Is it possible to use two External HD to back up through time machine

when I go to System preferences and then select disk I am given three options
2 external HD's and time machine, I am currently not using Time Capsule
can I choose the 2 external HD's so one backs up the other or is this only possible to use an external HD when using the time capsule option which I assume is the wireless back up option for apple using wifi, this backs up everything linked to it I assume, my iphone, ipad, macbook and imac (if i chose to go down that route which seems like the place to go?)

ok great thats what i thought
How do I check if I am running moutain lion
about this mack gives me Mac OS X
Version 10.7.5
I am running Software UPdate as I type
assuming that I have Moutain Lion how do I link the two ecternal HD's ?

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After backing up through time machine on external hard drive, how do you access that data?

I backed up my MacBook to an external hard drive through Time Machine. After it was all done and I reconnected the external hard drive to make sure that I could access everything that was backed up, I couldn't get into the data on the external hard drive because it said that it was backed up through Time Machine.
What does this mean? How to I access the data that is on my external hard drive?

There are 2 options.
1) (The Suggested way) With the TM external drive connected Open The Time Machine App in Applications and you can browse what has been backed up.
2) Open Finder and select the drive name on the left then the Backups.backupsdb folder and in there is all your files from the backups you have made listed under your Machine Name and in that folder under the dates/times they were created

Using an external HD for both storage AND Time Machine?

Bear with me guys, I'm not sure where to put this question. I figured that because my Macbook Air (and it's limited storage space) was the reason for my needing an external HD I thought this would be the best place.
My MBA has run out of storage and I bought a Seagate External HD to move my stuff onto. I guess my question is: What's the best way to combine the external HD with the MBA? Here are a few of the things on my mind:
-Most of the space is taken up by my user folder right now such as itunes, photos, etc. If I copy that folder to the external drive it would alleviate a large part of my issue, at least for the time being. Eventually I will hit the storage capacity as I add applications over time I guess, so this is a temporary solution (although I free up 27gb of space this way). Can I designate a folder on the external drive as the default for programs like imovie and iphoto like I can with itunes?
-I KNOW there is a way to set the external drive as some kind of default drive but is this feasible? It would be a hinderance if I needed to have it connected at all times to access even applications (which I assume to be the case?
-I also wondered about partitioning the external HD and using one partition for additional storage and the other for time machine? It's a 1TB hard drive, and I figure I could make a 100GB partition to use with time machine (my MBA only has a 64gb capacity) and use the other 900GB for files. Is this even possible or does time machine need it's very own separate drive?
Anyway, this doesn't necessarily ask many specific questions and I apologize if it appears a little disjointed. I'm looking for help and opinions on the best way to use this new piece of equipment to compliment my MBA. Any thoughts are appreciated.

While it is possible to partition an external drive and use one partition for files and the other for Time Machine, there's actually very little point in doing so. The reason is that in your scenario, you'd be storing all your files on the external, meaning that pretty much all there would be on your MBA internal drive is MacOS and your applications - the very things you can easily restore in the event of failure - while all your files would be on the external, where they are not being backed up.
It is also possible to use an external drive as the boot drive for the MBA (easiest done by cloning the internal drive to a partition on the external, and then setting that partition as the startup drive in the Startup Disk preference pane) but that would still require you to wipe at least some of your files from the internal, and mean that the contents of your external drive are not being backed up. It would also mean that your MBA would run pretty slowly when booted from the external.
Rather better, in my view, would be to use the external as the primary store for all non-essential files - your complete iTunes library and all your documents, files, video, photos etc, and then copy back to the MBA just those items you actually need for any day or week's activities. Then get a second external to use for backing up the first!

Using an External HD, via AirPort Extreme, with Time Machine

I just picked up one of the new airport extreme base stations today so I could wirelessly back up my MBP via time machine. When I got the airport it self working and plugged in my external HD it said the back up was "delayed" and it "could not connect to disk." I called apple to ask them what I need to do and they told me that the airport extreme is not made to backup to time machine. You can only backup the old fashioned way by manually moving files to the disk. About to pack it up and take it back to the store I thought I would do a quick google search and see if anyone found a way around it. Oddly enough they have and it is very easy. I'm not sure why apple couldn't tell me/ didn't know. I want to preface this with I already had a time machine back up on the same HD that I connected to the airport extreme (im not sure if it made a difference or not). Here are the steps I followed:
1) Open "Time Machine Preferences"
2) Open the "finder" and your external HD should be listed under the "shared" tab
3) Open the file "Time Machine Backups"
4) Go back to your "Time Machine Preferences" and click "Select Disk"
5) Select your external HD from the list. It should have an icon with a wireless symbol in it
6) Start your backup
Oddly it did not work when i just clicked on the "shared disk." I had to open the file that said "Time Machine Backups" and then Time Machine recognized it.
Also, it backed up from scratch so it takes forever. Mine has been going at a rate of about 12GB per hour. I am not sure why couldn't recognize the other file (from the USB backup on the same HD).
I hope this helps. I thought I would make a post because Apple told me they don't support it and it does work!

