HT201250 can an external portable drive be used for both time machine back ups and for additional storage or to sync files?

I use a seagate freeagent Go drive to keep a copy of important files.  Files that I use with some regularity.  I sync the drive every few days to ensure I have the latest.  It is a old school method, but works well.  I realize that not all things are "backed up" as they would be with a real back up, like time  machine. 
Can one device drive do both or should I use two different drives?
mb pro 2011, 4GB, 500 GB sata disk

TM performs best on its Own Dedicated External Hard Drive,
Mac 101  Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
Time Machine Tutorial
Time Machine Tutorial
How do I view or restore selected items?
Video on Restore From Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/VI29
It is recommended that the TM EHD be at least twice the capacity of the Drive(s) it is intending to back up.
Note:
If you connect your current EHD to use as TM backup it will be Erased during the TM setup process.

Similar Messages

  • Can Time Capsule be used for both Time Machine back-up and a place to store other things?

    I thought I had heard that it was best to keep whatever external drive you use for Time Machine to be exclusive for Time Machine back-ups. Does Time Capsule automatically partition an area for Time Machine. Also, since Time Machine auto deletes some things when the external drive gets full, does it just keep backing up until it fills the Time Capsules 2 TB or whatever the space is? Thanks in advance for help.

    It does not partition the drive but creates a sparse bundle which acts as a sealed directory.
    You can store other things on the TC. Just create a new directory for your stuff.
    The TC needs to have at least 2 or 3 times the space used by your hard disks in all your computers. So it can manage a full backup plus the hourly incrementals.. !! It can take a long time to fill up if you don't change stuff around much.. or it could fill up relatively quickly if you constantly load files in and out.
    Remember though a TC is not a NAS, it has no mirror and if the TC is the only copy of some files you are storing on it, and the TC breaks down, then those files are lost.
    I have seen others suggest it is better to use a USB hdd connected to the TC to store files you want access to. Balance between storage and backup won't be that difficult. If the TC is becoming full, make a decision about where you want to store those other files.

  • Can I use One Hard Drive for 2x Time Machine Back Ups and another partition for all my data?

    Hi Forum,
    I am planning to but a RAID disc set up, but if i get a 2 disc set up, on one disc, can i have:
    Time Machine back up for one Mac
    Time Machine back up for 2nd Mac
    Anothe partition for all my data.
    then have that RAID'd to second disc?

    no one?
    and if this set up was on one disc, and one partition for one TM was for the Mini that has this drive attached, would TM back up this whole drive 2x TM Partitions and 1x partitions with data on, ok? it wouldn't get confused by trying to back itself up

  • I am trying to get space on an external hard drive which has some old time machine back up files that I do not need but can not eliminate, even by going into the time machine, clicking on the backup file to be eliminated and using the drop down eliminate

    I am trying to get space on an external hard drive which has some old time machine back up files that I do not need but can not eliminate, even by going into the time machine, clicking on the backup file to be eliminated and using the drop down menu with the gear box symbol to eliminate

    I cannot find this 300GB "Backup" in the Finder, only in the Storage info when I check "About This Mac".
    You are probably using Time Machine to backup your MacBook Pro, right? Then the additional 300 GB could be local Time Machine snapshots.  Time Machine will write the hourly backups to the free space on your hard disk, if the backup drive is temporarily not connected. You do not see these local backups in the Finder, and MacOS will delete them, when you make a regular backup to Time Machine, or when you need the space for other data.
    See Pondini's page for more explanation:   What are Local Snapshots?   http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
    I have restarted my computer, but the information remains the same. How do I reclaim the use of the 300GB? Why is it showing up as "Backups" when it used to indicate "Photos"? Are my photos safe on the external drive?
    You have tested the library on the external drive, and so your photos are save there.  
    The local TimeMachine snapshot probably now contains a backup of the moved library.  Try, if connecting your Time Machine drive will reduce the size of your local Time Machine snapshots.

  • Can I use my time capsule for time machine back ups and as an external storage device?

    I have a time capsule and have set it up so that my time machine back ups are saved on it, but I would also like to use it as an external hard drive. Is this possible?
    I know nothing about computers so please tell me in very basic terms. thankyou!

    By external hard disk we usually mean one plugged into the computer by USB or Firewire or Thunderbolt.
    None of those works on the TC.. it is plugged in by ethernet or use wireless connection.. that means it is a network drive.. not an external drive. The difference might not mean much to you.. but it is totally different to the computer. In the former case the computer has full control of the disk. In the case of the network drive, the disk is controlled by the TC firmware and the files are stored and accessed by network. This has large implications.
    So here is my standard response.
    Store files on the TC.
    This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.
    The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.
    Major issues.
    1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.
    2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.
    3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no control. In fact the TC is so lacking in controls for even the router side.. that you cannot do more than the most basic of setups.
    The following are controls on the hard disk side.
    Reformat it. You can name the share. You can do a full archive of the whole disk. This will go at a speed of aprox. 30-50GB/Hr so calculate how long an archive of a full 2TB will take.
    4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!
              Even apple btw say don’t do it.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168 Although mostly about FAT32           it adds network drives.
    5. iTunes can constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.
    6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.
    7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.
    Read pondini for some work arounds.
    Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

  • I want to use a nas drive for my time machine back ups.

