Using Mac OS X and external harddrives

I was wondering if there is anyway to allow Mac OS X to copy/edit files on a Windows-Formatted external harddrive because I want to use the harddrive with both Windows and Mac OS X on my MacBook Pro and use Mac OS X for Itunes, Movies, etc., and Windows as well. If there is no way to do this, is there a way to format the drive so it can be compatible with both Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista?

You need to format the drive as FAT in order to use it with Windows and Mac. On the Mac side, you can use Disk Utility to format the drive as MS-Dos File System (this is FAT).
Hope this helps =)

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Can I use my macbook as a external harddrive to copy files to my imac

can I use my macbook as a external harddrive to copy files to my imac

Yup it's called Target Disk Mode. Click the link and follow the instructions.

I am using mac book pro and I cannot see the video of my chatmate using skype or fb.please help

i am using mac book pro and I cannot see the video of my chatmate using skype or fb.please help

Is your version of Skype known to work with your operating system version?

Using Time Capsule to back up Mac Book Pro and external drive

we're changing our main computer in the house to our mac book pro, which is not currently backed up, so i'm thinking of buying a time capsule. our current main machine is an old pc with two external hard drives connected....one used as the main file storage location and the second as a back up location. the main large files on these drivers are photo's, videos and scanned documents. can i use the time capsule to back up the mac book with an external hard drive connected to it? i'm thinking of leaving all the photo's, videos, documents, etc. on the external harddrive but want to be able to back it up to the time capsule as well as backing up the mac book pro. can backing up the external hard drive be set up to activate automatically daily as I think the mac book can? thanks

This is not as simple as it could be..
Firstly the Mac can read the external drives via the PC if they are shared to the network.. it cannot read them directly plugged into the Mac or the TC.
Also the TC is not really designed to store files.. it is a location for backups by TM..
Read some of the stuff Pondini.. our local Time Machine expert.
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
Q3 here is relevant. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
The hard drives would have to be plugged directly into the Mac to be backed up and they would have to be reformatted to Mac format. So you would need to offload the files.. format and then load the files back.. no trivial task.

Is it possible to connect and external Harddrive via ethernet?

I have an external Harddrive and the USB port on it has stopped working. It has an Ethernet which I have tried plugging into then onto my mac. It says it is conected but I can't access the Harddrive. Is it possible to do this?

I don't think that is possible the hard drive is designed to be part of a network. You should try plugging it into a router.

Transferring Video Projects to and External Harddrive

Can I transfer a video project to an external harddrive and delete the original from my computer. If so, whats the best way to do it"?

csu1970
What version of Premiere Elements are you using and on what computer operating system is it running?
Depending on the circumstances yet to be exchanged, the easy way out would seem to be to archive the existing project via the program's Project Archiver/Copy Option with the Copied Folder pointed to the external hard drive. That folder will contain the project file (project.prel) and its assets including copies of source media that went into the project. Then you can delete the project file, its assets, and source media from the Local Disc C. DO NOT DELETE SOURCE MEDIA ON LOCAL DISC C THAT ARE ALSO BEING USED IN ANOTHER ACTIVE PROJECT.
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premiereelements/using/WS09e4b3c48f3a79fc19b622510385d4355c-7d cb.html
After that you can work with that particular program from that location.
Before you start a new project, you can set the project Save In: (new project dialog) and program assets (including Scratch Disks) to the external hard drive, best to its own folder.
In this type of situation, the prime concern to to avoid media disconnect issues. If you move or delete source media that went into a project after the project's save/close, you are going to have major problems with "Where is file....?" and the like.
More later.
ATR
Add On...I did not see Hunt's post(s) until after I posted mine.

IMovie and extern harddrive

I need some help... When I moved one of my iMovie projects over to an extern harddrive it all seemed fine, but now it's just like this:
So when I open the project it goes to textedit... And this is a very important video of mine, so if someone could please share any info/tips/soloution I would be very happy!

