Splitting System Files Across Multiple Hard Drives

Hey, all:
I was thinking about taking adavantage of Other World Computing's program to add a secondary SSD to my 2010 iMac. My plan was to add a 240GB SSD and copy the System, Application, and Library folders to the SSD. I was planning on leaving the Users folder on the stock HD.
It occured to me that this could possibly confuse the system, as maybe OS X needs to see all four of those folders on the same HD. Is this something I should be worried about, or am I just loopy from being outstide in the cold?
TIA for any help.

Mattand wrote:
Hey, Varjak:
Now I'm wondering if I should just get a SSD big enough to hold everything. I wonder if any speed gains would be negated, as the system would have to bounce back and forth between the regular HD and SSD for the system prefs in the Home folder.
It depends on exactly how the system will be operating, but I'd expect a significant speedup if the OS and applications are on an SSD even if all the user files are on a hard drive. The time to read preference files is negligible, so that shouldn't be a concern, though application support files are a bit more extensive and take a bit longer to access depending on the app. You should still see significant improvement even so, though you might consider keeping your home folder on the SSD and moving just your documents and other data to a hard drive. You may also want to check your iMac's HD and if it's the normal 5400-RPM unit upgrade it to a higher-performing 7200-RPM unit.
Regards.

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Time Machine not backing up system files on second hard drive

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1) Does this mean that I will not be able to do a full system restore from these Time Machine backups?
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I apologize, the title of this thread is misleading. I meant it to say "on primary hard drive", not "second hard drive". Sorry for any confusion.

I have deleted my private folder and do not have enough space to reinstall my operating system. How can i transfer files from my hard drive to an USB drive to free up space when the operating system isn't working. or do i need to erase disk?

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Connect the computer to another Mac and put it in FireWire Target Disk mode, or use the Disk Utility to clone the drive or image specific folders with the USB drive as the target. After you've copied off everything you want, you'll likely need to erase the drive and reinstall the applications.
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Automated deployments of Windows 7 on systems with multiple hard drives

Last week I helped a customer use MDT2010 to deploy Windows 7 to ThinkStation systems with multiple hard drives. The customer has multiple HDDs in the system and wants Windows to be installed to the HDD that is connected to SATA port 1. Unfortunately Windows does not always assign "Disk 0" to the HDD on SATA port 1 - in fact it is completely random what disk ID gets assigned to which SATA port. The bug is documented by Microsoft in KB937251:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937251
MDT2010 uses hard-coded disk IDs (0, 1, 2, etc) to specify where Windows gets installed. And because of the bug, sometimes Windows gets installed to the HDD on SATA port 1 and sometimes it gets installed to a different HDD.
The solution is to install Windows to the HDD identified by the "SELECT DISK SYSTEM" command of DISKPART. This will always return the disk that is connected to the lowest SATA port.
To configure this in MDT2010, use the following steps (refer to the attachment):
1. copy "FormatPartition.txt" and "SystemDisk.vbs" to your Scripts folder in the Deployment Share.
2. in your Task Sequence, disable the existing step called "Format and Partition Disk" (see TaskSequence.jpg)
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5. under section [Default], add the following entries (see Rules.jpg)
    - UserExit=SystemDisk.vbs
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Hopefully this info will help someone else!
Attachments:
MDT2010.zip ‏261 KB

Last week I helped a customer use MDT2010 to deploy Windows 7 to ThinkStation systems with multiple hard drives. The customer has multiple HDDs in the system and wants Windows to be installed to the HDD that is connected to SATA port 1. Unfortunately Windows does not always assign "Disk 0" to the HDD on SATA port 1 - in fact it is completely random what disk ID gets assigned to which SATA port. The bug is documented by Microsoft in KB937251:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937251
MDT2010 uses hard-coded disk IDs (0, 1, 2, etc) to specify where Windows gets installed. And because of the bug, sometimes Windows gets installed to the HDD on SATA port 1 and sometimes it gets installed to a different HDD.
The solution is to install Windows to the HDD identified by the "SELECT DISK SYSTEM" command of DISKPART. This will always return the disk that is connected to the lowest SATA port.
To configure this in MDT2010, use the following steps (refer to the attachment):
1. copy "FormatPartition.txt" and "SystemDisk.vbs" to your Scripts folder in the Deployment Share.
2. in your Task Sequence, disable the existing step called "Format and Partition Disk" (see TaskSequence.jpg)
3. create a new step at the same location called "Format and Partition Disk (custom)". The type is "General -> Run Command Line". The command line is " cmd.exe /c "diskpart /s %SCRIPTROOT%\FormatPartition.txt" "
4. on the main screen for Deployment Workbench, right-click on the Deployment Share and select "properties", then click on the "rules" tab
5. under section [Default], add the following entries (see Rules.jpg)
    - UserExit=SystemDisk.vbs
    - DestinationDisk=#DiskID#
    - DestinationPartition=1
Hopefully this info will help someone else!
Attachments:
MDT2010.zip ‏261 KB

