Need to format "free space" of external hard drive for Time Machine

I just recently purchased a MacBook Air and want to set up Time Machine with my external hard drive. I'm migrating from Windows 7 so before purchasing my new Mac, I transferred about 100 GB of data from my PC to my external hard drive that I wanted to keep. The external hard drive has a partition of 100 GB (91 GB used) and 365 GB of "free space". I would like to know how to format that free space so that I can use it with Time Machine but at the same time not lose any of my data on the first partition. I've looked around in the Disk Utility but it doesn't give any options to format the free space.
Thanks in advance for any help.

You should be able to repartition it, but that requires that the HD was formatted with Mac OS X Extended and journaling turned on. All I can suggest is you get another HD or move the 100 GB of stuff to the MBA, erase, reformat, and partition into two pieces, copy the 100 GB stuff back to the HD, and then it's set for TM.

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HT201250 new external hard drive for Time Machine backup suggestions?

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Anyone have a particular EHD that is working well for you? Thanks, Blue

Bluehowler wrote:
Ok, I have 3 external hard drives; unfortunately I've used them on my PC and they are read only on my iMac. So, I need to buy a new external hard drive for Time Machine backup. I'm a little confused; can I buy any EHD and them format it so Mac can use it or are there special EHD's I need to purchase?
Anyone have a particular EHD that is working well for you? Thanks, Blue
Unless you need all three external drives for your PC, you can reformat in one of them in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for use with Time Machine. However, since Time Machine backs up hourly, you'd need the external drive to be running constantly. That means ventilation of the drive becomes an issue since some, such as Seagate, can get very hot in their sealed enclosures. Some drive manufacturers try to get around this by spinning down the drive when not in use, but I've read complaints that that doesn't play well with a Mac. So whether you reuse one of your current externals or get a new one, it's a good idea to keep the drive's ventilation in mind.

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.

Mac mini as an external hard drive for time machine??

I have a mac mini from a few years ago and it is never used. I was wonder if it could be used as an external hard drive for time machine. If this can be done how do I go about setting it up for this type of useage?

Thanks for starting this thread. I too am trying to use my old mac mini in target mode to utilize it's hard drive for Time Machine.
I hope to strip it down to just it's OS (10.5) and use the remaining hard drive space for Time Machine backup.
Is it possible to just have it running at certain times for regular back in target mode? Or do I have to keep it on constantly?
I fear having to restart using the "T" command each time. Isn't there a way to just have it sleep and then have the ability to wake it up as I backup or restore?
thanks in advance for any help.
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Can not fine external hard drive for time machine sence lion was installed

I can not fine external hard drive for time machine sence lion was installed, it don't reconise it at all.

I have a Mac Mini (late 2009) and I have an iomega 1TB external hard drive connected to my mini via firewire and usb (usb allows me to use the usb ports on the external 1TB drive to daisy chain other devices). Since I installed Lion, my Time Machine and this 1TB drive (and its partitions) is finicky. Sometimes it is mounted and sometimes it is not. This issue has only surfaced post Snow Leopard and in the Lion era. I am not the first to say this but the whole reason I went Mac was b/c of Vista. I am beginning to think that Lion is the new Vista. Sorry for the latter, just venting... b/c this ain't the first issue with Lion.

I have just upgraded from a Macbook to a Macbook Air. I have been using a iomega external hard drive for Time Machine, which use a Firewire. However, Macbook Air's do not have a Firewire port and i cannot find an adaptor anywhere. Can anyone help?? Thanks

I have just upgraded from a Macbook to a Macbook Air. I have been using a iomega external hard drive for Time Machine, which use a Firewire. However, Macbook Air's do not have a Firewire port and i cannot find an adaptor anywhere. Can anyone help?? Thanks

There has never been a reliable firewire ---> USB adapter suitable for external high speed storage. This was a major issue when the MacBooks lost the firewire port a number of years ago (Apple subsequently brought it back).
The only high speed port on the Air is the ThunderBolt port. There are external ThunderBolt drive options out there, but they're somewhat more expensive than traditional USB/FireWire options.

