Using external hardrive to backup

My external hardrive is set up to automatically backup when I plug it in. I have used it twice, both times
when its arrow at the top of my desktop quit spinning I dropped its icon into the trash and then removed the external drive from my laptop. This time it must have finished quite rapidly. I went in to Time Machine to see if I could tell for sure. I pressed a blue 'up' arrow and its icon on my desktop disappeared. I can not find the icon anywhere and do not want to take any chances of unplugging it from my laptop incorrectly. In Time Machine it says that the latest backup failed and Next Backup will take place 'when Disk is connected'. It also says that the latest backup was delayed.
CAN I REMOVE this external drive without dropping it into the trash. Where did its icon go? I just can't afford to take any chances.

I agree that you should be able to just pull out the hard drive if you don't hear any activity from it writing or see a light on the casing blinking. Make sure the hard drive is formated Mac OS Extended (Journaled) to work properly with Time Machine.

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Backup Library using external hardrive?!

I understand that I can use a DVD or CD to backup my Library but is there an easier way to back up my library using an external hardrive other than individually moving all 2000 of my mp3s??

If you go into the My Music folder, there will be an iTunes folder. Inside that folder is all of the information for playlists, all of the songs, etc. You can copy and paste that if you want.
If you're looking to run all of the songs in iTunes off of the external HD, go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced, and change the iTunes music folder to a folder on the external HD. Now, go along the top of iTunes and choose Advanced>Consolidate library. That will copy everything to the external HD, and will make iTunes run off of the external HD. I don't usually recommend this option if you're just wanting to back up your content.

Using External HD to backup and run mac OSX

Howdy all,
I'm going to install Snow Leopard "currently running Leopard 10.5.8" and I was hoping to put it on my 1.5 TB external HD, that way I don't need to burn it to a CD since that seems like a bit more work since I already have a external HD lying around. So that part seems straight forward enough to me, but then I have the problem of where/how do I backup my mac, I was going to back it up to my external "using Carbon Copy Cloner" but I only have one lol. So would it be safe to backup my mac to this external and also put the new snow leopard OSX. I mean is there any reason this wouldn't be possible or am I putting all my computers information at risk by doing this?
sorry if I wasn't clear in anything I'm not very tech savvy :huh: but thank you for any help or insight you can provide
also I already formatted this External Hardrive to Mac OS X extended journaled

thanks for your help that is good advice but as it happens i ended up going a different direction using a method which involves partioning off 10 GBs using bootcamp assistant except during the process i came across an error that may be indicative of a more serious problem that I now have to fix with my mac

When using time machine with external hardrive to backup, some music items from iTunes and some photos from iPhoto do not transfer to backup hardrive. What am I ding wrong? Using latest version of mountain lion.

When I use time machine with my external harddrive to back up computer, some music from iTunes library, and some photos from iPhoto library are missing when I check backup disk. I am using latest version of mountain lion. Am I doing something wrong?

First, Time Machine doesn't completely back up the iPhoto library while iPhoto is running. Make sure you quit iPhoto after making any changes to allow a backup to take place.
This simple procedure will clear your Time Machine settings, including both overt and hidden exclusions. If you have a long exclusion list that can't be recreated easily, you may prefer a more complicated procedure that preserves the exclusion list. In that case, ask for instructions. Otherwise, do as follows.
Triple-click the line below to select it:
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Reveal
from the contextual menu. A Finder window should open with a file selected. Copy it to the Desktop. Then move it (the original, not the copy) to the Trash. You'll be prompted for your administrator password. Reboot, recreate your settings in the Time Machine preference pane, and run a backup to test. If TM now performs as expected, delete the file you copied to the Desktop.

Using external HD for backup with Macbook Pro

Hi. I've got a Macbook Pro 4.1 with a 300 GB primary HD running OS X v10.5.8. Am about to connect a 2.0 TB external drive in an OWC mercury Elite Pro enclosure via an eSATA controller card.
My partition scheme is as follows:
1st partition: 950 GB (for storage, etc.),
2nd partition: 600 GB (2X capacity of primary for TM backup),
3rd bootable partition: 450 GB (1.5X capacity of primary for Carbon Copy Cloner).
I know I can't boot the external through an eSATA connection, but in the event that I would need to boot up from the CCC partition, I would temporarily switch the connection on the drive to FireWire 800 for emergency boot up only and retain the eSATA connection which I understand is faster, for my normal day to day operations.
As I am currently restricted to using the one external HD, does the above sound like a reasonably workable and sound configuration?

