Using external hard drive as both a boot drive and time machine backup

My internal 1TB hard drive on my iMac is dead and I don't have the money to replace it at the moment.
I have everything backed up on an external 1TB drive using Time Machine. As a workaround for the time being,
Is there any way I can install the system on the external drive and use that as the boot drive without erasing the Time Machine
Backups? It seems to me I would have to have two partitions for the external drive, one for the system, and
one for Time Machine. But is there any way to add a partition without erasing the existing one with
Time Machine only on it?
Sorry if line breaks here are weird. Doing this from iPhone.

Neil , I have a mid 2010 27" imac running 10.6.8 and i want to install Lion , when i purchase Lion from app store will it give me any install options as I would like to be able to dual boot using SL and Lion , I have 500 gigs left on my 1 tb drive (should I do this) or would I be better of using an external bootable drive as I also want to use Ubuntu and or Linux down the line.
Any and all support , help and advice will be appreciated.
If you would like to e-mail me you can find it on my profile page.
Thanks

Similar Messages

Using Remote Disc to transfer Office to Macbook Air and Time Machine backup

Hello,
I just bought the new version of Macbook Air. At the store they said that transferring programs such as Office for Mac was as easy as just opening the sharing folderin preferences on my Imac and new Air and it would be a breeze. Do I have to install anything from the DVD that came with the Macbook Air to enable anything, or will I just, by wifi, start the two machines communicating?
Also, is there any easy way to just backup my last Time Machine backup from my Imac to the new Air, or does this take some doing? Can I backup the Time Machine info while still keeping all of the info on it for my usual work with the Imac?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

First, the instruction book that comes with your MBA will walk you step by step through how to use remote disc. Its not just an open and play thing -- you do have to futz with your other machine, copy over security codes to allow communication, etc -- but it will walk you right through it, so the manual is the place to start.
You can use your Time Machine backup by using the Migration Assistant -- that starts right off the bat when you first initialize your MBA right out of the box, or you can go to Applications>Utilities>Migration Assistant anytime you want.
One thing you should be aware -- you don't really have too many options for the migration -- it will copy over everything from your TIme machine so you better have enough room on your MBA to do that. You can select if you don't want files copied (i.e. music) but that is about it. I did just that wiht my MBP backup on TIme machine -- it was about 100 GB and my new MBA is 120 GB. No problems there, worked perfectly.
Don't do your migration wirelessly -- about 100GB wirelessly on the MBA with a fast cable broadband connection would take 16 - 20 HOURS to do a migration. Connect your MBA via the optional ethernet dongle to an ethernet cable, and hardwire that to an open ethernet port on your router -- 100GB will then take about 2 - 3 hours instead.
ANother thing you should be aware of -- while Apple really touts the Remote Disc and wireless capabilities of the MBA, they are for the birds. Invest the 99.00 in a superdrive. It will be the happiest purchase you make for your MBA. If you install your MS Office via remote disc, for example, your installation will take about an hour. It takes 3 minutes with the superdrive. That is the same for anything you try to do via remote disc. Yeah, it works. It just takes hours and hours of your time. I don't know about you, but I have no interest in waiting an hour for a program to install.
As to your final question -- your Time Machine backup will ALWAYS remain associated with your iMac. After the migration assistant completes, you do not have a connection to that backup on your MBA anymore. You will have to do a fresh backup of your MBA if you want to back it up to your TIme machine. The Time machine makes a specific backup for each computer that you own. You can copy from the backup, but you can't reaccess it later. It will remain accessable to your iMac.

Had a recent crash on my macbook, was previously using OS 10.6 I think. Restored from recent Time Machine backup and updated to OS 10.8.2 and now I cannot open Logic Pro 9. I get a 'No entry' Icon and a not supported on this type of Mac message. I cannot

Had a recent crash on my macbook, was previously using OS 10.6 I think. Restored from recent Time Machine backup and updated to OS 10.8.2 and now I cannot open Logic Pro 9. I get a 'No entry' Icon and a not supported on this type of Mac message. I cannot update either as anything up to 9.1.1 tells me I don't need it yet 9.1.2 tells me I need an eligable Logic Pro Version was not found in applications.
All of my files are stored in a separate hard drive with only the actual app having been on my Macbook. Should I just reinstall?

