Backing up with time machine & other options

I have a macBook and an external drive backing up everything with time machine.
My MacBook is starting to run low on HD space (and my external drive is even worse!)
I would like to erase a lot of my photos, music and videos from my macbook, as they're already backed up on my external drive, but I'm concerned...
1) If my external drive runs out of space, won't time machine keep deleting the oldest saved date until it has room? (eventually this could delete the date I last had all my photos, music and video on my MacBook before I deleted it...)
2. The external drive is a firewire drive, so if I get another mac, it might not be compatible.
3. If the drive crashes, I lose everything anyway.
So after all that, my questions are:
Is there a way to back up all my files from time machine to DVDs before I delete the largest files?
Is there a smarter way to backup my music,pictures and videos than just time machine on an external drive?
Thanks!!!

nails wrote:
I have a macBook and an external drive backing up everything with time machine.
My MacBook is starting to run low on HD space (and my external drive is even worse!)
I would like to erase a lot of my photos, music and videos from my macbook, as they're already backed up on my external drive, but I'm concerned...
Yes, you should be. With any backup app, the essential point is to have (at least) 2 copies of everything important in (at least) 2 separate places. All hard drives fail: some sooner, some later. When that happens, you may lose everything that was on it.
2. The external drive is a firewire drive, so if I get another mac, it might not be compatible.
It should be. It's possible you'd want to reformat it, but it should work.
Is there a way to back up all my files from time machine to DVDs before I delete the largest files?
No. You could archive some of the originals from your internal HD, though.
Is there a smarter way to backup my music,pictures and videos than just time machine on an external drive?
Yes. Your best bet is to get a larger (or additional) internal HD, so you can keep all the originals on your MacBook. It's much more convenient, and access is faster.
Also get a larger drive (or Time Capsule, or connect a USB drive to an Airport Extreme) for TM, as your primary backups.
Then, as Baltwo says, get another drive and put a bootable "clone" on it, via CarbonCopyCloner (which I use) or SuperDuper! as a secondary, independent backup.
Third, get something off-site. That could be your bootable "clone;" a portable external with just your home folder, or only the most important parts of it; or videos, photos, etc., archived to DVDs; and take whatever it is to your safe deposit box, workplace, relative's house, or other secure location. That way, you're also protected against fire, flood, theft, direct lightning strike, etc.

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