moved the files there, the backup at least for a while will contain both copies.. and that is why it doesn't have enough space to backup.
Fixing the problem.. hmm pondini is the expert.. you should be able to delete the backup of the photos in existing backup.. there are instructions to do it.. but it is a very poor way to do things.
Much better. .archive off the existing backup.. this is long and slow but worth it. you need a usb drive of the same size as the TC drive. Then erase the TC and start a fresh set of backups.
The alternative is to use the USB drive as a new target.. but it is much slower than the TC internal drive.
http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

Can I replace my hard drive and then reboot from USB external hard drive

Hi,
I've bought a new internal hard drive to go in my Macbook. I am going to backup my current internal drive to a USB external drive using Super Duper. I just wanted to check if it was at all possible that I would be able to boot up from my external USB drive after i've installed my new internal drive or whether the restore discs were my only option?
(My Macbook is quite an early one, 2Ghz Core Duo with upgraded memory to 2GB and OSX Tiger).
Thanks.

As long as it is a GUID partition table you should be able to boot from it.

[Guide] Install and run Windows 7/8 from an external drive without using bootcamp (works for late 2012 iMacs with 3TB drive)

This is a copy of a post from my blog, you can also Read it on my blog...
Introduction
After I received my new iMac with a 3 TB Fusion Drive, I was disappointed when I realized that Bootcamp was not running on this model and prevented me from installing Windows on it. I wanted to take advantage of the powerful iMac hardware to play games but I couldn't.
There are a few ways of working around this limitation, but I found most of them quite complex and most of the time they required formatting the internal hard drive or repartitioning it and go for a brand new installation of Mac OS X. I was not comfortable with that.
But there is another way, and that is to install Windows on an external hard drive, using either USB or Thunderbolt. Personally I used a Lacie Rugged 1 TB drive that has both USB3 and Thunderbolt connectors. Both work very well.
This guide may interest you if:
You have an internal hard drive of more than 2TB and you can't run bootcamp at all (like late 2012 iMacs with a 3TB drive)
You have limited space or you don't want to dedicate disk space on your internal hard disk drive to a Windows installation
What this guide will make you do:
It will make you erase all your data from your external USB3/Thunderbolt hard drive
It will make you install Windows on your external USB3/Thunderbolt hard drive
It will make you install bootcamp drivers
What this will not make you do:
It will not make you modify anything on your internal Mac hard drive
It will not make you use or install the bootcamp assistant
It will not activate the Preference Pane for the default boot drive. You have to boot by pressing the ALT key to manually select your boot drive each tome you want to boot Windows.
What you'll need
An external hard drive with a USB3 and/or Thunderbolt connector. This drive will be formatted so ensure you saved your files before going further. You can use either an SSD drive or a classic hard drive.
A Windows 7 or 8 install DVD or ISO (check whether to install 32 or 64 bits versions based on your Bootcamp drivers) and the corresponding Windows serial number.
One of the following:
Mac OS X with a Windows 7 or 8 Virtual Machine (use VMWare Fusion or Parallels Desktop for example. Note: VMWare Fusion seems to have some issues with Thunderbolt and USB3. Plug your drive to a USB2 enclosure or hub to work around this -it worked for me-, or use another VM software) → Read the important note below
A PC running Windows 7 or 8 → Read the important note below
Windows AIK (free) running on your Virtual Machine or on your PC, or just the imagex.exe file (the rest of the Windows AIK package is not needed)
Download imagex.exe
Download Windows AIK (this download and installation is not required if you have already downloaded imagex.exe)
Bootcamp drivers for your Mac. You can get these either by running bootcamp from your Mac (Applications > Utilities > Bootcamp) or, if like me you have a 3TB drive and can't run bootcamp at all, use the direct download links here.
A USB stick to store your bootcamp drivers
IMPORTANT: If your Mac has a 64 bits processor, your Windows Virtual Machine on OSX, your Windows installation on your PC and your Windows DVD/ISO must also be in 64 bits!
Step by Step guide
Step 1: Get the install.wim file
If you have a Windows ISO file:
Mount the ISO
If you're on OS X: double click on the ISO file
If you're on on Windows 7: Use a software like Virtual Clone Drive (free)
If you're on Windows 8: double click on the ISO file
Open the mounted drive, then go to the "sources" folder and locate the "install.wim" file. Save this file to C:\wim\ on your Windows installation or virtual machine.
If you have a Windows DVD: open the "sources" folder on the DVD and locate the "install.wim" file. Save this file to C:\wim\ on your Windows installation or virtual machine.
