Time machine, seagate backup plus

Hi ive bought a seagat backup plus external hard drive. Ive been using it to transfer files from a pc to my new mac. When i originally used it for the first time, i think it asked me if i was using it between both windows and mac formats so i said yes, and this has worked seamlesly.
Now all my files are on the mac, i want to use it for a time machine back up. Upon trying this it failed because it is not in the correct format i think.
So here is a couple of questions....
1- How do i give it the correct format?
2- Some of my family still use the windows pc, and i would have liked to have still been able to use the hard drive across both formats. So if i format for Time machine, will this not then be possible?
Thanks.

Sorry, an external that is used only for Time Machine.
see > Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac
Because sooner than later, Time Machine will use all the space on the drive.

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I baught Seagate Backup plus 2T hard drive to use as my Backup time machine. But its not working when i connect to time machine its not coping files, it keep saying preparing files. Can someone help me please...

i baught Seagate Backup plus 2T hard drive to use as my Backup time machine. But its not working. when i connect to time machine its not coping files, it keep saying preparing files. Can someone help me please...

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Problem using Time Machine with Seagate BackUp Plus Pls HELP!!

I have a late 2006 iMac (running OS 10.5.8) & am trying to back up using Time Machine with a new Seagate BackUp Plus drive. When I select the Seagate drive in Time Machine it tells me I msut first erase the (Seagate) disk. When I hit ERASE, I get a Time Machine error : COULD NOT UNMOUNT DISK. I see from various posts that 10,5 & 10,6 have issues with some external drives so want to upgrade to Mavericks (to get around this incompatibility issue): HOwever apparently my iMac is too old (by 1 year) to allow this. Can anyone give me any advice on how to get my iMac content backed up via Time Machine using the Seagate BackUP PLus drive I bought (becasue it is supposedly "compatible with PCs & Macs".
Thank you!!
Wendy

Your Seagate drive should work just fine. If it doesn't have any important data on it, try re-formatting it with Disk Utility to blank it out. Or run the Disk verify/repair and see if you can get it to fix any problems.
I have a Drobo FS too. You probably need a firmware update, they issued one a while back to fix problems with Time Machine. Use the Dashboard or download it from their support site, http://www.drobo.com/support/updates.php
Just curious how long you let it run after it "stalled". If it is a big file it could just be taking a while to copy over, do you see activity lights on the USB drive? The first time you use time machine let it run overnight, it's going to take a while, after that it will update quickly.
While you're at it, you might want to verify your start-up disk too with Disk Utility.

Seagate backup plus & time machine

Dumb question I'm sure but,
I have installed a Seagate Backup plus ...seemed easy enough. Performed a backup. Took a long time, but seemed to work.
Now, I plug in the portable seagate drive, it mounts I right click the drive and select 'back up now' the color of the drive changes from
amber to green. does this mean it is working? There is no other indication that anything is going on.

Is Seagate Backup Plus a software program? Why not just use Time Machine?

I just bought and backed up my computer and time machine with a "Seagate BackUp Plus for Mac". Now my time machine is empty. Panicked. can anyone help?

I just bought and backed up my computer and time machine with a "Seagate BackUp Plus for Mac". Now my time machine is empty. Panicked. can anyone help?

Lets start over...
Please restart the network.. shut down everything..
Restart in order.. modem.. router.. if different to TC.. or TC.. client devices.. wait 2min between each startup.
If the TC does not show up on the computer, in finder.. then we need more info.. what OS are you running?
Does the TC show up in Airport utility? Are you running wireless or ethernet?
If you still have issues.. plug the TC directly into the computer by ethernet.
Do a full factory reset of the TC.. and see if it now shows up.
Please tell us exactly what model TC it is and how old.. the A1xxx model number from the base will help if you don't know.
You take a screen shot of the TC opened in finder.
eg..
My TC is named Tardis4.. click on it.. and then open the data folder.. on this one called Tardisdata.
Then take a screen shot of it so we can see what the problem is.. screenshot.. with area selection.. control + shift + 4 .. the picture goes into the desktop.. and then you click the picture icon in the posting web page controls and select the picture.