Is it possible to use more than one external hard drive for Time Machine backups?

I want to use two hard drives for Time Machine backups.
Bigger one keep at home and be sure it is safe.
Second one (very small pocket size) keep with me for travels.
I want to backup to both drives to be sure I can restore everywhere and to be sure if something bad happened with my small travel disk I can restore from home backup.
Is there any problem with listed schema? Is it normal for Time Machine to handle backups for different drivers and keep everything consistent and smooth?

I really need some help! I have been using an Iomega NAS 1TB HD for the past year. And I received an error message. I believe I have ran out of memory on this drive.
Then recently in the last couple of months I got a ReadyNAS Duo 2TB with 2TB RAID. Should I switch my back ups to this one and delete the other back up file or keep the old back up image file on the Iomega?
Can I transfer the old image back up to this new ReadyNAS? How do I do this?
I appreciate any help.

Need to reformat external hard drive for time machine?

Hello,
We recently purchased an external hard drive for our family iMac after we had to have a new hard drive put in. We picked up a Western Digital 1tb My Book (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=725). I set up the external hd with time machine and all was fine for about a month.
An error message of "The backup volume is read only" started appearing. I attempted to repair the disk through these directions http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3275#1 but when I was trying to follow the steps, I think I disconnected the external hd without dismounting it, so now I'd assume I need to reformat the external hd. I can't seem to find instructions on how to do this. Where should I look for reformatting my external hard drive?
Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
Message was edited by: Kappy

Is it not recommended to use a partitioned external hard drive for time machine?

1. i hv a 1 tb seagate back up plus hard disc ..,,i want to make partitions for using it for time machine, mac, and window repectively . is it not recommended to use a partitioned drive for time machine? some where i have red that time machine wont be able to restore data from external partioned hard drive in case internal hard drive crashes.
2. if i use the seagate back up plus 1tb for mac only and use time machine to take backup (roughly 250 GB) , then the rest space i cant use to transfer movies, pictures from a PC
3. how should i best use the seagate back up plus hard drive (not seagate back up plus for mac) in a way that i use it for back up , and to work with both mac and PC?

I use a partitioned external drive for Time Machine as well as other things.
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Using External Hard Drive For Time Machine

Hi. I will be buying a new iMac and plan to use an external hard drive by Lacie for Time Machine backups. I haven't used an external hard drive for this purpose before -- previously I've always used Apple's Time Capsule. So, I don't know if I can leave the Lacie hard drive unejected and powered on even when I've shut the computer down. The Time Capsule never needs ejecting from the desktop and is always on, but I'm not sure if the same can be done with an external hard drive when using it for time machine backups.
So, I just need to know if, when using an external hard drive such as a Lacie for Time Machine backups, I can 1. leave it unejected even when I shut down the computer? and 2. Can I also leave the hard drive powered on even when I shut the computer down? It would be good if I could do this because then it would just always be on and ready for hourly time machine backups without my having to remember to turn it on and the eject it when it's finished for the day.
I'd appreciate any advice or information.
Thanks in advance.
John

pulp3au wrote:
1. leave it unejected even when I shut down the computer?
What are you referring with "unejected"? You should know that LaCie drives have got three modes: "On" (permanently turned on), "Auto" (when you turn off your computer, your external disk turns off or you unmount it) and "Off". Choose the one you want.
pulp3au wrote:
2. Can I also leave the hard drive powered on even when I shut the computer down? It would be good if I could do this because then it would just always be on and ready for hourly time machine backups without my having to remember to turn it on and the eject it when it's finished for the day.
Of course. You can leave the external disk turned on when your Mac is turned off without any problem. In "Auto" mode you won't have to do anything in order to turn it on again

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Can anyone please suggest the best external hard drive to use for time machine back-ups on my iMac?
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Brian

i'd recommend a firewire 800 drive. many folks here speak highly of drives supplied by [OWC|http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire> and [LaCie|http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11156].
JGG

Using Mac mini as External Hard Drive for time machine

I know this can be done but I am not sure how. How can I set up a mac mini as an external hard drive. Can this be used as a drive for time machine?? Any help is appreciated, Thank you.

