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USB external HD problem

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bluush

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 20, 2007
337
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I'm trying to move the music from my external HD onto my new Macbook but it's not letting me. It recognizes the drive, but is only giving me the options to repair or partition it. The current partition type is Windows_NTFS, in case that matters (I presume it does). Any ideas how I can get all my music onto my new laptop?

Thanks
 
BSL4 Guy said:
I believe ntsf is read only. Can you click the icon and see your files? If so, just try to drag them to your new destination in the Mac.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it's not showing any of my files. The disk utility is only giving me the options of Erase, Partition, RAID and Restore. I know the HD itself is fine, as I just used it on my desktop 30 min ago.
 
Is your desktop a MS machine then? You could hook the two together via an ethernet cable and transfer the music to your Mac that way.

Sorry I can't help more, I've never had experience with an ntsf formatted drive. I thought it would at least mount.
 
BSL4 Guy said:
Is your desktop a MS machine then? You could hook the two together via an ethernet cable and transfer the music to your Mac that way.

Sorry I can't help more, I've never had experience with an ntsf formatted drive. I thought it would at least mount.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is a windows desktop. I tried clicking the "Mount" button but it didn't appear to do anything. Not really the smooth transition I was expecting, hmm :/

Thank you though
 
Would Bootcamp help me in this situation? I really don't want to install XP but is there anyway I could just install Bootcamp and somehow xfer the files from my external to my Macbook that way? Everything I'm reading online says I'll have to completely reformat my hd... I really wish I'd known about this beforehand :(
 
Does just double-clicking, or opening with an app other than Disc Utility show the files?

I've got a WindozeXP hdd that I sometimes connect to the Macs, and I'm able to open the drive and just drag-drop the files I want over to the Mac HDD. No 3rd-party apps, just a double-click.



No Bootcamp. No nothing, just OS/X 10.4.9
 
skwij said:
Does just double-clicking, or opening with an app other than Disc Utility show the files?

I've got a WindozeXP hdd that I sometimes connect to the Macs, and I'm able to open the drive and just drag-drop the files I want over to the Mac HDD. No 3rd-party apps, just a double-click.



No Bootcamp. No nothing, just OS/X 10.4.9
Click to expand...

When I plug in the external, I get a window with a red stopsign and a white exclamation mark that says "Disk Insertion: The disk you inserted ws not readable by this computer."

It gives me the options of Initialize, Ignore or Cancel. When I click initialize it brings up the disk utility, but even then the Verify Disk and Repair Disk options are grey'd out when I have my external HD selected in the menu on the left side. So much for "it just works"! :p Seriously though, are there any quick solutions? I'd really hate for this to drag out and turn into some huge ordeal. I just want my music. :<
 
really if you just want to get your music off, connect to your Mac from your PC and transfer the music to the Mac hard drive. Turn on windows file sharing in the Mac preferences, and you can connect to it over your LAN.
 
bluush said:
I'm trying to move the music from my external HD onto my new Macbook but it's not letting me. It recognizes the drive, but is only giving me the options to repair or partition it. The current partition type is Windows_NTFS, in case that matters (I presume it does). Any ideas how I can get all my music onto my new laptop?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you can connect the HD to a Windows box, you could also start Windows File sharing on the Mac and connect to the Mac from the Windows machine via a standard network connection. (My Network Places).

At that point the Windows box will see both the Mac & the External HD, and you can copy & paste to your heart's content.
 
JohnNotBeatle said:
If you can connect the HD to a Windows box, you could also start Windows File sharing on the Mac and connect to the Mac from the Windows machine via a standard network connection. (My Network Places).

At that point the Windows box will see both the Mac & the External HD, and you can copy & paste to your heart's content.
Click to expand...


This sounds like a perfect option. Is there a website that explains this more thoroughly though? I don't have an ethernet cable so would have to do it over a wireless network of some sorts? Obviously, I'm not too savvy on a computer (hence my desire to get a Mac... or so I thought it was a good idea)
 
JohnNotBeatle said:
I don't know if BSL4 Guy will be, but I certainly will be in July... ;)
Click to expand...

July of all months, I'll be in Nassau (Bahamas) most of the summer working at Atlantis! Raincheck though! I really appreciate the help in this thread. My music is swiftly being xfer'd to my laptop as we speak. :)
 
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