Partition external hard disk to back up

I want to know how much space the back up usually requires. I will partition my 1TB external hard disk to back up my mac but don't know how much space I should save for it. Thank you very much.

What type backup are you refering too?
I am assuming you want to take a full system copy before you upgrade to Mavericks?
Select the disk that you want to backup (probably called 'Macintosh HD') in the Finder, click 'File > Get info…' from the menu. It will calculate how much disk space is used. You will want that amount plus a few more GB's at the very least (+20% extra is a good idea if you have it - it means you can boot from it in the future if needed).
I would stongly suggest you make sure that the backup is bootable after you copy over your data, that way if Mavericks doesn't suit your needs you can copy the entire sytem back into place.
P.S.
How are you planning to backup?
This has some info on the tools you can use in the third paragraph…
http://www.macworld.com/article/2056563/should-you-do-a-clean-install-of-maveric ks.html
If you are refering to a Time Machine backup, it will also use the same amount of space as the main disk plus any other internal disks, however it will grow as files change & it isn't bootable.

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•I have just bought a Toshiba external hard disk to back up all my work from my macbook and its not working! I have checked the hard disk

•I have just bought a Toshiba external hard disk to back up all my work from my macbook and its not working! I have checked the hard disk

its not working: (sorry for being so ambiguous), the computer recognises it, it comes up on my desktop, when i open it and try and drag a file across, it is unable to go into the drive, there is just a symbol indicating 'no' (i've read the instructions from Tosheba and there is no help). I have not partitioned the drive using the GUID partition scheme - i dont know what this means?!

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

Partitioning of an External Hard Disk

Hello everyone, I just bought a Western Digital External Hard Disk (500GB) and I will like to partition (I assume I need to partition it into two separative drives - 1 for Windows and 1 for Mac) it for the following uses:
1. Able to read and write files from my Macbook Pro (Lion OS)
2. Able to read and write files from the Boot Camp Partition in my Macbook Pro (Windows 7)
3. Able to read and write files from other user's computers (Either an Apple OS or Windows OS)
4. While on my Lion OS, I'm able to read and copy files from the Windows Partition of the ext. hard disk
5. While on my Windows 7 OS, I'm able to read and copy files from the Mac Partition of the ext. hard disk
Your advice is greatly appreciated and I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you very much!

The simplest method is to format the drive in exFAT. Each OS can read/write to it.
However, it doesn't support user permissions.
All Windows versions back to XP (with a patch) can read/write exFAT. OS X back to 10.6.5 can read/write exFAT.

Help reg what formats to be used for my new 4tb mini stack to back up my macbook and 2 external hard disks

Hey Guys,
I need an advice from you experts regarding the different formats to be used to format my New 4 Tb ministack from OWC. I have a Mid 2010 Intel macbook pro with 500gb hard disk using Mountain lion and two external hard disk from Samsung and Iomega 1Tb each. I want to format this ministack into 4 partitions each of 1Tb each.
1) 1 Tb for time machine to back up my macbook pro.
2) 1 Tb of Free space to be used to store extra data using both windows and mac os.
3) 1 Tb for Samsung back up
4) 1 Tb for my Iomega back up
I know that for 1st option i need to format the partition (volume) to Mac os extended (journalled). I need help for others.For the 1 Tb free space, can i use NTFS so that i can use it on my wifes windows laptop and use a third a party application like tuxera NTFS for use on my macbook which i am already using to use my samsung and Iomega Ext HDD.
Also What format is required for these two 1 Tb volumes dedicated for external hard disk backups and how can i back up my external hard disks to these formatted volumes. Do i need to format them to Mac os extended (journalled) as well as i shall be using macbook pro to back up these hard disks.
Which would be the best software to back up these Ext hdd,can i use time machine? or CCC ?
Your help help shall be gretaly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Get Disk Warrior that will repair the problems without requiring that you reformat the drive - $99.00 on a bootable CD. Will not work on a FAT formatted drive.
You will need to use Drag and Drop to save your files by copying them from the bad drive to a good one.
To reprep the drive:
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. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

Can Time Machine back up to specific folder within external hard disk?