My operating system has just vanished !! The laptop turns on but dose not go past the apple logo and I really need my files from my hard drive ASAP ??

My laptop had lost it's operating system,it turns on and the logo comes up with the spinning wheel And that's as far as it goes, I can not get into safety mode. I can not open my bios and I desperately need by collage files from the hard drive. Please help!!

Try booting in Safe Mode.
17" 2.2GHz i7 Quad-Core MacBook Pro  8G RAM  750G HD + OCZ Vertex 3 SSD Boot HD 

How do I back up files to external hard drive in order to upgrade operating system?

How do I back up files to external hard drive in order to upgrade operating system?

Buy yourself a portable hard drive from WD or the like. It should have a capacity at least twice that of your machine hard drive. Then follow the instructions that come with it; it is quite straightforward.
I have a similar machine to you by the sound of it. After the initial back up, it is just a matter of topping up every couple of months or so, plus whenever you do to back up any major upgrade.
A portable one is good because you can store it with relatives when not in use which gives protection in the case of fire or theft.
I use two backups. One, an external HD permanently connected for my Time Machine and the second, a portable for the reasons I gave.

How should I partition data across 2 hard drives to make for less latencey?

Hello all!
I am using a Dual 2.7 G5 Power Mac and I just bought the Hitachi 500GB internal hard drive to supplement the stock 250GB drive that came in the tower. I mostly want to orient my computer for the needs of a home recording studio. I am Logic Pro user and I want to streamline data retrieval as efficiently as possible.
Now, I also have a good deal of other junk on my computer (video and iMovie projects). I would love an organization solution on how to partition everything that I have filled my 250GB drive up with across both hard drives. I'm aiming for a solution that will be good for the long-term as I continue to add more and more stuff (audio/music related and non) onto my hard drives.
Here are a few of the primary concerns which have held me back from just diving in:
I have several DVD's worth of audio samples (for use with software sampler) that I have yet to load onto this computer. Should I load/move all of my samples onto the secondary 500GB drive or would the streaming retrieval of all of that content from the secondary drive add extra latency and slowdown when the host application running these tasks and retrievals is ran off of the primary drive (the 250GB drive on which the OS is installed)?
Or should I just move Logic to the secondary 500 GB drive as well as all of the audio samples and run all things having to do with audio production off of that secondary 500GB drive? Would running such a CPU intensive app from the secondary drive make a performance difference compared to running it off of the primary drive? Does it matter whether or not a program is run off of the hard drive where the OS is installed?
Or should I find a way to have all apps running from the primary 250 GB drive WITH all samples (streaming and non-streaming) also on that drive and just have my project files and audio recording sessions (which eat up large portions of space) located on the secondary 500 GB drive? Or would I run into a noticeable latency with having the recorded audio sessions ran off of the secondary hard drive when I am running the application that retrieves them (Logic) off of the primary drive?
Where do I put my pro apps? Where do I put my audio samples (mainly for EXS24, SampleTank, and BFD)? Recording sessions? Everything else?
Please, experienced users, what should I do to garner the best performance out of my Mac?
Thanking everyone in advance,
Matt!
P.S. I am running OS 10.4.6 and using 4.5 GB of memory.