Hi
To run Mouitain Lion you need to update Logic.
For the updaters to work the Logic application must be:
a) Within the Applications folder, and not in any sub-folder
b) Named "Logic Pro" with no extra numbers or spaces
CCT

HT201250 My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

Inherit a Backup
Inherit a Backup (2)

Hard drive both as s startup and Time Machine

Right now I am using an Iomega 360 GB hard drive for Time Machine. I would like to put a system on the Iomega so I can use it as a start up in case something hapens with my computer's startup. If I do this will it erase the year of Time Machine copies I have on it now?
Can the system startup and time machine both be on my Iomega hard drive on the same partition" Or should I have 2 hard drives. One for Time Machine and the other for the system startup?
I'm just a little freaked out because of the trouble I have had with installing Z.6.

360GB is kind of small for a Time Machine drive already (unless the data you are backing up is something like 160GB), so you may not want to install additional stuff on the same drive. However, the Time Machine backup archive is kept in its own folder, so you can put other data on the same drive, including a system installation.
If you are installing Leopard, as long as you don't select to run an +Erase and Install+, and there is no existing system on that drive, the installed system will be added to the existing data.
Ideally, it would be best to have a separate volume that is only used for Time Machine. A volume can be a partition (it does not need to be the whole drive), so you could partition that drive to have a big partition and a small partition (20GB should be enough), and put the emergency startup system on the small partition. If it is for emergency startup, you can Customize the Leopard installation to de-select things you do not need, such as languages, printer drivers, and bundled apps; that will reduce the size of the installation quite a bit. I use an old FireWire-based iPod with a broken screen as my emergency/maintenance startup disk (about 20GB).
I'm just a little freaked out because of the trouble I have had with installing Z.6.
Is that X.6 (Snow Leopard)? What trouble are you having?

I have replaced my old hard drive with a new SSD drive. Can I restore a complete Time Machine backup

I have replaced my old hard drive on a MacBook Pro midyear 2010 with a new SSD drive. I have a complete system backup of my old drive in an external hard drive using Time Machine.
Questions that I would like to get answered.
1) Can I connect my external hard drive to the macbook pro and use that to boot up my machine by pressing and holding down the Options key? Once booted up successfully, can I use Disk Utility to format the new SSD and then restore the complete time machine backup?
2) If that is not possible, can I use my old drive which I can connect using a USB adapter and use that to boot up by following the same strategy as listed in Step#1 above?
3) If neither options are possible, do I need to use a bootable USB drive for Mavericks OS X to boot up the machine,
I have Mavericks OS X ( 10.9.6) and I do not have a DVD of the OS.
Any help is appreciated.

Let me first document the steps that did not work and then I will document the steps that worked.
1) Replaced the hard drive with SSD.
2) Connected the original hard drive using a USB adapter to the MacBook to make it behave like an external device.
3) Powered on the machine and on hearing the chime pressed Command-R to start in recovery mode.
4) Chose the Disk Utility option to erase and format the SSD. The format chosen was Mac OS Extended Journaled.
5) Once the formatting was done, then clicked on the "Restore" tab in Disk Utility
6) In the Source field, dragged my original hard drive from the left pane and placed it in the field
7) On the destination field, choose the new SSD drive. Clicked on "Restore". Gave me a warning, accepted the warning and the restore was under way.
8) I had 236 GB to restore so took 3.5 hours before it was done.
9) Disconnected the external hard drive ( my original internal HDD), shut down the machine and powered on again.
10) Heard the chime and after that it was a white screen with no Apple logo.
Was visibly upset and started thinking what my next move will be. Then tried these steps
1) Again powered off the machine.
2) Connected my internal HDD once more as an external drive
3) Powered on and on hearing the chime, pressed Command-R as before
4) Once the OS X utilities screen popped up, this time chose Install OS X
5) Erased the contents of SSD once more and reformatted it using Mac OS Extended Journaled.
6) Installed OS X by following the prompts.
7) Once the OS was installed, I was presented with an option on how to transfer data to this new Mac
8) Chose the option to move the data from my original HDD.
9) Took another 3 hours to move the data.
10) Removed the original HDD once the transfer was complete, powered down the machine and started it once more.
11) Booted successfully and all my content is now accessible on the new SSD.
Moral of the story - It is the spirit that counts.