Hi jim:
I am one of those that often suggests that imovie users should not purchase Harddrive cameras, but only IF
*The harddrive camera does not have a firewire or USB2 port
Or if
*The user wants to import directly to imovie from the camera without having to use third-party applications
Many folks here just want to 'plug and play' their cameras. It's those that do not understand how to convert (or those who do want to convert) that usually get the advice of not getting a Hard Drive Camera.
Also, there may be some quality reduction when converting from MPEG-2 to .dv (and then back again if you want to burn a DVD).
:)Just my 2¢ FWIW
Sue

File orientation on the designjet 800ps, using mac os x and photoshop

Hi everyone
We're having a problem with the orientation of the printout we're getting from a designjet 800PS...... The printer is working fine (except for some slight banding), but we are trying to work out the orientation first.
Essentially when we are printing A1 sheets from the roll of paper it is printing the long side of the poster along the continuous side of the paper. This means that we then have to chop half of the width of paper off, which is a complete waste. What we want to be able to do is rotate the image being printed by 90 degrees so we can print the long side of the poster across the width of the roll, thus saving us paper and making our rolls last longer.
We are using mac os x leopard (which has the HP drivers for this printer still installed), and printing from photoshop. I assume there should be an option somewhere in the system printer settings when we print, but i cannot for the life of me find them.
Cheers in advance.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Need more info!!
Are you selecting landscape or portrait orientation in page set up and the paper/quality tab of the printer driver when you select print? Both those settings much match. Are you using the autorotate feature? Have you read through your user guide? Found here:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DocumentIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&contentType=Support...
Also, is this the 24 or 42 inch designjet? What size paper? Roll or Sheet?
Just so you know there are some quirks to getting portrait docs to print landscape - 2 fixes if you are doing everything correctly and it's still spinning your doc around:
1 - if you are printing to a roll that is smaller than the max size, you can lie to the printer and tell it you have a larger size roll installed.
2 - reduce the overall size of the original document by 1/2 inch.
There is an issue where when we use autorotate and then chose to print a portrait doc landscape, the spooling software actually makes the document 1 pixel too wide so the printer automatically turns the document back around. However let's make sure you are setting things up correctly first.
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Has anyone enabled time machine using a linksys router and external hard drive? And if so how?

Has anyone enabled time machine using a link sys router and external hard drive? And if so how? I have a Linksys E4200 wireless router with a usb port on it. I also have a Western Digital Elements 1TB external hard drive. I would like to be able to use this hard drive with time machine. Has anyone done so and if so how can I do so?

You might get some responses, but we don't see many Linksys users on an Apple forum so it may be awhile before you see an answer.
It might be useful to point out that Apple does not even support Time Machine backups to the USB port on their own AirPort Extreme wireless router, so we may be heading down a very slippery slope here.
I've tried Time Machine backups on an AirPort Extreme router a number of times in the past. It's just not reliable. Works for awhile, then has corruption problems. Or has corruption issues immediately. I once went a month or so and thought I had it nailed, then got smacked with a corrupted set of backups again.
But, I guess you never know. It might work on the Linksys. If you decide to try this, I would suggest that you have another backup plan in place for your important data.
Hope that some Linksys users will respond so we can all learn.

Setting up and managing iPhoto with new Mac and external harddrive

First time Mac user and I'm stressing about iPhoto!
I have the new 13" Macbook Air.
I have my old PC (no longer using) that has all of my old photos on it.
Those photos are also on my Wireless Network Drive.
Have not done anything YET in iPhoto because I want to set it up properly.....that's where I'm stressing.....
Here is how I want it to work, which I fear is not possible or maybe I'm just not understanding the correct setup I need to do to meet my needs:
1. I want all of the old PC pics to stay on the Network Drive only UNLESS I decide to BRING the specific ones into iPhoto down the road.
2. I want new pics I take on my SLR to go to iPhoto (which they will) AND the Network Drive for back up (no problem here)
3. Every now and then I will MOVE the photos OFF of my Mac completely and to the Network Drive to make sure I always have space on the Mac.
I also have iCloud and Time Machine so maybe those could help me as well.
4. This is my biggiest complaint.....when I open a photo in iPhoto and edit it, I WANT TO SEE THE ORIGINAL FILE in iPhoto ALWAYS. After reading tons of message boards it sounds like yes, iPhoto does save the original BUT it is nearly impossible to find and it is labeled very poorly. (I know there is a trick to view the original next to the edited one while you're in iPhoto, but that isn't what I mean). I essentially want to see my edited photo and my original photo just like you would on a PC if you did 'save as new'. I want the original in iPHOTO next to/near the edited one(s) not in a hidden/impossible to find/archived path.
If I'm understanding correctly from what I've read, based on what I want, I may need to use a 'reference library' versus a 'managed library'?
I'm not crazy about doing that though because it seems there are risks because it isn't stored in the 'library package'?
To make a long story short, I want my new pics on my Mac, old pics can stay on the network drive (unless I want to edit them or show someone), and I want to be able to easily access the ORIGINAL file. I want everything to be safely backed up and want the option to move things to the network drive/time machine/cloud or w/e when space gets limited on Mac.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

