VERY slow backup to external Hard Drive

I have an older external HD case (New Motion) with a Western Digital 120GB Hard Drive that I use for backup, firewire only.
I use this drive on my old slot loading iMac G3 (10.3.8) and it runs very fast, copying 16GB from the iMac to the backupin about 15 minutes.
When I connect the backup drive to my G5 iMac (10.4.2) it runs VERY slow at night, taking 6 hours to copy the same amout of information.
I notice that during the day it takes less time, but still about 1.5 hours. (The night/day differences are consistent).
Is this an issue with Tiger or a setting in Tiger or how Tiger talks to firewire, or an issues with the G5 iMac? (Both firewire ports work fine with my iPod updating music).

Hi robfromkinglake west,
Try and isolate the issue. Check if it's only with this drive.
Check the drive with Disk Utility
Using Disk Utility to verify or repair disks
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1782
I've never seen a drive take 20 minutes to mount.
Nubz

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Can time capsule backup an external hard drive

Trying to backup an external hard drive to time capsule, through time machine. Possible?
My drive is greyed out in the Time Machine exclude options.

Yes, when the drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or if other means are used to back the drive's contents up.
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HT1175 Apple Time capsule to backup my external hard drive - on exclusion list???

I want to set apple capsule to backup my external hard drive, but it is currently in the exclusion list.
I can't remove it from the exclusion list, because I can't select it and the - option is greyed out.
It is a WD Passport, used for document files only.
With thanks.
D.

Time Machine can't back up drives in some formats, such as FAT32.
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How can I backup an external hard drive using Time Machine?

How can I backup an external hard drive connected to my MacBook Pro using Time Machine?

Attach drive, open Time Machine preferences, be sure external drive is not in the Exclude list.

Time Machine won't backup my external hard drive.

I am trying to get Time Machine to backup my external hard drive. I have the external drive formated as Mac OS Extended (journaled) and I have also removed the drive from the Excluded list. I put some 'test' files on the external drive and told TM to do a backup and when it is finished the only way I can see my external hard drive in TM is if it is connected to the computer. It doesn't seem to be backed up anywhere in TM that I can see. Please Help
Thanks.

Chihuahua Rancher wrote:
My thinking is that if my external hard drive craps out it would be ok because it would be backed up on the TM (what I'm trying to get it to do) How would I open the external drive if it was damaged and then invoke time machine?
#E3 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting shows how to do that.

My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my iTunes library. Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer? It was the only computer authorized to play library.

My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my saved iTunes library from it. That was the only computer authorized to play library. I do not have an iPod or iPhone with any of that library (which has over $2K in music purchases & over 5K in songs I ripped). Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer?

You should be able to access your past iTunes purchases. You'll need to re-rip your CDs See: HT2519 - Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.
See also this backup tip so you don't get caught out again.
tt2

Time Machine Backup of external hard drive connected to IMAC

I have an external hard drive connected to my IMAC. I also have a 2TB Time Capsule connected to my network. I store all of my video (both events and projects from imovie) to the external hard drive to save space on the IMAC. Does the Time Capsule backup this external hard drive? When I open Time Machine I don't see where the external hard drive is backed up? The drive is formatted MAC OS extended (journaled).

nujac,
Time Machine backs up all locally attached drives unless you specifically exclude them in System Prefenences > Time Machine > Options.. icon.
You should be able to see this in Finder, enter TM and highlight the external drive. Click back to a prior date. Sometimes it takes a little while to fully populate the display since it's reading across the network, give it a few minutes.
Regards,
Captfred

How to backup an external hard drive plugged into a time capsule using time machine

How to backup an external hard drive plugged into a time capsule using time machine.
I want to move my itunes library from the mac HD to an external plugged into the time capsule, but I want to be sure this drive will still be backed up by time machine. I currentlly see no way to do this.

