Powerbook problems w/ LaCie hard drive

widgeon13 · 01-05-2009, 04:39 AM

I have an older Powerbook G4 that is not recognized by the external hard drive. It's running OS 10.2.8. When I do a backup, it backsup to the internal Mac HD, worthless. Any ideas on what I can do to correct this situation. When I go to system preferences, it shows the LaCie shortcut button and if I click on it it shows the drive but I can't get to the drive in Finder or on the screen. It only shows the Mac internal HD on the screen. Using a USB cable because the older apple doesn't have firewire.

I'm trying to get my music file from the old computer to a newer Macbook Pro so I can load into my iphone. I'd use the older ipod as a hard drive but only have itunes 6 on that and it seems you need itunes 7 to make that work.

Right now, I'm going nowhere fast.

stomachmonkey · 01-05-2009, 08:05 AM

Is the drive formatted/partitioned?

When you go to Disk Utility and select the drive in the left pane do you see one icon or two?

The secondary icon is the partition.

You can select the primary icon and hit the Partition tab and it'll show you what it currently is if anything.

You can use any partition schema except for NTFS. It'll read NTFS but won't write it.

Gogar · 01-05-2009, 08:32 AM

The LaCie shortcut button shows up in your System Preferences because you must have installed the LaCie software, it doesn't matter if it sees the drive or not.

To be honest, I think your best bet is to turn on the "migration assistant" utility on your new computer, and it will automatically transfer many items (including your iTunes library) from the old computer to the new automatically.

The problem is, i'm not sure how you are going to be able to hook the two computers to each other if the G4 doesn't have firewire. Maybe via ethernet or even the AirPort connection.

If you try to use the USB(1) on the G4, it will take like, A FEW DAYS if your music library is very big.

Here's another suggestion, turn on both computers and turn on the iChat utility, and get both computers to see each other via the BONJOUR window. It's not via the internet, just from one AirPort to another. Then, you can shoot files through the air from one computer to the other, and it's quite fast. Faster than FireWire, even!!!!

onewhippedpuppy · 01-05-2009, 11:21 AM

That's impossible, Macs don't break.

stomachmonkey · 01-05-2009, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

The LaCie shortcut button shows up in your System Preferences because you must have installed the LaCie software, it doesn't matter if it sees the drive or not.

To be honest, I think your best bet is to turn on the "migration assistant" utility on your new computer, and it will automatically transfer many items (including your iTunes library) from the old computer to the new automatically.

The problem is, i'm not sure how you are going to be able to hook the two computers to each other if the G4 doesn't have firewire. Maybe via ethernet or even the AirPort connection.

If you try to use the USB(1) on the G4, it will take like, A FEW DAYS if your music library is very big.

Here's another suggestion, turn on both computers and turn on the iChat utility, and get both computers to see each other via the BONJOUR window. It's not via the internet, just from one AirPort to another. Then, you can shoot files through the air from one computer to the other, and it's quite fast. Faster than FireWire, even!!!!

I missed that you were trying to transfer to a new computer.

I don't think Apple made a Power Book G4 that did not have Firewire. Are you saying the port is dead?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2369?viewlocale=en_US#pbg41

Migration Assistant and Firewire Target Disc mode is certainly the way to go.

Gogar · 01-05-2009, 02:12 PM

Widgeon13, in addition:

If your G4 has a SUPERDRIVE DVD burner, (which I think it does) and you can't get any of these other options to work, you can always burn your iTunes music folder:

Users>(you)>Music>iTunes

to a DVD. It will probably be a few DVDs worth of stuff, but that's another option for you that won't take forever.

Then you take that folder and replace the one on your NEW computer with this one, and in the iTunes application you select "Add to Library" and select that folder and the new stuff will show up.

stomachmonkey · 01-05-2009, 02:28 PM

Is this LaCie drive a large 3.5 or a portable 2.5 drive?

If the smaller laptop sized 2.5 is it powered by a cord to a wall outlet or are you using just the USB port for power?

If just USB for power are you using 2 USB ports to supply the power or only1 USB port.

Reason I ask is those little drives will "light up" when powered by 1 port but a lot of times 2 ports are required to give it enough power to spin up.

