My external hard drive for backup and Time Machine is full. I bought a new HD. Can I just begin using it, or must I transfer old BkUp and TM to the new HD?

My external hard drive for Back Up and Time Machine is full. I bought a new HD. Can I just begin using it and rely on the old HD for past Time Machine versions, or must I transfer the old Back Up and Time Machine files to the new HD?

It is your choice.
If you don't want to be able to far back into the time slots covered by the old disk then just start using the new disk.
If you want to retain the ability to go back into those time slots then copy it.
Allan

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I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up. I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore. How do I do a new full backup?

I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up.
I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore. How do I do a new full backup?
When I bought the new (used) iMac, I also bought an external hard drive for backups. It worked fine, but my husband stole it.
Then I bought a new external hard drive (Seagate) and it worked fine for three weeks, then died.
So I just got a new external hard drive, which was put together from an internal hard drive and a hard drive enclosure.
Time machine did the first backup today, and it should have taken 9 hours like it did on the previous first time full back up. Instead, it took 30 minutes. That can't be right. I want to start over and do a full backup to make sure everything gets onto my new external hard drive, but I can't figure out how to do that. Please help.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
tmutil compare -E
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
The command will take at least a few minutes to run. Eventually some lines of output will appear below what you entered.
Each line that begins with a plus sign (“+”) represents a file that has been added to the source volume since the last snapshot was taken. These files have not been backed up yet.
Each line that begins with an exclamation point (“!”) represents a file that has changed on the source volume. These files have been backed up, but not in their present state.
Each line that begins with a minus sign (“-“) represents a file that has been removed from the source volume.
At the end of the output, you’ll get some lines like the following:
Added:
Removed:
Changed:
These lines show the total amount of data added, removed, or changed on the source(s) since the last snapshot.

What external hard drives for backup are compatible with Yosemite?

I have an early 2013 MBP Retina 15" and have installed Yosemite. I want to purchase an external hard drive for backup via Time Machine. I have read that Western Digital drives were associated with data loss with Mavericks; I do not know if that has been corrected. Has anyone backuped successfully on an external hard drive with Yosemite installed, and if so, can you let me and others know the brand and model. Many thanks.

Understood.
I don't receive any compensation for promoting any product from any computer, hard drive or computer peripheral manufacturer. I don't receive any compensation from any of those manufacturers or sellers for any reason. In fact I was not promoting any product, I was responding to the poster's query and was stating that I have observed the drives in use and working with the Mac OS.
My workplace is a consumer of these items and we buy and use thousands of PCs, Macs, WD and non-WD drives, and so forth. I was providing information about whether WD drives work with Macs running various operating systems. I don't promote any particular brand, we use many different ones here.

I bought an external hard drive for backups to use with Time Machine, but however when I try to connect it with the other windows laptop it doesn't work ? intact it doesn't work on any other device except my MAC ?

I bought an external hard drive for backups to use with Time Machine, but however when I try to connect it with the other windows laptop it doesn't work ? intact it doesn't work on any other device except my MAC ?

Do not worry about it.
Time Machine needs that your external drive is formatted in HFS+, or better known as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". This filesystem is used by Apple on Macs and Windows cannot read or write drives formatted with this filesystem, being this the reason why all your devices do not read the external drive except your Mac.
You can only use your external drive to make Time Machine drives. If you store anything different, you may damage the Time Machine structure, so it is better not to use it as a drive to store other data. Instead, get another external drive to do it or create a second partition on the external drive formatted in FAT32 by using Disk Utility > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html FAT32 can be read by Windows PCs

First time using external hard drive for backup of computer....

First time using external hard drive for backup of computer....it asks "Do do you want to erase disk?" In order to proceed, I have to say "yes" ... is that what I want to do? ...Seems like I'm skipping a step...

To use Disk Utilities, attach the drive, open Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utilities and then highlight the LaCie drive in the left panel of the DU window. In the right panel, choose the Partition button top center of the pane. Then decide how many partitions you want on the drive, one is just fine.
Then choose the format, the default is Mac OS Extended (Journaled) which is prefered.
Then name the partition or drive.
Then choose the partition table, the default is GUID which is prefered.
Then Apply and you will get to confirm that you want to erase and format the drive.
Quit DU and you are ready to go.

Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup. Error message: The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup. Error message: The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

That code is
-36
ioErr
I/O error (bummers)
Make sure the EHD is formatted OS X Extended (journaled) and run Disk Utilty on the EHD and repair the disk. If that fails to help I'd try the following:
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button,
navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the external HD as the location of the newly rebild library.
Click on the Create button.
Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
OT

Transferring hard drive files to external hard drive for backup have old tiger osx 10.4

how do I copy and transfer hard drive to external hard drive for backup of everything?

You can clone the entire drive to the external, provided you have more space available on the external drive than the total of your used filespace on the main drive.
Carbon Copy Cloner will perform the clone for you.
Matt

HT201250 I had files stored on a hard drive that were not on my Mac. I used the hard drive for my first Time Machine back up, but it was not enough hard drive space to finish. Now those stored files are gone. Is there any way I can recover them?

I had files stored on a hard drive that were not on my Mac. I used the hard drive for my first Time Machine back up, but it was not enough hard drive space to finish. Now those stored files are gone. Is there any way I can recover them? No, they were not part of previous Time Machine backups, and I have checked both the hard drive the documents were lost on and the new one that I now use for backups. Any suggestions would be helpful, as the lost files are old pictures that are gone forever. :[ Thanks!

1. Yes, if both drives are formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
2. Reformat the drives if needed, open the Time Machine pane of System Preferences, and remove the drive with the pictures from the list of items set to be excluded.
(110331)

What brand external hard drive is best with time machine

what brand of external hard drive works best with time machine?

Contrary to the other two replies, I will relate what I've read here: WD drives are fine, but their (cheap?) enclosures are subject to failure. Some buy a bare WD drive and install it in an Oxford Chip external enclosure (OWC / macsales.com would be one source). And, I have two LaCie Quadras and one OWC Mercury Pro - both are generally recommended here. If you want it bootable, most WD drives do not support it:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1787/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvd GltZS8xMzUxNTIzMzIwL3NpZC9ueUFYc1g5bA%3D%3D
Please note: it's good to have an external hard drive which has its own power supply and, as mentioned, FW 800 or USB 3). You also do not need any software that comes on the external - you will most likely need to format it anyway because most come formatted for Windows, but that is easy using Disk Utility.

What is the best external hard drive for backup on powerbook g4 17-inch?

i need to get a good external hard drive for backing up my files on my 2004 powerbook g4 17-inch. up till now ive been using thumbdrives, but i have way too much to backup now. i was thinking of getting the time capsule, but i don't have leopard version with time machine.
what would be an advisable backup to get without buying a new mactop yet?
please include model # if possible.
thanks in advance for anyone's input!

What I've done is buy the case and drive separately. The case I use is similar to this one: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEFW91UAL1K/ (looks like they don't offer this case with Firewire 800 anymore), and the hard drive is a Western Digital 3.5" Parallel ATA 320GB which Newegg carries at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136109. The reason I like a combination like this is that the enclosure uses the Oxford 911 chipset, and Oxford chipsets have a good track record working with our macs. The Western Digital drive comes with a 3 year warranty (many pre-packaged hard drives only have a one year warranty). It is very easy to install the drive ... you plug in the power and data connectors to the hard drive, and screw the hard drive to the case.
Whatever external hard drive you get, recommend one with a Firewire connection. Our Powerbooks can boot from a Firewire connection, however, cannot boot from a USB-only connection. Also, be aware that for a USB-only connection, if the external hard drive relies on power from it there may be a problem. This is due to the Powerbook putting minimal power out on USB. There are many people who have found that they've had to either get a dual USB cable, a USB powered hub, or an external power supply for their USB-powered external hard drive. The case I mentioned above has it's own external power supply. Firewire-powered drives don't have this problem.