New photos go to iPhoto, I organize, tag, create albums do whatever. These are also getting backed up in the Cloud and Time Machine (I think?? I still have to research more about how those works....sorry, Mac Newbie)
There is no iCloud backup of photos
Time Machine is good - but it appears that it does not backup the iPhoto library if iPhoto is running so be careful there
If I start to really run out of space, I can move them off Mac completely.
To do that correctly you need an external disk formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) with an iPhoto library on it and use iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - to move photos between your MBA iPhoto library and the iPhoto library on the external drive
Regarding issue #4 about the original version, I read one of your posts which explained that the original version can be viewed by going to Home/Pictures/Photo Library Folder/Originals......so I could do that (as long as I don't mess with it). My only concern here is the naming convention that will use- I feel like it will be so hard for me to find the original one I want.
That is not a supported way to access the originals and is dangerous - any change no matter how small can corrput yoru library and cause loss of data and possibly photos - the simple rule is never go into the iPhoto library - there is no reason to - if you wnat the original photo you select it in iPhoto and export as kind = original
Maybe a program like Aperture may be better for me, but again, I'm open to suggestions since you're much more familiar with all of this than I am!
Aperature is more expensive and has many more capabilities including working well with referenced libraries
As to using iPhoto - no one here "encourages" anyone to use iPhoto - in fact for people who want to do things iPhoto does not do or ins not good at we often recommend using other programs - if you want to use it we can help use it correctly - we can not helop you use it incorrectly or make any changes in the way it works

Newbie - use camera for video and external microphone?

Hi,
This is a totally newbie question, but I'm a total newbie to the video part of the mac universe.
I want to use a camcorder to "stream" live video into iMovie (which will record it to the hard drive), and use an EXTERNAL microphone, plugged into the microphone port of the computer, as the audio source (I want to use a good mic).
Will iMovie support doing this? Is it automatic that the external mic overrides the mic on the camcorder?
Thanks,
Dmitri
P.S. this is part of a bigger question, which is, how to get the best possible audio using a standard (cheap) camcorder. I haven't bought a camcorder yet, and am open to getting one that can take a good mic through a line-in. Any suggestions? - Thanks, D

I wrote a reply to your earlier post ..but either the system went offline, or some other glitch occurred, and the post didn't appear. So I'll try to answer your earlier message and the one just above.
Congratulations on getting the camera, by the way!
"..play video through camera" option in the preferences, which MUTES the sound in iMovie.." ..Yes, this has been standard in iMovie from the earliest versions. There may be a slight delay between the audio you hear straight from the camera and the audio coming out of your Mac. To stop the annoyance of hearing the audio separately and slightly out-of-sync (..you'll find that the video on the Mac lags very slightly, too, during import..) you can turn OFF the Mac's audio with that preference.
"..I assume this goes away if I unplug the firewire cable.." ..er..? You mean that the preference switches back when you unplug? I can't remember: try it. But don't unplug the FW cable in the middle of an import!
What I was previously trying to post was:
"..instructional/promotional videos to display online.." ..You don't say if you'll be walking around to do these demos, or if you're demonstrating computer software. If walking around you might want to use a "gun" mic to point at you, or a tie-clip mic, so that it's always clipped to your clothes ..but that will trail a cable to the camcorder unless you use a radio mic. [..And you've now bought a tie-clip mic; well done..]
If you're doing demos of computer software, then you probably wouldn't need a camcorder at all, but just a "screen-recorder" application like 'Snapz Pro' or 'iShowU'. In that case, you'd just want a simple mic to stand on your desk, to record your speech as you work your computer, and for adding extra narration afterwards.
I still don't understand why you want to capture directly to iMovie. If you're using a camcorder, surely you'd want to capture to tape, in case you need to do three or four "takes" of the same material ..and then you only need to import, and fill up your hard disc with, the best of those takes.
And if you're recording a computer screen, then you wouldn't capture with iMovie at all, but with one of those other programs, above..

