How do I install an exterior HD to work with Time machine?

How do I install an exterior hard drive for use with Time Machine?

Plug it in. Time Machine will ask you if you want to use the drive with it, and if you do, it'll reformat the drive if needed.
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  • How can you configure a WD external to work with Time Machine??

    I have an 1TB external WD MyBook drive that is connected to my network through my Linksys wireless router and am trying to figure out how to format the drive to use with Time Machine.
    I currently use the drive to store files from both my PC and my MacBook but can't seem to select the drive to use with Time Machine. I figured that I could just format the drive through the Disk Utility program, but the drive doesn't show up in Disk Utility. This may be because it is a drive connected through my router and not directly to my MacBook?!
    Here are a few questions...
    Any ideas on how to format the drive so it will work with Time Machine?
    Once formatted to use with TM, can I still use the drive to store other files from both my Mac and PC? or do I need to partition for this??
    Is it possible to set up an automatic backup schedule that will happen via my home wireless connection?
    Thanks in advance,
    Todd.

    You cannot use the drive with TM as you have it set up. TM will not work with a networked drive except a Time Capsule or a USB drive connected to an Airport Extreme Base Station (current version.)
    If you wish to use this drive for TM backups it must be connected directly to the computer. Other computers on the network can access the drive for TM backups if you turn on file sharing for the drive (select drive, press COMMAND-I, check the box labeled "Shared Folder," click on the Enable button.) The shared drive will have to be mounted on the other computers in order for them to use it as a TM backup drive.

  • Recently upgraded Mac 24" to Lion (clean install) and now no external hard disks work with Time Machine

    Recently upgraded Mac 24" to Lion (clean install) and now no external hard disks work with Time Machine.
    installed new internal disk first with fresh 10.7.3 Lion software. Also upgrade ram to 4GB. Work great, super fast.
    BUT.... my WD 1TB firewire400 external disks no longer work with the Lion enabled machine now.
    FURTHER... I read somewhere that WD is problematic with Lion but Seagate was not... so I went and bought a new 3TB Seagate GoFlex.
    When it didnt work properly either, I patiently searched and found a software/firward upgrade and applied.
    I re-partitioned disk to extened/journaled standard, etc.
    Then assigned the particition to Time Machine. Drive turned the blue/grey color, so I thought it would work.
    But, it has now been in "preparing" mode in Time Machine for HOURS....
    What is up Apple? So dissappointed. Ive read these type of problems are notorious with Lion and I wish I never upgraded.
    Are you trying to make issues with External disks, to drive people to iCloud?  That trick ont work in me. I will not reward bad behaviour Apple.
    Please provide a fix... I wasted hours/days screwing around with this, instead of using the Mac for what its intended!

    Solved by Pondini, on another thread I opened...
    Answer:
    Sounds like either:
    A directory problem on your internal HD.  Verify your internal HD, and Repair any other volumes being backed-up per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    Something in OSX may be damaged.  You've tried the "combo," so a fresh copy of OSX (that won't disturb anything else) would be worth a try (and you don't need a tech for that).  See Installing the ''combo'' update and/or Reinstalling OSX.

  • How do you install CS5 onto a new computer without Time Machine/file transfer

    I'm not getting a new computer, but my current one is getting a little old (Macbook Pro V. 10.6.8) and I'm afraid it might crash if I download the newest Maverick system, which is why I want to make absolutely sure I'm able to save and transfer all my old files and CS5 Creative Suite programs if this indeed happens. I don't trust Time Machine to do it; my boss had this happen and Time Machine did not transfer the Adobe programs. I also don't want to rely on Time Machine and any other file transfer (which all new Macs offer) because I've had brand new computers crash because of old corrupt files from my old computer converting over, and the Apple people said it's a bad idea (which would have been nice to know BEFORE the computer crashed and everything. . .) I've been told you can only use the CD to install CS5 onto your computer twice, which I've already done (thanks to my brand new computer crashing once already). So I would like to know how it's possible to install the program onto a new computer should this one crash, without the use of file transfer or Time Machine. I have no interest in upgrading to CC.
    Thanks!

    Avoid using Time Machine for re-installing Adobe software. It rarely works and usually breaks the activation mechanism.
    I've been told you can only use the CD to install CS5 onto your computer twice,
    Not quite.
    You can install the software as many times as you like but you can only activate the software for use on a maximum of two computers at the same time.
    To re-install you will need your CS5 serial number.
    Download the installer from Download CS5 products
    Install then enter your serial number when prompted.

  • How can I back up my back up drive with time machine?