Time machine couldn't back up seagate backup plus, Not Detected...

I just bought the Seagate backup plus in December when my overly fragile macbook air screen cracked & I had to have it repaired...Anyway, of course I wanted a backup before sending it for repair.
I had nothing but trouble setting it up & getting it to make a backup, right out of the box & had to email, then call tech support. It had been working fine, until I updated whatever the latest version of Maverick's or whatever update came out. It has not backed up since April 16th. The light comes on for the backup plus. I googled & found something about firmware, so I went through that download process & it said the backup plus was up to date. I plug it into the USB & still nothing. It's just an error message saying "Backup delayed", then I click on Back Up Now & get an error saying Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Seagate Backup Plus Drive". The backup disk could not be found. Make sure the backup disk is connected or select a different backup disk. How wonderful. I also went to the Seagate website and found a troubleshooting guide, which was also worthless. The only thing it said was that it might be set to "sleep" and going through all this firmware and disconnecting and re-connecting and rebooting was supposed to fix this issue. I am so frustrated now, I can't even stand it. It is Finals week, I am in the Nursing program, which believe me is not an easy curriculum & now this! god forbid my life ever be without frustration and challenges, I feel like I am never ever going to be happy or have a good life, something is always wrong, I hate technology, I spend hours and hours and hours trying to figure things out, & then they just get messed up with an update and never work the same again.

It had been working fine, until I updated whatever the latest version of Maverick's or whatever update came out.
Yes, know the issue. Did you EVER install any (utterly worthless) hard drive control software that came bundled with that ext. USB hard drive?
OR especially software from a Western Digital drive?
If so youve got a serious issue of data loss (which is why you NEVER ever have a single external backup of data).
You can read all about it here on the last 20 pages:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5475136?start=1365&tstart=0
If you installed (which you should NEVER do) any HD control software, then youve got a serious issue where all your metadata is lost
Metadata is the data about the data on the HD, meaning not total loss, but almost the same as.
Run Etrecheck and post the results:
use this FREE little test APP to verify (most people here use it for diagnostics)
http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck
EtreCheck is a simple little app to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. EtreCheck automatically removes any personally identifiable information from the output.

I have bought a Seagate Backup Plus 1TB drive, first time I have selected Mac Windows option which excludes Time Machine to work on it, but now I want to go back and select Only Mac option to activate my Time Machine application. I request you to help me

I have bought a Seagate Backup Plus 1TB drive, first time during plug-in, I have selected Mac Windows option which excludes Time Machine to work on it, but now I want to go back and select Only Mac option to activate my Time Machine application.
I request you to help me with the procedure of the same?

IMPORTANT - This will reformat your Seagate drive and hence wipe it. If there is anything on your Seagate drive you want to keep, save it somewhere else FIRST.
Plug the drive in.
In Finder select Applications > Utilities > Disc Utilities.
Select the external drive, select Partition option, give it a name (I call mine Mac Backup), select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the Format and under the drop down menu "Partition Layout" select the number of partitions you want (so if you want the drive to just be for Time Machine, select 1 Partition, if you want part of the drive to be for Time Machine and the rest for something else, select 2 partitions and so on). Click apply and the Disc Utility will partition and reformat your drive ready to use.
When this is complete, open Time Machine in System Preferences. Use Select Disc to select the drive (or if you have multiple partitions, the partition of the drive) you want and you are good to go.
This may be a long way round, but it gives you the option to partition your disc which you may want.

Time Machine Error message with Seagate Backup Plus ext HD for Mac.

Got a MacBook Pro running OS X 10.6.8. Bought a 4TB Seagate Backup Plus ext HD for Mac. Have 750GB of HD space I'm trying to back up via timemachine. Error message after 498GB backed. Tried reformatting, repairing disk, etc. and get stuck just before 500GB every time. Suggestions?

