HT1284 Do I need to reformat my external hard drive before I backup to it?  It shows very little free space when in fact it is empty.

I am new to Imac.  I want to use an external hard drive to backup to but the drive shows very little free space when in fact it is empty.  Do I need to reformat it and, if so How?  Thanks

What is the external disk?
Is it new?  If so, maybe it has a Windows file system on it (FAT, exFAT, or NTFS).  If so then reformat to "HFS+ Journaled".
What backup utility are you using?  TimeMachine, Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper, etc...?  If the external is suppose to be bootable because you are using a cloning backup (CCC or SuperDuper), then it is also important that the disk partition table be GUID.
You can find out this information via Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility, select the disk (not volume on the disk) and the partition time will be shown at the botton of the window.   Now Select the volume and it will tell you how the file system on the disk is formatted.
Also do you want to leave room for a recovery partition on the external disk?  Then repartition it with a small (2GB) partition that can hold a bootable recovery partition that you can setup via the Apple "Recovery Disk Assistant" which can be downloaded from Apple.

Similar Messages

  • URGENT HELP: Need to reformat an external hard drive for Mac/Win!

    We got a Desk Hammer external hard drive and my hubby chose to format it as Mac Only when it first initialized. We needed it to be formatted for Mac/Win usage. Now we cannot figure otu how to reinitialize and reformat it. It's been years since I messed with his Mac. Help--right now we just have a big old doorstop instead of a hard drive! BTW Desk Hammer is no help with support (I guess that's why they were on sale); their website isn't even complete!

    Use the Disk Utility application found in /Applications/Utilities to format the Drive as MS-DOS File System. This will be readable by both Mac and Windows platforms.
    Hope this helps! bill
    1 GHz Powerbook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

  • I just had to reformat the external hard drive that houses my iPhoto library, then restore it from a backup. Now Time Machine is telling me my backup hard drive suddenly does not have the space to complete a backup. I also noticed when I go in to Time Mac

    I just had to reformat the external hard drive that houses my iPhoto library, then restore it from a backup. Now Time Machine is telling me my backup hard drive suddenly does not have the space to complete a backup. I also noticed when I go in to Time Machine, there are only about 5 backups recorded on the ext. hard drive. There were many more before. Any idea what happened and if I have to buy a new back up hard drive?

    Hallo  Kieth ,
    I am not quite ready to restore the full iphoto library , as I have days of work re - imputting titles,descriptions and enhancement . I hope that your suggestion works , as I use my Macbook basically to work with digital photography. Through time , I will need to delete my library to recover more disc space and I would hate to have to spend more time re - imputting titles and descriptions all over again .
    Thanks for your interest and advice.
    regards  - Alan

  • Greeting,  I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the in

    Greeting,
    I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the information on it so could you tell me what kind of encryption will be used or is there any way to recover the information?
    Thanks!

    I think FileVault is used to encryp internal hard drive but I wanna encrypt an external hard drive with Mac OS Extended Journaled Encrypted which is completely different!

  • HT201250 Do I need to partition my external hard drive if I'm using Time Machine and other storage?

    I never used Time Machine before.  I was storing select files on my external hard drive as well as using my libraries (IPhoto, ITune, IMovies) directly off of the external hard drive.  That hard drive is giving me problems, so I bought a new one.  I want to set up Time Machine on this one, but I also want to keep my active libraries on it.  Do I need to partition the external hard drive?

    You can partition the new drive, just don't make one of the partitons a TimeMachine drive, save a TM for a entire drive with more space than the boot drive as it saves "states" thus requires more room than most people expect.
    I highly advise one drive to one drive for backups, and not placing too many backup eggs in one vulnerable hardware basket basically.
    Drives are cheap, data is not. Hardware can fail just as often as software, so you need a multiple backup and storage stragedy to protect even against theft and fire.
    Most commonly used backup methods

  • Do I need to keep my external hard drive connected at all times for time capsule?

    Do I need to keep my external hard drive connected at all times for time capsule?

    Hi,
    I have a similar question. I have backed up my external hard drive through my computer, onto my TC. When I go into TM, it doesn't show the external hard drive unless it is connected to the computer. Can I access the info from the external hard drive that is on the TC if I don't have the hard drive plugged in? If so, how can I do that?
    Thanks,
    Bernadette

  • How do I reformat my External Hard Drive (Seagate Backup Plus).

    Hello everyone. How do I reformat my External Hard Drive (Seagate Backup Plus Portable Device). I accidentally clicked to use it with Time Machine and my hard drive is of little use now. When I open my hard drive, it just shows 'backup', the same thing when I open it with Windows. Thinking of reformatting it back to be used to Mac and Windows. And not use it again with Time Machine. New to Apple, appreciate the help

    Hello,
    "Thinking of reformatting it back to be used to Mac and Windows. And not use it again with Time Machine"
    If you want to format the External drive as universally compatible, your best bet is to format it as exFAT. Note that reformatting the drive erases all contents of the drive.
    1) Open Disk Utility located in /Applications/Utilities/ (or simply type it in spotlight and the application will show up)
    2) Select the external Hard drive
    3) Click the 'erase' tab.
    4) Under format: select exFAT
    5) Click "Erase" in the lower right hand corner to reformat the drive.