There is no way. You can connect the drive to your Mac and remove it from the Time Machine exclusion list. Then it will be backed up, but that will stop when you reconnect it to the TC. While it's connected to the TC, you can copy it manually to another AirPort Disk by following the instructions here (with a slight modification):
Using AirPort Utility to make a copy of the Time Capsule disk

Does Time Machine backup other external hard drives?

I am using a Seagate 500 GB to backup my data. Will Time Machine backup another external hard drive on which I store my iMovie projects? If so, how do I access them in the Time Machine mode? Thanks in advance.

nachdenki wrote:
strange, my external HDs were added to the exception list automatically. maybe because they wouldn't fit on the time machine volume.
It seems to depend on when the drives were connected. When you first turn Time Machine on, it only excludes the TM drive itself, and any drives not formatted HFS+.
If you connect a drive later on, that drive will be excluded automatically.

Unsual question about backup to external hard drive

Hi,
I have a large iTunes library on my laptop (+140GB). My hard drive is running out of space. I am planning on backing up my music and everything in iTunes to a backup 2TB external hard drive. I know how to do this but I like to tweek it a little: I want to be able to back up all my files to the external drive AND then delete some of the less-used songs on my internal drive. BUT i want to keep them in the external hard drive! Is this possible?
I know I am probably not clear, so please let me know.
Thanks,

I'd normally suggest this method for backing up.
You should always keep at least two copies of any file you don't want to lose.
tt2

400GB of photos. Want to backup to external hard drive. Need help. Not very computer savvy. Thanks

I have 400 GB of photos in iPhoto and simply want to back them up. I have a 1TB external hard drive and am wondering what is the simplest way to do this. Can I save the photos to the External Drive and them delete them from iPhoto? I need to free up space on the internal drive. Thanks

You can use Time Machine to backup, that does not mean that you can delete photos from iPhoto to save space however.
Plug the drive into your Mac and turn Time Machine on, that is all you need to do as far as backup is concerned.
You will need a second drive for your iPhoto library if you wish to keep access to all photo's, all of the time.

Backup to External Hard Drive

Hi, running PSE9 on Win7. I have two catalogs that I want to backup to an external hard drive. I initially made two separate folders on the HD to place the backup files in. I then successfully
backed up each catalog in its respective folder.
Now it is time to do an incremental backup to each catalog and this is where I am having problems. When I select the appropriate path then elements prompts me to select the correct backup
(.tly) file. When I do it says I cannot overwrite an existing backup. So if I do not select the appropriate path and just browse for the appropriate .tly file then the backup proceeds but the new backup files are written not in the respective backup folder but just on the main hd space outside of the catalog backup folder I have created.
I want to be able to keep the backups in separate folders. Is this possible?
If you need anymore info to assist me I am glad to provide. Sorry if this is not complete enough, I figured this should be easy but of course I am having problems.
thanks,

Once you have a full back up you can make incremental back ups but you need to follow a set routine. It’s not very intuitive.
Start by creating a new folder or label a new CD/DVD Disk - it’s best to use dates e.g. “PSE9 incr backup 2011-0926”
Press Ctrl+B and check Incremental, then click Next
Highlight your drive containing the last backup and click the bottom Browse button (previous back up file) then navigate to the TLY file and click open.
Click the Browse button above and navigate to your new folder “PSE inc backup 2011-0926”
Click Done.
If your full backup originally contained 500 images, the incremental backup will only contain changes since the last backup e.g. files B000501.jpg, B000502.jpg etc
If you ever have to do a complete restore you start with the TLY file from the latest incremental backup. The program automatically recognizes the number of incremental steps and you will be prompted to insert a disc or navigate to the appropriate drive.
Incremental backup’s are obviously much quicker to write to disk but I recommend that you periodically perform another full backup and delete any earlier backups.

Backup an external hard drive connected to Airport -- is this possible?

