External hard disk for Time Machine

I'm considering baking up my iMac. I have a Lacie external hard disk with a Master Boot Record partition type. On it, there are already some data files from both Windows and Mac machines.
I understand that, for Time Machine to work, the partition type needs to be changed to GUID (for Intel based Mac). Obviously, I will need to copy these data files to somewhere, then use Disk Utility to change the partition type, partition the hard disk (one partition to be used for Time Machine back-up).
My question is, will it be safe to copy the data files (previously from Windows and Mac machines) back to another partition of the hard disk which will then has a GUID partition type? Will the files (including those from Windows machines) be usable?

KenWong wrote:
I'm considering baking up my iMac. I have a Lacie external hard disk with a Master Boot Record partition type. On it, there are already some data files from both Windows and Mac machines.
I understand that, for Time Machine to work, the partition type needs to be changed to GUID (for Intel based Mac). Obviously, I will need to copy these data files to somewhere, then use Disk Utility to change the partition type, partition the hard disk (one partition to be used for Time Machine back-up).
My question is, will it be safe to copy the data files (previously from Windows and Mac machines) back to another partition of the hard disk which will then has a GUID partition type? Will the files (including those from Windows machines) be usable?
You're slightly mixing terminology.
The *+Partition Map Scheme+* applies to the whole disk, whether it has one or multiple partitions. That's what needs to be GUID or +Apple Partition Map+.
The Format applies to each partition, and may be different for each one. Your TM partition needs to be +Mac OS Extended (Journaled),+ the other one can be +MS-DOS (FAT)+ for use with Windoze.
You can copy those files anywhere temporarily, while re-formattng the disk. It doesn't have to be a separate partition. It could even be CDs/DVDs. As long as you can copy and read back, it doesn't matter. If you put them on your boot drive, Windoze won't be able to read them while they're there, but once you get them back on a +MS-DOS (FAT)+ partition, it will.
See the instructions in item #5 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
We usually recommend putting the Time Machine partition first (at the top of the diagram that Disk Utility will show you), so you can more easily expand or contract it later on, if you need to.

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