Using the same external hard drive with two computers

I recently started sharing an external hard drive with my roommate because I was running out of room on my computer. I have had no problems until he added a new cd to the external drive. When I plugged in the drive to add it to my ipod, it didn't show up in itunes (or on the external drive) but it is there when he plugs the same drive into his computer.
Did I set up something wrong? Do I need to synch something whenever I plug the drive in after he adds something? I have searched around anc can't find an answer. Any help is appreciated!! Thanks.

As Kappy says, Time Machine will put both sets of backups in the same Backups.backupdb folder. That may not be a good idea for the future; your best bet may be to partition the drive.
See #4 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

Similar Messages

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    As Kappy says, Time Machine will put both sets of backups in the same Backups.backupdb folder. That may not be a good idea for the future; your best bet may be to partition the drive.
    See #4 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

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  • Can I use the same external hard drive for time machine and storing other files

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    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11171
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  • How to use the same external hard drive for OSX and XP

    Hello to all. First off, thanks for all of the helpful comments that have been posted in the discussion board, they have helped me a lot with my problems and curiosities. My question has been touched on in the past, but nothing concrete so I figured I'd ask a bit more specifically.
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  • Would I be able to use the same external hard drive for Windows and OSX?

    I plan to get an external HD to put a lot of my multimedia files on and for backups but I don't know if I'll need an individual one for each operating system. I am going to be running a MacBook Pro with both Windows and OSX through Boot Camp.

    jengwall,
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  • Can Time Machine backups for more than one Mac be sent to the same external hard drive?

    It's pretty straightforward, really.  We have two Macs, both running Mountain Lion.  Can we use the same external hard drive for Time Machine backups of both?

    It would be best to partition the HDD - one volume for each Mac (you cannot partition a Time Capsule).
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  • HT201250 Backing up my Mac and my MacBook - can I do this on the same external hard drive?

    Can I use the same external hard drive to be the Time Machine for my iMac and for my MacBook Air?
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  • I am running my first backup on Time Machine using a Seagate external hard drive with a thunderbolt adapter and cable.  I have a MacBook Pro 2011. It is backing up 11GB, and is telling me it will take approx two days. Is this normal?

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    Download the supplemental fix to 10.7.5 
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  • Does anyone use a LaCie external hard drive with their Mac using imovie '09?  I have some questions.

    Does anyone use a LaCie external hard drive with their Mac using imovie '09?  I have some questions.

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  • If I were to drag and drop files from an OSX 9 onto an external hard drive (1 TB), assuming there is still plenty of space left, will I be able to use this same external hard drive to back up my iMac (Mountain Lion)?

    If I were to drag and drop files from an OSX 9 onto an external hard drive (1 TB), assuming there is still plenty of space left, will I be able to use this same external hard drive to back up my iMac (Mountain Lion)?  And would it ask me if I want to initialize (thus erasing it) or eject the hard drive like the OSX 9 did?

    I was trying to follow this thread because I was curious about the OS 9 installation - until I realized you have another thread going about the very same subject, albeit with a different subject line.
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  • HT1284 Can I back up my Mac and my pc to the same external hard drive?  If so, could you explain how? Thanks.

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  • Time Machine: Can I use a smaller external hard drive with larger internal?

    Can I use a 250G external hard drive with and 500G unfilled internal drive with time machine? Or will time machine require I a 500G? I don't plan on filling the internal drive for a long time and don't want to buy a new external drive right now.

    Yes, but you are very likely to get in trouble very quickly.
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