Thanks you guys. X, that is interesting to read. Chap, I see what you are saying. But I just found these two FAQ's from BFD's website. How do you feel in reference to them? Is it me, or do these questions somewhat contradict each other? :
Is it a good idea to put BFD on its own partition on my audio drive? [top]
In general, no. If your harddrive is partitioned and you are streaming from both the BFD partition and your own tracks, this will lead to the hard drive read head jumping back and forth between the two partitions, which may reduce performance. Also, if you are streaming non-BFD audio from the same drive, this reduces the bandwidth available for BFD streaming.
On which hard drive should I install my BFD data? [top]
FXpansion recommends, in order of performance preference (first is best):
1) A dedicated SATA or IDE internal drive, 7200rpm or above
2) A dedicated external firewire drive (do NOT chain the firewire drive with a digi002 or other firewire audio interfaces!)
3) A dedicated external USB2.0 drive
4) An internal drive shared with the data from other heavy disk-accessing programs, eg the operating system (virtual memory swap files), or another disk streaming application such as your host sequencer (audio tracks) or Kontact etc etc.
Power Mac G5 Dual 2.7Ghz 2.5gigs of RAM Mac OS X (10.4)
So it sounds like they recommend BFD having its very own hard drive. I dont have the resources for that right now. So I wonder what would be better: Sharing the OS drive with BFD as mentioned by X and used as the last resort from FAQ #2, or split my second drive via partition into Samples (including BFD audio) and Storage for projects and raw, recorded audio sessions.
If only I wasn't such a perfectionist. I would get so much more work done! Thanks again guys. I am indebted.

Is it possible to use multiple hard drives with iphoto?

I am pretty new to Mac's so bear with me, I used to use multiple hard drives on my pc with my photos seperated by catagory in different hard drives. Is it possible to run iphoto with multiple hard drives without the photos loading onto my Imac? If so, How do I set it up. I have tried importing to a external drive, but when I check the file path of the photos it shows my Imac hd in the address. I seriously dont know why I cant just add the external hard drive as a library and have Iphoto work, Help

There are instructions - and not the caveats - on how to do what you want below.
However, you'e not quite grasping iPhoto:
I used to use multiple hard drives on my pc with my photos seperated by catagory in different hard drives.
When you do this, you're using the Finder (or file manager) to categorise the photos. All well and good, but why? That's exactly iPhoto's job. iPhoto is a database designed to help you manage your pics - including categorising them.
Anyway:
*How to do it:*
Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
*What Happens:*
Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
*Some things to consider:*
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
4. *Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.*
My own opinion:
I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
*For Users of 10.5 and later*
You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and later* ...
Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
*If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running*:
For users of 10.6 and later:
You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu. Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
If you really want to spread your photos across volumes like this, Aperture would be a better fit.
Regards
TD

Combining Multiple Hard Drives

If I have a lot of data that needs to be split between multiple hard drives, is there any way of installing the drives but having the OS treat them as a single drive? The idea being that my file system would be just as easy to manage but I could have a huge amount of extra storage.
I've read a bit about using a RAID 0 array in order to do this, but apparently this splits up individual files between the drives to make the system faster, so if one drive fails, you've lost everything.
Is there a way of setting up the drives so that one drive is filled to capacity, then the second is filled and the third and so on? So it's just treated as one big hard drive without any file separation taking place?
Any help appreciated,
Thanks,
Adam
Message was edited by: AdColvin

what drives & capacity do you have? are they the same - match with one another?
RAID 0 "stripes" your data between a pair of usually matched drives - capacity, brand, model. 1TB drive + 1TB drive = 2TB of total storage. This makes things go fast, but isn't safe.
RAID 1 "mirrors" the data between a pair of usually matched drives - capacity, brand, model. 1TB drive + 1TB drive = 1TB of total storage. This isn't fast but keeps data safe.
RAID 10 combines both qualities above. it takes at least 4 drives, all identical, & is half of total storage. 4 x 1TB = 2Tb of total storage.
SPAN is when you take a group of disks & "add" them together to make one big pool of storage. it's not safe nor fast. a drive falling out of the array can create data loss.

How do you share Aperture file across multiple users on same Mac?

How do you share Aperture file across multiple users on same Mac? Seems this should be a preferences choice.

When you share your library between users, you may run into permission and ownership problems, if both users are editing the Aperture library and not only reading it. To avoid that, it helps to put the Aperture library onto a separate disk or a separate partion of your hard drive. For s separate partition or disk you can enable the "ignore ownership on this volume" flag. Then all users can access the library as owners of this library.
You might try to put the aperture library into a shared folder on your mac, but that has caused problems recently, i.e. when the library also contains video files.
Regards
Léonie

Hi, I'm an eBay seller and save old eBay auction files to my hard drive for future refence. Firefox no longer opens these files correctly (see below).

