Using HD Clone as external drive

I am traveling with my wife's MBP, and have brought along a portable HD containing a clone of my iMac hard drive. In iTunes, I can specify my iMac iTunes library and synch it with my iPod. But when I make changes to that library, I get the message “The iTunes library cannot be saved”. If Ido a command-Ion that portable HD, I see that the user has read and write access to it.
Can someone explain how Ican use this library, change it, etc, and have those changes recorded on the clone. My intention would be to copy the clone back to the iMac HD upon returning home.

Right, once my TC gets filled up I won't be able to save any more files there, but in the meantime, it's still a heck of a lot of storage that I need. I might be able to put 500 GB of sparsebundle Macbook Pro backups in there as well as 500 GB of jobs as if it were an external drive.
I just wasn't sure if it was bad to do that for any other reason, like maybe backups will overwrite my other data because it needs the space or something. I just wasn't sure why the Apple guy said it wasn't made for that when it looks so simply easy to do both.

Similar Messages

I just purchased Time Capsule today. I ONLY want to use it as an external drive. I do not need it for Time Machine. I can see the TC in my finder, but when I click on a file or video to drag and drop, I get message that TC can't be modified. Help please

I just purchased Time Capsule today. I ONLY want to use it as an external drive. I do not need it for Time Machine. I need to free up room on my computer. As of now, I can't even load updates. I can see the TC in my finder, but when I click on a file or video to drag and drop, I get message that TC can't be modified. Help please!

I agree with Kappy.. passing files and especially via wireless is slow as slow.
Just need to be sure your TC is the new AC model??
And the OS on the computer is Lion?
Have you completed the setup of the TC via the utility? You do still need to get internet via the TC so it has to be plugged into the main router..
Give us the full picture of the network.
Then we can help you get into it.. whether you should put your files on it is another question.

HT201250 Hi, I hope this question won't seem too basic but if I want to use a new larger external drive for my time machine backups, will it do a new full backup the first time I plug it in and if so, do I really need all the old backups on my smaller ext

Hi, I hope this question won't seem too basic but if I want to use a new larger external drive for my time machine backups, will it do a new full backup the first time I plug it in and if so, do I really need all the old backups on my smaller external drive?

50maz wrote:
Hi, I hope this question won't seem too basic but if I want to use a new larger external drive for my time machine backups, will it do a new full backup the first time I plug it in
Yes, it will do a full backup.
and if so, do I really need all the old backups on my smaller external drive?
Only if you want to be able to go back in time to those previous Time Machine backups. When you plug in the new larger external drive, you will only be able to go back as far as the first day you plugged it in and ran the first Time Machine backup on it.

I have an old MACBook and want to use it as an external drive to load disks on to my new mac. How do I?

I have an old MACBook and want to use it as an external drive to load disks on to my new mac. How do I?

Apple makes a Thunderbolt to Firewire adaptor if your new computer does not have a Firewire port.

Big problem- using ipod as an external Drive

Hello
Right now i am tring to save my School work (i do Homeschool) on myipod, using it as an External Drive. I plug my ipod, amd i go to my computer, and i see the ipodd drive, i open it, and after 5 seconds it colses by itself. Itunes does not open eiter, what shall i doÉ its really urgent!
(doe sit have to do ith disabling Disk Mode? if yes, tell me how...cuz my itune is in French...and i do now how ou call that in French)
Chris

If you restore the iPod you will delete the files, so don't do it unless you have backups. Sorry I don't know about the error code.

I got an old Apple G5 shell from Goodwill. I'd like to salvage the Superdrive and use it as an external drive for my Apple laptop. Is this possible, and what cables would I need if so?

I got an old Apple G5 shell from Goodwill. I'd like to salvage the Superdrive and use it as an external drive for my Apple laptop. Is this possible, and what cables would I need if so?
Other info is available:
Superdrive MFG date: Sept 2009
Model: DVR-118LBK DVD-R/RW Writer Unit
My Macbook is: Mid-2010, running Mavericks
Thanks in advance, God bless!

That's a nice Pioneer DVD±RW drive - and an upgraded replacement for the original optical drive that shipped with that G5. For a finished look, you'd want to install it in an external enclosure for 5.25" IDE/ATAPI drives that converts it to USB connectivity. Because SATA optical drives have replaced ATAPI drives in recent years, the selection is getting more limited for a new enclosure, although used ones can undoubtedly be found at ebay. Here's an example of one, although it only features USB connectivity. You can also find enclosures that have both FireWire and USB connectivity, which for Mac users is beneficial. Booting the computer (if needed) by a FireWire-connected device is generally more reliable than USB booting. If this isn't important to you, then a USB-only enclosure would be adequate. The enclosure will have directions, but essentially all you need to do is plug in the power cable and data ribbon cable and then secure the drive to the bottom plate of the enclosure with the included machine screws.