IMPORTANT: If instead of a "install.wim" file, you have "install.esd", you can not continue this step by step guide. And an ESD file can not be converted into a WIM file. So you must get a version of the Windows installation DVD/ISO that has an install.wim file.
Step 2: Clean, partition and format your external hard drive
On your Windows installation or virtual machine, plug in your external hard drive (can be plugged using USB2, USB3 or Thunderbolt at this stage)
Open the command prompt in administrator mode (cmd.exe). To run it in administrator mode, right click on cmd.exe > Run as admin.
Type the following and hit enter to open the disk partitioner utility:
diskpartType the following and hit enter to list your drives:
list disk
This will display a list of disks mounted on your computer or virtual machine. Make sure your drive is listed here before you continue.Identify the disk ID of your external hard drive. Replace # by your real external disk ID in the command below:
select disk #Clean all partitions by typing the following (warning: this will erase all data from your external drive!):
clean
Create the boot parition by typing the following followed by the enter key:
create partition primary size=350
This will create a 350MB partition on your external driveFormat the partition in FAT32 by typing the following:
format fs=fat32 quick
Set this partition to active by typing:
active
Assign a letter to mount this partition. We will use letter B in our example. If B is already used on your PC, replace B by any other available letter:
assign letter=b
Windows will detect a new drive and probably display a pop-up. Ignore that.Create the Windows installation partition using all the remaining space available on the external drive by typing the following:
create partition primary
Format the new partition in NTFS:
format fs=ntfs quick
Assign a letter to mount this partition. We will use letter O in our example. If O is already used on your PC, replace O by any other available letter:
assign letter=o
Windows will detect a new drive and probably display a pop-up. Ignore that.Exit the disk partitioner utility by typing:
exit
Step 3: Deploy the Windows installation image
Still using the command prompt in admin mode (you didn't close it, did you? ), locate the imagex.exe file mentioned in the "What you'll need" section and access its folder. In our example, we have put this file in C:\imagex\imagex.exe
Type the following and hit enter (remember to replace o: with the letter you have chosen in the previous step):
imagex.exe /apply C:\wim\install.wim 1 o:
This will take some time. The Windows installation image is being deployed to your external driveOnce done, type the following to create the boot section (remember to replace o: and b: with the letters you've chosen in the previous step):
o:\windows\system32\bcdboot o:\windows /f ALL /s b:
If you get an error message saying that you can't run this program on your PC, then most probably you are running on a 32 bits installation of windows and you're trying to deploy a 64 bits install. This means you did not read the important notes in the beginning of this guide
If you get an error message on the options that can be used with the BCDBOOT command, then it's because you're installing Windows 7, and the /f option is not supported. If that is the case, remove /f ALL from the command and retry.
Step 4: Boot from your external drive and install Windows
Plug in your external drive:
If you've done all the previous steps from a Windows PC, unplug your external drive from your PC and plug it to your Mac, either on a USB3 or a Thunderbolt port.
If you've done all the previous steps from your Mac using a Virtual Machine, ensure the external drive is plugged in to a USB3 or Thunderbolt port. Using USB2 should also work but you'll get very poor performance so I don't recommend doing that.
Reboot your Mac and once the bootup sound is over, immediately press the ALT (option) key and release it only when the boot drives selection screen appears. If you did not get the boot drives selection screen, reboot and try again. The timing to press the ALT (option) key is quite short. It must not be too early or too late.
On the boot selection screen, choose "Windows" using the arrow keys on your keyboard, then press enter.
The Windows installation starts. Follow the on-screen instructions as normal. The installation program will restart your computer one or 2 times. Don't forget to press ALT (option) right after the bootup sound, and boot on Windows again each time to continue the installation.
Step 5: Install bootcamp drivers
Once the Windows installation is complete, plug in the USB stick where you stored the bootcamp drivers (see "what you'll need" section), open it and right click on "setup.exe" and select "Run as admin". Follow the on-screen instructions.If you have an error saying that you can't run this program on this PC, obviously you have installed a 32 bits version of Windows and the bootcamp drivers for your Mac are made for a 64 bits version. You have to restart the whole guide and make sure to get a 64 bits version of Windows this time!
Once the bootcamp drivers are all installed, reboot and press ALT (option) after the bootup sound to boot on Windows again. And Voilà, you have Windows installed on your USB3/Thunderbolt drive running on your Mac.
Now each time you want to boot on Windows, press and hold the ALT (option) key after the startup sound and select "Windows", then press Enter.

