How to back up a FAT32 Drive with Time Machine?

I recently bought a 3TB backup drive which I formatted to Mac OS Extended. As expected, Time Machine is able to back up my internal hard drive to this external drive, but I would also like to back up my other 2TB external hard drive (about 300gb full), which is formatted as FAT32 (so I could occasionally use it with a Windows/Linux machine, although this isn't wholly necessary). As I understand, Time Machine is able to back up Mac OS formatted drives, but not FAT32 drives. I am considering a copy and paste of this FAT32 drive to the new backup drive, formatting the drive to Mac OS Extended and then copying it back, so that Time Machine works. Alternatively, is anybody aware of a reliable, free incremental backup application? I know there are a few paid ones, but they're not really worth it for my situation. Finally, is there any way to get Time Machine to work with the situation I have now? I am using Mavericks (10.9.4).
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Time Machine doesn't backup external disks by default.
Open the Time Machine preferences (unlock the prefs panel if required).
Select the 'options'.
Remove the external disk from the list (it will only appear when connected).
I don't know if TM covers FAT formatted disk, but I suspect the following site may have that information…
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
It's great for TM tips & information.

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How to back up a hard drive with Time Machine

Yesterday I left my MacBook Pro at the airport security check. I called today and they told me it was gone, probably stolen. Since I didn't want my files or data to fall into the wrong hands, I used iCloud and logged on to my account, found my MacBook device, and selected Erase Mac. Lo and Behold, as fate would have it, I received a call from airport security 15 minutes later that they had in fact found it. Unfortunately, my call to Apple Support indicated that once Erase Mac is selected, it's like pushing the launch button on a nuke. It cannot be undone. Further conversations revealed that in order to not completetly lose all my files, I need to back up my MacBook to another hard drive prior to connecting to WiFi.
So, here's my plan. I have another iMac at my house with approx 500G of available hard drive space. My plan is once Fed Ex delivers my MacBook, to use Time Machine to back it up. I've never done this before. I have a FireWire cable for this task.
Is my thinking correct for the following steps:
1. Open MacBook in a Non Wifi environment.
2. Click on Time Machine Preferences
3. Connect my MacBook Pro with my iMac using FireWire
4. Select the Hard Drive from iMac as the source.
Will there be additional instructions then to follow?
How will I know when the back up is complete?
After the back up is done, do I then open the MacBook up in Wifi and allow Erase Mac to run?
If yes, then how do I transfer the hard drive back to MacBook?
I know this is a long post, but I want to ensure I'm following the process completely. Thanks,
Scott

Just turn off your wireless router until you can run Time Machine to backup your Mac notebook.
Or remove the drive from the system and connect it to another Mac and copy all your files off it. But again it would be best to disable any and all Wifi systems in your house before you do that.
Not sure but there may be a way to turn off the Wipe command and or it is only issued once. Never had to use it so I'm uncertain on how it actually works.

Backing up an encrypted drive with Time Machine under Snow Leopard

In a nutshell, my question is “Can I back up an encrypted drive using Time Machine under Snow Leopard, and if so, how do I access its data from a previous day?”
I have a 1Tb USB drive connected to my MacBook, which runs Snow Leopard. The drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). This drive is included in the drives that Time Machine backs up. I used Disk Utility to create an encrypted drive on the USB drive (998Gb), also formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). The encrypted drive is not on TimeMachine’s list of excluded files/drives.
When I go into Time Machine, I can see the USB drive and the encrypted drive in the side bar. I can access the files on the encrypted drive as long as I’m looking at how it stands now. But if I move backward in time, the encrypted drive is grayed out and inaccessible. If I click on the USB drive, I get a window that tells me it is 75.9Gb in size, and nothing else is available to me.
When I open the back-up drive in Finder and navigate to Backups.backupdb > macbook name > some date and time, I see my MacBook’s hard drive and the USB drive. The encrypted drive is not shown. When I click on the USB drive, I see an entry for drivename.sparsebundle. When I click on that I’m prompted for the password for the encrypted drive. When I enter it, I get a warning telling me that the disk image could not be opened and that the encrypted drive has no mountable file systems.
Is my encrypted drive really be backed-up and if so, how do I access the backed-up data?

Having received a bunch of views but no replies over the last 5 days, I decided to venture into my local Apple store and ask this same question. The response I got from the geniuses was that you can't get a reliable back-up of an encrypted drive using Time Machine under Snow Leopard. So, my only alternative is to copy the encrypted drive's contents elsewhere, unencrypt the drive, and then copy the contents back. This is what I expected, but not what I wanted to hear.

