Reply With QuoteGo into disk utility and reformat the drive? Pick a format...
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guid...ku19ed921c/mac
My iMac has seen better days and so I am looking for new PC or new Mac.
I've bought an external hard drive to transfer my iTunes library and photos and, although the external drive is showing on the screen on my Mac, it's not letting me drag and drop the files in the external drive.
Any ideas on what I am doing wrong?
Thanks
Go into disk utility and reformat the drive? Pick a format...
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guid...ku19ed921c/mac
This is the problem. I can't find anything that allows me to do anything to the drive. The drive also shows as a a device under my device but when i double click or right click it doesn't give me any options to do anything apart from eject or get info and viewing options.Originally Posted by Qatar-wol
If you are going to a new Mac you can simply do a Time Machine backup, [dadmode]to be fair if it’s irreplaceable data like photos you should be backing up anyway[/dadmode] then restore to your new Mac this should also move any apps etc.
Also if going to a new Mac you can use migration assistant to move data from the old Mac to new Mac.
If it’s in doubt then a manual backup as you’ve tried following the formatting advice above.
Have you tried the “disk utility” in the application folder?
Format the drive to exFat. Obviously make sure you are formatting the correct drive otherwise it’s bye bye data (see point above about backups & irreplaceable data)
Thanks both, I've got it working now.
I haven't decided whether to buy a new iMac (struggling to justify the cost) or whether to buy a tower PC. My wife works from home and already has a separate monitor for her laptop so I'd just need the tower.
If you’re still having problems after formatting (which should be APFS these days unless the old Mac doesn’t understand that), click on the drive, press Apple-I for info, and check you have read and write permissions.
But as others have said, this isn’t really necessary, you can just follow the instructions on the new Mac to transfer data from the old one, it should offer you that option and open migration assistant. You can just cable the two machines together directly. The only issue is if it’s an ancient Mac with a very out of date system and strange stone aged ports.
It’s also worth paying for iCloud backup of photos I think, things go better when all your devices are synched automatically and there’s no need to think about hard drives failing and wiping out your family photos.
Edit - and of course, by the time I’d posted you’d sorted it out already!
Then there is also the option of a Mac mini but completely get the cost point
The new Mac Mini M2 has been well received. Starts at £649, although if you need more storage than 256GB the price does escalate quickly.
They do go on offer. Got mine from Costco for £580.
OP, which spec/year iMac do you have? Might be worth a ram and HD upgrade
Echoing Captain here but I would back up more than once.
I would probably try and use iCloud drive or Google drive to back up the computer overall and key folders on top and then back up on an actual disk using time machine and key folders on an extra disk/usb stick.
It’s a 2011/12 21”. I had the hard drive changed to a flash drive but that’s it. It’s got 8GB and runs pretty quick but it’s just been a bit problematic lately and the OS doesn’t even support current safari or Google Chrome.
Thanks to everyone for input. Will probably look at Mac mini or PC tower and use the display we already have. I’ll take a look into back up options too.
Saw the new iMac in Costco the other day. Recommend you don't look at one.........
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Sometimes there are iMacs for sale here on SC at really good prices and specs.
I have a 2017 iMac 27" which I've boosted with almost 60Gb of RAM and by using portable external HDs should give me another 4-5 years' worth of use. Looking at what's available now a 24" iMac would be too small and going the Mac Mini plus Apple display route would cost a fortune. Why the hell they stopped making a 27" iMac I don't know.
Agreed. I’d have bought a new 27” by now if they still made one. Don’t want to go down to a smaller 24” after 8 years with my 2015 iMac 27”.
Absolutely no idea why they’re not making a bigger one. Surely it’d fly off the shelves?
I’ve just replaced my 2013 27’’ iMac with the M2 Pro Mac Mini and a Samsung 32’’ M8 4K monitor/TV, it’s fantastic and I wish I’d done it earlier.
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