Hi, I'm an eBay seller and save old eBay auction files to my hard drive for future refence. These files which all use the same name but are saved in a different folder for each eBay auction no longer open correctly -- much of the eBay auction text information shows up for a split second and then disappears -- the area at the top of the saved eBay auction file then collapses -- the original eBay auction photo of the product shows up as well during that split second but disappears when the other auction text disappears. These eBay auction files open correctly when opened using Internet Explorer. In Firefox, Firefox adds some strange information at the end of the file name when it is opened which is not a part of the actual file name itself (i.e. here is the original file name which is the same for whatever ended eBay auction I open: eBayISAPI.dll.htm -- here is the altered file name after Firefox opens it: eBayISAPI.dll_files/eBayISAPI_data/eBayISAPI_002.htm#ht_658wt_1349 -- yes, it is that long -- the last part is slightly different for each separate auction file that I open). None of this happened until recently. The files open this way whether using Firefox 4.0, Firefox 3.6.16, Firefox Safe Mode 3.6.16, and Firefox Safe Mode 4.0.

Here is what I did:
1) In Firefox 4.0, I opened the Bookmarks on the Menu Bar at the top of the screen. I clicked on the Import and Backup menu. I then exported all my bookmarks to the PC's desktop using the default file name BOOKMARKS.HTML.
2) In Firefox, I opened the Add-ons menu under Tools on the Menu Bar. I clicked on the Prnt Scrn key on the top right of the PC's keyboard in order to obtain a screen shot of all the Firefox add-ons. I then opened Microsoft Word and pasted the screen shot using the Control V command (Ctrl V). I then saved the Microsoft Word file on the PC's desktop for future reference.
3) I then opened the Control Panel in the Start menu (accessed from the little Windows world globe on the bottom left of the screen -- the operating system is Windows 7).
4) In the Control Panel, I opened Uninstall A Program in the Programs section.
5) I uninstalled Firefox 4.0 clicking on the box "Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations" in order to remove whatever bug in my Firefox customizations was causing the two errors above (this is the MOST IMPORTANT PART of this whole process which is why I saved all my bookmarks as an HTML file and saved a screen shot of all the Firefox add-ons).
6) I then reinstalled my old Firefox 3.6.16 version obtained from the following link: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html (I am not yet in favor of using Firefox 4.0 -- you suppose you can reinstall Firefox 4.0 on your system if you want).
7) After Firefox 3.6.16 was reinstalled, I had to import all my old bookmarks. Under Bookmarks on the Firefox Menu Bar at the top of the screen, I clicked on Organize Bookmarks. I then clicked on the Import and Backup menu and then the Import HTML command in order the BOOKMARKS.HTML file saved on the PC's desktop.
8) I then re-added all my favorite Firefox add-ons by clicking on Add-ons under the Firefox Tools menu and then clicking on the Get Add-ons command. I then searched for all the old add-ons I wanted to re-add to Firefox using the Microsoft Word document on the PC's desktop saved with the screen shot of all the old Firefox add-ons on my system by I uninstalled Firefox 4.0.
9) I then opened one of the old eBay auction page files saved on my hard drive under the eBay default file name "eBayISAPI.dll.htm". The file opened perfectly with NO missing sections and no missing original eBay auction listing photo! the file looked exactly like it did as if I was logged into eBay and looking at the original ended auction.
10) I then opened Hotmail in Firefox and received NO "update your browser" message! I was able to open all my old emails and write and send new emails (with all my Contacts being automatically detected when I went to type in the email address of the person I was sending the new email to)!
In summary, you need to uninstall Firefox 4.0 being sure to click on the "Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations" box during the uninstall process. Be sure to save/export all your old bookmarks before the uninstall process and make a note of all your old add-ons. Then reinstall whatever version of Firefox you are comfortable with. Apparently, my Firefox customizations had become corrupted at some point; removing the Firefox customizations during the uninstall process allowed any future Firefox version installed on my PC to start over with a clean slate (these corrupted settings would show up in whatever version of Firefox I had installed on my PC so removing them during the uninstall process was the key to solving all my Firefox bugs). I hope my suggestions help to solve your problem and good luck!

I have an external drive - WD My Passport FOR MAC. I want to format it to work on both mac and windows. Which format do you think I should use? Will either one cause damage to the files on the hard drive?

I have an external hard drive - WD My Passport FOR MAC. I want to format it to work on both mac and windows. I also want to be able to connect it to my TV and watch movies.
I read up and I think I am supposed to use exFAT or FAT32? I also saw MS-DOS. Which format should I should use? Will any of them cause damage to the files on the hard drive?
My little memory stick uses MS-DOS and it works on both mac and windows.
Please can you just tell me a little about each and suggest which one to use.
I know how to change it once you tell me so don't waste your time writing about changing it.