I'm having a hard time setting up my external hard from with my AirPort Extreme and Time Machine Backups.

I have been using a Mac Mini with an external hard and Time Machine. I bought an Airport Extreme and have had problem setting up the hard drive using the USB port on the Airport Extreme. I also just recently bought a Mac Book Air and hope to have both computers back up to the external hard drive using Time Machine and Airport Extreme. I have been using the optical drive from the Mac mini to load programs into the Mac Book Air. I think I'm just getting confused in Finder. I am just not seeing the hard drive. I ended up plugging the hard drive back into the Mac Mini and that is work fine again. How do I setting the external hard drive up to the AirPort Extreme and use for both computers? Or at least to start with the Mac mini.

It's critical to understand that Time Machine (TM) stores backups differently between local and network drives. That would mean the TM backup on your locally attached USB hard drive will not be directly useable when it is connected to the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS). There is a way to copy a local version to a network version, but it is not fool-proof. When you do connect this drive and point TM to it, TM will start a brand new backup, leaving your existing backup as is.
If your current backup is critical to you, you may want to consider getting a second USB drive to attach to the Extreme and use your existing one as a backup ... or use TM's multi-backup process to backup to more than one destination drive alternatively.
So, at this point, you may want to make a decision on how you want to go forward to help provide a solution for you.
To directly answer your question, when you go to select a destination for a Time Machine backup, the drive(s) that show up under "Backup Disks" are those that TM already recognizes and has backed up to. Those listed under "Available Disks" are drives (either local or on the network) that TM can back up to.

Airport Extreme and Time Machine backups using a USB drive

Hi there,
I checked through the threads/FAQ's for an answer to this but couldn't find anything...
I have an AE set up with a USB drive attached as my Time Machine backup drive. When I start my MBP up and initiate a forced backup, Time Machine will go and find my drive (via the AE), mount it and carry out the backup without a problem. However, if I start my MBP up and wait for the scheduled hourly backup, TM doesn't see the drive (or perform the backup) unless I go and manually mount the drive first.
I realise I can put the drive in my login items to auto mount on boot but I wondered if there was a way to get the scheduled backups to work without doing this (as with the forced backups).
Thanks

mattschenker wrote:
Pondini,
Actually, I wasn't thinking about theft. I was just thinking that for security in a possible data-loss "event," it was better to have the backup drive physically separated from the main computer. But maybe that's not necessary.
That's unlikely. A power surge could take out both your Mac and connected external HD. You do have your Macs on good surge protectors or, better yet, U.P.S. systems, right? If not, see [Using a U.P.S. System with a Mac|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/UPS.html].
But wherever the external HD is, unless it's on a surge protector or U.P.S., it's still exposed.
Other things causing data loss are even less likely to affect your Time Machine drive (especially if there's no other data on it).
Yes, I could hook something up to my Mac Mini. Good point! And that would really keep it separated, since it would be in an entirely different floor. But then again, Time Machine backups done wirelessly would probably take forever.
The first one, yes. But if you have a good WIFI connection, subsequent ones shouldn't take too long or be too obtrusive, except when you've updated a lot of data (like installing an OSX update).
See #22 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum), for setup instructions.
But this just shows that there are a lot of options.
Yes.
I do wish Apple would solve the problem of Time Machine working via the Airport Extreme. That would be my favorite option.
Not likely. Time Machine's been out since Leopard, about 3 years, and backups via an Extreme have never been reliable or supported. Just why they work well on a Time Capsule, or even a USB drive connected to a TC, but not an Airport, is a mystery, but that's the way it is.
But it's always a good idea to keep secondary backups. See #27 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum), for some suggestions.

