Timemachine for backing up external harddisk

i have 2 hardisks on 1tb each where i store all my files. i use 1 and then back up the other. is it possible to use timemachine for this? the thing is if i change something on several files and want to back up again, i have to copy all my files all over, and it takes a loooong time. there should be a solution so it backs up only the changed files...
if i cant use timemachine, do anyone have any other suggestions?
thanks,
teupaksa

teupaksa wrote:
i have 2 hardisks on 1tb each where i store all my files. i use 1 and then back up the other. is it possible to use timemachine for this?
yes. Time machine will back up all directly attached drives provided they are formatted Mac Os extended.
the thing is if i change something on several files and want to back up again, i have to copy all my files all over, and it takes a loooong time. there should be a solution so it backs up only the changed files...
that's exactly what Time machine does.

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Cannot make backups with timemachine, external harddisk and airport extreme

Hi to everyone,
yesterday i bought me a brandnew airport extreme station. i would like to use it for creating a wifi-network in my flat. besides i would like to connect my external 500GB lacie-harddisk with the airport extreme. in the past i this harddisk was connected with my imac over the usb-port. unfortunately timemachine does not recognize my harddisk. in the timemachine setups i can choose my harddisk but when the backup-process should start, timemachine stops immediately and tells me that the backup-volume wasn't found. whats wrong? does anybody know a solution?
Greets from Germany
Thomas

pantomas wrote:
why is my setup not supported? i read on this page
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15139.html
in that very article, in the second sentence, it clearly says *Time Machine can’t back up to an external disk connected to an AirPort Extreme* ...
so whats my mistake?
a misunderstanding ? say you have 2 Macs on your network. one of them has an external hanging off it. the other Mac could back up to that drive via your network ...
some users, however, successfully back up via an extreme and some don't get it to work. you might be one of 'em.
JGG

Can TimeMachine also backup data from my external harddisk?

I have an harddisk of 500gb (usb external), I use the hd for putting my raw capture material on it (video files).
Is it possible that timemachine also backups my external hd with video on it AND still my macbook pro data? (timemachine backups are going to another external usb hd of 1 tb...)

yes, it's possible. in fact TM will do this by default. the external has to be formatted mac os extended.

How can I use my TimeMachine to back up the external hard drive

How can I use my TimeMachine to back up the external hard drive that is attached to my TimeMachine? I have the external drive attached to my TimeMachine via the USB port and want my TimeMachine to back up the files on the external drive, as it does for the files on my computer. How do I do that?

https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

TimeMachine randomly ignores data for back-up

For some time I am experiencing following problem: Time Machine will not back up all changes. It happend just this morning again. I put some new data in one folder. Clicked Back-Up now in time machine preferences but the new data is not backed up. This problem: time machine not backing up data, started some time, even prior the update to snow leopard. BTW: It is snot always the same folder or data affected. I have tried a lot of things, like several times full reset of time machine, erasing the external FW drive used for back-up and after that performing full back-up. However, nothing solved the problem. For some time everything looks fine but then the problem, that time machine will not back-up some new added data, starts again. I performed several checks of my Macintosh HD and external drive and both: DiskUtility and TechTool say drives are OK. Any suggestion ?
Message was edited by: miles123
Message was edited by: miles123

miles123 wrote:
Seen but nothing related to my problem there. TimeMachine Buddy says back-up completed successfully but I can not see the data in my back up. And as already mentioned it happens randomly and it is not always teh same folder affected.
How much does TM Buddy say was copied? If it says something silly like 8 or 9 files for 93 bytes, try a Restart. That should fix it. There is a known problem for some users on Snow Leopard, where doing a +*Verify Disk+* (not permissions) on the boot drive, using the copy of DU on the boot drive, somehow prevents TM from finding changes. Restart fixes it (and earlier changes will then be saved).
If it is copying some things correctly but not others, it may be a corrupted file in your home folder. Try making a test user, running a backup, and seeing if that user's data gets saved properly. If so, post back and we'll see if we can fix it.

