I have 2 external hard drive, one for Backing up my files and TM and the other for what?.

Hi,
I have a WD My Book 2 TB (usb 3.0). 300 GB for Time Machine and 1.7 TB for backing up my files like music, videos, photo, programs, etc...
But, i have another one with 1 TB (usb 2.0), what can i do with it?, backing up the 2 TB hard drive?, or only Time Machine?, i don't know.
I have a Macbook Pro Retina 13" with 128 Gb of hard drive (SSD).

I suggest using both drives for backup. One backup is not enough to be safe.

Similar Messages

External Hard Drives: One for backup and one for storage

Is it possible to have two external hard drives, one firewire and the other usb, using one as an additional hard drive, and the other as the backup drive, and backup from the external that is the additional hard drive to the the other which is the external back up drive?

Wunjo:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
It is possible, but not necessary. If you have a large enough firewire HDD you can partition it so that one partition is approximately the size (capacity) of your internal HDD. Then you can make a bootable clone of your internal HDD to this partition using a utility like SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. You can then regularly update this partition so that you always have an up-to-date backup of your internal HDD. This will serve as a backup of your internal HDD, as well as an emergency boot drive. You can also boot the computer from it to run diagnostic tests and repairs on the internal HDD.
The rest of your HDD can be used for whatever you wish. You can create additional partitions for different purposes, or just leave one large partition as a storage or work area. If you need directions for partitioning your HDD, do post back and ask.
Of course, if you already have a firewire and a USB drive, you can use them as indicated. In any case, you can partition the drives to serve multiple purposes.
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
Cheers
cornelius

I am backing up my computer to an external hard drive using Time Machine. It has been at 288.91 "used" for a while... should I just let it ride? It's been going for about 7 hours now.

I am backing up my computer to an external hard drive using Time Machine. It has been at 288.91 "used" for a while... should I just let it ride? It's been going for about 7 hours now

It does not immediately delete the files that are missing.. it merely tries to backup the new files it has discovered on the external drive. Since you moved the files there, the backup at least for a while will contain both copies.. and that is why it doesn't have enough space to backup.
Fixing the problem.. hmm pondini is the expert.. you should be able to delete the backup of the photos in existing backup.. there are instructions to do it.. but it is a very poor way to do things.
Much better. .archive off the existing backup.. this is long and slow but worth it. you need a usb drive of the same size as the TC drive. Then erase the TC and start a fresh set of backups.
The alternative is to use the USB drive as a new target.. but it is much slower than the TC internal drive.
http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

I have a 1TB external hard drive (NTFS) that has all my files from my old PC, how do I create a partition on it for HFS without formatting it so that I can use it for Time Machine and the like?

I have a 1TB external hard drive (NTFS) that has all my files from my old PC, how do I create a partition on it for HFS without formatting it so that I can use it for Time Machine and the like?

There aren't any 3rd party apps or anything. I use PC's and Mac's at school and the only computer connected to a printer at my house is a PC so i need access to both

Restore iPhotoLibrary specifically from EXTERNAL Hard drive Time Machine back up?

My laptop Photo Library is corrupted somehow. I tried to restore from a prior in Time Machine on laptop and made the mistake of not saying to keep BOTH copies, but after trying for 3 hours of telling me it was doing it through various windows, a little one popped open saying something about permissions and it opened an old iPhotoLibrary from 2 years ago! ... I do have that one now and am copying it off my laptop as fast as I can to FLICKR
cuz APPLE has become a PHOTO sinkhole... (We are talking 20,000 pics folks with scanned in family pics from 100 yrs ago!)
I think I have a good copy on my External Hard Drive Time Machine back up from about 3 weeks ago. How do I use that to Restore from
or should I just wait for this PHOTOS thing to come out?
NEXT Question is there a convenient way to split it into MULTIPLE ones..eg KEEP old stable photos in one or more.
and use another for all the new ones not editted or sorted yet? I do see there is a new Option under iPHOTO/File menu to just switch
libraries but, of course, you cant even see that if your Library wont open!