Partition of external hard drive for backup different computers

I have a macbook(40Gig) and an iBook(80 Gig); I want to make an external hard drive to backup.
1. Is this possible to partition the external drive into two to make a bootable backup for both laptops?
2.If so how big the external drive should be?
Many thanks

1. Is this possible to partition the external drive into two to make a bootable backup for both laptops?
Yes. Set up a partition for each on the external and then clone a bootable copy of your current drive to the appropriate partition.
2.If so how big the external drive should be?
At least 40 + 80 = 100 GB. You're probably going to end up with an even bigger drive. I'd set up partitions to roughly match each of your computer drives in size (so 40 GB and 80 GB), then another for any extra. Having them match size makes it easy when cloning. Don't forget that if you store files on the extra you will also need to back those up on yet another drive.
Cloning And Backup Tools
A bootable clone is an exact copy of your drive which is capable of booting your computer. Making a copy of your computer which is capable of actually starting the computer requires special copying procedures. Some people just back up data files but if you have problems you have to reinstall all your operating system and all your applications. With a bootable clone you just start up from the backup drive and clone back everything.
To copy files from one hard drive to another hard drive you can use:
[CarbonCopy Cloner|http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html] (donationware)
[SuperDuper|http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html] (shareware)
[IBackup|http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup/index.html] (free)
The Restore function of Disk Utility included in OS X. [Kappy's directions|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8799711#8799711]
[Tri-Backup (commercial)|http://www.tri-edre.com/english/tribackup.html] (payware)
[Silverkeeper|http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper> (free) - version 2 has some issues (references: [1|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d12jan2009],
[2|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d13jan2009]) and it is recommended Tiger users stick with 1.1.4.
[Kappy's Backup Software Recommendations|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9065665#906 5665]
[Overview of Mac OS X Backup Programs|http://8help.osu.edu/1247.html]

Choosing an external hard drive to work with Time Machine

Now that I have decided to get an external hard drive for my iMac, I am a little frustrated by all the different options out there. All the different ratings and reviews are making me dizzy! I am looking for an external drive that works well with iMac and Time Machine, preferably plug and play. I am looking for 1TB or so of storage and basically will use for Time machine back ups and saving pictures/video. Is there a drive that has a good reputation of getting along well with macs? Any suggestions?

Cumby wrote:
1TB or so of storage and basically will use for Time machine back ups and saving pictures/video.
If you mean you're going to put the originals of some media files and your TM backups on the same physical disk, that's not a good idea. When it fails (and it will fail, eventually), you risk losing both the originals and the backups.
You can, of course, keep other data on the same disk, but you should partition it so TM has it's own, exclusive space, usually about 2-3 times the size of what it's backing-up. See items #3 and 5 Frequently Asked Questions post at the top of this forum.
If you decide to do that, then find some other way to back-up your media files, such as CDs/DVDs.
Is there a drive that has a good reputation of getting along well with macs? Any suggestions?
For your TM disk, most of the name brands are about as good as the others; one maker may have a run of problems on a particular model, but by the time that becomes known, it's likely out of production anyway.
Please update your profile so we know what sort of Mac you have, and what version of Leopard you're running.
You probably want to get a FireWire drive, as they're usually faster and more dependable than USB. If you have a F/W800 port, spend the extra money for a F/W 800 drive; it's much faster than F/W 400.
If you think you might ever want to put a bootable "clone" on that drive (many of us do, in addition to Time Machine), and you're considering a Western Digital drive, be sure it's bootable -- some of theirs aren't.
And get one with it's own power supply; taking power from your Mac may not always be dependable.

I have an eMac and am trying to copy/move movie files from eMac to external hard drive for backup. The eMac will not allow me to do this. Keeps reading error -61. Any suggestions are greatly appreciate. Thanks!

