Transferring Mail/iPhoto FROM External Hard Drive to iMac

Pretty new to our Mac but loving it. Also have never posted anything anywhere so hope I'm doing this correctly. ;/
We are trying to transfer our Mail and iPhoto programs FROM a new WD external HD back to our iMac. (We had to reformat it.) It were able to transfer our Documents but we can't access our saved Mail program or iPhotos.
When we click on the Mail icon we get the recent Mail program (not the one we saved). Same with iPhoto. We also tried to "Import Mailbox" from File menu (Mail program) but the Mail option can't be highlighted.
Feeling pretty dejected. Sure would appreciate some help. Thank you in advance.

what exactly did you back up to that WD external and how? I hope you are not trying to move back the actual applications that were sitting in your Applications folder. that would be the wrong thing to do.
Mail keeps its data in user-home-directory/Library/Mail an iphoto in user-home-directory/Pictures/iphoto library. did you back up those? quit mail and iphoto and move those from the backup to the corresponding locations on the internal drive. do the same with the files com.apple.iphoto.plist and com.apple.mail.plist from user-home-directory/Library/Preferences
when you start iphoto and mail they should be as they were when you made the backup.

Similar Messages

How do I copy iTunes from external hard drive to iMac?

How do I copy iTunes from external
Hard drive to iMac?

if your main library is on your external, then when not connected, you wont have access to it.
so first decide, where do you want to keep the files.
E.g. In my case, I keep my files on "C:\iTunes Music".
I have a backup on external "Z:\iTunes Backup". If I format my laptop, this is how I restore everything.
Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced.
The iTunes music folder in selects as "C:\iTunes Music"
I have checked Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized, and also Copy Files to iTunes Music folder when adding to ibrary". Click OK to save and close preferences.
My iTunes list is now empty. I go to file, and select "Add Folder to Library". From that window, I select "Z:\iTunes Backup". iTunes then copies everything from the backup to "C:\iTunes Music". For me, backup is backup, I dont need it to play music.
Now decide this. If you do not want to keep music on C:, but want to only connect the external to update music on your ipod, do this:
In preferences, set iTunes Music folder as "Z:\iTunes Backup", and uncheck Copy files to iTunes Music folder, since they are already there. Then in files, select Add folder to library again to build and update the list.

Importing iphoto from external hard drive

I was wondering if importing 4 gigs of photos takes longer than 30 minutes to import from external hard drive. The iphoto status after importing still shows "working" as the bar graph "charges" continuously. Does this mean it is still importing? Should it show any other info such as the number and title of photos being imported? Should I stop it after awhile and try a new method of importing? Help.

maxus2:
What method are you using, the copy files or use aliases? I imported 14,000+ files from my second HD and it took between one and two hours, I don't remember exactly as I was doing it 10-12 folders at a time. I was using the alias method thus giving me an 8G library folder on my boot drive for about 25.5G (14,100) of image files. See my reply in this thread, http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=327144&tstart=0, more some more thoughts on the alias method.

Music and photos transferred into itunes and iphoto from external hard drive on to my new hard drive installed in my 2007 macbook

I just installed a new 250 GB SATA hard drive on to my 2007 macbook computer as the old one failed. I had backed up my old hard drive on to a 250 GB external hard drive using time machine via a USB cord. I am having trouble locating my music and photo files to transfer them into itunes and iphoto on my new hard drive. I have signed in to my itunes account, where it shows my app and book purchases, but not my music purchases. I have over 1,000 songs purchased. Any help would be appreciated- Thanks!

Hi aourada,
Since you have a current Time Machine backup of your computer you should be able to use the Migration Assistant to recover your music and photos.
Archived - Mac OS X v10.6: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from a Time Machine backup
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4500
Alternatively, if your music was purchased from the iTunes Store, you can re-download available songs for free.
iTunes 11 for Mac: Download previous purchases from the iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12283
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Nubz

Iphoto from external hard drive won't open on another macbook

My iphoto wont open from my external hard drive on my other MacBook. It says: The photo library will need to be upgraded to work with this version of iphoto. Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iphoto after the upgrade.
1) Why do I need to upgrade?
2) Will I still be able to open this external HD on my old macbook?
When I click upgrade it says: there is a problem accessing one or more files in your iphoto library. Do you want iphoto to repair permissions for this library for you?
3) What does this mean?
4)Can I open this external hard drive iphoto library on a Dell laptop or will it always have to be on a Mac?
Thank you for your help!