Can I clone and time machine backup on the same external drive?

I recently purchased a WD 2 TB external usb drive. I want to make sure that I have good backups in case my Macbook decides to give up on me. Should I clone a copy of HD or just time machine backup? Can i do both on one external hd?

RobCob wrote:
I'm honestly only concerned about my photos and music.
You can Manually Backup your iPhoto Library and your iTunes Library to an External Drive without addition Software.
How to correctly move your media:
iTunes: How to move the library to an EHD
Early iPhoto: How to move the Library to an EHD
iPhoto '11: Move your iPhoto library to a new location
iMovie: How to move the Library to an EHD
It is important that the External Hard Drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled).

How big a hard drive do I need for iMac and Time Machine?

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere already. I am going to buy an iMac, probably the new 24" with a 320G internal HDD. I already have one Lacie external 320G HDD so I was wondering whether I can use this for Time Machine backups, or do I need to buy a bigger one? If so, how big? Is there a rule of thumb for working out how much hard drive space you need to have for Time Machine, for instance if I were to buy the 500G iMac what would I need?
thanks.

I agree with the "double the size" rule of thumb. You should also consider how much of the 320GB you are actually using and are likely to use in the next year or two. After all, it's the amount of storage you use that matters, not the size of the disk. Disks will very likely be cheaper soon. You should also keep in mind that TM deletes old archive data when it runs out of disk space. So as long as you have more disk space than you have data to back up, TM will work, though you will lose older versions of your data.
So if your 320GB drive only has 100GB used and you're not the kind of person who eats up disk like there's no tomorrow, the 320GB drive should be fine for now. If you expect that 320GB disk to be full soon then a 750GB TM disk is more like what you need.
The same logic applies to a 500GB iMac. If you only expect to use 250GB in the next year or two then a 500GB TM disk should be OK. A 1TB drive will be a lot cheaper next year or the year after.

Switch hard drive from local to Airport Extreeme for Time Machine Backup

I have an external drive I am using for time machine backups for my iMac. I have an Airport Extreme and would like to use it to backup my iMac and my Macbook Pro (wireless). I have a PC that would be nice to backup a few things also, but not mandatory.
If I move the hard drive from the 400 FireWire port to the Airport, will it need to be reconfigured to allow for backups on teh network? Will it erase (or will I need to erase) the drive's current backup data of my iMac? Do I need to partition it to allow for multiple machine backups?
Thanks.
Matt

If I move the hard drive from the 400 FireWire port to the Airport, will it need to be reconfigured to allow for backups on teh network?
No, as long as the external hard drive is formatted in either HFS+ or FAT32 it will be recognized by the AirPort.
Will it erase (or will I need to erase) the drive's current backup data of my iMac?
Potentially, yes. Time Machine backups are stored differently on local attached drives versus those that are network-based. There is a procedure to "copy" an existing TM backup from an external drive to a Time Capsule that may work for an AirPort Disk (external drive connected to either a TC or AirPort Extreme). However, I would strongly recommend not going this route as Apple does not currently support Time Machine backups to AirPort Disks.
Do I need to partition it to allow for multiple machine backups?
For Time Machine this would not be necessary as it will create a unique "file" for each Mac. However, you may have other requirements that partitioning the drive would make sense. Note: You would have to partition the drive prior to connecting it to the AirPort, as the AirPort Utility itself does not support partition management.

