Switcher needs External Disk help.

I'm a new Mac user and have an issue I'm hoping I can get help with. I have a 200GB external HDD that I have partitioned. The larger partition is setup in the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format, the smaller partition (conatining all of my info I want to transfer from my PC) is formated in the Windows NT Filesystem format. The problem I'm having is that somehow the Windows format has become "Read Only". I want to move all the info to my Mac OS format, but when I do so I'm told that "The item "<name>" is being used by Mac OSX and can not be used" or something very similar. Anyone have any idea what's going on here?

NTFS is a read-only filesystem on OS X. If you needed to write to that partition you should have formatted it FAT16 or FAT32.

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Need startup disk help!!

I have a Core Duo Macbook and am trying to install a new (blank) hard drive. I designated my Maxtor firewire drive as my startup drive, turned the computer off, replaced the original drive with the new blank drive and when I started it up, I got a file folder with a question mark on it. Is there any way to get the firewire drive to be used right off the bat (it's already a bootable drive) or do I need to have the disktools DVD? The problem is, I'm moving and can't find the DVD anywhere. Thanks for the help!

Then it may be your cloned system wasn't good (I assume from your original post that you never actually tested the clone before removing the old drive.)
I suggest re-cloning the old drive to your external FW drive. However, this time you should:
First,
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now shutdown the computer for a couple of minutes and then restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Second,
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
For added precaution you can boot into safe mode before doing the clone.Third, boot from the clone to test it.
Replace the old drive with the new one, boot from the external FW drive and then clone back to the new drive.

I Need Startup Disk Help :(

My iMac won't start, I get a grey screen. I used the install disk to run disk repair (it said none needed.) So now I don't know what I'm doing...I'm guessing I can use the disk to start my computer? It's asking me if I want to use Mac OS X 10.4.4 Install disk, MacOS X 10.4.7 on Macintosh HD, or Network Starup. Huh? I'm guessing I should choose 10.4.7, but I really don't know what I'm doing. Can anyone help? (I'm buying AppleCare after all this!!!)

Yes, your current version of OS X will be moved to a folder called something like previous OS and a new version will be installed. It will be the OS X 10.4.4 on your install DVD and will need to be updated to 10.4.7. The Combo update can do it in one update. That will be faster than Software Update.
Here is a good site for maintaining and troubleshooting your Mac & Mac OS X;
The XLabs

How-to: desperate need of help in partitioning an external disk drive

Some time ago, after installing PARALLELS, my external disk drive lost one of the two HFS+ partitions it had (465 GB total, 50% one and 50% the other).
Now, after having sent it to assistance, the technicians have recovered all possible data, with one issue: they have created a NTFS partition with all recovered data.
The external disk drive is now as shown on:
http://www.tyrexionibus.com/pictures/partition-diskutility.png
** WHAT'S THE MATTER ? **
I want to save the data contained in the first partition and partition the disk with two HFS+ partitions (60% and 40% of the disk space, particularly). In other words, I need to CONVERT (from NTFS to HFS+) and RESIZE (from 50% to 60%) the first partition and MAKE (40% of disk space) another HFS+ partition WITHOUT losing data.
Please note that I _DO NOT_ have sufficient disk space in my MacBook Pro's HDD to move all data from the external disk drive to it, create a new partition and then move all data to the new partition again.
How can I solve this issue?

I don't read Italian, but from the screen shot it appears that the first partition is not formated as NTFS. Am I missing something?
The safest thing to do would be to use a second external drive to back up everything while you are changing formats and partitions. I guess you create a new partition on half the disc, more all the data to the new partition, then modify the first partition; but that seems risky.

My MacBook Pro won't go beyond a white screen, after I pushed the restart button. How can I get it to a login? I have routinely backed it up, but don't know how to bring that up, nor if I have a boot file on that external disk. Help!

My MacBook Pro won't go beyond a white screen, after I pushed the restart button. How can I get it to a login? I have routinely backed it up, but don't know how to bring that up, nor if I have a boot file on that external disk. Help!

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Start up from the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
d. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If a desktop Mac hangs at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, the keyboard may not be recognized. Press and hold the button on the side of an Apple wireless keyboard to make it discoverable. If need be, replace or recharge the batteries. If you're using a USB keyboard connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 11. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then restart as usual.
Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

My newish MacBook Air was just lost to a coffee spill, and I need to migrate back to my MacBook Pro using a recent back-up (Time Machine to external disk). Can I do this?

My newish MacBook Air was just lost to a coffee spill, and I need to migrate back to my MacBook Pro using a recent back-up (Time Machine to external disk) for a few weeks. This same disk was used to back-up the Pro earlier, and to migrate from the Pro to the Air. Can I do this "back-migration" from the Air to the Pro? Is it maybe better just to migrate the specific folders (Outlook email, Office docs) I am sure I need?