You do not give enough information to give a total answer - but basically it sounds like you have two Macs with different version of iPhoto - newer version of iphoto have to upgrade the iPhoto library to use it and once they do older versions can not use it - that is the meaning of the warning
The photo library will need to be upgraded to work with this version of iphoto. Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iphoto after the upgrade.
Pretty clearly stated by the warning
so
1 - because you probably have a newer version of iPhoto on your "other MacBook"
2 - Probably not
3 - you have a permissions problem that needs to be repaired - often this is caused by having the iPhoto library on an improperly formatted drive - the iPhoto library must always be on a volume formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) - what format is the drive the iPhoto library is on?
4 - no - if the drive is properly formatted the Dell can not open it and if it can it has no idea what to do with it - the iPhoto library must be used by iphoto on a Mac - if you want to have your photo on a PC you have to export them to a drive the PC can read
LN

Import to iPhoto from external hard drive 'importing photos' remains on

Hi,
When I import to library (from the file list) from my external hard drive the photos are added to my library. However the 'importing photos' from the source pane remains on with the dial rotating! This stays on unless I 'force quit' iPhoto.
After using force quit the images are successfully shown in the library.
When I attach a camera and import this problem doesn't happen.
Thanks.

Lockboard
Before we define this as an unacceptable bug, how come everyone else doesn't have the issue?
One key difference between png and jpeg is metadata - jpeg's have it and png's don't. What's the source of these jpegs? What colour profile have they? What Exif data is travelling with them? Have they been processed in Adobe's Lightroom, for instance? Finally, have you tried opening one of them in Preview, saving it and then trying to import it?
Regards
TD

Transferring my music from external hard drive into i-tunes

Help!
I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but I've browsed through a lot of the posts and have not been successful.
I am new to using iPods and iTunes, as I've always had a zune. I have about 80gb of my music backed up on my external hard drive. I am trying to transfer my music files to my itunes and sync to my ipod, and am running into all sorts of problems. Some of my music transferred, the rest didn't. So far, I have only been able to transfer about 21 gb of music from the external into iTunes. I have tried to add folder to library, add file to library, and add playlist to library. In all three, it will not let me select the entire external hard drive, or select more than one individual song that is on my external to transfer. When I tried to transfer my music files individually, I can't find them in my iTunes library. What am I doing wrong?
Bottom line is, how do I get the music off my external hard drive and onto my iPod? It won't all fit on my computer, which is one reason it's backed up externally.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am getting so frustrated I could cry. Thanks.

Rosanne Maitland wrote:
Please I need some help with moving music on an external hard drive to my i-tunes library. I think that I have cut and pasted it to i-tunes from this hard drive but once the hard drive is disconnected...i-tunes can not find it. I would appreciate a step by step run down on how I might do this
I am having the same problem, only with music I import into iTunes from a CD. The tracks will import, and will synch to my Ipod, but will not play in iTunes unless the original, source CD is in the computer. It seems to me that once iTunes "accepts" imported tracks, it should play them, whether the source CD is present or not.
I suspect that iTunes will be able to "find" all of your songs, and play them, provided the original source (hard drive) is hooked back up to your computer.
But you shouldn't have to do that. iTunes will play most imported tracks without requiring the source to be present. Puzzling.

Can't transfer iPhoto Library FROM external hard drive to iMac

I just bought a new iMac. Before I said goodbye to my old computer (a MacBook), I dutifully backed up my iPhoto library onto an external hard drive. Upon setting up my iMac, I easily accessed the iPhoto library on my HD, but I didn't import it. I was able to see all photos, albums, etc.
But when I went to import the entire iPhoto library into my iMac's hard drive (into the Pictures folder), it wouldn't import. A mesage comes up that says "Preparing to copy" and the blue-and-white bar just spins and spins, without actually copying anything. So, it's weird -- there's clearly communication between iMac and external HD, but I can't take the iPhoto library off the hard drive to make it my new computer's iPhoto library.
Any hints? Thanks.

Have you tried restarting your machine?

Transferring album folders from external hard drive to itunes

I have just purchased a 30G ipod. All my music is an an external hard drive. I do not own the CD'd thanks to a divorce! How do I move/copy my CD albums from their folders on to itunes?

iTunes menu File -> Add to Library... and pick the folder from the external drive. Or simply drag and drop the folder onto the iTunes library.
Keep in mind that the default setting in iTunes is to copy added songs to the iTunes folder (on our internal drive). Be sure to uncheck that if you DON'T want everything from the external drive copied to the internal.
Patrick

MOV. files will not import from external hard drive to iMac.

Do I have to convert MOV files somehow to be able to import them into an iMac from an external hard drive?
The files were moved from MacBookPro to hard drive. They play fine on external hard drive but won't import into iMac which says file format not recognised.

The file plays on my desktop and from the external hard drive, but I converted one file to an MP4 which then imported to iPhoto. Any recommendations on how to convert to MP4 files in bulk?

