Possible to share ext HD for time machine?

I have an large 4TB external hard drive hooked up to my iMac and am using it for time machine backups. I would like to have our MacAir to also access this drive for its Time Machine backups through our local network (wirelessly). Is this possible? If so, how?
Thanks.
Tony

Barney,
I finally got around to trying your suggestion. It partially worked...I was able to start the backup (i.e. it recognized the external HD on my iMac), but it got stuck at "preparing for backup". It just continued to spin and spin until I got some message that it wasn't able to back up. And, I did see the external HD was being accessed since the lights on it started blinking.
Anyway, close but not quite. I appreciate the help though. I'll just have to remember to connect the hard drive direct to the laptop from time to time and backup manually.
Regards,
Tony

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Still possible to use airport extreme for time machine?

I know apple doesn't officially support it but I remember with one of the airport utility updates, it allowed you to use an external HDD with an airport extreme for time machine backups. I tried hooking my external western digital to my airport extreme and it showed up as an airport disk, however I couldn't get time machine to access it. Is there a way I can get this to work?

I followed the instructions found on the link above and had a couple of issues:
1) Instructions state "Make sure 'Share disks over Ethernet WAN port' is checked." Could not find that check box anyplace.
2) Using first disk and then airport passwords as security, the disk does not show up in the Time Machine preferences. Am I to mount the disk first? Does not state that in the instructions.
3) If I mount the disk in the finder (security is a disk password), I am then able to see the drive in Time Machine and the back-up commences. The disk icon appears on my desktop and contains machine.sparcebundle. Another "disk" also appears on my desktop with the name "Time Machine Backups" and which contains the folder Backups.backupdb. I am also able to remotely attach to the machine doing the TM backup from another mac on the network and login.
4) Back-up started and appeared to go well (240G backed up with several partials after that) until I rebooted.
5) After reboot, it was frozen in "Making backup disk available" Opened preferences and it locked up. Had to force a reboot.
6) After restart, manually mounted the extreme external, opened Time Machine prefs, and when selecting back up location saw one with a red "∅" which I could not select and the other the extreme drive with 240G used. Attempted the back-up to the drive and I got "Making backup disk available" on the menu bar and the same message on TM system prefs with a spinning beach ball. Have been able to force quit system prefs and sent to error log to apple, but a forced reboot is still required because the TM icon on the menu continues to spin. Even a "sudu shutdown -r now" in terminal will not reboot the machine. Get to a blue screen with the spinning tick marks and it just sits there.
I wonder if the fact that I could not find "Make sure 'Share disks over Ethernet WAN port' is checked." is the issue. It does not appear to be available in the current version of the extreme base 7.4.2. Could those of you who were able to configure it with a previous version get grandfathered in? I wonder if I need to manually mount the extreme hard disk each time I reboot the machines. I am not sure how to do that but will try and see if it works.
I will be losing internet and e-mail access for a few weeks so will look at this thread again when I return.

Use ext. harddrive for time machine or just as additional storage?

I was wondering, given the problems some people have had with TM, should I maybe just use it to store stuff and free up space on my laptop, or can I use one drive for both my TM backups as well as additional storage?

Mark_Clemons wrote:
I was wondering, given the problems some people have had with TM
First, take what you read here with a grain (or large block) of salt. This is the ER for Time Machine, and no more representative of the average user's experience than your local bricks-and-mortar ER is of the health of your community. Second, most of the problems here are either misunderstandings of how TM works and how to use it; or hardware problems that would be the same with any backup app.
should I maybe just use it to store stuff and free up space on my laptop, or can I use one drive for both my TM backups as well as additional storage?
You can do both, but if you do, your best bet is to partition the drive so TM has it's own, exclusive partition. And TM can back-up the other partition. See item 5 in the +Frequently Asked Questions+ post at the top of this forum for instructions.
Still, this isn't a very good solution, as both the original and copies of those files will be on the same physical disk drive: when (not if) it fails, you may lose both. So you may want to archive those files to DVDs instead of (or in addition to) TM.

What size ext. hd for time machine

I'll be upgrading to Leopard in the next two weeks, and I was wondering what size external hd i should be looking at. I'm looking at the Western Digital My Book Premium Edition, which I found the 500gb version for $150 and the 750Gb version for $230. Is it worth the extra $80 for 250GB more hd space? How much space do I need to back up my 250GB drive (with 140GB used)??? Does Time Machine compress files at all??? Thanks for your response.

I have a similar situation. I have a 500gb iMac with 350gb used. I have a 500gb ext. hd with 465gb available. Time Machine (horrible so far in my opinion) claims I don't have enough room to run it. The math I learned still proves that 465 is greater than 350.
Not only that but installing Leopard was excruciating. If you have yet to install it, make sure you run the installer as archive then install and not upgrade. Upgrade will give you blue screen of death. Why did Apple, my favorite computer company, release an os with features that create so many windows like issues. So far I am nothing even close to excited, nor even satisfied with this $140 upgrade.