    Im a rather paranoid person having lost my data TWICE in 2 months and spending £1000 to get it back, so I have 2 external hard drives. One is a back up drive for my internal mac hard drive, and is also used as a second working drive. I want to back up this external drive so that my final (2nd) external hard drive has all the data from my first external hard drive. Therefore I will have 2 backups of my internal mac hard drive, and one backup of my 1st external hard drive.
    How can I get time machine to do this? I have the 1st drive set as the time machine back up drive, which it copies my MAC hard drive onto, but I can't seem to find a way of also getting it to then back up my 1st external drive to the second external drive?
    Thanks

    Ewen wrote:
    It's a shame you're busy. I would have been interested to see whether it is compatible with TM in 10.5 or is merely an alternative to Disk Utility type backups.
    *Sweet! CCC is a disaster! Every indication was that CCC was doing its job well. It completed and I chose the newly cloned system in System Preferences >> Startup Disk.*
    *It booted up fine except... the system resembles "The Fly", after having gone through the teleportation device :-0*
    *I'll just list a few examples that off the top, gave me a clue it was FUBAR:*
    *1. It booted up to a 10.4 Desktop background and a 10.4 Dock. No shadows, old System Preferences icon, no Stacks.*
    *2. "About this Mac" thinks it is System 10.4.10 and Software update prompts me install 10.4.11 update. Also file systems viewed on my both internal HDD and newly created nightmare have some corrupt structure*
    *3. TM.app does exist in /Applications but gives the error message shown here.*
    *Ouch! I can't believe Bombich is keeping his compatibility claim:*
    *http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html*
    *Now, the only viable alternative is Disk Utility*.
    -mj
    [email protected]
    Message was edited by: macjack

  • How do I get access to files backed up with time machine on another computer?

    Hi. I recently migrated to a new macbook air. got most of the data across, but not my iphoto library, which exists now only on an external harddrive onto which i backed it up using time machine.
    I had to delete the iphoto library from my old computer before migration.
    The harddrive doesnt work on my old computer anymore (says the disk is damaged. Im currently trying to repair it, but no luck so far, disk utility says it cannot repair it.)
    I can get the harddrive to work on my new computer.However, the folder i want to access is inside a time machine backup folder (made on my old machine) and it is locked. I tried to unlock it using command+ i but that did not work.
    How can i access such a locked folder?

    maedi wrote:
    I realize it is not good to get time-machine created files back by going through finder, but that seems like that is my only option.
    Were you trying to access it via either Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant?  If those don't work, you still may be able to use the "Star Wars" display to see and restore some data.  It all depends on just what and where the damage is.
    If you can get into the display, you may be able to restore the iPhoto Library; start with the most recent backup, and work back in time. 
    the  problem now is the folder is locked with a big red no go sign, and command-i cannot change it (not even when i do it on the computer on which the file was created).
    Correct; Time Machine protects it's backups with very restrictive ACLs, basically "nobody can do anything," so us mere mortals won't damage them. 
    If you use the same user account on the same Mac that did the backup, via the Finder, you should have read rights, and you may be able to copy from the backups.   
    if i succeed, am i going to see my iphoto library file in that folder?
    Yes.  Each of those date-stamped backup folders should contain a set of "hard links" to the backup copies of everything that was on your system at the time of that backup, no matter when each item was actually backed-up.  If you can copy the most recent one successfully, that will get everything.
    The iPhoto Library looks like a file; but it's actually a special kind of folder called a "package."  If you can't copy it, right-click it and select Show Package Contents to see inside it, but don't copy individual items except as a last resort -- at best, you'll recover raw photos, with no organization or data, and probably no editing, either.

  • How does Parallels backup exclusion work with Time Machine?

    Running Parallels version 9 there is a means by which you may (supposedly) request that a VM is not backed up via Time Machine (Mavericks).  In the Parallel Desktop app, one chooses from the menu Virtual Machine -> Configure, selects the Security tab, and clicks in the box for "Time Machine Do not back up virtual machine.".   Having done that, however, if you launch Time Machine preferences, click on "Options...", this brings up the window of "Exclude these items from backups." and there is nothing in the box indicating that the Parallels VM is being excluded.  The Time Machine exclude list in that window on my machine is completely empty. I think this is pretty crummy.  How do I know that the Parallels VM is really being excluded, and why doesn't it appear in the list ???

    I'll follow up to my own post.  I found that one can execute some Time Machine commands via the command line and so:
    $ sudo tmutil isexcluded ~/Documents/Parallels/Windows\ 7.pvm/
    [Excluded]          /Users/myuserid/Documents/Parallels/Windows 7.pvm
    It's unfortunate that there did not appear to be a "listexcluded" verb (sigh), and it's really terrible that one can see that something is excluded via the command-line, but it doesn't appear in the Time Machine whiz-bang graphical interface.  I'd call that a major bug.

  • How can I prevent my mouse from erratic tracking with time machine on?, How can I rpevent my mouse from errtic tracking with time machine on?

