HT201250 Will Time Machine wipe my external hard drive if its formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)?

I want to use Time Machine to back up my mac. I have heard that it will wipe the HDD if its not formatted correctly. Disk utility says its
Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Is this alright? or will it wipe it?

Yes, if you use Disk Utility to reformat the drive or assign that drive to TimeMachine it will wipe all existing data off the drive/partition.
Like was mentioned, only use one drive for TimeMachine and preferably another one for a bootable clone.
Most commonly used backup methods

Similar Messages

  • HT201250 Using Time Machine as an external hard drive

    I backed up my iMac with an external hard drive using Time Machine; can I delete all the data from my iMac now? My real goal is to use the 1TB external hard drive I just got to store all my music, photos, and other files on. I want to clear all the space off of my iMac, and may by a new Macbook. I want to be able to access all the files from my original computer on either, while cleaning out the iMac. Was it pointless for me to use Time Machine? Thanks so much for the feedback!

    You cannot use the files in the Time Machine backup and while it is possible to partition or otherwise use free space on the Time Machine drive as external storage Apple does not recommmend it. Your best solutions are either replace the existing hard drive in your MacBook Pro with a larger capacity drive or add a bus powered external HD. A 1TB USB 2 or 3 drive runs just a bit over $100 and the internal drive about $20 less. In either case remember the Time Machine drive should have two to three times the space of the drive(s) it is backing up.

  • How can I partition my external hard drive into NTFC and Mac OS Extended Journaled?

    I brought a 1tb external hard drive from Western Digital. It currently have one partition which is Mac OS X (Journaled). I want to have two partition, one Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and one NTFC for Windows. When I try to choose 2 partition and choose a partition type, I only get the following choices:
    1. Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)
    2. Mac OS X Extended (Case-Sensitive, Journaled)
    3. MS-DOS (FAT)
    4. ExFAT
    5. Free Space
    I don't want to use MS-DOS (FAT) because I am limited to only 32gb of space and I need plenty of space for Windows files.

    Assuming that  entire drive is GUID and you keep the existing journaled partition.
    Make a second partition that is exFAT (more storage ability than FAT) using DU.
    Then mount the drive on a Windows 7 and reformat that exFAT as NTFS.  But remember that Mac can read and write exFAT natively, but cannot write NTFS without special software.  Perhaps exFAT is what you want.
    But more the the point: is the journaled partition used as a backup device?  If it is, I would leave that drive alone as a backup drive and use a second device for "data only" sharing between types.

  • HT201250 Can time machine back up external hard drives too?

    I'm new to Time Machine. Can I set it up to back up both my internal HD and an external HD?
    Thanks,
    Carol

    Yes but it's poor advice by Apple for the reason hardware fails just as often as software, if you drop that drive, you have ruined all your backups at the same time.
    If you get malware, you have just infected all your backups at the same time.
    Apple created TimeMachine and didnt provide a Windows version, in my opinion it's to trap as much as your data as possible so you can't decide to later to switch to a Windows PC without a great deal of pain and effort.
    So the more drives you backup with Apple's TimeMachine the more data is trapped in it when the hardware or software fails.
    The best advice is to have a multiple backup system and match each piece of hardware with two of it's own seperate hardware backups.
    So if you have a boot drive, you need two external backups of it.
    If you have a storage drive for extra space, then you need two more drives as backup of that.
    Drives are cheap, data is not.
    If you drop the only backup, get a power surge, or a criminal breaks in or a fire and it's dead or gone, or get malware, you won't know until it's already infected the first backup restored that it's still on the loose and need ot take stronger measures, your going to wish you had the second backup safe and sound someplace.
    Most commonly used backup methods

  • Does Time Machine backup other external hard drives?

    I am using a Seagate 500 GB to backup my data. Will Time Machine backup another external hard drive on which I store my iMovie projects? If so, how do I access them in the Time Machine mode? Thanks in advance.

    nachdenki wrote:
    strange, my external HDs were added to the exception list automatically. maybe because they wouldn't fit on the time machine volume.
    It seems to depend on when the drives were connected. When you first turn Time Machine on, it only excludes the TM drive itself, and any drives not formatted HFS+.
    If you connect a drive later on, that drive will be excluded automatically.