  • How can i reformat my external hard drive without loosing any data?

    how can i reformat my external hard drive without loosing any data?

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
    It's impossible to format a hard drive without losing the data. One thing you can do before formatting is to copy the files from the external drive to your internal drive, and then, format the external drive. After formatting, copy the files to the external drive again, and everything will be as before formatting it

  • How do i reformat a external hard drive back to fat32

    i have an external hard drive that worked on windows then i installed it onto a mac book pro laptop and i emptied it now it does not work how do i reformat it with a mac computer

    Drive Preparation for MS-DOS (FAT)
    1.  Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to MSDOS. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to MBR then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

  • HT3764 How to reformat an external hard drive using Snow Lepard to use for Time Machine

    How to reformat an external hard drive using Snow Lepard to use for Time Machine

    Use the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder to erase it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with GUID as the partition map format(or APM if you're using a PowerPC Mac running 10.5).
    (73291)

  • Is there anyway to export the iPod metadata from my iPhone 4? I don't need the music, I have that on an external hard drive, but my backup got wiped out and I need the metadata.

    Is there anyway to export the iPod metadata from my iPhone 4? I don't need the music, I have that on an external hard drive, but my backup got wiped out and I need the metadata.

    Okay, so I had to re-install iTunes. My iTunes library is currently empty. I can make a new back up and the location of the songs not having changed, these will be available in my library?

  • Recommend an external hard drive for a backup for me?

    For the first time since I've owned any computer PC or Mac, I need to purchase a external hard drive so I can back up my computer. Over the years I have never backed anything up and have lost some things which at the time wasn't too important. But now with this computer I have lots of music and some very important pictures to me and videos of my grandson I do not want to lose, internet bookmarks etc. etc. I have a program called Time Machine on this computer which I assume is to back up my computer contents. I know nothing about external drives for the purpose of backups. Can someone recommend a reasonably priced one for a beginner and where do I purchase it? Online? Through Apple?
    Thanks

    I have two LaCie drives - you can check them out here:
    http://www.lacie.com/us/products/range.htm?id=10033
    Depending on which brand you decide to purchase, you may have to format them for a Mac, which is very easily accomplished by using Disk Utility (Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility). At that same time, you may also want to partition it which will create 2 or more partitions on the same drive - each one will act as though it is a separate hard drive. I have mine partitioned and use one just to drag and drop (copy) an extra copy of important pictures or files on it. I use another partition to create a bootable clone using either SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner (simple version is free). A bootable clone means that if there is a major problem with your internal hard drive and you can't start up with it, you can start up with the bootable clone because it is an exact and complete copy of your entire system. Then there is the option to use Time Machine; personally I don't use it, so someone else will need to chime in with it. It copies a lot of things and does it automatically every hour or so I believe, but you cannot boot up your computer with it (that is why I've decided not to use it).
    Again, depending on the brand you buy, you should not have to install any software that comes with it. An external hard drive should simply show up as an icon on your desktop once you attach it; after that, open up Disk Utility and make sure it is formatted correctly and partition it if desired.
    Also, as far as speed is concerned, an external hard drive with Firewire is faster than with USB connections, so keep that in mind. Mine is both Firewire 400 and 800 as well as USB, so I am covered no matter how/where it want to plug it in.

  • External hard drive time machine backups not mounting

    I have used Seagate 500.11 external hard drive as a backup location for the time machine for over two years. I just got a message that it had not updated in over thirty days.  It is not listed on FInder, but it is listed on the disc utility.  The Time machine backups  are grayed out on the disc utility screen and cannot be mounted, even after the repair and verification tests said that their volumes were ok.  What should I do?

    Time Machine does not create bootable clones. It does not even create a bootable backup. If that's what you prefer then do not use Time Machine.
    If you use Time Machine then you must allocate at least twice as much space for the backups than the capacity of the drive you are backing up. A 2 TB backup drive would be suitable for a 1 TB main drive or smaller.
    If you plan to create a bootable backup, then partition the backup drive with one partition the size required for the clone. Then use the other partition for you additional storage neeeds.

  • Whats the best way to transfer everything from my old macbook pro to a new mac mini, i have a external hard drive which i backup to regularly via time capsule

    whats the best way to transfer everything from my old macbook pro to a new mac mini, i have a external hard drive which i backup to regularly via time capsule

    Check out > OS X Lion: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

  • Help! When i connect my "iomega" External hard drive to my mac it does not show in devices or on the desktop, how can i access my hard drive?

    Help! When i connect my "iomega" External hard drive to my mac it does not show in devices or on the desktop, how can i access my hard drive?

    what format your iomega HD is it NTFS , if NTFS try download   http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/ntfs3g.html

Maybe you are looking for