Have you tried repairing your system disk? It may be encountering a bad file on the Mac rather than a bad spot on the Seagate.

My Seagate external 250GB hard drive ejects improperly without command. I am trying to use Time Machine to backup my macbook via usb cable... I keep getting the message that the disked ejected improperly... Any solutions...

My Seagate external 250GB hard drive ejects improperly without command. I am trying to use Time Machine to backup my macbook via usb cable... I keep getting the message that the disked ejected improperly... Any solutions...

You are not alone. Thousands have this problem, on various models of Macs. Short answer, it has something to do with the disk going to sleep (possibly?). You can't do anything about it and Apple won't address the problem. Maybe you should buy a time capsule. Just keep giving them money and use their proprietary equipment.
For a more complete answer, see this thread (all 65+ pages of it with NO SOLUTION IN SIGHT... except for some 3rd party solutions that sometimes work, sometimes don't): Disk Drive ejecting itself

Okay so I have a Seagate Backup Plus Drive External Hard Drive and I'm trying to get it to backup Applications and stuff on the dock such as iPhoto, and Photo Booth.

It's one of these External Hard Drives. I go to the Finder folder and go to the "Seagate Backup Plus Drive" to see what's in there and what I assume is that backups but the only thing that seems to be in there is folders from everything that is Desktop and a few Documents. The Applications folder seems to be empty and there are no folders for Photo Booth or iPhoto. Everything from GarageBand and iTunes seems to have been backed up according to the Seagate Backup folder when it is plugged in and opened. How do I get this thing to backup everything from Photo Booth and iPhoto? And by the way, I can't seem to access Time Machine the way you get it to where you can go back in time and see all of your stuff from previous dates. I don't know if this is important or a crucial part but I seem to not be able to access the actual time Machine Layout.

Simple on that one - Download Carbon Copy and follow the steps below:
if you have access to an external USB enclosure use it, or you can buy one for $10...
install your new ssd in the usb enclosure - connect to your macbook...
open disk utility and format/erase your ssd - mac os extended journaled.
open carbon copy - clone your drive with it - source (your old drive) + destination (your ssd).
once the clone is done, turn your macbook off - take old hard drive out - install new ssd in....
turn your macbook on - if boot time is more than 40 secs to desktop - go to system preferences - startup disk and select your new ssd as the startup disk - restart your macbook - should be about 14 sec boot time now.
install your old hard drive in your usb external enclosure and use it as a backup drive.
good luck

How do I reformat my External Hard Drive (Seagate Backup Plus).

Hello everyone. How do I reformat my External Hard Drive (Seagate Backup Plus Portable Device). I accidentally clicked to use it with Time Machine and my hard drive is of little use now. When I open my hard drive, it just shows 'backup', the same thing when I open it with Windows. Thinking of reformatting it back to be used to Mac and Windows. And not use it again with Time Machine. New to Apple, appreciate the help

Hello,
"Thinking of reformatting it back to be used to Mac and Windows. And not use it again with Time Machine"
If you want to format the External drive as universally compatible, your best bet is to format it as exFAT. Note that reformatting the drive erases all contents of the drive.
1) Open Disk Utility located in /Applications/Utilities/ (or simply type it in spotlight and the application will show up)
2) Select the external Hard drive
3) Click the 'erase' tab.
4) Under format: select exFAT
5) Click "Erase" in the lower right hand corner to reformat the drive.

I am using a Seagate backup plus portable drive on my iMac 7 with OSX 10.9.2. At startup up I always get a popup window stating "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer. I click ignore and everything seems OK. Is it?

I am using a Seagate backup plus portable drive as my time machine backup on my iMac 7 with OSX 10.9.2 Mavericks. At startup I always get popup window stating "The disk you inserted is not readable by this computer..? I click ignore and everything seems to be OK. Time machine seems to be backuping up to the seagate. I can open time machine and see the history of backups. Why does this message come up at startup of computer????