Currently I have a hub connected to my airport extreme. There are 2 external hard drives connected to the hub. One has my iTunes library on it, and the other is being used for time machine backups.
I have no problem doing the backup wirelessly to the one hard drive. In time machine, I could pick either external drive to back up to. What I am trying to do is back up the external drive too. Time machine is only seeing the hard drive on my laptop. The exclude list is blank and when I try to add the itunes HD to the exclude list (to remove it), it won't let me select it-- it is greyed out.
If I connect the itunes HD directly into my laptop, I can run the backup, but that is not very convenient. Is what I am trying to do possible? Does anyone have any ideas? Are there any other posts discussing this (I could not find any with my specific problem).
Thanks!

nealmay wrote:
Currently I have a hub connected to my airport extreme. There are 2 external hard drives connected to the hub. One has my iTunes library on it, and the other is being used for time machine backups.
I have no problem doing the backup wirelessly to the one hard drive. In time machine, I could pick either external drive to back up to. What I am trying to do is back up the external drive too. Time machine is only seeing the hard drive on my laptop. The exclude list is blank and when I try to add the itunes HD to the exclude list (to remove it), it won't let me select it-- it is greyed out.
That's correct. Time Machine will not back up a network drive (see #2 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum).
You're going to need a different app. Which one will depend on where you want the backups to go; some apps will not back-up from a network drive; others won't back up to a network drive. I don't know, offhand, of any that will do both. Perhaps Kappy, V.K., or others will.
For backups to a local disk, try either CarbonCopyCloner (which I use to make a full bootable "clone" in addition to Time Machine), and I think SuperDuper will do this as well. CCC is donationware, so you can try it for a while, then send them some $$ so they can keep it current. It can be scheduled to run automatically, and you have the choice of it keeping only current copies or to archive prior versions as well. SuperDuper has a free version, but you need the paid one (about $30) to do scheduling. I don't know if it will keep archive copies.
There are many other backup apps, some of which will handle network drives. Check Google, VersionTracker.com, or MacUpdate.com.

Restoring a catalog from backup and incremental backups on external Hard drive

Hello!
I recently bought a new computer where I installed again Elements 8 (that's the one I'm currently using). From my old computer, I have an initial complete catalog backup which was saved in a folder (I called this folder "Complete catalog backup") on an external hard drive. I also made then subsequent incremental backups which were saved in different folders called "Incremental backup 1", "incremental backup 2" etc. on the same external hard drive. Apparently in Element, I discovered that incremental backups can't be saved in the same folder as initial complete backup!
How should I proceed now to restore my catalog on my new computer? I know how to do it when one has only a complete initial catalog backup, but now I have also several incremental backups (contained in folders "incremental backup 1", "incremental backup 2" etc.), I just don't know how to proceed.
Some help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks a lot

First and foremost: Forget re-importing. You would loose all your edits. Importing is strictly only for images that have never been imported before.
The remedy for "missing" photos is to re-link them.
In Lr / Grid View right-click the top-most folder in the folders panel. By "top-most" I mean the parent folders of all folders. If you have several parent folder right-click one of them.
Then select <Find Missing Folder>, navigate to the corresponding folder on your new drive E and select it. Do this for every other parent folder. If the folder names and structure haven't changed Lr will find the sub-folders on its own.
For more see here: http://www.computer-darkroom.com/lr2_find_folder/find-folder.htm

Would like some opinions re: best backup software/external hard drives for windows xp and windows 7

Recently tried to restore a corrupted hard drive with a Toshiba canvio hard drive with NTI Backup Now EZ I purchased in 2010. Was only able to restore a few files, had a very hard time working with the software, even contacted NTI, still not much luck. Am unhappy with the NTI software, and want to know what external hard drives and what software the community has used and would recommend for Windows XP and Windows 7? Thank you so much in advance for your time and opinions.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

It doesn't matter which external drive you use.
Let's talk about backing up the entire drive. Be sure to burn the disc that enables you to restore.
Windows XP does not have a decent image backup built-in. I understand this free one works well.
EaseUS Todo Backup Free
Windows 7 has a decent one.
Learn more about system image backup
Windows 8 contains the same backup. Open "Windows 7 File Recovery" (sdclt.exe).
-Jerry

VERY slow backup to external Hard Drive

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