Use external drive for both Time Machine and storage for Back to My Mac

Hi all,
I have been "a Mac" now for over a year and just keep finding cool new things that make me happy I switched. The latest thing is Back to My Mac offered with my Mobile Me account. With a rather convoluted mix of PC/Mac/iOS devices to manage - best $99 I ever spent btw...
I also have a 1TB Time Capsule that I have been using with Time Machine to back up all four of my Mac computers at home. Needless to say, the 1TB is really struggling to handle the amount of data being backed up and certainly leaves no room for anything else.
What I wanted to do was to attach a larger external hard drive via a powered hub to the USB port on the Time Capsule and use it for Time Machine backups while using the internal 1TB drive with Back to My Mac so that I can have remote access to all my data from anywhere without having to leave my computer running at home all the time in order for my laptop to "see" it when I'm away. And, yes, the amount of that data far exceeds what any level of Mobile Me subscription can offer! I should also mention that the hard drive is the only USB device connected through the hub to the Time Capsule at the moment. There are no other devices that might be "getting in the way".
I'm thinking maybe all this is asking too much without the addition of a dedicated file server (Mac Mini, perhaps - not a purchase my budget wants to make).
I understand that the Time Capsule doesn't support partitions, so I bought a Western Digital 2TB Elements drive, connected it to my Macbook Pro and used Disk Utility to reformat the drive from the incompatible NTFS it shipped in to a single, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) partition. I then made two folders on the drive, one for Time Machine backups and one for Back to My Mac remote storage/access. Great.
However, when I connected the 2TB drive to my Time Capsule I could not see it at all. Time Capsule was reporting problems in the way of a disk error. From within my Airport Utility, I could see the trouble was the external drive. The utility suggested connecting the drive to a Mac and using it's Disk Utility to troubleshoot.
I followed through, checking the disk, etc. and ended up reformatted the drive on my Macbook Pro yet again with the same specifications as before but without the folders and reconnected it to the Time Capsule. Same deal. But now, I can't even remotely connect to the Time Capsule at all. I can see the Time Capsule in the shared area of my Macbook's Finder but can not connect. The connection tries and fails even before it gets to asking me for username and password credentials.
Long story short, first of all, I suppose I would like to know if I'm asking for the impossible?
Second, if what I want to do *is* possible, what steps do I need to take to make it so?
Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions you might have.

Well, I have now reformatted/partitioned my poor WD Elements 2TB drive about a dozen times as well as restarted my 1TB Time Capsule so many times it's no wonder it's as confused as I am! <G>
Last night, at your suggestion, William, and in respect for your continued support, I tried creating two 1TB Mac OS Extended (Journaled) partitions on the WD external USB drive, both with GUID partition tables. Both volumes mounted to my laptop's desktop flawlessly and without issue.
Once the external drive was connected to the Time Capsule, however, it was a crap shoot as to whether or not the drive was recognized at all, reporting a problem with the disk, or, even at one point, mounting one of the two volumes but not both. <sigh>
I read somewhere on the Internet that you need to restart the Time Capsule for volumes on an external USB drive to be recognized.
So I tried that. I connected the freshly partitioned/formatted disk to the Time Capsule and restarted it. This succeed in removing the issue of reporting a nameless drive with a capacity of 0MB. It then reported the drive with its correct name but would not recognize whatever volumes in whatever partitions that particular crack at it contained with the exception of the once, as I mentioned above, when only one of two volumes mounted correctly and was listed with the right name and capacity on the Time Capusule's Setup's Disk tab.
At this point I have given up on my goal to use the external drive with Time Machine to back up my Macs or to hope I will ever be able to see its contents remotely via Back to My Mac. All I would like to do now is simply find a reason why I can't get it successfully connected and playing nice with my Time Capsule in the first place!
Any further suggestions or advice as to what steps I might take next would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all.