  • HT201250 i am using for first time the time machine and an external hard drive because I want to erase my macbook and start from zero files. do i keep my files in the portable hard disk when I connect it again with the macbook or the time machine will era

    i am using for first time the time machine and an external hard drive because I want to erase my macbook and start from zero files. Am i keeping my files in the portable hard disk when I will connect it again with the macbook or the time machine will erase all?
    I would like to know if after I erase all my data, empy hard drive inside the macbook, the time machine will erase all my files that I have saved in my "WD "My passport" external hard drive

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    Time Machine has to erase the external disk in order to make backups. Before setting Time Machine up, copy the files of your external disk to the hard disk of the Mac in order not to lose them, and then, set up Time Machine. The first backup will start automatically.
    If you want more information about Time Machine, read the Pondini's site > http://pondini.org

  • HT1553 DO I HAVE TO HAVE THE ORIGINAL INSTALLATION DISCS IF MY HARD DRIVE IS REPLACED BUT I MADE A BACK UP WITH TIME MACHINE TO AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE ?

    I have an imac from late 2009 and received an email saying the seagate hard drive may fail and apple is going to replace it free of charge. I will back up using time machine to an external hard drive but do I absolutely have to have the original installation CD's or is there a way around this to restore the computer once they replace the hard drive??

    Yes, you can partition your 2TB drive that way. In fact, I have an external hard drive with 3 partitions: one for a SuperDuper! clone of my Snow Leopard partition, one to clone my Lion partition, and one larger partition for Time Machine (which only backs up the Lion partition).
    I would expect the authorized reseller to have a complete set of OS X disks. 

  • Time Machine on an External Hard Drive - used with another computer or mac?

    I'm planning on selling my computer but want everything that is on my Mac saved so when I can afford to buy a new computer I will have all of my files, music, pictures, etc.  I hooked up Time Machine to an external hard drive last night.  So everything should be saved to the external hard drive now right?...will I be able to open any of those files on another computer using my external hard drive that has my backup on it? For example, if I have my resume as one of the files can I plug in my hard drive that has my Time Machine back up on it to open edit and resave the file?  Or am I better of manually saving the files to the external hard drive without using Time Machine?
    Please help...I need to sell my computer but don't want to lose any of my stuff on it...
    Thanks!

    Time machine works great for the file you accidentally delete or modify even if you need to go back months and months.  There are better solutions when you really just need to clone your existing system like CCC or Superduper.  A clone is more flexible when it comes to getting your stuff.  The only downside is you will lose the multiple copies time machine keeps.  The upside is you know exactly what's on it and you can boot from it if needed.  The file structure is definately more stable on a clone.
    A time machine is OK for what you're doing.  I just think a clone is better.  The choice is yours.

  • How do I move data on time machine from one external hard drive to another

    How do I move data on time machine from one external hard drive to another?

    Although the documentation says you can copy Time Machine backups in the Finder, it's very slow and sometimes doesn't work at all.
    Launch Disk Utility, open the built-in help, and search for the term "Duplicate." Follow the instructions. Turn Time Machine OFF in its preference pane while copying the volume.

  • Can I increase the capacity of Time Machine with an external hard drive connected to Time Capsule?

    Can I increase the capacity of Time Machine with an external hard drive connected to Time Capsule via the USB port?  My current Time Machine has a total capacity of 1TB.  I'd like to double or triple its memory.  I don't want to use the external hard drive in lieu of the Time Capsule hard drive.  I'd like to use it in addition to.  Just don't know if/how it's possible.
    This is another one of those questions that I've searched the web for answers, and have gotten tricky answers back.  So now I'm trying to introduce a clean slate to the mix.
    Thank you for your time!

    Well, what you mentioning is possible.  However, I don't know whether it's supported (as in, "easy to set up.").  Time Machine officially supports backing up to a locally attached drive, to a machine running a Time Machine server (i.e. running OS X Server software), and to a Time Capsule.  I don't know that it officially supports a drive attached to an AirPort or to a Time Capsule.  Though I know some people have gotten it to work.
    Best I can say is to try it.  Plug the drive into the Time Capsule, ensure it's shared on the network, and then try and set it as a backup target from a machine in the Time Machine backup panel (you'll need to ensure it's mounted first).  If it works, you're all set.