Can the mac osxlion usb jump drive be used after as a external drive for storing media files

can the mac osxlion usb jump drive be used after as a external drive for storing media files

If you are talking about the Lion install USB thumb drive sold by Apple then no it can't. it has some specail formatting that makes it show up as a DVD drive and is securely locked from any changes.
But I must ask why would you want to. That would destroy that drive and wipe out the Lion installer.
USB thumb drive can be bought for $8.

Can I use Time Capsule as external drive with a Time Capsule?

I have a Time Capsule set up with AirPort and it works well for backups. Can I buy a second Time Capsule and plug it into this TC with ethernet and use it as an external drive?

jshafer wrote:
So, you are recommending using a USB drive into the TC or using an NAS plugged into the ethernet port...is that correct?
Yes, correct. USB drive is not fast but it is still mostly going to be faster than wireless.. it is of course slower than ethernet.. so what you are using on your clients dictates what is the rate determining step of the network.
Am I correct in thinking that an NAS using ethernet connection would be faster than USB?
Does a true NAS have its own internal backup system?
Yes, to both.. but remembering the client has to be able to make use of it. ie is also ethernet.
True NAS is faster than TC as they use RAID systems.. more reliable.. you can replace disks in the raid.. TC is sealed.. and all decent NAS will be able to back themselves up to a USB drive.. on incremental basis.. which is major shortcoming when people try and use the TC in this role.

Using Disk Warrior on external drive causes MacBook crash

I work on MacBook System 10.6.7, I back up to LaCie external drive, which I partitioned so that one partition is only for backup, the other is bootable. On this partition I have a clone of Disk Warrior (4.1), to use on the MacBook .
Today I ran DW from the MacBook on the external drive for the first time, because lately it happens that the backup partition does not always appear in the finder (still performs back up though). I applied it first to the boot-partition, and it told me there were some problems. When it got to replacing the directory, the computer crashed mid way.
I performed Disk Verify on that partition through Disk Utility, and it said that it needed repair, and then that it did repair it. Checked other partition, no problem.
Tried again to rebuild directory for the external drive, and both partitions caused the MacBook to crash. I then booted from the external drive to see if it works, and ran DW on the MacBook, and had no problem there.
Anybody can tell me if it is the MacBook that caused the crash, or if the problem is with the external, and if there is anything else I can try to sort it out?
thanks,

I work on MacBook System 10.6.7, I back up to LaCie external drive, which I partitioned so that one partition is only for backup, the other is bootable. On this partition I have a clone of Disk Warrior (4.1), to use on the MacBook .
Today I ran DW from the MacBook on the external drive for the first time, because lately it happens that the backup partition does not always appear in the finder (still performs back up though). I applied it first to the boot-partition, and it told me there were some problems. When it got to replacing the directory, the computer crashed mid way.
I performed Disk Verify on that partition through Disk Utility, and it said that it needed repair, and then that it did repair it. Checked other partition, no problem.
Tried again to rebuild directory for the external drive, and both partitions caused the MacBook to crash. I then booted from the external drive to see if it works, and ran DW on the MacBook, and had no problem there.
Anybody can tell me if it is the MacBook that caused the crash, or if the problem is with the external, and if there is anything else I can try to sort it out?
thanks,

Can I use Mavericks on an external drive?

I need to keep 10.6.8 on my iMac to use AppleWorks, but I'd like some of the features of Mavericks denied me such as compatibility with OS7 on my iPad. Is it feasible to clone my hard disk to an external drive and upgrade that to Mavericks and switch to that for some operations? Thanks.

Jim
Thank you. What I'm concerned about is that others have found that if they put a bootable copy of their HD on an external drive and then upgrade it it becomes no longer bootable.
Could this happen? And if it did how could it be made once more bootable?
Maybe an article somewhere on this (?)

Backup when using MacHD and and External Drive

Hi
I was just reading your discussion group on back up. It appears that one can use the "restore" feature on the disk utilities program of Mac Os - to my understanding this will create a mirror image, or you can use a scheduled back up program, such as Super Duper. Does a program like this do a straight back up or synchronise only the changed files to the destination volume
Previously I used a shareware program called syncback on the PC - you could run multiple different shedules and back up formulas. Do you know of any good shareware programs that exist for the mac for backing up?
I have a mac book pro, and a 150GB ext drive where i keep photo's and music. Ideall I would like to be able to back up these to another ext drive.
Does anyone know about backing up external drives to other external drives, is this possible, or does one have to copy the files first to the lap top hard drive?
thanks for the advice
bishan

Hi Bishan,
There are lots of backup utilities. A few trusted ones are EMC Retrospect (It is the high priced spread and also a bit too complicated for my tastes). My preference as you mention, SuperDuper and LaCie's SilverKeeper (Free), and Carbon Copy Cloner
The one you mention SD is the one I use. It's simple to use and 100% reliable for me after a year of daily use. I have it setup to backup nightly to 2 external hard drives with a bi-monthly rotation. Yes, it only backs files that have changed since the last backup, if you choose that option, I do. Read the documentation.
Yes, you can back up from hard drive to hard drive without going through the internal.
Post back with any other questions you may have.
-mj
[email protected]

HT3275 I need to use a Western Digital external drive on both my Mac and a PC. To do this I need to format the drive in FAT 32. However, Time Machine won't recognize this format. Is there a work-around?