For TM help post in the forum for your OS - and see https://www.apple.com/support/timemachine/ and http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html and http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Depends on undisclosed information
With the current OS and iPhoto you switch library using the switch library command - with any version you can switch libraries by holding the option key down while you launch iPhoto which brings up the select library window
And generally it is not a smart idea to have multiple iPhoto libraries - it generally has no advantages and makes things much more difficult and complicated and often leads to user errors that cause major problems
If you want to anyway the most convent way to split libraries is to use the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ -
LN

I have two hard drives on my mac 10.5.8 power pc and hear the clickking sounds of the first hard drive and think that it may be dying, can I install everything on the other hard drive also and wait for the first drvie to die before i use the other drives

I have two hard drives on my mac 10.5.8 power pc and hear the clickking sounds of the first hard drive and think that it may be dying, can I install everything on the other hard drive also and wait for the first drive to die before i use the other drives? Or, what is the best way to handle this?

I do not know what you are waiting for.
I'd make a backup of your important stuff before cloning the entire disk.
Carbon Copy Cloner will copy your startup drive to an external firewire drive. You can boot from the external drive to verify that you have a good clone. When you upgrade your existing startup drive, you can at any time boot from your external drive and go back to your existing system.
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
SuperDuper is the wildly acclaimed program that makes recovery painless, because it makes creating a fully bootable backup painless. Its incredibly clear, friendly interface is understandable, easy to use, and SuperDuper's built-in scheduler makes it trivial to back up automatically. And it runs beautifully on both Intel and Power PC Macs!

I am planning on using my time capsule as a network and essentially an external hard drive - not just back up, is this ok?

I am planning on using my time capsule as a network and essentially an external hard drive - not just back up, is this ok?

Most users should use the Time Capsule for backups. This assumes that "original" copies of your data are on the computer and backups of this data are stored on the Time Capsule.
If either the Time Capsule or the hard drive on your computer fails, there are at least copies of your important data on the other drive.
If you are asking if you can place "original" files on the Time Capsule, do you have a plan to backup those files?
If the Time Capsule drive has a problem....and your only copy of your important data is on the Time Capsule....you will lose everything.
If you are asking if this is OK, the answer for most folks would be "no".
Can you clarify if this is what you are asking?

If I have to format an external hard drive to make it Mac compatible, will it delete all the content in the external hard drive?

If I have to format an external hard drive to make it Mac compatible, will it delete all the content in the external hard drive?

As others have said, the answer to your question is a big YES. Formatting a drive will delete everything!
To keep your data, yet reformat the drive for optimal Mac compatibility, you will need to:
1) copy your files to a different hard drive (I would recommend two different locations if you value your data)
2) repartition/format the external drive
3) then copy the files back to the external.
You haven't given details but if you need the external to ONLY be compatible with the Mac (and no longer care if if can be read by Windows), then you will want to partition the drive using the GUID partition scheme, and format as the (HFS+) "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" filesystem. You can do so using the built-in "Disk Utility" application on your Mac (in the Applications/Utilities directory). Here are instructions:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph5845
If you need the drive to be compatible with both Mac and Windows computers then please post that so someone can recommend a solution for your specific needs.

I run my iTunes via a external hard drive, however it has lost all it's contents and I haven't backed up! What can I do?

I run my iTunes via a external hard drive, however it has lost all it's contents and I haven't backed up! What can I do?
My iPad contents probably 75% of my iTunes library, but I'm scared to sync just in case in wipes the entire contents. I know I should of backed up but it was one of them jobs I never got round too (will def do now if my problem is solved)
Can anyone help with a solution?
Many thanks
Cobwebs73

If all of your media is from iTunes, don't worry about it. You can either transfer everything on your iPad from your iPad to your commputer; and/or you can redownload from iTunes all music and apps, and most of everything else.
If any of your media is from other sources, that's not so easily recoverable. If it's on your iPad, you can transfer it to your computer via a third-party application such as Senuti. (There are many alternatives to Senuti, some work just as well and are free.) Anything from non-iTunes sources and not on your iPad is completely gone, unless you have CDs or other physical media from which you obtained it stored somewhere.
At least now you know how important it is to have a backup.

I have an external hard drive that shows up in disk utility but Verify and Restore are greyed out.