  • Time machine not seeing external hard drive in time line

    can anyone help
    time machine not seeing external hard drive in time line
    before 2013
    information say in 2009 is not accessable to view this
    i must select external drive from finder
    the time machine icon not recognising

    thanks for reply
    when i open time machine the time line on right side of page
    has date ranging from 2014 back to 2010 but only highlight date from 2014 back to 2013
    anything before 2013 is greyed out and cannot not be selected
    when i touch the pages they only rush towards me a limited amount then stops
    also why it shows date as 2014 is strange

  • Does the new airport extreme support backing up via time machine to an external hard drive pluged into the usb port

    Does the new airport extreme support backing up via time machine to an external hard drive pluged into the usb port

    Yes, but you might want to note that the port on the AirPort Extreme is only USB 2.0, and that it runs at about half the speed of the USB 2.0 port on a computer, so things are going to be quite SLOW as far as backups are concerned, or anything else for that matter.

  • How do I use my Time Machine as an external hard drive to just dump files no longer needed on my computer?

    How Do I use my time machine as an external hard drive?

    Time Machine is software that allows a Mac to backup to a Time Capsule or other hard drive, so I think you are asking about the Time Capsule here, correct?
    http://www.apple.com/timecapsule/
    How do you plan to connect the Time Capsule to your network, or is it already connected and configured?
    When you have it configured on the network, you can use the Finder to copy/paste or drag/drop files from your Mac to the Time Capsule disk.

  • HT3275 Time Machine says my external hard drive does not have enough

    Time Machine says my external hard drive does not have enough space for the current backup.  It needs 34 G out of a 250G hard drive.  All that is on the drive is earlier backups.  I recently added memory, which may confuse Time Machine into thinking it is a new computer.  How can I erase old backups and complete this one?

    Walter Goodman wrote:
    Time Machine says my external hard drive does not have enough space for the current backup.  It needs 34 G out of a 250G hard drive.  All that is on the drive is earlier backups.
    See #C4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting. 
    If that doesn't clear it up, how much data is on your Mac?  If TM is only trying to back-up 34 GB, it should be able to delete old backups to do that (assuming you're running Lion).
    It sounds like your backups may be corrupted.  Try to repair them, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    I recently added memory, which may confuse Time Machine into thinking it is a new computer.
    If that's all you did, no.  
    How can I erase old backups and complete this one?
    Just erase the drive per #1 or #2 of Using Disk Utility.

  • Time Machine and Seagate External hard drive

    I connected my Seagate External Hard Drive (300GB) to my MacBook pro for the first time. I got a prompt asking if I would like to use this as a backup disk with Time Machine. Absent-mindedly, I hit "NO".
    Now the Hard drive is not showing up in the list of disks in Time Machine and I can't figure out a way to search for new disks or change the settings. I would like to use the hard drive to back up my Mac.
    (Also, my Mac has a Windows partition) and I have used Norton to backup the Windows side on the same hard drive.)
    Any suggestions?

    MG1373 wrote:
    (Also, my Mac has a Windows partition) and I have used Norton to backup the Windows side on the same hard drive.)
    Hi, and welcome to the forums.
    Do you mean there's already Windoze data on the external you want to use for Time Machine? If so, this probably isn't going to work. The external is almost certainly set up with the MBR (Master Boot Record) partition scheme, which will not work for TM backups. To check this, use Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder). Click the top line of the drive (with the make and size), then look at the bottom of the display for *Partition Map Scheme.*
    If it is MBR, the only way you can put a partition for Time Machine on this drive is to erase it completely and reformat it with the GUID partition map scheme (unless it's a PPC Mac, which needs the +Apple Partition Map+ scheme), then make 2 (or more) partitions, one formatted +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ for TM.
    If you do that, you may not be able to set up a partition that you can use for the Windoze data. I don't do Windoze, so can't be sure about that.

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