I need to use my external drive on my Mac and a PC, so I formatted it in FAT 32. I found that Time Machine doesn't recognize this format and cannot back up to it. So, if I want to use Time Machine I need to go back to a Mac format. Is there any way to get Time Machine to save onto a FAT 32 formatted drive?

It's usually not a good idea to use a Time Machine drive for anything else. It's too easy to make mistakes, or not do regular backups, or run out of space. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions #1 and 3.
But you can create a second partition on the drive, for use with Windoze.
See #5 in the FAQ for formatting instructions. You'll need to select 2 partitions. It's usually best to put the Time Machine partition first, and it should have the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Format. Make the second one MS-DOS (FAT), although you might prefer ExFAT.
Be sure to specify the GUID Partition table.

Using Migration Assistant on external drive for moving new apps to Leopard

I'm sorry if this has been covered, but I searched and couldn't find the answer on any previous posts.
I am having the infamous "yellow triangle" problem when trying to install Leopard on my iMac. I created a bootable copy of Tiger and all my apps, etc. on an external drive (including Parallels/Windows) with SuperDuper, and I'm planning on trying an "archive and install", and then hopefully using MA to transfer all of my settings and files from the bootable copy of Tiger on the FireWire drive.
Obviously before I go ahead I want to make sure I can do this. Is this possible, and what would the basic steps be?

I didn't know I needed to disconnect the FW drive in the first place. That may be the root of all my problems.
I have been having nothing but problems with this Leopard install on my iMac (though it seems to be working on my Macbook Pro). Here's what happened:
* The iMac install was going just fine (though I had the external hard drive connected). I selected the internal hard drive (no yellow exclamation or anything like that) and it began to install. After about 2 minutes it kicked me out and said there was an error.
* ok. So I rebooted and tried it again. From this time on, whenever I tried to install Leopard on the hard drive there was a yellow exclamation, and I got the infamous "Can't install OS X on this volume without changing installation settings" (basically erase and install)
* Then I tried Leopard Disk Utility. When I tried to verify the disk, it gave me an error saying the disk has the incorrect number of extended attributes (should be 0 instead of 238) and it needs to be repaired. But it wouldn't let me repair it, even if I rebooted off the DVD.
* Next, I went back to Tiger's Disk Utility and verified the disk and repaired permissions. There seemed to be an error that was corrected, so I thought that would do the trick. Wrong! By the way, I checked the partitions and the disk is formatted with a GUID partition.
* Even after the repair and verification with Tiger, I still get the same problems. When I go to install Leopard, it doesn't work and I get the same errors if I run Leopard Disk Utility.
This is why I was going to do an erase and install, and import via MA. Do you know any way around this?

Using iTunes on an external drive..

So I know how to put my libary on an external drive and pull music from that. My problem is this: my external drive is connected to my airport extreme. I have two laptops that my fiance and I use and we both want to pull music off it. It works, but we're constnatly forgetting to "connect to the hub" via Finder. Consequentially, iTunes likes to make a new iTunes music folder on the laptops' HDs and then we have to go through the whole process again of updating the location, and letting iTunes organize it all...
It's a pain in the butt.
Any suggestions on what we can do so we don't have to deal this mess? iTunes sometimes even makes a new folder when the laptop is already connected to the external HD!
The apple support page says this:
"Additional Information
If you move your library to an external drive, you'll need to power up and connect the drive before starting iTunes. If you don't, iTunes will prompt you to either locate the library or to create a new library (which will result in an empty library)."
I'd really like it to ASK ME to find the library rather than making a brand new iTunes folder.
I know people play music off their Time Capsule's like this, do you guys still have this problem or is your Time Capsule "automatically" connected to your computers? Any way to get my external Western Digital via the Aiport Extreme to do the same?

Sure.
First thing you're going to want to do is transfer everything to the external:
MacMuse: Moving iTunes to a new drive
Then, just make sure that the external drive is powered on and connected every time you start iTunes.

I have a 2009 MacBook Pro. How do I do a backup on the new internal hard drive using my existing LaCie external drive without re backing up the entire internal drive. Just want to backup most recent changes

I have a mid 2009 15" MacBook Pro. The existing internal drive was about to fail so I had it replaced with a 500GB western digital drive. I have been backing up my system with a LaCie 500GB external drive. I want to perform a new backup using Time Machine but I only want to backup any changes from the last 30 days or so. I want to avoid doing a total system backup thus duplicating most of the data on my external drive and pretty much filling it up. Any suggestions appreciated

Look at this web site devoted to Time Machine:
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
I suspect that this portion will address your situation:
http://pondini.org/TM/15.html
Ciao.

Using HD Clone as external drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for