If you installed the Seagate software, remove it according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Options for Seagate Backup Plus for Mac/Windows

I have a new Mac-mini (my first Mac since my original Mac 128), and just got a 3TB Seagate Backup Plus. It's so new, I haven't even read up on Time Macine though I assume that's the way to go.
I originally had in mind partitioning the Seagate with one HFS+ for the Mac and one NTFS for my Windows laptop (Win7) and old Windows desktop (XP). The latter is mainly for storing files in a place where it will be convenient to use them on the Mac. But with all the threads about partition and other errors, I'm wondering if that's not so wise.
The obvious alternatives are leave the drive as NTFS and find something other than Time Machine for backing up the Mac - or format it as HFS+, use TM to backup the Mac, and install HFS+ drivers at least on my laptop.
I usually like to try and research these sorts of questions directly, but with the learning curve moving to the Mac, and all sorts of other things, it would take me to next year to find my ideal solution. So for now, I'm just looking for suggestions on a backup strategy for the Mac that would, in addition to backups, leave space for manually archiving Mac files as well as exploiting the spare space on the external drive for some Windows purposes. (Not much videos, mostly photos, finances, and eventually my main reason for getting the Mac, ios development.)
Thanks for any suggestions.
Gary

The following troubleshooter from Seagate may help: http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/213059en

How do put files on my external hd (seagate backup plus)

I have the seagate backup plus. I installed it for the mac. I just want to move files to it so i have room on my hard drive

Drive Partition and Format
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 Apply 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.
You can transfer files manually using drag and drop. You can perform backups using a backup utility or by enabling Time Machine in OS X preferences.
Suggested Backup Software
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Others may be found at MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

Unable to write to Seagate Backup Plus drive on Mac

I just installed a brand new Seagate Backup Plus drive on my laptop with the goal of being able to use it on Macs and PCs.Seagate's web site says this:
Using the drive under MacOS and Windows
If you want to use the drive under Windows and MacOS, simply leave the drive in the NTFS format that it has when shipped from the factory (say No to "Do you want to use this drive with Time Machine?", if prompted). Install the included software which has a special driver that will allow the NTFS partition to be read and written under MacOS:
Plug in the drive.
Open the Seagate Backup Plus or FreeAgent GoFlex icon that appears on the desktop.
Double-click the Seagate Dashboard Installer.dmg (Backup Plus) or Mac Installer.dmg (GoFlex) file on the drive and follow the prompts.
If the driver is not installed, then the drive will be read-only under MacOS.
The installation process seemed seamless, but I was never prompted to download an extra driver and it would appear that the driver either didn't install or doesn't work as advertised.
I've found a user forum via Seagate addressing the inability to write to a GoFlex drive on a Mac:
http://forums.seagate.com/stx/board/crawl_message?board.id=UPHD_and_PU&message.i d=3360
One solution was to download a different driver (http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24481/ntfs-3g), however when I tried this I got an error from NTFS-3G that said "NTFS-3G could not mount the Seagate Backup Plus Drive because the following problem occurred: /Library/Filesystems/fusefs.fs/Support/fusefs.kext failed to load - (libkern/kext) link error; check the system/kernel logs for errors or try kextutil(8). the MacFUSE file system is not available (71)"
I opened up the user guide, which instructed me to download MacFUSE, but the driver still wouldn't mount.
In the end, I simply re-formatted the external HD with ExFAT in order to be able to read AND write. Has anyone else had a similar problem, or found a different answer?

I thought that those particular Seagate drives shipped with the Paragon NTFS for Mac utility? If not, it's a $20 investment that you need to make.
Download and install and then format the drive as NTFS on your PC. Your Mac should then be able to both read and write files to the drive.
Clinton

Time machine, seagate backup plus

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