Do not attempt to copy files/folders from a Time Machine backup. Only use the Time Machine application to restore from the backup.
Click on a Finder window and select Help from the Finder's Help menu. Search for "restore" and select "restore items backed up with time machine" from the hints list. You will find these two articles:
Recover items using Time Machine and Spotlight
If you use Time Machine to back up your Mac, you can use Time Machine with Spotlight to recover lost or deleted items.
Note: You can retrieve earlier versions of TextEdit documents from within TextEdit. For more information, see:
View and restore past versions of documents
Open a Finder window and type a search word or phrase in the search field in the upper-right corner.
Select a location to search in the location bar.
Refine the results by specifying search criteria. Narrow down Spotlight search results
Open the Time Machine menu in the menu bar, then choose Enter Time Machine.
Use the arrows and timeline to browse the Time Machine backups. Your search is performed in every window.
When you find the item you want to restore, select it, then click Restore.
The restored item is returned to its original location. For example, if the item was found in the Documents folder, it’s returned to the Documents folder.
Restore items backed up with Time Machine
If you use Time Machine to back up your Mac, you can easily bring back lost items or recover older versions of files.
You can use Time Machine within many apps. If the iCloud Documents & Data feature is turned on, you can recover older versions of iCloud documents as well as regular documents.
Open a window for the item you want to restore.For example, if you accidentally deleted a file from your Documents folder, open the Documents folder. To recover an email message, open your inbox in Mail. To recover an iCloud document, open the document’s app, choose File > Open, then click iCloud to view the iCloud documents for that app.If you’re missing an item from the desktop, you don’t need to open a window.
From the Time Machine menu in the menu bar, choose Enter Time Machine. A message may appear while your Mac connects to the backup disk.
Use the arrows and timeline to browse the snapshots and backups.White tick marks represent snapshots stored on your internal drive (portable computers only). Pink tick marks represent backups stored on your backup disk. If a tick mark appears dimmed or grayed, there’s no backup available or the backup disk is not connected.
For more information about an item, double-click it.The windows in Time Machine behave just like Finder windows, so you can open folders, click items in the sidebar, and use the search field in the upper-right corner of the window.
When you find the item you want to restore, select it, then click Restore. You can restore individual items, multiple items, folders, or your entire hard disk.The restored item is returned to its original location. For example, if the item was found in the Documents folder, it is returned to the Documents folder.

TS1550 What about when using the "Time Capsule" HD as the external disk, especially when it is connected by ethernet cable? I'm having trouble getting it to work at all. Don't need it to work as anything else, other than a ethernet connected Time Machine

What about when using the "Time Capsule" HD as the external disk, especially when it is connected by ethernet cable? I'm having trouble getting it to work at all. Don't need it to work as anything else, other than a ethernet connected Time Machine backup. Already have a wireless network that works fine so no need to mess with it. We get the internet via cable company and their modem is upstairs and the Time Capsule is downstairs in the basement. The latest error message was about it could not backup as it was already in use (should have written it down before clicking OK and moving on.

See if this helps...
http://pondini.org/TM/C12.html

I need to burn a .dmg to an external disk

Hi i need help to "burn" a .dmg file into an external disk partition so every time I conect it it open as if conect a disk with a dmg image burnt to it
Chucleskill 

Use Disk Utility to restore the dmg file to the partition. The partition already opens as a disk. If this isn't what you're wanting, be more explicit, especially what's on the dmg file.

I want to set up the Time Machine and I would love to use the Time Capsule but since I already have a wireless router I need suggestions on what other external disks Apple could recommend to use with the Time Machine and how to configure that disk

I want to set up the Time Machine and I would love to use the Time
Capsule but since I already have a wireless router I need suggestions on
what other
external disks Apple could recommend to use with the Time Machine and
how to configure that disk.
A complication that I need to resolve is the fact that I am using Vmware
Fusion to be able to use Windows on my Mac. Now it seems that Time
Machine is not backing up my files
on that virtual Windows without additional configuration and my question
is whether you can advise me here or whether this is only a matter for
the Fusion virtual machine.

If you want to use Time Capsule you can.. you simply bridge it and plug it into the existing router.. wireless can be either turned off or used to reinforce the existing wireless.. eg use 5ghz in the TC which is much faster than your 2.4ghz.
You can also use a NAS.. many brands available but the top brands are synology, qnap and netgear readynas series. These will all do Time Machine backups although how well always depends on Apple sticking to a standard. There are cheaper ones.. I bought a single disk zyxel which was rebadged and sold through my local supermarket. It actually works very well for TM at least on Snow Leopard. Major changes were made in Lion and again ML so do not instantly think it will work on later versions. I haven't tried it yet with those versions.
Any external drive can be plugged into the mac. Use the one with the fastest connection or cheapest price according to your budget. USB2 drives are cheap and plentiful. But no where near as fast as USB3 or FW800. So just pick whichever suits the ports on your Mac. Interesting Apple finally moved to USB3 on their latest computers.
TM should exclude the VM partition file.. it is useless backing it up from Mac OS side.. and will slow TM as it needs to backup that partition everyday for no purpose.. TM cannot see the files inside it to backup just the changes.
You need to backup windows from windows. Use MSbackup to external drive.. if you have pro or ultimate versions you can backup to network drive. But MSbackup is a dog.. at least until the latest version it cannot restore the partition without first loading windows. There are about a zillion backup software versions for windows.. look up reviews and buy one which works for you. I use a free one Macrium Reflect which does full disk backups and is easy to restore.. to do incremental backups though you have to pay for it.