Hi i'm trying to follow your guide, I installed windows 8 on bootcamp to do it planning to remove it after the operation is done, but i get stuck at part 3: every command i give to imagex i get a pop-up ftom windws asking how do I want to open this kind of file install.wim and imagex does nothing, what do i have to do to stop those pop-ups?

I'd love some help trying to figure out why my 2008 MacBook no longer recognizes my external drive and now is not downloading photos from my iphone....?

After many years of having no problems at all on my Macbook, I recently figured I should finally upgrade my OS. I did that about three weeks ago, updating to Snow Leopard (10.6.8). I used Time Machine at least once after the OS upgrade but now Time Machine no longer recognizes the external drive I have used for all these years to back up. The MacBook does not "see" it. (Disk Utility does however.) The computer then also stopped recognizing another La Cie back-up that I have and now... my iPhone cannot download photos? Yikes.
I have, of course, shut down numerous times, used different cables (that worked for some) and the two USB drives. I even used a firewire. Nothing worked. I also tried to "Repair disk" on Disk Utility. It didn't work either, giving me an error (that I didn't save, sorry).
I read many other discussions on the file format of the external drive and of course I'd be happy to reformat the external drives--however, it is obviously a tad nerve-wracking to reformat drives before having an accessible back-up. Suggestions? I do not remember what file format they have but am pretty sure it's not the Mac file system someone mentioned. The drives are a 2009 WD "My Passport Elite" and La Cie 2007 d2 Quadra,
In terms of other hardware available, we do have another MacBook Air but it has started rejecting both drives as well (without the Snow Leopard upgrade). We have an old Dell but it wouldn't have the disk space to help out much.
Any thoughts on the process involved would be welcome. Any ideas on the iPhone rejection would be helpful as well! It is a 30gig iPhone 4 that has 20 or so gigs free (not clear as iTunes says that there are abour 18 Gigs on the phone but 24 free gigs? I may be bad at math but that's 40 gigs...).
I am checking out iCloud but apparently there are only 55 gigs available?
Will be glad to hear any thoughts. Thanks!

Good afternoon Lyssa,
Phew. First of all, thanks in advance...these blogs are always comforting help!
So, to answer your questions: For the age of the hard drive.Well, I added memory a couple of years ago (RAM and hard drive). Being a mom leads me to eat up a fair amount of gigs with photos of my kids and, in fact, I think I entirely replaced the original drive, so it is a couple years younger than 2008 since I did that in March 2010. If there is some way to verify that (whether or not I replaced the entire drive), I'm all ears. I have 311 Gigs free, so it is not a space issue. I verified the startup disk on Disk Utilityand nothing showed up.
Question 1- What formats...
The La Cie is format Windows NT Filesystem 3G ....At the time that I bought it I was still using a PC as well as a Mac and was told by afriend to use this format...
The WD is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I again tried to repair the WD last night and this is the error message: "Error: DiskUtility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
Also, Time Machine tried again to back-up and gave me this error: "Files can't becopied onto the backup disk because it appears to be 'read only'. You may needto repair or reformat the disk using Disk Utility. If the disk can't berepaired, you must use a different disk for backups. Open Time Machinepreferences to select a different backup disk."
Question 2. Other cables...
I used two other cables with the WD and that didn't change anything.
Question 3... Fire Wire from the La Cie
Yes, I used the Firewire cable from the La Cie and it is indeed present, though still not visible in Finder. Since it is not Mac OSExtended I know that I can't use Time Machine with it.
So, in summary...
I can plug in the La Cie and it is functional on the MacBook, visible on Disk Utility but not visible in Finder. The WD drive is not visible and not functional. So we can think it is indeed the WD that is not working.... Also, the iphone photos did, in the end, get downloaded, so it is not something more general.
Causes...
I forgot to mention that there is a "lost+found" file on the WD which apparently points to a UNIX /OS issue?
Some kind of "insurance"?....
I'm curious about how people avoid this kind of issue. You just regularly replace back-up drives and hard drives before problems come up? Time Machine is great and saves many of us from disasters, however, knowing that your Time Machine back-ups are vulnerable makes the whole system insecure. No way to have alarms ring before the drive goes out?
As for ways ahead...
It seems that I ought to be able to copy off of the WD to the MacBook then erase it and reformat it and start over again. However, I haven’t been able to see its contents except on random occasions. If you have any ideas on how to copy the Time Machineback-ups from the WD, again, I'm all ears!
Good afternoon Lyssa,
Phew. First of all, thanks in advance...
So, to answer your questions:
For the age of the hard drive. Well, I added memory a coupleof years ago (RAM and hard drive). Being a mom leads me to eat up a fair amountof gigs with photos of my kids ….and, in fact, I think I entirely replaced theoriginal drive, so it is a couple years younger than 2008 since I did that inMarch 2010. If there is some way to verify that, I'm all ears. I have 311 Gigfree, so it is not a space issue. I verified the startup disk on Disk Utilityand nothing showed up.
Question 1- What formats...
The La Cie is format Windows NT Filesystem 3G ....At thetime that I bought it I was still using a PC as well as a Mac and was told by afriend to use this format...
The WD is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I again tried torepair the WD last night and this is the error message: "Error: DiskUtility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible,reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
Also, Time Machine tried again to back-up and gave me thiserror: "Files can't be copied onto the backup disk because it appearsto be 'read only'. You may need to repair or reformat the disk using DiskUtility. If the disk can't be repaired, you must use a different disk forbackups. Open Time Machine preferences to select a different backup disk."
Question 2. Other cables...
I used two other cables with the WD and that didn't changeanything.
Question 3... Fire Wire from the La Cie
Yes, I used the Firewire cable from the La Cie and it isindeed accessible, though still not visible in Finder. Since it is not Mac OSExtended I know that I can't use Time Machine with it.
FYI...
So, in summary... I can plug in the La Cie and it is “functional” on theMacBook but not visible in Finder. The WD drive is not visible and notfunctional. So we can think it is indeed the WD that is not working.... ALSO,the iphone photos did, in the end get downloaded.
As for ways ahead…
It seems that I ought to be able to copy off of the WD tothe MacBook then erase it and reformat it and start over again. However, Ihaven’t been able to “see” its contents except on random occasions…
Any further thoughts are welcome!

