Chalk, I have a question

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

I want to copy the entire contents of an external hard drive onto my iMac. After I format the drive to FAT, I want to put the contents back on the external hard drive. If I was using a Windows machine, I would create a folder on the C drive, drag and drop everything there then drag and drop it back. What would be the easiest way to do this using my iMac?

Lynnj · ‎03-21-2010

I know you asked for chalk, but here is what I would do...I would attach the external drive to the iMac. Click on the hard drive, and drag what you want from the drive to your desktop. Then I would drag it back to the hard drive, and then drag the stuff on the desktop to the trash. Empty trash. Maybe there is something more technical that I don't understand about what you are trying to do, but that is what I would do.

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

The external hard drive is in a Windows format that my iMac can read but can't write. I want to format the drive so it will be compatible with my Apple devices. I need to transfer the data to my iMac before I format it. I want to put the data in a single folder so I can transfer it back to the external drive once the formatting is completed.

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

The external hard drive is in a Windows format that my iMac can read but can't write. I want to format the drive so it will be compatible with my Apple devices. I need to transfer the data to my iMac before I format it. I want to put the data in a single folder so I can transfer it back to the external drive once the formatting is completed.

Lynnj · ‎03-21-2010

Here is a link that speaks to formatting the drive to FAT for use with windows and Mac. Please read, as it lists some risks associated with it. http://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-best-ways-to-format-an-external-drive-for-windows-and-mac/

Lynnj · ‎03-21-2010

Once you decide what you are going to format the disk to, you can do it using disk utility on the iMac. You can do like I suggested above and drag the files from the hard drive to the desktop before you reformat. Or you can do as you want and crate a folder on the iMac, and drag and drop the files there.

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

On 4/18/2014 Lynnj said: Once you decide what you are going to format the disk to, you can do it using disk utility on the iMac. You can do like I suggested above and drag the files from the hard drive to the desktop before you reformat. Or you can do as you want and crate a folder on the iMac, and drag and drop the files there.

I am going to format the disk. I've already done one external hard drive and there were no issues or problems. I really don't want all of the separate folders on my desktop or in one of the folders already on the hard drive. I want to be able to drag the folders on the external hard drive to a "master" folder. That way when I want to find everything, the folders/data will be in one place. Plus I want to keep a copy on my iMac. Thanks anyway.

Cha1k · ‎03-09-2010

Gail,

I don't see a problem with placing the contents of the external within a folder on your iMac, formatting the drive to FAT, and then dragging the folder from your iMac to the external.

Another option is to format the external to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and let Time Machine back up for you. You might not want your entire iMac hard drive backed up to that external with Time Machine though.

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

On 4/19/2014 Cha1k said:
Gail,

I don't see a problem with placing the contents of the external within a folder on your iMac, formatting the drive to FAT, and then dragging the folder from your iMac to the external.

Another option is to format the external to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and let Time Machine back up for you. You might not want your entire iMac hard drive backed up to that external with Time Machine though.

My problem is how to create a folder then get the data from the external to the iMac. Can I do it similar to how it's done on a Windows machine?

I use the time machine for backups to a different external hard drive. I have several external hard drives with data saved over the years. I want to eventually format all of them to FAT so I can use them with my Apple and Windows computers.

Lynnj · ‎03-21-2010

You create a folder in Finder, since you don't want to create a folder on your desktop as I suggested earlier. Name it contents of external HD, then connect your HD and drag and drop everything to the folder.

Or, you could create the folder on the desktop, drag/drop from the external HD. then when done, drag/drop folder to wherever you want it in finder.