I have never used Time Machine, always using the Lacie backup software to back up to a folder I've named macintosh HD on my Lacie external disk. I have other folders containing data not on my macbook. The disk is not partitioned.
I decided to try Time Machine, but it only seems to give me a choice to back up to the whole Lacie external disk. The folders within it are all greyed out. I'm worried if I did use it, it would erase over my existing folders?
Is there any way to use Time Machine to backup to a specific folder within an external hard disk with already existing files on it?
Thanks

no, you can not designate a folder for TM backups. But TM will not erase anything already on your drive provided the drive is correctly formatted. It has to be formatted mac os extended journaled with GUID partition scheme for intel macs and APM for PPC macs.
If the drive is formatted correctly TM will simply make a folder at the top level of the drive. However, IMO it's an incredibly bad idea to keep other data on the same partition with TM. i strongly recommend you make a separate partition just for TM. There are just too many situations when you need to erase your TM drive and start backups over. having other data on that drive makes this very inconvenient.

Can Time Machine back up an external hard disk?

I store some data files in the internal hard disk together with the boot volume, and some other data in an external hard disk. I intend to buy a second external hard disk solely for Time Machine. How can I set the Time Machine to back up BOTH the internal and the first external hard disk (that contains data)? Many thanks for answering this.

Robert Greenwade wrote:
I have a LaCie 500GB LittleDisk external mobile drive which is grayed-out in the "Do Not Backup" Option and is therefore not removable from the list. DiskUtility indicates that it's partition map scheme is MBR. How can I get Time Machine to backup this disk?
You can't. You must copy the data off, reformat it, and copy it back.

HT201269 I am trying to save memory on my iPhone 4S/ ios6. Can I back up all photos to icloud and the external hard disk I normally use for photos? If I then delete photos from the iPhone do the get deleted on iCloud?

I am trying to save memory on my iPhone 4S/ ios6.
1) Can I back up all photos to icloud and the external hard disk I normally use for photos? If I then delete photos from the iPhone do the get deleted on iCloud?
2) Can I back up the newsstand to iCloud and save memory on the iPhone?
3) Can I back up the bookshelf to icloud and save memory on the iPhone?

1. What format is the external drive? It sounds like it's ina format that Macs can't write to. Is it a NAS or NTFS?
2. Easiest thing: just move your iPhoto Library to the external
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

How do i back up my imovies on an external hard disk?

Hello
i am trying to back up my imovies on a external hard disk
, i follow the instructions but everything is still in my computer!!
and now when i open updates project ,they are empty!....

Command + R for OS X Recovery is for restoring from a backup.
You need to repair the startup disk.
Startup your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys.
From there you can access the builit in utilities to repair the disk.
About OS X Recovery

Can't erase anything on an external hard disk partition of bootable backup ____error message -50 "Error in user parameter"

I am using MACOSX 10.6
The data on the disk partition on my Iomega 2Tb external hard disk drive (labeled "Bootable Backup") was written by Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC ver. 3.37)
I have had problems with overwriting this using CCC, and I have also had troubles changeing the data on my "Versioned Backup" partition, using either CrashPlan or CCC
A third partition that was virgin ("Half-Tb Volume") on the same external disk drive, however, DID accept the latest CCC bootable backup of my Macintosh HD...which is the reason I want to recover rthe space on the first bootable backup partition.
I have not found any links to this error using Google search, apart from the definition.
Anyone

Do a backup using Time Machine or a clone. Then boot into the Recovery Volume (command - R) on a restart. Run Disk Utility Repair disk. If it can't repair the disk, then select the erase tab and reformat using Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Also click the Option button and select GUID. When complete, reboot normally and restore your data.
Please update your profile to reflect the OS you are running.