This is very helpfull.
I consider buying the Airport Extreme. I currently use a Lacie 500GB external HD. I partitioned the HD and use one part for Time Machine Backups and one part for my iTunes and Iphoto libraries (so Music and photos are on the HD, as well as the iTunes Library file).
If I connect the HD to the Airport Extreme, can I use the iTunes Libray and Photos through the wireless network? And perhaps soem movies? It then will be much like a Time Capsule. The reason I don't want to but a TC is that I already have a HD and I could save money buying an Aitport Extreme instead of a Time Capsule.

WD External HD not backing up thru Time Machine and can't access files

Hello,
This is the snapshot picture of my problem:
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/no-real/computer/Picture1.png
When I connect the WD 500GB drive to my Macbook Pro, the computer doesn't recognize it in the devices list (The WD-HD seems running when I connect though USB or Firewire), nor the Time Machine can find it.
I'm hoping someone can help me after exhausting all resources I checked on the net.
This problem suddenly started about two months ago, whereas before there was no problem for about two years.
I read forums and one said to start Disk Utility and have it recognize the HD. The first time it didn't recognize it, but starting and quitting Disk Utility few times the HD was finally recognized. However, the Verify disk or Repair disk can't be completed (Error sign) The snapshot of my situation is like this:
http://i668.photobucket.com/albums/vv43/no-real/computer/Picture1.png
Another forum said if the HD was formatted for Windows (Which I used for the first few months using this WD-HD) and wasn't formatted for Mac, which I can't remember if I did, this could be causing problems?
I'm very careful about ejecting or shutting down my External HD properly, and I can't remember a time when I disconnected it improperly (Who knows, maybe I have)
Any thoughts and/or solution for this problem? Or am I doomed to reformat the whole drive.
The iomega Drive you see in the snapshot is a new one I bought and works just fine.
Thanks

no-real wrote:
So I tried everything but to no avail.... I will reformat the disk. Luckily I had most of my critical files on the Mac HD so... the damage is not all that bad!
Thanks for all the help here... and when I went to the apple store today and consulted, they said it is a better idea to store on two separate disks, one with time machine, and one with the old fashion drag and drop to diversify risk.
I'd disagree with the second part of that -- drag and drop is not a good backup solution. I've learned over the years (mostly the hard way, of course ), never to trust my backups to a single app or piece of hardware: no app is perfect, and all hardware fails, sooner or later.
Like many here, I keep both full Time Machine backups, plus a "bootable clone" on a separate external HD. I use CarbonCopyCloner, many use the similar SuperDuper. That gives me the best of both types of backups, plus of course a completely separate, independent backup.
CCC is donationware; SD has a free version, but you need the paid one (about $30) to do updates instead of full replacements, or scheduling. Either is easily found via Google.
And/or, see Kappy's post on Basic Backup, complete with links to the web sites of each product.
And by chance, before I will reformat, is there a way to access this External disk with some files? It shows up on disk utility.... maybe a way to just manually pull out some files?
Since it doesn't appear in the Finder, no.

Why is my external drive not backing up in Time Machine?

I am running Snow Leopard on a Macbook Pro. I have my photo library on an external drive. I have a 2nd external drive which I use for my Time Machine backups. I keep the photo drive connected when I backup to Time Machine. The photo drive is NOT excluded in Time Machine preferences.
While I have the photo drive connected, it appears in all of the Time Machine backups.
However....when I disconnect the photo drive (as would happen if it was lost, stolen, damaged, etc) and then I enter Time Machine, the photo drive does not appear and neither does my iPhoto library that I keep on the photo drive. Does this mean it is not backing up? What would I do if I lost the photo drive?

Does this mean it is not backing up?
No.
What would I do if I lost the photo drive?
This.

Two 2TB internal drives in tandem for Time Machine; only one backup deletes.

I'm using two 2TB internal drives in tandem for Time Machine and deleted some backups while in Time Machine. They deleted from drive A, but drive B still has the files. Is there a way to delete these? I tried unmounting drive A in Disk Utility but then I can't enter Time Machine.
I love the dual backups, but should I be able to do dual deletes of all backups? I don't see a way to accomplishg this except to force Time Machine to do a backup, then do that again so it switches drives, but that seems a bit convoluted.
If one of you guru types has an answer I'd be most interested.
Thanks.
Mike
Mac Pro 3.1 8 Core ML.3

You can manually deal with this by using the "Browse Other Backup Disks" function which is accessed via holding the opt/alt key and while selecting the TM icon in the menu bar.
You can then delete the instances of the desired files in each backup set.
Not elegant, but I wouldn't expect that this will be done automatically, as there are a lot of permutations of how you use multiple backup sets.

Is it possible to connect two external monitors to my T400 laptop?

