HT201250 Will using Time Machine on my external drive, reformat or wipe my external drive?

I need to backup my whole computer, and was wondering if I can do this with Time Machine using my external hardrive. The problem is, that I am using this same external hardrive for other things and I don't want to lose that data. Will using Time Machine wipe my external hardrive? Apple did not make it so clear in their guide on using Time Machine, but I have a feeling that it must reformat the hardrive. If my hunch is correct, is their any other way I can backup my computer using an external hardrive without having to wipe it? I was thinking about just dragging Macintosh HD into a folder on my hardrive and letting the file transfer. What are the downsides of doing this?
NOTE: Don't know if this makes a big difference, but I am running OS X 10.8.3

If the drive is not formatted correctly for Time Machine, then it will have to format it. But, it won't do that automatically. It will ask if you want to use that disk for Time Machine when you attach it.
You can have Time Machine on a drive with other data. See Pondini's Time Machine FAQ: http://pondini.org/TM/3.html

Similar Messages

HT201250 I use Time Machine to back up my entire computer with my external hard drive. I am getting a brand new iMac this month and was wondering what is the process of using this back up to restore my new computer exactly how my old computer was?

I use Time Machine to back up my entire computer with my external hard drive. I am getting a brand new iMac this month and was wondering what is the process of using this back up to restore my new computer exactly how my old computer was? I want to make sure I will still have various important files on my new computer, like my songs in iTunes, my photos in iPhoto, etc, etc. Thanks so much in advance!

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
When you turn on the new iMac for the first time, Setup Assistant will ask you to restore a backup, so connect the external disk and follow steps to restore all your files to your new iMac. Your new Mac will have the same settings and programs as your old computer.
In other cases, I would recommend to restore the whole backup without using Migration Assistant or Setup Assistant, but a Late 2012 iMac uses a special OS X build, so the OS X version that you're using on your old Mac won't work on the new one. For more information, see > http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

HT201250 i would like to use time machine but also back up other file to my external drive?

I just got a WD T3 external hard drive and I would like to use time machine but also back up other files that to the drive. Can anyone help me out.
Thanks Mark

You would need to go to your Applications folder>Utilities>Disk Utility> and there create Two Partitions on your external hard drive, naming them differently. Then you could go back to your desktop, open the dock, right click on the Time Machine icon and select "Open Time Machine Preferences". In there select the external hard drive Partition that you want to use for TM. The other external drive partition will be available for other uses.
Hope this helps

Can I view photos and movies from my external hard drive? I used Time Machine and a WD Passport for backup. Since my drive on my MacBook Pro is filling up I was planning to delete some of the movies and photos.

Can I view photos and movies from my external hard drive? I used Time Machine and a WD Passport for backup. Since my drive on my MacBook Pro is filling up I was planning to delete some of the movies and photos. I wanted to see if I could view them from the hard drive. Thanks

Hello, eco1.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
This sounds like you are wanting to move your iTunes media folder to an external drive and have iTunes this folder from this location. If this is the case then I would recommend taking a look at the article below.
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
Cheers,
Jason H.

HT201250 Will the Time Machine restore lost SMTP server password?

Lost SMTP password.... will using time machine reset old password and allow me to use email server again?
I can backup all new files on ext. drives

It won't. Time Machine doesn't interact with the EFI hardware (the successor to the BIOS, if that helps), which is where Firmware Passwords are set up.
HTH.

Will using time machine also save online user names?

Will using time machine also save online user names, such as online banking, forum login etc.?

If you're using a web browser which remembers that information, yes.
(107065)

Will my files i saved using time machine still exist if i delete from my computers hard drive?