Trying to backup movie files from eMac to external hard drive. Keep getting error -61. Any suggestions? Thanks

Good advice from Keith.
wrPermErr
= -61, /*write permissions error*/

Using an external hard drive for backup

I admit to knowing nothing about this so I need someone's advice. The wiring for the backlight in my iBook fried 2 nights ago and I have to send it back to Apple..very expensive problem add to the fact that I did not extend my apple care OUCH!! Anyway I had to buy an external hard drive to back it up in case they have to reinstall software..well that was a precautionary they suggested. Can I use my new 300 gig HD to back up both my laptop, desk top and iBook on the same drive or do I need to partition the hard drive to do this. I have close to 2500 photo's in iPhoto and about the same in iTunes. So I could use some expert opinions. I do have most already on CD's but I am hoping to solve back ups for all 3 computers on this.
Thanks.
Wendy

Hello again Wendy.
For your 'for now issue' I would go down the route of starting your iBook in target mode, as described above, plug both it and your external drive (you will need to format this first - go for zero all data as this maps out any bad sectors) into your other Mac. The iBook and the hard drive should mount on the desktop. All you have to do is open a finder window and drag you files from the iBook to the external. If your files are all organised in you home folder you can just move that over and all the contents will be backed up.
In terms of using the drive to backup everything I would post a more complete question in the relevant part of the forum when you have worked out what you want to do (Dr Smokes book holds very good advice on thourough approaches). A word of caution though, most people who bother to backup never rely on just one location/medium. For instance, in the cast of the photo's of my son/family (which are once-only memories) I have them on a seprate drive on my G4, backed up to an external drive every time I add more photos and every few months (depending on how snap happy I've been) I back up the whole lot to a DVD. Some I know go a stage further and store a copy of the DVD/CD with relatives or freinds just in case. It all come down to your level of paranoia or how much you will miss your data (do you really want to have to re-write all those power point/worksheets etc.) if your house burns down or, more likely, if the external drive and your computers are fried at the same time!
Hope this helps (even if it is a bit of a essay).
S.
G4 Dual 1.25, iMac G3, iBook G4 1.33, Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Formatting External Hard Drive for Backup

Please advise: how should I set up an external hard drive (WD 500GB MyBook Home Edition) with a view to using it to backup my MacBook with Time Machine and have partitions to be accessed by Windows: 1) through BootCamp, running Windows Vista (Business) on the MacBook and 2) an external PC running Windows XP? I intend to set up partitions for: 1) Time Machine (GUID); 2) a 30GB MS-DOS (FAT-32) partition for Windows Vista (on the MacBook); 3) another 30GB MS-DOS (FAT-32) partition for Windows XP (to back up the old desktop); 4) another 30GB MS-DOS (FAT-32) partition to back up photos and video clips; 5) yet another 30GB MS-DOS (FAT-32) partition (The last one, at last!) to back up music and leave some spare room. That should leave me about 350GB for incremental Time Machine backups. (The hard drive on this MacBook is 150GB, 88GB of which is currently dedicated to OSX, with the other 60GB used by Windows.)
I don't use virtual machines or any other software to access operating systems - just reboot through BootCamp. Eventually, I intend to phase out Windows as all my old stuff - more than twenty years' worth of it - gets made redundant by the MacBook. I've had the MacBook for nearly a year now, so feel confident that it will replace the PC's. As you may imagine, however, making twenty-odd years' worth of stuff redundant is not an overnight process. I don't think I have any files of more than 4GB, nor do I expect to acquire any on the PC's, so can't foresee problems with FAT-32's limitations. I understand external PC's can have trouble seeing FAT-32 partitons on hard drives sharing partitions formatted in GUID.
What's the best way to go about doing this? Comments/suggestions/tips, please. Is the plan outlined above a stupid idea? Be honest, please!

Your computer has USB 1.1 ports; using an external USB hard drive for any purpose other than as a bootable Mac OS X backup will work, but you should choose a FireWire drive if possible, as transmission speeds are much faster. A drive does not need to be bootable if you're only going to back up documents, such as your photos, to it; it only needs to be bootable if you intend to use it to help troubleshoot future issues with the internal drive.
You should use the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder to reformat the drive in the Mac OS Extended format prior to backing up items to it, and this is required for a bootable backup.
(21126)

My external hard drive for backup and Time Machine is full. I bought a new HD. Can I just begin using it, or must I transfer old BkUp and TM to the new HD?

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