Backing up a shared drive with Time Machine

I've searched all over the place and refuse to believe I'm the only person in this situation but I can't find a solution to my problem!
My set up is as follows; I have an AirPort Extreme Base Station to which I've connected 3 external hard drives via a powered USB hub. I have a 320GB one for work, a 500GB one for media and a 2TB one for wireless backups.
I have a MacBook Pro and an iMac both of which I use for work around the house. Girlfriend has a MacBook. All three backup via Time Machine to my 2TB drive perfectly and all 3 have access to my work files (plus colleagues can easily access work when they're over) and all 3(+) can access our media collection. But the problem is I want to backup my work drive as it's the thing which needs backing up most vitally.
As I write this I'm thinking that maybe Time Machine isn't the best way but does anyone have any ideas as to a solution? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
James

jameskoster wrote:
As I write this I'm thinking that maybe Time Machine isn't the best way
TM can not backup networked drives. see _*Disks that can be used with Time Machine*_
but does anyone have any ideas as to a solution?
check out ChronoSync.
JGG

How to back up an external hd with time machine

I just bought a 1Tb WD WD for MAC which i willuse as my Time Machine backup and I want to use my 500GB Maxtor as an external HD to store media, I am not sure how tom make sure Time Maching backs up my internal HD and me external HD or is that automatic?

beatsc wrote:
Ok so it just asked me which I wanted to exclude to I didn't select any
It doesn't really ask that -- and internal HDs are backed-up by default, but externals are excluded by default. Look at the exclusion list in TM Prefs > Options. Anything listed there is not being backed-up. To back it up, select it and click the minus sign at the bottom. If it's listed in gray, however, it's not formatted for a Mac and Time Machine can't back it up. See #10 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions for details.
How is is possible that my 500GB external is almost to capacity? Is it because it used to be my Time Machine and I must delete those backups?
Most likely. If you don't erase a disk, whatever was there is still there.
If you don't have other data on it that you need, just erase it with Disk Utility.
If you do, you've got a problem; OSX doesn't like deleting Time Machine backups via the Finder. If you feel you have no choice, do it when you have quite a bit of time. Deleting them will be quick and easy, but emptying the trash won't. If there's a problem, see #E6 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

HT201250 Backing up an auxiliary drive with Time Machine

I have iphoto loaded on an external lacie drive to free up space on my macbook pro. I use a mybook and time machine to backup my macbook pro, but it won't let me include the Lacie in the backup even though there is plenty of room. I want to make sure all my photos are backed up. Any ideas?

wmiller9 wrote:
Thanks, Eric, but the minus sign is grayed out next to the drive so it won't let me remove it.
That means the drive isn't formatted for a Mac (probably set up for Windows), and Time Machine can't back it up.
You'll need to copy the data elsewhere temporarily, format it for a Mac (per #1 in Using Disk Utility), then copy it back.

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

How do I recover lost files off my external WD Passport hard drive with Time Machine?

I have been backing up my Macbook Pro with Time Machine and my Western Digital Passport since May 2010. I accidentally deleted my music in February of 2011, but had backed it up with Time Machine. Now when I try to go back and recover the files in Time Machine, they are gone. Nothing is available past June 2011. How do I recover those files?

About TM "Backup Drive is Full"
Alert TM only deletes older files if they have been deleted from the source and when TM needs space on the backup drive for a new incremental backup. Time Machine "thins" it's backups; hourly backups over 24 hours old, except the first of the day; those "daily" backups over 30 days old, except the first of the week. The weeklies are kept as long as there's room.
So, how long a backup file remains depends on how long it was on your Mac before being deleted, assuming you do at least one backup per day. If it was there for at least 24 hours, it will be kept for at least a month. If it was there for at least a week, it will be kept as long as there's room.
Note, that on a Time Capsule the sparsebundle grows in size as needed, but doesn't shrink. Thus, from the user's view of the TC it appears that no space has been freed, although there may be space in the sparsebundle.
Once TM has found it cannot free up enough space for a new backup it reports the disk is full. You can either erase the backup drive and start your backups anew or replace the drive with a larger drive.

How can I split a backup on two hard drives with Time Machine ?

Back-up of my Imac with time machine is 1,3 TB. I have two 1 TB external hard drives but even if I had both as available in Time machine, it seems it doesn't allow to split the backup between the two hard drives. Any way to resolve this without buying another hard drive with more space?
Thanks in advance

You cannot directly split a backup. Your only option would be to open the TimeMachine preferences from System Prefs. and add things to the exclusion list for one of the backups. Then, when you go to do the other backup you would reverse the process and add everything else to the exclusion list and remove the things you had on there in the first place.
Seems fairly intensive though when you could just go and buy a 2 or 3TB external drive and do it all in one...Black Friday is coming up
Regards,

Hi, ive been backing up my computer to an external hard drive (with time machine). When i buy a new macbook will that hard drive put all my info on to the new computer?

hi, ive been backing up my computer to an external hard drive (with time machine). When i buy a new macbook will that hard drive put all my info on to the new computer?

When you boot the new machine for the first time, you'll be prompted to import your data from a Time Machine backup.