    I am running 10.8.5 on my MBP, and external monitor, keyboard and Magic Mouse. When I have Time Machine on the mouse is a pain to use use as it does not track properly. Is there anyway to have Time MAchine come on after 30 minutes of inactivity or something? I have yet to find that prference.
    Thanks,
    Jim

    4 MB 
    I was doing that and I wanted something on Sept 18 and I shut it off on 8/20 and never turned it back on. So that will work but you have to remember to turn it it. There should almmost be an option somewhere to check that when the system goes to sleep, turn on Time Machine. All my PC back-up stuff has that option. Surprised TM doesn't. If raising the memory will do it it seems to cheap enough. Will that help you think. And I did just reboot my machine yesrday so it is pretty clean:).

  • How to make a bootable 10.6 in hd with time machine back up?

    i have:
    - not so stable internal hd
    - 10.6 retail OS disc
    - an external hd that is a time machine back up of the internal hd
    can I make a bootable OS copy in the external hd without erasing the time machine back up In it?
    macbook 2007

    You would be better off with 2 external drives. If you put a bootable clone on the existing drive and the drive fails, you have lost both your backups. I would get a larger 2nd external, copy the Time Machine backup to it, erase and reformat the 1st external, and then put CCC clone there. You can copy the backup using Disk Utility Restore tab.
    Stuffing 2 backups on a 120 GB drive would be a bit of a pinch.
    Clone  - Carbon Copy Cloner          (Often recommended as it has more features than some others)
    Clone – Data Backup
    Clone – Deja Vu
    Clone  - SuperDuper
    Clone - Synk
    Clone Software – 6 Applications Tested

  • How do I back up a windows 7 PC With time machine?

    I am thinking of purchasing a time capsule, and i want to know if there is any easy way to back up to my windows 7 PC as well as to my Mac

    You can't backup a windows PC with Time Machine, as it works only on a Mac.  But you can use  Windows backup software which can handle network drives such as Time Capsule.

  • How can I recover images deleted from my vault with Time Machine

    My vault died and with it one of my projects within the vault. The other images plus some new ones are in the vault ok but I am slightly worried about reinstating my Aperture library and not just focusing on the missing project and images. BUT there appears to be no way of seeing the files within the Aperture library. I would welcome some advice about this. Thanks

    This must be a tough one, I can actually hear the birds chirping

  • How can I make readyNAS duo 4.1.12 work with time machine?

    ReadyNas support don´t seem to have a clue. I have tried to desable cifs and afp and put it back as I read on other forum but with no effect.
    Time machine can´t access the backup disk  ReadyNas and  display OS status error 2.
    I appreciate any help.
    Thank you.

    Is the NAS designed to work with Time Machine, because Time Machine isn't designed to work with a NAS.
    See this post (Major Dude) that is in the More Like This section:
    Time Machine and ReadyNAS Duo

  • Re-installing iTunes with time machine

    Somehow I can't find a clear way in other forums in how to re-install iTunes and associated playlists from the time machine back-up.
    I installed a 650gb hard drive and took the old 100gb drive out and erased it. I backed up everything via time machine. When I loaded a iTunes again. All the playlists, artwork, and different menus I had for the 'music' were gone?
    I have tried to drag the 'iTunes" folder from time machine and put it in the "music folder' of the computer - NOTHING
    Tried the restore function from time machine - NOTHING
    What am I doing doing wrong or missing? How can I get my 'iTunes' the way it was before I switch hard drives? with all the playlists and artwork?
    I don't understand why after loading from time machine I get a music tutorial thing and not my music?
    Please help, this is just has dragged for about a month now.
    Thanks

    In which order do you do all this?
    What did you do to get everything back onto the new HD
    Did you run Migration Assistant and pull everything off the TM backup?
    No particular order. Open the the MBP took the old HD and put the new one in. Then using my external HD followed the intructions TM told me to follow to restore the HD.
    Never used Migration Assistant
    Did you install the iTunes app first?
    Then you should go to the Time Machine and copy /Macintosh HD/Users/yourusername/Music and copy the iTunes folder to the new drive.
    -All know is that I copy everything that you said and even try a restore cause the other option did not work. Even by doing this I still don't have the playlists; Im even missing artwork.
    The files are copied but it is in a really raw format - there is organization in the files. In other words , it is not the same iTunes that I used to have.
    Any other thoughts?

  • How can I install iMessage in my iPhone 4 with 5.0.1 ?

    I installed OS 5.0.1 in my iPhone 4 but didn't get iMessage. I've done the same on my iPad 1 and got it.
    How can I install iMessage in my iPhone 4 with 5.0.1 ?

    It's part of the iOS: Settings>Messages>iMessage>On.

  • Had to wipe my drive so I could do a clean install of snow leopard Now I look every where on how to move bookmarks, address book and I cal settings.  I have them back up on a external drive with Time machine but can not move, copy or restore my old sett d

    Had to wipe my drive so I could do a clean install of snow leopard.   Now I have look every where on how to move bookmarks, address book and I cal settings.  I have them back up on a external drive with Time machine but can not move, copy or restore my old settings.  The instructions I have found or no help or needs more clarafication on what to do.

    Use migration assistant to move your files.  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889

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