Dottore · 01-05-2009, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

If just USB for power are you using 2 USB ports to supply the power or only1 USB port.

Reason I ask is those little drives will "light up" when powered by 1 port but a lot of times 2 ports are required to give it enough power to spin up.

You are a treasure!

I got one of these drives for use at the cottage back in October. Couldn't get the damn thing to work. Took it back to town six weeks later, and the shop refused to exchange it. (More than 30 days, and I didn't have an invoice.)

Just read your post, and decided to try powering the thing up with two ports, and lo and behold—it works!!!.

Many thanks—yet again.

Markus

widgeon13 · 01-09-2009, 06:26 AM

Sorry to be tardy in responding. I'm attaching a screen shot of the G4 12" disck utility screen with the LaCie attached via USB but the computer is on battery power.

I have been trying to network the computers via wireless or ethernet and had no success. I'm probably not doing something simple but anyway have made no progress on getting the music off the old G4 and on to the MacBook Pro. The old G4 does not have Firewire.

Do I need to partition the hard drive to get it to work? I was at the Apple store the other day and they told me the 10.2.8 was not compatible with the Lacie hard drive.

I was looking at TuneRanger but that needs 10.4 or newer, is that just on the computer where it is installed. The other thing which I will try is to power the old G4 when it is hooked to the Lacie and see if that makes any difference.

widgeon13 · 01-09-2009, 11:08 AM

Well, things are not going well on the itunes front. I did the route of the migration assistant and while it did a nice job of transferring some applications I seem to have lost my entire (F------) itunes library on my old computer as well as the computer no longer recognizes the ipod. The only good news is that the music is still on the ipod and now the question is, can I get it either back on the old computer or to the new one?

I am also wondering if somehow I have moved the music itunes files and not in fact lost it on the old computer.

One issue that may have contributed to this ****storm is that the old ipod was loaded from itunes 4 and the new operates itunes 8.

Any ideas for recovery would be appreciated.

Gogar · 01-09-2009, 11:22 AM

AFAIK the "migration Assistant" does NOT ever erase anything, so the music is most likely still in your old computer.

users>(you)>Music>Itunes>Itunes Music

If you can look at that folder and see how big it is, and you can burn DVDs on your G4, I'd suggest you do that. 1 DVD will hold right around 4GB of stuff, so if that folder is too big you can burn half of it at a time or something. Peace of mind for a couplea bucks.

ALSO, look in your new computer, in

users>(you)j>Music>iTunes>iTunes Music

And see if there's anything in there.

If you see stuff in that "iTunes Music" folder, but it doesn't show up in your actual iTunes application, you just need to go to iTunes and go to

File> Add to Library

And select that iTunes Music folder. It will add every song in there, and it may ask if you want to add duplicates, and just select NO, so you don't have two of the same song if it's already added to your library.

Hope that helps. It's very doubtful you lost anything.

widgeon13 · 01-09-2009, 02:18 PM

Thanks Gogar for the help.

I appreciate all the guidance but I seem to have really lost the music. I have looked pretty much everywhere and done searches for m4p and mp3 files, only a couple of files show up and none are the lost music. I've searched by some song names as well. Apple "help" says you can do a drag and drop to the itunes library from the music file if you have done a music consolidation. Apple is quit emphatic that the music can not be lost but I sure can't find it now.

One of my genius key strokes from earlier today must have done the trick. Duh! Think I need to give it a rest before something goes through the window!

Gogar · 01-09-2009, 02:44 PM

Just FYI its .m4a, not .m4p. Try that?

Unless you dragged that whole "iTunes Music" folder into the trash, it's SOMEWHERE. Don't get discouraged.

widgeon13 · 01-09-2009, 03:37 PM

I have most of the music on CD somewhere, just a matter of finding it. Guess I'll leave the music on the old ipod and start a new library on the iphone. Still confused why the old G4 doesn't recognize the ipod that was originally synced to it. Itunes says no ipod connected when I hook it up as well as the ipod screen says "Do not disconnect." 831 songs gone into freakin cyberspace.

I'll try the .m4a but it seems pretty hopeless now, I screwed up.

widgeon13 · 01-09-2009, 04:07 PM

I was able to upload the purchased music from the ipod to the new MacBook Pro, now comes reloading all the CD's.