Remember that whatever's on that 950 GB partition is not backed up. Personally I don't like too many paritions but one thought would be to split it into two with one acting as a backup of the other. This won't guard against mechanical failure of the drive but would help in a case of directory corruption or maybe a bad sector.

Karen - Using External Hardrive for Video Projects

karen..ETAL...(anyone who has helpfull comments)
You gave the following advice to someone:
on laptops (=tiny harddrives), it is allways a good suggestion, storing mass datas as 'video for editing' on some external harddrive.. to keep the internal free for the temp-files, system/apps need..
How is it possible to import video and encode it properly to use with IMovie using and external drive. Do you just copy things back and forth to use??? I guess my real question is how do you use an external hard drive in conjuction with video editing etc. Some of the files will not take files from an external source and manupulate them and put them back on that source?????
Mckinzy

mckinzy wrote:
karen..ETAL...(anyone who has helpfull comments)
You gave the following advice to someone:
on laptops (=tiny harddrives), it is allways a good suggestion, storing mass datas as 'video for editing' on some external harddrive..
+.. that advice sounds familiar to me.. but I'm a boy, not a girl???.. :D+
purchase an external harddrive, firewire preferred, but usb2 does work too...
format/'erase' that drive with DiskUtility to 'MacOsExtended' ..
.. tadaahh - iM08 will show it in its Event Library as device ...
in this example, you see my mini, my 400er Gigger and my 200GB HDD listed..
on any import (file or from camera), iM08 asks you where to store the data..
so, no back and forth needed..
but, you are allowed to drop any Event from any drive to another.. do that in iM NOT in Finder!

External hardrive

Is it possible to transfer photos that have been downloaded from a camera to a ipad onto a external hardrive for backup?

Realistically the only way I can think of would be to use the USB Camera Connection Kit. Even then i'm not entirely sure. Are they not stored on a computer somewhere?

HT1178 Time Capsule used as External Hardrive Backup

If I want to use a Time Capsule as an external hardrive backup for my MacBook Pro, how do I do it?
What cords do I need and can I get it to back up wirelessly? I don't want my own wireless from it,
because we already have it in the house - I just want my own storage unit and I have one, but no
cords to go with it. Need to get cords - which ones?

This is out of my area of expertise, but I believe you can set the Time Capsule up so it doesn't generate a network, but is on the existing network.
Then you can back up to it wirelessly.
You should still do the first backup via an Ethernet cable if at all possible, as it will be 2-3 times faster than WIFI, but then backups can be done without having to connect the cable.

External hardrive to use with Imac - how to format and to what?

i have my external hardrive i use with my pc
how and to what should i format it so i can use ut with leopard and timemachine, also is it possible to make 2 partiton on it so one partition
would still be windows format so i can backup windows on it too?

If you have an Intel Mac do this:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to two and resize as desired using the sizing gadget. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the PC volume you just created (this is a sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to MSDOS (FAT32) from the Format drop down menu. Click on the Erase button.
5. Select the OS X volume you just created (this is the other sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
You should now be able to use the drive on both platforms. One partition for OS X and the other for Windows.

Using my external hardrive question!

Ok, so I'm a little computer challenged and probably not nearly as knowledgeable as most of the people here. Anyway, I'm sorry if my question sounds stupid! I bought a 250GB external hardrive today to back up all my music and pictures. When I plugged it in, it automaticaly opened Time Machine and asked if I wanted to backup my computer on it, so I hit yes. Now, my question is, if I unplug it from my computer, will it rebackup everything again when I plug it back in? I also looked around in it and was unable to find all my music and pictures so I copied all that onto the external hardrive again. This is probably a really stupid question, but I'm paranoid! Thanks!