Should I upgrade the internal hdd on my 2008 8.1 iMac or use an external drive?

I have an external hdd right now it is a 500gb go seagate goflex with a number of iTunes folders that I put on from my windows pc. I just received this 2008 2.4ghz core 2 duo 8.1 iMac and tried to import the files. The internal hdd is only 250gb so they would not fit, when I tried to get iTunes to run from the external drive it would but I would have to manually open each artist then album then song I wanted in the Finder for it to play. The songs do not show up automatically in iTunes, even though I think I followed all of the instructions for external hdd support. I was going to buy a new iMac and have the genius set it up, but now I think I am going to upgrade the RAM myself and am deciding wether or not I should also replace the internal hdd to 2TB or just get an external hdd so when I get a new iMac, maybe next year, I could still use it. However, I don't want to get another, larger external hdd if I'm going to have a hard time transferring all of my media to iTunes. Can I pay to have an apple genius do this at the store? I just upgraded the operating system to Snow Leopard and am waiting to upgrade RAM before moving to Mountain Lion. I just want my iTunes to sync up, at this point I will do just about anything, short of buying a new Mac. Thanks for any help.

You can keep your iTunes collection on an external drive. You can also keep just bulky items that you may not want to see often such as movies and just keep smaller items on the internal drive. This split option is more tricky but there are several ways to do it.
If all you have is a modest music collection, you can manage with an internal drive. Most modern media collections with huge movies files fast outpace even larger internal hard drives and you will have to resort to an external drive. Your computer dating from 2008 is (according to Apple's coproration standards) on its way to becoming a museum piece (hey, I still use a 10 year old computer, but Apple gave up hope for me years ago). I would not upgrade the internal drive. That will cost you a lot and be tricky to take with you to your next computer. An external drive you can just plug into a new computer.
Some of the issues you are encountering are because you do not yet know how to properly manage and transfer iTunes files. We can help you, or you can pay somebody a lot of money to do this for you on a regular basis.
Your GoFlex drive was used with Windows. Macs and Windows use different drive formats. If you are now using Mac-only then you will need to reformat the drive (you will need to store all those files elsewhere while you are doing this).
Do not buy just one external drive. When that drive fails (oh, and believe me, it will) your whole collection will be lost. Some of it you may be able to download again from Apple, but Apple does not "store" your iTunes collection, it is up to you to ensure its safety.

Replacing an external drive

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