How to install dmd image from external hard drive to imac with no os installed

I have a G5 iMac that the hard drive crashed. I have replaced the hard drive and now trying to install the 10.5.8 dmd image back from a external hard drive since I don't have a disk. I have not been able to figure how to boot up and install this way.

Neither do I.
Restore Tiger 10.4 & Leopard 10.5 DVDs are available from Apple by calling 800-767-2775 as of January 20, 2013.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4720126?tstart=0

How do you transfer pictures from external hard drive to imac

I am a PC user crossing over to the iMac. I want to move my pic on an external hard drive to the iMac. Tried clicking and dragging, but didn't take....what gives?

If you can read the external drive then it must be formatted acceptably for the Mac...if you have the pix in one folder, right click the folder, or cntrl-click, copy, then click the folder on the internal drive where you want to copy the pix and right click, or cntrl-click, and paste. Should work like a PC in that respect.

Transfer music back from external hard drive to iMac

I currently have an iMac and have an external hard drive connected to it that holds all my music, movies etc. However, I am concerned that if the external hard drive fails then I will have lost my media. As such, I would like to store everything directly on the imac and back it up to time machine. It is a long time since I have set up my existing system and I am unsure how to get the media onto the imac. Advice on this would be very welcome. Thanks

I don't know what your layout is on the external drive. The "formal" hierarchy for iTunes is:
/Home/Music/iTunes
/Home/Music/imm Media
/Home/Music/iTunes Playlists
You need to drag each of those folders to the corresponding locations on your startup volume. Then open iTunes while depressing the OPTION key in order to tell iTunes the change in location.
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
iTunes 10 for Mac- Move items to another computer

How do i transfer iphoto from external hard drive?

I had a macbook, i purchased a macbook pro.
I put my 32K photos and i photo on an external harddrive "Seagate goflex desk 2tb")
This went well, on this external harddrive all files/ photos and events/subfolders are stored perfectly just like original.
Now...
I want to bring all of the photos and events/subfolders, to my macbook pro from the external harddrive. I have viewed them on my pro, but i have not brought them over. I have read all the problems, so i want to make sure i do it exactly right when i transfer in, keeping all of the folders etc intack.
Please give me very specific instructions.
I have MAC OS X 10.7.4
The iphoto is Iphoto 11 Vs. 9.3.2
I appreciate you taking the time!

Are you running a Managed or a Referenced Library?
A Managed Library, is the default setting, and iPhoto copies files into the iPhoto Library when Importing. The files are then stored in the Library package
A Referenced Library is when iPhoto is NOT copying the files into the iPhoto Library when importing because you made a change at iPhoto -> Preferences -> Advanced. (You unchecked the option to copy files into the Library on import) The files are then stored where ever you put them and not in the Library package. In this scenario you are responsible for the File Management.

Got a new external hard drive. Transferred all files from old hard drive to new hard drive. Connected hard drive to macbook. How do I get all my files to be recognized by iTunes and my already made playlists??

Got a new external hard drive. Transferred all files from old hard drive to new hard drive. Connected hard drive to macbook. How do I get all my files to be recognized by iTunes and my already made playlists??

Trying to download photos from IPHONE, IPAD to IPHOTO in IMAC after installing new hard drive.
How did you import the photos to iPad and iPhone?
If the photos have been synced to the iPhone and iPad using iTunes, you cannot sync them back.
See this document: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4236
You can't reimport pictures synced from your computer to your device back to your computer. You can only import pictures in the Camera Roll or Saved Photos from your device to your computer. If you need to retrieve synced photos from your device:
If your photos are not in the Camera Roll on your devices, save them to the Camera Roll, share them to the Photo Stream, mail the photos, or, if you have iPhoto on the devices, use iTunes Photo Sharing.
http://help.apple.com/iphoto/iphone/2.0/?handbuch#blnkee26bc1
Save photos to your computer using iTunes
Connect your iOS device to your computer.
Tap a photo, album, event, web journal, or slideshow and tap Share> iTunes.
Tap Selected, or change the photos you want to save (if you are saving a slideshow skip to step 4):
Select different photos: Tap Choose Photos, tap one or more photos, and tap Next.
Select a range of photos: Tap Choose Photos, tap Range, tap the first and last photos in the range, and tap Next.
Select all the photos in an album or event: Tap All.
In iTunes, click the button for your device and click Apps at the top of the window.
Below File Sharing, select iPhoto (in Apps).
Select the Shared Photos folder under iPhoto Documents.
Click Save To and select the location on your computer where you want to save the items.
To view your photos, go to the Finder and look in the location you selected above.

Transferring Mail/iPhoto FROM External Hard Drive to iMac

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for