I have just upgraded to Mavericks and have been using Time Machine on an external disk with Snow Leopard. Can I continue to backup with Time Machine on the same external disk or do I need a new disk since the operating system has changed?

I have just upgraded to Mavericks and have been using Time Machine on an external disk with Snow Leopard. Can I continue to backup with Time Machine on the same external disk or do I need a new disk since the operating system has changed?

Hi there,
I found that Time Machine in Mavericks will sort it all out for you. You shouldn't need to buy another backup drive, unless you have insufficient space left and can't afford to delete whats on there. It should just work fine.

HT3275 I am using an external drive for backup. I am now getting a message that the drive needs a disk repair, but when I run disk repair it just seems to freeze.

I am using an external drive for back up. Yesterday the backup failed and I received a message that the external drive( a passport drive) needed a 'disk repair", when I ran disk repair nothing happened it seemed to freeze. Suggestions? should i simply erase the external drive and start over-my computer is fine.

Get a different drive for backup.
In the meantime, once you are backed up some drive safe, then you can attempt to repair the backup drive using the repair the directory link.

Need Recovery Disks - Please Help!

Hello,
I need the recovery disks for my "Lenovo 3000 N200" laptop as I can not create the disks myself. Problem is, when I tried to call Lenovo for the disks and pressed 2 for the 3000 support, "it didn't recognize my choice". I really need these disks as my whole laptop system is screwed up from installing Ubuntu as a partition. I have had a lot of help and it has led me to get these disks but even that is proving difficult.
Does anybody know of any other way to get these disks?
Thanks in advance,
Jack

Here are the part numbers
Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit Recovery DVD part numbers
English, U.S., U.K. with enabled modem and WLAN
44X9992 replaces 43T7666
44X9733
Raptor22

I have lightroom. My photos are stored on an external disk drive with a backup disk. With iCloud, will all of my photos go to the cloud? Will I still need the external drives? Is the $9.99 per month for just one year or for always?

I am an amateur photographer and have lightroom. My photos are stored on an external disk drive with a backup disk. With iCloud, will all of my photos go to the cloud? Will I still need the external drives? Is the $9.99 per month for just one year or for always?

If the iTunes database files are on that drive, launch iTunes with the Shift key(Windows) or Option key(Mac OS X) held down, select Choose Library, and navigate to it. The computer may need to be authorized to play protected content, and if the library contains rented movies, those won't play.
If not, import the content to an iTunes library.
(100371)

How much external disk space is needed for editing HD video?

If I'm using FCE:
1) How much external disk space is needed for editing HD video:
if I downloaded 150mins of HD video? and
do editing with it which will have an output of 120mins.
Now PC, going to a MAC user soon Windows XP

Hi(bonjour)!
As a rule of thumb for HDV editing, use those numbers:
12 to 15 meg/second for capturing ( your project is 150 minutes long, so 780 meg/minute, or 117 to 125 Gig).
If you do any editing, add transition, video effect, add 12 to 15 meg /second to the total.
As your project will have to be rendered for the print to tape operation, calculate 12 to 15 meg/second for all the length of your final movie. Add this amount to the total. (example: a 60 minutes movie : 49 Gig).
If you want to burn a DVD on your Mac, calculate 3 to 4 meg/second for downconversion to DV material if you check "self-contained" in quicktime export dialog. (example: your finished project is 60 minutes long : 10.8 Gig)
iDVD itself needs 3 to 4 times this amount if you want flawless operation.
Finally, if you use your internal hard disk for all this storage (it's not a good idea to capture on the same drive where Mac OS X belongs), your Mac OS needs some spare room to breath (doing caching, etc), and your hard drive must have a least 25% of free space to avoid file's fragmentation.
As hard drive's price drop, get the maximum size you can afford. 250 Gig is a good choice if you want to do just one project of 90 to 150 minutes at the time.
Michel Boissonneault

Need software for external disk gigastore

Hello,
I lost my software CD for the external disk gigastore media center, and the password software.. Can someone tell me where to download them?? hope you can help me!
Thanx Markus

Hello Markus
Before you get to idea to ask this have you checked if this software is available on Toshiba support and download page under http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com > Support & Downloads?
Of course under Product Type choose Options & Accessories.

Switcher needs External Disk help.

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