I just bought this use mac book pro, and automatically when i try to go on the apple store to upgrade, its an other ID

its always the apple ID of the owner who had the macbook before. All the info of the owner before has been remove. I check in the preference systeme under user and groupe and theres nothing. i put my apple ID and also my password.....
help help
ty

The first thing to do with a second-hand computer is to erase the internal drive and install a clean copy of OS X. You—not the original owner—must do that. How you do it depends on the model, and on whether you already own another Mac. If you're not sure of the model, enter the serial number on this page. Then find the model on this page to see what OS version was originally installed.
It is not safe to use a computer with software installed by a previous owner.
1a. If you don't own another Mac
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.4 or 10.5, you need a boxed and shrink-wrapped retail Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) installation disc from the Apple Store or a reputable reseller—not from eBay or anything of the kind. If the machine has less than 1 GB of memory, you'll need to add more in order to install 10.6. Preferably, install as much memory as it can take, according to the technical specifications.
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.6, you need the installation media that came with it: gray installation discs, or a USB flash drive for a MacBook Air. You should have received those media from the original owner, but if you didn't, order replacements from Apple. A retail disc, or the gray discs from another model, will not work.
To start up from an optical disc or a flash drive, insert it, then restart the computer and hold down the C key at the startup chime. Release the key when you see the gray Apple logo on the screen.
If the machine shipped with OS X 10.7 or later, you don't need media. It should start up in Internet Recovery mode when you hold down the key combination option-command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a spinning globe.
Some models shipped with OS X 10.6 and received a firmware update after 10.7 was released, enabling them to use Internet Recovery. If you have one of those models, you may not be able to reinstall 10.6 even from the original discs, and Internet Recovery may not work either without the original owner's Apple ID. In that case, contact Apple Support, or take the machine to an Apple Store or another authorized service provider to have the OS installed.
1b. If you do own another Mac
If you already own another Mac that was upgraded in the App Store to the version of OS X that you want to install, and if the new Mac is compatible with it, then you can install it. Use Recovery Disk Assistant to prepare a USB device, then start up the new Mac from it by holding down the C key at the startup chime. Alternatively, if you have a Time Machine backup of OS X 10.7.3 or later on an external hard drive (not a Time Capsule or other network device), you can start from that by holding down the option key and selecting it from the row of icons that appears. Note that if your other Mac was never upgraded in the App Store, you can't use this method.
2. Partition and install OS X
If you see a lock screen when trying to start up from installation media or in Recovery mode, then a firmware password was set by the previous owner, or the machine was remotely locked via iCloud. You'll either have to contact the owner or take the machine to an Apple Store or another service provider to be unlocked. You may be asked for proof of ownership.
Launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive—not any of the volume icons nested beneath it. In thePartition tab, select the default options: a GUID partition table with one data volume in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. This operation will permanently remove all existing data on the drive.
After partitioning, quit Disk Utility and run the OS X Installer. If you're installing a version of OS X acquired from the App Store, you will need the Apple ID and password that you used. When the installation is done, the system will automatically restart into the Setup Assistant, which will prompt you to transfer the data from another Mac, its backups, or from a Windows computer. If you have any data to transfer, this is usually the best time to do it.
Then run Software Update and install all available system updates from Apple. To upgrade to a major version of OS X newer than 10.6, get it from the Mac App Store. Note that you can't keep an upgraded version that was installed by the original owner. He or she can't legally transfer it to you, and without the Apple ID you won't be able to update it in Software Update or reinstall, if that becomes necessary. The same goes for any App Store products that the previous owner installed—you have to repurchase them.
3. Other issues
If the original owner "accepted" the bundled iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band) in the App Store so that he or she could update them, then they're irrevocably linked to that Apple ID and you won't be able to download them without buying them. Reportedly, Mac App Store Customer Service has sometimes issued redemption codes for these apps to second owners who asked.
If the previous owner didn't deauthorize the computer in the iTunes Store under his Apple ID, you wont be able to authorize it immediately under your ID. In that case, you'll either have to wait up to 90 days or contact iTunes Support.
When trying to create a new iCloud account, you might get a failure message: "Account limit reached." Apple imposes a lifetime limit of three iCloud account setups per device. Erasing the device does not reset the limit. You can still use an account that was created on another device, but you won't be able to create a new one. Contact iCloud Support for more information.