I recently had a problem with my computer. I bought an external hard drive and used time machine to back up my 15in mac book pro before sending in for repair.
I have gotten my computer back and needed to delete files from the hard drive on the computer ( close to capacity). Was I safe to do so knowing that everything is saved on my external?
My concern is that if I plug in the external hard drive it will now see those files have been deleted from my computer and delete from the external as well.
-David

Just wanted to add to this conversation - Time Machine will keep copies of your files for some time. It is a backup system, after all. Deleting the files from your main hard drive will not cause Time Machine to go and delete them from your backups.
However, eventually, Time Machine is likely to run out of space on your hard drive, and it then does some cleaning up so it can continue working. A file that is not on your hard drive will not exist on your Time Machine backup forever. Eventually it will be deleted to make room for more recent backups. I can't predict how long this will take, but if you have bought a 1TB or so drive for your Time Machine backups, I would suggest that you might be able to keep some months of backups online - after that, old files that you no longer have on your Macbook Pro will be cleaned away.
So Glenn is spot on - if you want an archive copy of those files, you should make a separate backup - Time Machine does not keep your files forever!
Hope that helps.
Ivan

HOW CAN I USE TIME MACHINE TO BACKUP ONLY PART OF MY FILES ON EXTERNAL D?

Hi, I am using time machine to back up all my files at the moment. but I want to get rid of video and photo material from my laptop and keep it on the external hard drive to which the time machine backs up my stuff.
how can i do this without losing the video and photo files permamnently?
thank a lot!

nefsi wrote:
doesn't time machine back up my files on the External hard disk?
By default, Time Machine backs-up almost everything on your internal HD to your External HD. It can also back up things on an external HD, if you want it to.
What I would like is, to find a way so that I could back up everything, but not have all the videos and photos I do not use often, on my laptop. instead I want to put them on the external hard drive and have time machine update all the other files.
Yes, you can do that, but there are two considerations:
You should partition the external HD so the TM backups are in one partition, and the other files are in the other partition. A partition (also called a volume), is treated like a separate disk for most purposes. See #3 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
You should find another way to back-up the videos and photos in that other partition, such as archiving them to CDs/DVDs.
In other words, can Time machine back up only some of my files?
Yes. You can exclude things from Time Machine. See #10 in the FAQ Tip. If you partition your TM drive, the other partition on it should be excluded automatically; but if it isn't, you can easily add it to the +Do not back up+ list in TM Preferences > Options.
For detailed instructions on making another partition on your external HD, see #6 in the FAQ Tip. It shows how to add a TM partition to a drive that already has other data on it, but the procedure is the same.

Using TIme Machine on a MacBook Pro with an AFP connected External HD

I have successfully been able to setup my MacBook Pro to use TM to an external drive connected to my MacPro - however there are some interesting limitations/observations/
To make this configuration work - I had to go into the sharing system preferences and select file sharing and then add that external drive to my shared folders list.
Now if I have shut down my laptop and then come back home and plug it back into the network via Ethernet - TM will try to run the backup job at its next scheduled time but will fail! What I have to do to make it work is to open a finder window - click on my shared MacPro desktop which then pulls up all of the folders that are shared including the external TM hard drive (by the way), but it will still not be enabled via the system preference. This is especially odd since within the title bar of that finder window - it clearly states that I am connected to this computer as "William Harris" What I then have to do is double click on the folder that represents that external HD and as soon as I do that - the system preference shows the name of the external HD in bold (no longer grayed out) and the TM backup starts immediately!!! This will then continue to work without my intervention until I shut the laptop down again.
So - the fact that I must manually "re-connect" the connected AFP share point before TM will start to work again IMHO is a bug!
Anyone else seeing this function working differently?

gogetgil wrote:
Run a Synology DS211 and trying to get Time Machine on my MB Pro (Lion) to work with my NAS as backup. It show work...but...My Macbook Pro doesn't recognize the NAS when opening Time Machine, it doesnt show the NAS as an option. However, in Finder it does see my NAS and I can work with it. Can somebody explain in steps (for my MB Pro and NAS) what I am doing wrong?
I don't use one, but many folks use Synology NASs with Time Machine. However, a number of 3rd-party NASs need to be updated to work witih Lion, so check with Synology to be sure your model is compatible and/or has the latest updates.
It can be a bit tricky setting them up, however, as part of it must be done on the NAS, with the NAS's software, so follow Synology's instructions very carefully.

HT201250 When using time machine do I need to keep my drive plugged in all the time or can I back up when I wish?

Is it necessary to keep the external drive plugged in at all times? Or can I unplug it and choose when I wish to back up my system.