Backing up an external hard drive with time Machine

I backed up my internal disk with Time Machine, but I can not back up an external drive that I use for my media. I see the drive in the options part of Time Machine system preferences, but the minus sign to take it off of the "do not back up these drives" is blanked out. Any suggestions?

I successfully backed up the contents of an external hard drive, but the next time Time Machine did a backup, I didn't happen to have that drive connected, so Time Machine said it couldn't find it and deleted the existing backup. Is there any way to get it to keep the backup? The drive I want to back up is only used occasionally (naturally, anything I use more frequently is on my Mac) and I don't want to have to plug in both hard drives every time I want to run a backup, only to risk losing all of that history if I ever accidentally plug in only the backup drive. But I do want to keep Time Machine backups of that drive because it contains my iPhoto Library.

When I back up on my exertnal HD drive with time machine can I erase what on my computer HD for more space?

When I back up files on my exertnal HD drive with time machine can I erase what's on my Mac HD for space without losing what's on external HD?

If the data is valuable to you, redundant backups are essential. Time Machine is an excellent vehicle when you have to restore data that no longer exists on your internal HDD.
Mende1's suggestion of using Carbon Copy Cloner is excellent because it gives yous a HDD that is 'ready to go' should your internal HDD fail (as all HDDs eventually will).
For example, I have 5 copies of my iTunes folder, one each on three MBPs, on a HDD devoted strictly to iTunes and Time Machine (this does not include the iPod). One may view this as excessive but since I have over 100 GB in this application, I am very comfortable with this.
I advocate that the best backup strategy is Time machine combined with a boot HDD and a third HDD for the most important user data. If there is non essential data, the you may certainly compromise and use just Time Machine.
Ciao.

Backing up an external drive using Time Machine

I am trying to back up an external hard drive with Time Machine, but in Options, the drive is greyed out and cannot be removed from exclusions.
I read that it cannot back up Fat32, if that is true, how do I work around that? My Aperture library is on this drive.

If the drive is formatted FAT32 then there is no way around it. Time Machine will not be able to backup the drive. You would have to repartition and reformat the drive for OS X, but that will make it unusable on a PC. You should try using a third-party backup utility if you cannot reformat the drive:
Backup Software Recommendations
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
SuperDuper!
Synk Pro
Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
If you backup to the same drive used for your Time Machine backup, then you should create a separate partition on the drive for these backups.

Can I use a 2tb external drive with Time Machine to backup my Mac Mini (256gbSSD + 2tbHDD)?

Can I use a 2tb external drive with Time Machine to backup what I have on my Mac Mini?
My Mac Mini has one 256 SSD and one 2tb HDD. I want to use Time Machine to do a backup of everything.
Would an external 2tb My Passport Drive by Western Digital work for the backup?
It seems like it would not work because the total storage on the Mac Mini is 2304 gigabytes (SSD + HDD).
And the external Western Digital drive is only 2048 in gigabytes versus 2304 gigabytes the Mac Mini has.

No. A Time Machine backup drive should have at least twice the capacity of the drive it backs up. You would need at least a 4 TB backup drive for Time Machine.
Might I suggest as an alternative that you not use Time Machine but a third-party backup utility that simply overwrites older files with new ones such that the backup drive can be the same capacity as the drive backed up.
Suggested Backup Software
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Others may be found at MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

External Drive with Time Machine, booting from external drive with utilitie

I'm using Time Machine now with
a LaCie 1TB external hard drive.
Everything works fine.
But, I've been wondering:
Can I place a program like TechTool
on the external drive (that Time Machine uses)
and boot from that external drive.
I would like to be able to do that,
because diagnostics and repair programs
only works properly and fully when they run from
external drives. Anything on the internal drive can be repaired
and examine. Impossible to do if Techtool is on the same
drive that's been examined.
Any thoughts as to what I should do?
Thanks
iMac, Leopard, Time Machine, Lacie Quadra 1TB drive.
P.S. Stupid question: If my computer crashes, and I reboot from Time Machine
(from the external drive) how does the computer know which backup to take ?!?
Isn't there many versions of the OS on the Time Machine backup taken at different times?

pitou wrote:
P.S. Stupid question: If my computer crashes, and I reboot from Time Machine
(from the external drive) how does the computer know which backup to take ?!?
Isn't there many versions of the OS on the Time Machine backup taken at different times?
As V.K. says, you can't boot from TM backups.
But you can restore your entire system from any one of them, per the procedure in #14 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
You can also selectively restore from them, while running normally. See #15 in the FAQ Tip.
You might want to review these:
Time Machine Tutorial
Time Machine 101
How to back up and restore your files
Time Machine Features
Apple - Support - Mac OSX v10.5 Leopard Time Machine
and perhaps browse the rest of the FAQ Tip.

How to back up a FAT32 Drive with Time Machine?

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