Migration Assistant can't see my USB ext HD for Time Machine!

Here is a question for Pondini!
I've read through many of the threads here, including Pondini's tutorials on how to set-up Time Machine, use Migration Assistant, etc. Alas, I'm not a technical person and have hit a wall.
Here's the scenario:
Last week my iMac running Mountain Lion crashed. The hard drive was initially "repaired" using Recovery, erasing all data then restoring the drive from Time Machine backups stored on a Hitachi 2TB Touro USB3 external HD. But soon after the system froze again and a 2nd restore did not work. I concluded that my almost 5 year old HD was gone.
Where I stand now is that the iMac's HD has been replaced with a new one which came preinstalled with Snow Leopard. I absolutely want (need!) to restored my Mac from Time Machine to get back all my settings and info.
During the iMac first boot Setup Assistant did NOT see the external hard drive even though they are connected properly. (Note: My older iMac is undoubtedly USB2 but the external HD is backwards-compatible USB3. THAT is the connection, from the external HD directly into the back of the Mac. It is mounted on my desktop and files can be accessed through Finder.) So I then proceeded to set-up my "new" computer with basic settings, which is how I came to see my external HD was properly mounted and connected. I also upgraded the OS on this new HD to Mountain Lion so it would be the same as my most recent Time Machine back-ups.
Since then I have tried using Migration Assistant to migrate from Time Machine on my external drive but it still does not recognize any drives - Migration Assistant just searches endlessly for other computers. Argh! I've tried all the tips I've read in these forums and none have helped. I scanned my external drive for errors using disk utility but none were found.
On my external drive there is a folder in the root called Backups.backupdb. Double-clicking it simply opens the folder in Finder, to reveal folders with names familiar to me - the previous HDs computer name, then a bunch of dated folders within that, including a lone file called 2012-08-17-062839.inProgress. I suppose my HD may have died while backing up to Time Machine.
WHAT do I do?
Let's say the worst case scenario is that I cannot use these Time Machine backups. Is there any way to root through them for data I can hand-copy to my iMac's new internal drive? It would be grueling but at least it's something. How can I retrieve years of email? Luckily photos, music, videos, etc were backed up manually into a separate folder (also in the root of my external drive).
THANK YOU!!
Danielle

This happened to me after hard drive replacement under the Seagate Drive Recall at the local Apple Store. Here's what I learned from the process:
I Wagged the Mac home, fired it up (with naked OS installed at the Apple Store), and it wouldn't see my Time Machine drive with Setup Assistant - not on firewire 800 nor USB. Just a grey spinner that lasts forever. When I try just continuing anyway, it offers me something that looks plausible, but then puts up a dialog about duplicate user name, and no matter what I enter, it always says "that user already exists". So I think - maybe Migration Assistant. Complete the setup, create an account, watch the nice welcome movie. BAM - there's my Time Machine drive on the desktop. OK - it has to work . . . but no. Same behavior in Migration Assistant, plus the new OS offers to start making backups on my Time Machine disk - it's not recognizing it at all.
So - back to the Apple Store - let the genius figure it out. It turns out there are multiple problems. First, the "genius" who imaged my new machine picked 10.7.2 but my machine had 10.7.5 - turns out, it's not enough just to have right cat. Even a point release older OS may not recognize a newer Time Machine drive. The guy at the desk said "We have images of everything but the 10.7.2 has free iLife in it, so they like to use that one". What the heck? They don't image what you had originally as a matter of sane process?
Having figured that out, we re-image 10.7.5 at the store thinking we've fixed it. But no - Setup Assistant still won't see the Time Machine drive. Not on USB, not on Firewire. Not in a box, not with a fox.
So here's the second trick - newer machines have a recovery partion. see: http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/ Boot with the option key held down, pick that partition, then you'll get a "system restore" option, to restore your whole system from a Time Machine backup. My drive was recognized by the recovery partition restore process when neither Setup nor Migration Assistant would. Obviously, there's something broken in Setup/Migration Assistant.
Takeaway:
- if you're getting a drive replaced by Apple, make sure they image *exactly* the same OS you had
- if Setup Assistant fails, use the recovery partition for system restore
- Use Recovery Disk Assistant http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433 to make yourself a recovery thumb drive just in case. With Apple's new "no media" approach to the OS, you're hosed without it.

Using iPod Classic for Time Machine or Startup Disc

I have enabled my iPod to be used as external disc on iTunes. iPod icon does show up on desktop, but is not one of my options as backup volume for Time Machine, nor as an option for startup disc. Any ideas?

It can't be used as an ext drive for Time Machine.
Also, unless you are using an Intel Mac, you cannot use it as a bootable drive via USB. Only Firewire drives can be used as bootable drive on non Intel Macs and of course the iPod Classic is not a Firewire drive.