No, I do not believe so. Time Machine would keep all those now-deleted files in previous backups, and as time goes by those backups might be deleted if you needed room, but it would still keep one backup from each day in last month, as well as one from each week forever, as long as you don't start running out of room, then just the oldest would be deleted to make room if needed.
I use a backup drive about double the size of my drive to be backed up, so I would guess it will never get to the point where deleted files being replaced by new ones being backed fill up that drive to the point where backups actually have to get deleted.

HT201250 I use time machine and I can't get a certain backup to allow restore

My MBPro stopped booting up. I got it up and running again after reinstalling everything(OSX and all). I am now running Mountain Lion, could this be causing problems seeing all the non Mountain Lion era backups. I can only restore those dates now, no older than upgrade date ones.
I hooked up my time machine drive and now I can't get a certain date to make itself available for "Restore" the latest date that lights up that button in Time Machine is the date I did the reinstall. How do I get my excel files I made back onto my computer.
Other issue is where are Excel files kept in the MAC's file structure. I know the were backed up, but I can't see them when I am using Finder to look within each subfolder in Time Machine.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
When you turn on the new iMac for the first time, Setup Assistant will ask you to restore a backup, so connect the external disk and follow steps to restore all your files to your new iMac. Your new Mac will have the same settings and programs as your old computer.
In other cases, I would recommend to restore the whole backup without using Migration Assistant or Setup Assistant, but a Late 2012 iMac uses a special OS X build, so the OS X version that you're using on your old Mac won't work on the new one. For more information, see > http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

After my hard drive was replaced I installed Mountain Lion. I was unable to use time machine or migration assistant to access files on my external Omega hard drive even though the files are still there? Is there another way?

My hard drive on my iMac was unrepairable so Apple installed a new one for me. When I reconnected my external Iomega USB hard drive I could "see" the original backup figures and the rows of "windows" and back to the original red rows of dates in time machine, but I could only access the recent installation date of my new OS X Mountain Lion. Migration assistant would not work as well only accessing the recent backups. Is there a way to "unlock" the past data so I can retrieve my documents and photos without resorting to purchasing "rescue" software??

I can't see backups for a disk/partition that's no longer connected

HT201250 If using Time Machine with an external drive, can I just use it occasionally for back up, say once per week and have it disconnected in between backups?

When using TM with an external drive, can I connect and use it occasionally for backup and disconnect it between backups, say one backup per week? Or does it need to be connected all the time when the computer is on?

TimeMachine works better if it's nearly always connected.
For addtional backup like what your needing, consider a bootable clone in addition to TM.
Most commonly used backup methods

HT201250 When using Time Machine should I NOT switch between user accounts?

The reason I ask is that I don't want to lose data whilst switching between accounts. Which I need to do whilst working and on a very
regular basis.
neil

Time Machine isn't affected by switching accounts.

Beginner's question: Using Time Machine with a WD External Drive

Hello folks,
Could someone help me with some basic questions?
I have a MacBook with Mac OSX 10.5.5. It has Time Machine but I've never used it before. I've just obtained a Western Digital External Hard Drive which is Mac compatible but, I'm told, may not be formatted for Mac.
1. If that's the case, how do I format it for Mac so that I can use it with my MacBook? Or can I just plug-and-play?
2. Once ready to use, I'd like to use the external drive for two purposes: (a) to create back-up images of my entire computer using Time Machine, and (b) as a second drive where I can just drag-and-drop selected files when needed (e.g. so that I can put photos in a photo folder on my external instead of on my MacBook hard drive). Will my MacBook let me do this, or will using Time Machine effectively reserve the entire external hard drive for Time Machine and not allow my to drag-and-drop files?
Thanks! And Happy New Year!

Question 1:
1. Launch Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utility folder.
2. Click the "erase" tab
3. Select your entire WD disk on the sidebar (the uppermost icon).
4. Format: "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"
5. Name the Disk
6. Click on "erase"
Question 2:
What is the size of your drive? If it is large enough you can partition it but Time Machine backup will "grow". So if it's important to you to save all backups you'll want to give it the whole disk. If not, you can partition the disk at the same time you format it.
Follow the steps here. It will accomplish both Q1 & Q2.
-mj
Message was edited by: macjack

HT201250 Will using Time Machine on my external drive, reformat or wipe my external drive?

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