Can I use another computer as a external harddrive for time machine?

I have a mac mini from a few years ago and it is never used. I was wonder if it could be used as an external hard drive for time machine. If this can be done how do I go about setting it up for this type of useage?

Thanks for your reply. I looked at the Troubleshooting, but can't find my exact problem. It is as follows:
I use a new iMac running Snow Leopard with a 500 GB external WD drive.
-I looked the other day to find that time machine had failed, and when I looked at the backups, there had not been a successful backup since September 2009. I think this is when I installed Snow Leopard...
-I went to run a backup, and it failed, saying I did not have room (I have about 220 GB to backup)
-I decided to format the external hard drive and try again from scratch.
-I began getting an error 11, and specifically -8062 and -36 (as examples) which specifically list files that it could not copy.
-I reinstalled snow leopard from disk.
-I excluded time machine from spotlight as recommended in some forums
-I started ommitting some of the files that were listed as not being bale to copy, but now its into my music, and that's half the reason I back up.
I am now backing up to laptop as above post, and if that works, I will conclude that the External HD has seen its day.
If I get the same errors, I will conclude (nervously) that my computer has issues.
Here is an example of an error message:
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/Shared/Music/Compilations/(album name)/(song name).mp3 to /Volumes/Time Machine 20100504/Backups.backupdb/Riskin's Computer/2010-05-04-222232.inprogress/F9243DA..(many letters and numbers)...D19/Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Music/Compilations/(album name)/(song name)
then below in another message says:
Copy stage failed with error: 11
Backup failed with error: 11
I get this same original error with different files, and with different error numbers.
Apple support told me that by formatting external drive, and reinstalling snow leopard, they were 99.9% sure it would be fixed, but it is not.
Frustrated,

How does Time MACHINE work with the Verizon Fios Router and External Harddrive??

Hello,
I just got a laptop MBP for my daughter who has got Verizon FIOS as her carrier. The Router has wireless capability and ethernet capable connections.
I want to set her up with an external hard drive for Time Machine Backups and to make it easier, I was wondering if I can somehow connect the external hard drive to the router so she can use her laptop anywhere in the house and have it backed up.
I clearly recognize that I can hook it up direct to the laptop but I thought if someone had an idea, this approach might be easier for her.
I haven't gotten the external hard drive yet so I thought I would ask before I do.
Thanks for any help anyone can provide me,
Skip

You can restore from the larger disk since Time Machine makes a complete copy of the Mac on the first backup on any new disk.
So, the first time your Mac backed up to the larger disk, the entire contents of your Mac's hard drive (minus any files that you excluded) were copied over. Then, Time Machine began to back up the incremental changes on all subsequent backups.

Can I use time capsule as and external hard drive ? how ?

I would like to now if I can use my time capsule not juste to back up my mac book pro but also has a external hard drive.
I tried to add a folder in time capsule but it dosen't let me do it ????
Please help

I was just wondering if it was possible to the TC disk seperate in 2. One for backing up my cumputer and one for storing my movie and musique.
If yes, can I watch a movie from my TC ???

Using Mac OS X and external harddrives

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