Hi,
I bought a T400 laptop this summer and have it connected through the VGA port to an external monitor, using both the laptop´s monitor as an extended display. I would like to add a third monitor. I am wondering if there is any way to do this or anyone knows further, even if some additional hardware is required. There is no HDMI port on the laptop of course but I´m wondering if some sort of VGA splitter is possible. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Best wishes.

Mavec wrote:
I would like to add a third monitor.
The GPU(s) in your T400 (and most other laptop brands) will support two different displays concurrently. If you want to support more than two different displays concurrently, you will need another GPU external to the T400.
Generally, if you want to use two external displays on a T400 you will nee dto use a docking station.
I have read messages on various fora on this topic and know that there are a number of ways of doing this, but as I have never had a need to do this myself I can't tell you how to go about it.
Cheers,
Bill
I don't work for Lenovo

How do I use two external monitors with my laptop?

I have a new Pavilion dm4-301 d cl Entertainment PC. My OS is Windows 7. I am used to using two external monitors with a docking station. This new laptop does not have a docking station. What do I need to get to use two external monitors?
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Certainly not without a dock but even with, HP laptop docks pretty well limit you to one of the external monitor ports, even if there are two on the dock. We have used a device called an Atlona AT-HDPIX2 which is a usb to hdmi adapter. It provides a third monitor capability for a laptop....use the native external monitor port and the internal laptop display and then this device gives a third monitor which is full configurable from the Windows 7 display interface...clone, extend, etc. It allows full HD resolution and is responsive enough for even light gaming. HP makes no true docking station for your laptop.

Is it possible to use two speakers with one Apple Tv ?

Hello everyone,
I bought an Apple Tv and I have one apple express with a Bose speaker and a Bose Link Air speaker.
I would like to see a movie using the two speakers but every time that I try to select two speakers in the airplay Apple Tv menu, it automatically deselect the other speaker.
Is it possible to use two speakers in the same time ? ( I know it's possible with Itunes)
Thank,
Ps: I have the last Apple TV

No, that is not possible with Apple TV. You can set one 'output' via Apple TV, and 'stream' to multiple speakers from iTunes or via the remote app.

Is it possible to use an external drive to play movies on my iPhone 5? I am going on a long flight and only have a 16gb iPhone. I will not have access to wifi, so it would have to connect manually.

Is it possible to use an external drive to play movies on my iPhone 5? I am going on a long flight and only have a 16gb iPhone 5. I will not have access to wifi, so it would have to connect manually. I've heard of apps that connect to an external for this very purpose, but its via wifi.

http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/seagat e-satellite/
Use Google and you can find similar drives from other companies.

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

I am using an external drive in the exact way that you described. You just keep it plugged in to the computer when you want to access the movies and files. In order to put files on it, just go to finder open up the drive under devices and drag and drop files onto the drive. It is just like using a usb drive with a terabyte of space.

Is it possible to use 2 external monitors?

Hi,
My name is Joe Chaplow, and I am new to the forum. Hello all.
I want to set my Macbook Pro 15inch Mid 2009 model (2.8ghz with 512 dedicated vid ram and 256 for power saver mode) up so that I use two external monitors. I want to mirror the desktop (so I can slide programs from one screen to the other). If i use the mini dvi to dvi adapter and split the adapter, would this work? Thanks in advance.

No, splitting won't work. You will find a discussion about the use of USB adaptors to use multiple monitors here. Here is another article.
Matrox makes a special adaptor for adding multiple monitors to laptops.

HT201250 if I used external hard disk for backup time machine, is it possible to use that external hard disk to save another else from diffrent computers?

If I used external hard disk for back up time machine, is it possible to use that external hard disk to save another else from diffrent computers?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can do this, but you should make a new volume on your external disk. Time Machine needs a volume that is only used to store backups, so you can't store other data in the same volume as the one you are using for making backups.
If you want to create another volume on your external disk, use Disk Utility to do this > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html Anyway, you should get another external disk to store other files, but if you don't want to, you can create another volume in it

Is it possible to use my time capsule built in hard drive as a airport disk for my home network instead of just a back up with time machine?

I am setting up a new wireless office system for at my job. We have 5 employees and are looking for a wireless hard drive system for us to dump files on and pull files from. We plan to use dropbox for things we are currently using/modifying but would like a wireless hard drive to store our older and completed information/projects on so we can still access them if necessary without using up all of our dropbox space. I'm looking at either getting the new airport extreme and just hooking up a lard external hard drive to it or getting the new time capsule.
I am wondering if it is possible to use the built in hard drive on the time capsule as a wireless hard drive for collaborating/accessing instead of just as a time machine back up? If so then it seems to make sense to buy the TC w/ 3tb hard drive instead of buying the extreme and a larger external drive.

Yes, it is. Note that both the original and backup copies of a file shouldn’t be on the same drive, as it may fail at any time.
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Is it possible to use two External HD to back up through time machine

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