{quote}
I also looked around in it and was unable to find all my music and pictures so I copied all that onto the external hardrive again. This is probably a really stupid question, but I'm paranoid! Thanks!
Were you using Finder to look around the drive or did you use the Time Machine program?
If you gave Time Machine enough time to actually do the backup, and left it on for a couple of hours, you should be able to see several restore times that you can go back to. To see music files - launch iTunes first, then Time Machine. To see iPhoto picture library files - launch iPhoto first, then Time Machine. To see emails - launch Mail first, then Time Machine.
For other files in folders or on your desktop you just go to the folder where the file used to be, and then launch Time Machine. You can also get back different versions of the same file, based on when it was re-added to the Time Machine backup. Everytime a file changes, Time Machine makes another copy of it.
Time Machine Demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWdkfCwd4qU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n055CqFnjyo
And for a little fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofWnyUHwoYI&NR=1

Backup External Hardrive with Timemachine

Hi,
I have a iMac and an external Hardrive.
I store all my data in the external hardrive - music, movies, documents. No data is stored in iMac harddrive.
Is there a way to backup only that external hardrive with TimeMachine?
If so how?
I am using macFuse in my external harddrive since i read the data from bootcamp xp also
Thanks for your help

I hope you are not getting my Question
Nice comment.
I know you do not want to backup your internal drive, that is why you need to select it as I said. Time Machine will backup the internal HD and external HD's by default. When you go to Time Machine preferences and click the options and choose specific drives look at the dialog it will say *"Exclude these items from backups:"* so if you choose your internal HD it will NOT _I repeat_ NOT be backed up.
If for some reason you cannot do this then make an appointment at your local Apple Store and they will help explain it to you.

I'm using Time Machine and a LaCie external drive to backup. I also have a 8 GB LaCie flash drive I want to use for small jobs. If I plug the LaCie flash drive in, is my Mac going to think it is the LaCie external drive and start trying to backup?

I'm using Time Machine and a LaCie external drive to backup. I also have a 8 GB LaCie flash drive I want to use for small jobs. If I plug the LaCie flash drive in, is my Mac going to think it is the LaCie external drive and start trying to backup?

no.

Help needed. I have a 3TB external hard drive partitioned into 1TB's. I used one partition as backup for the main computer hard drive. But now it is greyed out as shown in the disk utility and its name changed, i dont know how that happened, i tried verif

Help needed. I have a 3TB external hard drive partitioned into 1TB's. I used one partition as backup for the main computer hard drive. But now it is greyed out as shown in the disk utility and its name changed, i dont know how that happened, i tried verifying and repairing it but had no luck. I also tried mounting and unmounting it but still no solution. Anyone to help please?

Looks bad. I would strongly advise backing up the stuff on the other two partitions as soon as possible in case the rest of the drive goes wrong.
Beyond that, Disk Utility has limited abilities to repair disks, DiskWarrior uses a different approach and might, emphasis might be more successful. It has certainly done the job for me in the past when Disk Utility could not.
See http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/

Can I use Time Machine to backup to partition on external drive and a Time Capsule?

Trying to plan in advance...
I was wondering if I can (with a laptop) use Time Machine for both:
1. Creating Time Machine backups on a partiion of an external drive. My plan was going to create 2 partitions: one to be used for Time Machine backups of another external hard drive (that holds all of my media) and then the other partition was going to be a bootable clone of my internal drive (totally separate from Time Machine)
and
2. Also use Time Machine for my Time Capsule, to create Time Machine backups of my internal drive.
Is this possible? I had heard that you can't use TM to make backups to a partition on an external drive, AND use it for another drive (like Time Capsule) at the same time. But I would think that this should be possible-
Thanks everyone-

Yes you can, and if you are using Mountain Lion it's easy.
If you are using Snow Leopard (as in your profile - this is the Mountain Lion forum), you have to manually select the backup volume each time. Tedious, but possible.
Read Apple Support Communities contributor Pondini's FAQ on that subject: "Rotating" Time Machine backup disks

I am trying to install Mavericks on my McbookAir, but it won't install, saying that my hd is used for time machine backups. I have an external HD connected to my mbAir that I'm using for time machine.

2012 Macbk air, with OSX 10.8.5. See my question above. Mavericks won't install on my Air's HD, says that both the HD - AND - the external HD (which has a different name from the laptop HD) are used for time machine backups. I've deleted my time machine plists, restarted, repaired permissions, turned time machine off, repeatedly selected the external drive in time machine preferences. HELP. (Install went perfectly on my desktop Mac, which also has an external HD for time machine).

I need to add that the only place I have the "Backups.backupdb" folder is on my backup external disk, and it's not on my HD :-( . If it were, I'd delete it!

Using external hardrive to backup

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