Personal file sharing (which may require Leopard on the Mini) or by connecting the Mini to your other Mac via Target Disk Mode. I wouldn't recommend that latter, though; too much chance of inadvertently erasing files critical to the operation of the Mini.

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Hi all, I'm trying to work out the best way to back up multiple iPhoto libraries using Time Machine.
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I hope that makes sense, all I seem to be doing currently is going round and round and can't work out whether what I want to do is possible or not.
Thanks in advance

If I understand your goal correctly, you're considering using Time Machine as external storage, and it doesn't work that way. Time Machine keeps around what it can, and older stuff gets flushed as the storage available to Time Machine reaches its lower threshold due to the addition of newer stuff. When the older stuff gets flushed is not predictable.
It is possible to have several Time Machine backups aimed at the same target (this can be done with Apple Time Capsule, for instance), though you might want to partition the disks to ensure that the intended amount of storage is available. Different NAS drives have different features here.
NAS is only as fast as your network connection, and that's almost always much slower than the in-box I/O connections; a local disk will be far faster than a NAS disk, just because of the bottleneck that is wired gigabit Ethernet, and most WiFi is slower and sometimes far slower than wired gigabit Ethernet. FWIW.
If your MacBook Pro is old enough and you have $$ but aren't in a position to spend $$$$$ on a newer model, then consider an in-place drive upgrade.
If your network connection is fast enough to transfer the amount of data you're dealing with in a reasonable time, there are also hosted storage options.
You can use a NAS drive as storage independent of Time Machine, and relocate stuff there. (You'll still want to have backups of that data, as NAS drives — even NAS with RAID — can still lose files, become corrupted or otherwise ruin your data day.
As for your performance, keeping about 10% or so free on the disks is the local preference, but it's worth reviewing the performance of the whole system — Performance Monitor, Console.app, etc — to see if there's something else going on, or if your system load and personal performance expectations are exceeding what your MacBook Pro can provide.

How can I open up more space on my external hard drive for Time Machine?

I have a 500GB external hard drive that I use with Time Machine. I believe I have half designated for Time Machine and the other half to use as an external drive to put whatever I want on it. My issue is that now my Time Machine back up needs more than 250GB of space.
How can I make more space available on Time Machine and less for the external half (maybe split it 400/100 for example) or just designate the whole 500GB for Time Machine?
Am I going to have to reformat the hard drive? I'm trying to do this in a way that I'm not going to risk losing what might already be on Time Machine...
I'm not sure how well I'm explaining this. Hopefully someone can help.
Amanda

I would also suggest you get a 2nd, much larger hard drive, partition it if desired, move your data to it, and start a 2nd Time Machine backup on it. You can set Time Machine to alternate between the 2 drives by adding the new drive to System Preferences/Time Machine. If you want to make a copy of your current backup on the new drive, you can do that using the Disk Utility Restore tab. If you chose to do that, make the copy first since using the Restore tab erases all data on the drive or the partition.

Partitioning 1.2T External Hard Drive for Time Machine and PC backup?

We have a 1.2T Seagate external hard drive. I partitioned it so that I could use part of it for my Time Machine backups and want to be able to use the rest of it for the PCs in the house. I formatted the rest of the space using the Disc Utility and the MS-DOS option. Was this the wrong choice? I can't use the PC space on the hard drive on my PC. It says there are 0 bytes available.
Help?

Fred Elmendorf wrote:
We have a 1.2T Seagate external hard drive. I partitioned it so that I could use part of it for my Time Machine backups and want to be able to use the rest of it for the PCs in the house. I formatted the rest of the space using the Disc Utility and the MS-DOS option. Was this the wrong choice?
no, that was the right choice. I don't know what's going on there. you just might need to reformat the whole drive. also check the partition scheme for the drive. it should be GUID. if it's not GUID repartition the drive with GUID partition scheme.
I can't use the PC space on the hard drive on my PC. It says there are 0 bytes available.
Help?

Need to format "free space" of external hard drive for Time Machine

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