Will any of them cause damage to the files on the hard drive?
WARNING: FORMATTING A DRIVE ERASES IT COMPLETELY !!
If you need to carry large files (e.g., larger than about 4GB) back and forth, you may need ExFAT. Otherwise MS-DOS works for smaller files.
The Mac can Read, but not write Windows New Technology File System (NTFS) without an add-on program such as Paragon NTFS.

[SOLVED] How to Restore Folders/Files from a Hard Drive

I broke my system today; it won't boot into any run level. Rather than try to fix it, I'd like to just pull off the 4 or 5 MB of files that are on the hard drive. The partition they are in was formatted XFS. I have the 2008.06 ArchLive CD - is it possible to access files from the hard drive after booting with an ArchLive CD? If so, I could just scp them to an external server. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Last edited by tony5429 (2008-09-28 04:52:39)

You should be able to mount the partition once you've loaded up the live CD. Just figure out which one it is by using
fdisk -l
then mount it to /mnt or wherever you want it.
As for moving/saving them, I'm not entirely sure how to get them onto an external server. You might have to mount another partition in order to install any apps that you need to connect to an external server, but wait for someone who really knows to answer before you try it. If you're only talking about 4 or 5 MB, I would just mount a USB stick and dump them on there.
Last edited by Xyne (2008-09-28 03:38:02)

Help reading a .txt file from the hard drive....

Hi guys,
Ok... I need to know how to read a .txt file from the hard drive... I have an example on how to read from a disk, but I don't have a disk drive. I could be confusing terminology, but I don't think I am. Here is the code I have for reading from a disk.. please let me know how I should change it to read from a hard drive.
Also, when the error pops up, it says that it can't read another .txt file that is not specified in the code... any ideas how that is occuring? Please advise.
import java.io.*;
public class TEST {
public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception{
FileReader fr = new FileReader("customer.txt");
BufferedReader bfr = new BufferedReader (fr);
String s;
while ((s=bfr.readLine())!= null){
System.out.println (s);
fr.close();
}

Ok... I need to know how to read a .txt file from the
hard drive... I have an example on how to read from a
disk, but I don't have a disk drive. I could be
confusing terminology, but I don't think I am. Here
is the code I have for reading from a disk.. please
let me know how I should change it to read from a
hard drive.The code will be the same, regardless of where the file is located. It's just the filename that will be different.
Also, when the error pops up, it says that it can't
read another .txt file that is not specified in the
code... any ideas how that is occuring? Please
advise.Probably becuase the class file (compiled version of the source code) is a different version to the source code, i.e. the source code hasn't been recompiled since the source code was changed.
How does this relate to EJBs?

Transferring some files from old hard drive to new mac book pro: How do I do this? I bought a SATA Wire, and can't figure out how to get my files

Hi there, my old mac book recently died and I opted to buy a new macbook pro, instead of pouring lots of money into the old computer. I was able to get my hard drive out, and I bought a 2.5" Sata Nootbook Drive Upgrade Kit. I have also installed superduper!....but I can't really figure out how to get everything to work. I just want to be able to take some of my files from my hard drive, not everything...
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

I don't know what a "2.5" Sata Nootbook Drive Upgrade Kit" is but if you have a internal drive you need to connect all you needed was a $20 IDE/SATA to USB adapter
You don't need Superduper, that's software designed to clone a entire Mac's boot drive to a external drive for bootable backup purposes using the same machine/make/model.
Since the new Mac is different than the old one you can't clone (well you could but it will break the machine) the old drive to the new one.
However you can use the adapter above and software Apple provides in the Utilities folder on the NEW MAC, called Migration Assistant to transfer your User to the new machine.
However this might not be the best course of action as it can transfer unwanted data and cause problems in the Library, old programs that won't run on 10.7, etc.
You can simply create the same named user on the machine (System Preferences > Accounts) log into it and then connect the external drive with the adapter and copy the contents of your users folders over and place into the same.
It's always good to have another Admin level user account on the machine in case the primary one has a User based issue and you need to log into the other and grab files. So if either manually or via using Migration Assistant you wind up with two user accounts on the machine, it's really not that big of a deal.

Splitting System Files Across Multiple Hard Drives

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