    Hi,
    I'm pretty new to macs. I've set up time machine on my kids macs using a time capsule without problems.
    Ive now bought my own mac and want to use time machine to back it up but only have a network hard drive to do it on. When I go to choose disk, I'm not given the option of the drive. I can see it in finder ok.
    Is this possible?
    Thanks
    Roy

    There's more to it than a "party line." Many folks who have started this, and thought it was going well, found it wasn't as reliable as they thought.
    From a post in another forum (found by V.K.):
    *The technical reason why Apple limits Time Machine to 10.5 AFP volumes appears to be to prevent disk image corruption. There were additional features added to AFP in 10.5 to support Time Machine. These presumably allow the disk image engine to force disk image journal data to write out all the way to the disk. Without such features, a network interruption can result in a corrupted filesystem on the disk image despite journaling. Remember, journaling relies on the journal being written all the way to disk before the changes take place. If you can't guarantee that (e.g., because of network/NAS buffering) then the journal is useless. Time Machine appears to rely heavily on disk journaling to deal with network drop-outs, interrupted backups, and the like. Take this away and your data is at risk.*
    *If the NAS you are using supports these features it should report them to the OS and you should natively be able to choose that volume. If you have to trick the OS to use the volume it means the NAS does not support it.*
    *To summarize: if you care about your backup data you should avoid using non-natively supported AFP servers.*
    That only addresses Leopard, of course. Snow Leopard seems to have some additional requirements, that don't work with some NAS solutions that did work, to a degree, with Leopard.

  • I have partitioned my time capsule, but I can't get it to work as a Time Machine back up and permanent media server for both mac and PC. What format do I need to partition the drive to so that it works for both mac and windows and so that it will be visab

    I have partitioned my time capsule, as I want part of it to act as a media server for both mac and windows. However I don't know what format that I need to partition it to. I also can't make it a permanently accesible drive. I want to restore the drive to the original format (which I don't know) and start again and re-partition the drive in a format that can be used for media by both mac and PC and for time machine back-ups and make the media part of it permanetly accesible so I can add and acccess my files.
    Thanks

    You are mixing up a couple of things here.
    The TC drive cannot be partitioned without removing it.. did you do that?
    If you partition it you must use a Mac disk utility and use the HFS+ ie standard Mac format. And GUID partition table not windows type.
    You can select erase disk in the airport utility.. that will take the disk back to original format. No partitions. TC is deliberately not partitioned as it is not a media server.. it is a backup device for TM. Over time .. the disk will be filled with TM backups so you have a long history of file changes to your computer.
    There is no media server in the TC.. it is merely disk storage.. you can serve files from it to a media device.. but the TC itself is dumb as dumb.
    Now the actual format of the drive is irrelevant to the PC.. The TC offers SMB file services to the network. You can copy files to and from the TC as if it was a local disk without caring one iota about the format. The TC handles that .. it is not a local disk .. it is a network drive.
    Although you cannot partition the TC. you can still copy files to it.. this does have implications for TM.. but as long as there is plenty of free space should not be a major issue.
    You can create a disk image via the disk utility in a Mac.. and as stated you can create partitions if you do it on a Mac with the disk directly connected which means breaking warranty if any exists on the TC.

  • HT201250 I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive.  The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc).  Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

    I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive.  The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc).  Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

    Yes you can make multiple backups on one hard drive, for example if you’ve 1TB hard drive installed in your PC and you’ve two Mac Machines with 500GB drive each then you just make two backup images with size of 500GB each.
    http://www.halfspot.com/use-your-pc-hard-drive-for-time-machine-backup/

  • How can I use one external hard drive for both Time Machine and iPhoto Library?

    I have been using a 1 TG LaCie external hard drive for Time Machine backups.  My (older) Mac has 160 GB and is almost full.  I would like to move my iPhoto Library to the external hard drive, but I've heard Time Machine doesn't share one space well.  Should I
    1.  create another partition (but will this erase what I've already saved) with Disk Utility?  *I am running Snow Leopard*
    2.  create another volume to use for iPhoto, and if so, should the two volumes be of equal size?
    3.  leave it with one partition and move the iPhoto Library to the same partition with Time Machine back ups?
    I know I don't need the entire 1 TG for back up of 160 GBs.  Please advise the best path to take.  Thank you!

    You are getting incorrect information from your ASP. If you look at drive specifications the heat generated is no different for high vs low capacity drives.
    I have upgraded the internal drive in my iMac 2007 with a 3TB Hitachi drive without any heat issues or other problems.
    Larger hard drives have higher density platters so to access any given amount data the drives travel a shorter distance. Higher capacity drives should therefore run cooler than lower density drives because the drive spends less time spinning to access data.