How do you remove back up data from the memory storage? my storage data states that i have over 80gb of data used for back ups and i dont know why as i use a external hard drive as a time machine .now my 250gb flash storage is nearly full

how do you remove back up data from the memory storage? my storage data states that i have over 80gb of data used for back ups and i dont know why as i use a external hard drive as a time machine .now my 250gb flash storage is nearly full.. HELP!

When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
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TimeCapsule as external harddisk for Mac and PC

Hi,
we set up TimeCapsule as basestation for our wireless network yesterday. We chose TC over Airport E. in order to use it as a backup with Timemachine for me (Mac), and at the same time use it as storage for shared files and music (hubby has windows). At the shop the told us we could partition the disk and reformat (part of) it for FAT32, so that we both could read it.
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to partition the disk you must remove the hard drive and place it in a docking station or external enclosure or internal to a Mac Pro.
Also even if you partition you can only have one file system at a time. It either or....not both.
Message was edited by: Smokerz

I am using a WD external hard drive for backing up my laptop with Time Machine, but I have to do it manually. How do I know when it has finished the back up? How long should it take?

I am using an external WD hard drive for backing up my laptop. I have to do it manually, so I can't set Time Machine to just do it for me. How do I know when it is done backing up? How long should this take?

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).
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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.

Am trying to transfer iTunes library to an external disk for back-up purposes. have followed normal protocol i.e. locating iTunes file in Music folder and dragging across to external disk icon. However, nothing seems to happen. Any advice please?

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Michael L J

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
The external drive must be formatted in "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)", exFAT or FAT32, because OS X can't write in NTFS partitions by default.
As you just want the library on the external drive to make a backup of your library, you can format it in "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" by using Disk Utility > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html (Note that you won't be able to use the external drive with PCs unless you install a special application in them).
Finally, drag your iTunes folder to your external drive

HT1478 How do I download my iTunes music library onto an external USB drive for back up purposes?

I have an external USB drive plugge into my computer. I want to download my iTunes music library onto the USB drive for back up purposes.
Can't find a method on the iTunes menu. Help.

See here: iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
B-rock

External Hard Drive Options for Back Up - USB 2.0 or FireWire

Needing some advice on this one. Looking to purchase an external hard drive for back up through Time Machine - also running Win XP via Parallels. Should I go USB 2.0 or FireWire or have both options? Is there any difference in speed? I will be also using the external hard drive as needed for other manual back ups and data transfers eg movie projects. (and yes the Macbook has Firewire).
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Firewire is faster overall for data transfers especially large or lengthy ones. With this in mind, I would use an external enclosure that has both Firewire and USB.
I'm not sure if this was part of your question or not but I would not include your virtual machine (xp) in your Time Machine backup. The reason is it will fill up your backup drive quickly because your TM backup copies hourly every file that has changes made to it. Your VM file is both large (the size of the virtual drive) and has changes even if you just have it open and not really using it. You should include your VM file in your manual backup instead.
-GDF

What's the best external hard drive for back-ups?

I have a Powerbook G4 and would like to buy an external hard drive for back-up purposes. It seems impossible to choose one because drives made by every company occasionally fail and only then do people write reviews on them. Every time I hear that LaCie, Maxtor and Seagate make the best hard drives, an equal amount of people say they suck and fail on a regular basis.
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I have 2 external hard drive, one for Backing up my files and TM and the other for what?.

Hi,
I have a WD My Book 2 TB (usb 3.0). 300 GB for Time Machine and 1.7 TB for backing up my files like music, videos, photo, programs, etc...
But, i have another one with 1 TB (usb 2.0), what can i do with it?, backing up the 2 TB hard drive?, or only Time Machine?, i don't know.
I have a Macbook Pro Retina 13" with 128 Gb of hard drive (SSD).

I suggest using both drives for backup. One backup is not enough to be safe.

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Timemachine for backing up external harddisk

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