I have an external hard drive that shows up in disk utility but Verify and Restore are greyed out. I am trying to determine what is wrong with the drive.
I need the data on the drive and it won't show up in Disk Warrior. I have tried different Mac's and different USB cords only to find the same outcome. When selected in Disk Utility the information read as such...
Disk Description : WD Elements 1023 Media                      Total Capacity : 500.11 GB (500,105,740,288 Bytes)
Connection Bus : USB                                                               Write Status : Read/Write
Connection Type : External                                                     S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
USB Serial Number : 575837314135304D36373132        Partition Map Scheme : Unformatted
As the drive shows in Disk Utility there must be some life left in it surely. There is a possibilty that the physical connection between the USB cord and the external drive is damaged but since the drive shows up I believe it's unlikely... before I give it to the pro's is there anything else I can do to diagnose the issue?

Hello,
I have just experienced the same thing!
Although my external drive shows in Disk Utility, it does not show in Finder.
And the Verify/Repair buttons are also greyed out.
Also, although the drive is 2TB. DU shows it as having Total Capacity of only 4.14GB! (Which should be the Free Space).
I was wondering if you solved your problem, & if so, would you share your solution.
I´m afraid to Erase in case I lose all my Data on the drive.
Thanks in advance for your reply!

Hi all not sure where original request went but as a new apple user I have external hard drives that are now "read only" and I can't change or save documents. Went to Get Info and this did not help. Can anyone assist with solution, thanks.

I am a new user to apple and have external hard drives from previous computers. I have many documents I can no longer access and change as they say the drives are read only. How do I change the read only to read and write etc for these external drives. I tried Get Info but this did not assist. Thanks.

Hi,
Google is your Friend
10:18 PM Sunday; February 12, 2012
 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

HT201250 I want to add another external hard drive to be backed up by time machine how can I do this?

I recently had an external hard drive die on me. It had all my work files on it, so it was really important to me. When I went to retrieve the lost files from time machine, it didn't appear to have backed up anything from that external drive (and before anyone asks it's a different external drive to where my time machine files are backed up onto). I sent my old hard drive away to a data recovery company, and luckily they were able to retrieve all the data. Now I want to check that my new external hard drive does get backed up this time, but I can't seem to find out how to include this in the back up as it doesn't appear to be doing this automatically! Any ideas on how? Many thanks

Check System Preferences/Time Machine/Options to make sure the external drive isn't excluded.

How do I unlock my external hard drives one has photos on them one is trying to run time machine and is not able to complete a basck up.

How do I unlock my external hard drives one has photos on them one is trying to run time machine and is not able to complete a basck up.

VK said for locked HDs and volumes at http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2329689
sudo chflags 0 /volumes/*
sudo chmod a+rx /volumes/*

I have just installed a 2TB time capsule on my iMac i7, it see my second 1TB hard drive but the 256 SSD doesn't come up in the list of hard drives I can back up. How can I enable the time machine to see my first SSD 256gb hard drive?

I have just installed a 2TB time capsule on my iMac i7, it see my second 1TB hard drive but the 256 SSD doesn't come up in the list of hard drives I can back up. How can I enable the time machine to see my first SSD 256gb hard drive?

iLife is preinstalled on all the Macs. If you purchased iLife in the App Store or your computer came without DVDs, open App Store > Purchases and download the applications. If your Mac came with discs, insert the Applications DVD and install iLife applications

Ok here goes. I have so much music I don't want to store it all on my computer and would like to store on an external hard drive. So if all my music is on the external hard drive, how will iTunes see it in order to play the music. Thanks

ok here goes. I have so much music I don't want to store it all on my computer and would like to store on an external hard drive. So if all my music is on the external hard drive, how will iTunes see it in order to play the music. Thanks

This article might help you moving/relocating your library :
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
Cheers AF

HT1751 if I move my iTunes library to an external hard drive can my computer access these files in iTunes or do I need to move them back to play music, watch movies, etc.???

If I move my iTunes library to an external hard drive, can my MacBookPro access these files in iTunes or do I need to move them backto my MacBookPro to play music, watch movies, etc.???
Trying to alleviate some disc space on my Mac!!!

Yes, it can. Launch iTunes with the Option key held down and navigate to that instance of the library.
(86939)

I have 2 external hard drive, one for Backing up my files and TM and the other for what?.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for