Unable to select two drives for time machine backup?

I had a notification from Time Machine saying "This backup is too large for the disk..." and that I needed to omit items or select another drive. I've read online that it's possible to select multiple drives for Time Machine backups (so it switches between the available drives). When I go into Time Machine preferences and click "Select Disk" the drive I want to use in addition to my current Time Machine is there, but when I choose the additional drive I do not get the option to replace or "Use Both" (like pictured). Instead the additional drive is selected as the sole Time Machine and the current Time Machine drive is replaced.
In short, Time Machine is not giving me the option to "Use Both" - why would this be and how do I remedy this?
Thanks.

The reason is that that feature is Only offered in "Mountain Lion" OS X 10.8; and you are using "Lion" 10.7.
Hope this helps

I had to put new HD in macbook, backed up with ext HD with time machine, what doi do now? possible to partition so i have not all the old 'junk' on clean drive?

i had to put new HD in macbook, backed up with ext HD with time machine, what doi do now? possible to partition so i have not all the old 'junk' on clean drive?

Do you have the OS 10.6 disk? You can run Disk Utility from that disk and format and partition the new drive.
If you don't have the disk you can buy it from Apple for $20.00
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Post back when you are ready to proceed.

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.

HT201250 Is it possible to use Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive as the backup disk for time machine?

I have a MacBook Pro for which I have not set up Time Machine. I have a Dropbox account and a Microsoft OneDrive account, each with plenty of space to serve as backups. Is it possible to use either of these as THE backup disk for Time Machine? It doesn't appear intuitive from Time Machine on my MBP.
Thank you.

No. Time Machine does not work with "cloud" drives.

Would it be possible for time machine to back-up files from 3rd party software such as windows platform using parallel?

I'm wondering if it would be possible for time machine to back-up files from 3rd party software such as Windows XP using parallel software especially if it is isolated from mac? Any advise would be greatly aprreciated.

Short answer - yes Time Machine will backup everything within the Mac OS system.
Longer answer - Parallels creates a pvm disk image "Parallels Virtual Machine" which Time Machine backs up.
Due to the changes to the pvm file Time Machine is unable to read the minor changes and will somtimes do a full backup of it each time Time Machine runs and can chew through Back up drive space quite quickly.

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.

HT4848 Is it possible to partition an external hard drive that is already being used for Time Machine backups without it being erased?

I'm want to use my current external hard drive, which I use for Time Machine Backup, as a recovery disk for Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2. From what I have read, the recovery disk assistant will erase all data on the external drive unless it is partitioned. Can I partition my current backup drive without erasing it, even though it is already being used for Time Machine?

It's very simple to test. Turn off your computer. Have your time machine backup plugged in. Hold option and turn it on, keeping option held. Do you see your time machine drive? If so, select it and press enter. You'll end up in recovery. If it works, there you go. Then just click the apple and restart to get back to your regular desktop. Then you'll know for when you're ready to do the deed.
Edit...
I'm not sure if time machine will think it's an entirely different computer, though, when a hard drive changed, making an actual restore not doable. Either way, you could still reinstall mt lion fresh and then just migrate after, skipping the need for SL.

Can I use my time capsule for time machine back ups and as an external storage device?

I have a time capsule and have set it up so that my time machine back ups are saved on it, but I would also like to use it as an external hard drive. Is this possible?
I know nothing about computers so please tell me in very basic terms. thankyou!

By external hard disk we usually mean one plugged into the computer by USB or Firewire or Thunderbolt.
None of those works on the TC.. it is plugged in by ethernet or use wireless connection.. that means it is a network drive.. not an external drive. The difference might not mean much to you.. but it is totally different to the computer. In the former case the computer has full control of the disk. In the case of the network drive, the disk is controlled by the TC firmware and the files are stored and accessed by network. This has large implications.
So here is my standard response.
Store files on the TC.
This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.
The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.
Major issues.
1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.
2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.
3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no control. In fact the TC is so lacking in controls for even the router side.. that you cannot do more than the most basic of setups.
The following are controls on the hard disk side.
Reformat it. You can name the share. You can do a full archive of the whole disk. This will go at a speed of aprox. 30-50GB/Hr so calculate how long an archive of a full 2TB will take.
4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!
Even apple btw say don’t do it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168 Although mostly about FAT32 it adds network drives.
5. iTunes can constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.
6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.
7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.
Read pondini for some work arounds.
Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

Can I use one HD for 2 computer for time machine?

I have an imac and macbook. I bought a new 500G external harddisk for time machine.. can I share the harddisk between 2 computer?
Or I have to get 2 HD for 2 computer?

happygal wrote:
and can I put my other data on the external harddisk apart from the backup from time machine?
Absolutely. Yes. You will be limiting the space available for Time Machine though. The more space available, the further back your Time Machine backup trail can go.
Kryten

Possible to share ext HD for time machine?

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