Can a use a partitioned external hard drive to create a disk image? I tried, doesn't seem to work using disk manager.

Can a use a partitioned external hard drive to create a disk image? I tried, doesn't seem to work using disk manager.

OK, it's very bad computing to use a backup disk for anything but a backup. The reason being is if/when the HD crashes you will have lost not only all your backup but the data files. While I commend you for wanting redundant backup, you really need separate EHDs for doing so. Format each EHD using Disk Utility to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using the GUID parttition. When you connect, OS X will ask if you want to use that drive as a Time Machine backup drive, select yes and then let it backup. On the second EHD format the same way however do not use TM as a backup, this time I'd suggest an app such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone of the internal HD. Leave both EHDs connected and TM will backup new or changed files automatically on a hourly basis. The clone you will need to set to backup on the schedule you want. For example I have my SuperDuper EHD set to backup only changed or updated files at 2AM every day.
The advantage of a clone is that if the computers internal HD crashes you can boot from a clone and continue working, TM will not do that but it's great for keeping an archive of all files. So if you want a version of a file from many months ago, TM will help you locate and restore it.

How to back up a external hard disk to time capsule?

I have a external hard disk (WD passport Mac OS extended format) connected to iMAC (OS X 10.9.3) through USB. How can I back up the hard disk to my time capsule (802.11ac 2TB)?

By default, the name of the hard drive will appear on the list of Excluded items when you open System Preferences / Time Machine / Options.
Click on the name of the hard drive to highlight it, and then click on the - (minus) button at the bottom of the Exclusions list to remove the drive from the list of items that are Excluded on backups.
Time Machine will back up both your Mac and the hard drive on the next pass.

Time Machine to back up external hard disk

Hi,
I 'm going to add an external hard disk to my iMac for storing music files and another one as backup. Not sure if Time Machine is possible to do auto back up for the external harddisk rather than the one built inside the iMac?

provided the external is formatted mac os extended, TM will back it up along with the internal drive.

Transferred backed-up data from external hard disk to new hard drive on my MacBook Pro which seemed to be successful. I now find that some (or maybe all) old emails have been resent. Can anyone tell me what has happened?

Transferred backed-up data from external hard disk to new hard drive on my MacBook Pro which seemed to be successful. I now find that some (or maybe all) old emails have been resent. Can anyone tell me what has happened?

Greetings,
I've never seen this issue, and I handle many iPads, of all versions. WiFi issues are generally local to the WiFi router - they are not all of the same quality, range, immunity to interference, etc. You have distance, building construction, and the biggie - interference.
At home, I use Apple routers, and have no issues with any of my WiFi enabled devices, computers, mobile devices, etc - even the lowly PeeCees. I have locations where I have Juniper Networks, as well as Aruba, and a few Netgears - all of them work as they should.
The cheaper routers, Linksys, D-Link, Seimens home units, and many other no name devices have caused issues of various kinds, and even connectivity.
I have no idea what Starbucks uses, but I always have a good connection, and I go there nearly every morning and get some work done, as well as play.
You could try changing channels, 2.4 to 5 Gigs, changing locations of the router. I have had to do all of these at one time or another over the many years that I have been a Network Engineer.
Good Luck - Cheers,
M.

Hi there, My Hard Disk space on the Mac Book is running low, I found about 105gigs in Back Ups, after I moved my ballooning Aperture Library to an external hard disk. Can you help?

Just checked on Lion - somehow I have over 100gigs in Back Ups, but much less in pictures. I moved Itunes, Aperture Libraries to my external hard Disk. Still running low on the 250 gigs space. Any tips on how I can free this are much appreciated!
Thanks!

Did you actually move / delete the data on your HDD?
When you click and drag to an external drive, it automatically copies instead of moves.
What are these backups & their location?
You could try and app similar to WhatSize.

Partition external hard disk to back up

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