  • Just got Prosoft drive genius 3 software, and it's telling me that the external hard drive that i am using for my time machine back up drive needs to be defragmented.  is it wise to do this or should i not??

    just got Prosoft drive genius 3 software, and it's telling me that the external hard drive that i am using for my time machine back up drive needs to be defragmented.  is it wise to do this or should i not??

    Let's hope a couple things: that you have bootable clones of your drives also; that the backup drive for TimeMachine has over 3x capacity of the data you plan and are storing. I would also switch TM backup drives so you have a 2nd.
    Fragmented free space affecting performance happens when the drive is too full which may mean there isn't enough free space for a full backup set.
    1.5TB for backing up 500GB, while WD Green 3TB is $140 and WD Black 1.5TB is, about the same price.
    I'd be worried about the integrity and directory, and whether you can afford to lose that drive. Defragging is also a very slow operation. the ideal: to just clone a drive, or start over with another drive and wait. cloning TM volumes has not been done or has it? SuperDuper hoped to but I don't think they or Bombich's CCC made it there.
    Trouble with highly fragged is when free space gets to 20% normally, 1/3 or so though for TM volumes, and finding where and a chunk of space for the file being written. Does TM use large spare image files of like 2GB?
    Best would be to ask in the TimeMachine section Snow Leopard
    https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_v10.6_snow_leopard?view= discussions#/?tagSet=1009
    where there are some good FAQ and tutorials, and people that know the ins-and-outs and shortcomings.

  • HT201250 I have thousands of pictures on my Mac.  If something happens to my Mac I don't want them lost.  I do time machine back ups to an external hard drive once a week.  Is this good enough for making sure my pictures don't ever get lost?

    I have thousands of photos on my Mac.  If something happens to my Mac obviously, I don't want to lose the photos.  I do Time Machine back ups to an external hard drive once a week.  Is this good enough to make sure my pictures don't get lost?

    tgs6164 wrote:
    I have thousands of photos on my Mac.  If something happens to my Mac obviously, I don't want to lose the photos.  I do Time Machine back ups to an external hard drive once a week.  Is this good enough to make sure my pictures don't get lost?
    Purchase a couple of these when they go on sale.
    Start burning all the photos onto DVDs. 
    At least you'll have all your photos if your computer, time machine or any other backup you use goes bonkers.

  • I had to reformat my OSX 10.5.8 and i can't restore my emails from my time machine backup from an external hard drive - only the latest (post backup) time machine back ups are available to restore. Please can any help

    I had to reformat my OSX 10.5.8 and I can't restore my emails from my time machine backup from an external hard drive - only the latest (post backup) time machine back ups are available to restore. Please can any help? I can find the mail folder in my libraries, but the Restore Button is grayed out

    OSX treats the reformatted drive as a different one; it's the same as replacing it, and the old one is no longer connected.
    See #E3 in  Time Machine - Troubleshooting to see and restore from the "old" drive.
    And, you may not want to restore via the Finder; see the blue box in #15 of  Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

  • External hard drive for time machine back-ups

    Can anyone please suggest the best external hard drive to use for time machine back-ups on my iMac?
    I also use a 1TB external hard drive for my iTunes library, but I've noticed that it can be slower to access the music than if I used the iMac hard drive......any suggestions? My iTunes library is currently sitting at around 200GB.
    Thanks.
    Brian

    i'd recommend a firewire 800 drive. many folks here speak highly of drives supplied by [OWC|http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire> and [LaCie|http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11156].
    JGG

  • How do I prevent my hard drive being used for time machine back ups?

    I want to install Snow Leopard but it tells me that the OS cannot be installed because the disk is being used for Time Machine back ups. I don't recall setting up my hard drive to be used this way (why would I?!) but now I can't seem to

    Did you have TM turned on at any time? If so, and if you had no external hard drive attached, could it be that it created its own backup on a portion of your hard drive? I don't use TM, but I believe I read that this may be possible. Take a look at Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities) and report what you see on the left - under the top heading, is there more than one partition showing, such as here:
    (I have two partitions: one for Snow Leopard, the other for Lion) - what does yours show?

  • I have 2 macbooks each with an account for me and one for my wife. I use one Macbook logged in with my account and my wife uses the other Macbook only loged in on her account. We both make regular time-machine back-ups each on a separate external disk

    I have 2 Macbooks each with an account for me and one for my wife. I use one Macbook logged in with my account and my wife uses the other Macbook only logged in on her account. We both make regular time-machine back-ups each on a separate external disk. Is it possible to update her account on my macbook using her external disk without overwriting my stuff on the same Macbook and vice versa?

    Time Machine does not do individual accounts. It records the complete drive. So if you were to use her TM backup on your Mac it would make your Mac just like hers. Both yours and her account on your MAC.
    Just copy the missing files over from her Mac to yours. If there are differennt programs on each then they would need to be installed on both.

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