Hard drive died with a kernel panic during time machine backup

after installing a new hard drive into my 13" macbook pro (mid-09), i used the time machine utility on the os x install disk to restore from my last backup. the restore went well and all my data was fine. however, after about 30 minutes of internet browsing, i got a random kernel panic and after rebooting the computer the new hard drive was no longer being recognized.
i have no idea what happened to the drive (it was brand new, just installed earlier today) but a major concern of mine is that time machine was trying to back up the computer when the kernel panic occured, so i had to reboot in the middle of taking a backup. could this possibly corrupt my time machine backups?
im really scared right now so any insight helps.
and more info regarding my situation can be found here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4174894?tstart=0

after installing a new hard drive into my 13" macbook pro (mid-09), i used the time machine utility on the os x install disk to restore from my last backup. the restore went well and all my data was fine. however, after about 30 minutes of internet browsing, i got a random kernel panic and after rebooting the computer the new hard drive was no longer being recognized.
i have no idea what happened to the drive (it was brand new, just installed earlier today) but a major concern of mine is that time machine was trying to back up the computer when the kernel panic occured, so i had to reboot in the middle of taking a backup. could this possibly corrupt my time machine backups?
im really scared right now so any insight helps.
and more info regarding my situation can be found here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4174894?tstart=0

Iphoto library and time machine backup on a same drive ?

Hi
I want to free up some space on my MBP so I am planning to move my iphoto library from MBP to an external hard drive. Can I also use the same external drive to keep Time Machine backups ? In short if I buy a large size external drive can I use it as a TM backup drive and also as iphoto library home location ? Or do I have to keep two separate external drives...one for TM and the other for iphoto library.
Thanks
Mandar

Yes, you can, but I wouldn't recommend it. Should your backup drive fail then you not only lose your Time Machine backups but you will also lose your iPhoto Library. But if you put each on two different drives then you lose none. If the iPhoto drive fails your library is still backed up on the Time Machine backup drive. If you lose the Time Machine drive then you lose a backup that can be easily recreated, but you still have the iPhoto drive. Two drives is a much better strategy. Always keep backups separate from all other external drive uses.

USB drive attached to Airport Extreme as a time machine backup?

I have a WD 750gb external USB drive that I was using as a "time machine" with my iMac. My Airport Extreme has a USB port and I want to move the WD over to there, but continue to use it as time machine. Possible to do this? If yes, then how?
Thanks much

You can, but Time Machine uses a disk image file for the Time Machine archive (instead of a folder) when a network drive is used. Therefore, you may have to start your Time Machine archive over again.
If you have one Mac to back up with Time Machine, it is better to leave the drive attached directly to the computer over USB. Your initial and hourly Time Machine backups will complete faster.

Can time capsule be use simultaneously as a wireless hard drive and time machine backup?

Hello, I currently have a macbook pro retina and have about 600 gig of content. I am tired of hauling around an external hard drive with him to hold it all. I was thinking of getting a Time Capsule but wanted to know if it can serve as both an external hard drive for my content as well as the destination disk for a time machine back up. If not, can I attach an external hard drive to the time machine to use as the backup drive. Oh one more thing, will I only be able to see the content if I connect to the same home internet network or will I be able to access it with any internet connection regardless of where I am??

Hello, I currently have a macbook pro retina and have about 600 gig of content. I am tired of hauling around an external hard drive with him to hold it all.
Who is him?? The MBPr.. interesting choice of pronoun if it is.
Do you really need 600GB of content.. ??
You can buy a 1TB 2.5" drive in a tiny holder now. In terms of the amount of lugging.. I doubt you will feel that much extra.
I was thinking of getting a Time Capsule but wanted to know if it can serve as both an external hard drive for my content as well as the destination disk for a time machine back up. If not, can I attach an external hard drive to the time machine to use as the backup drive. Oh one more thing, will I only be able to see the content if I connect to the same home internet network or will I be able to access it with any internet connection regardless of where I am??
We do not recommend the TC as an external hard disk to store your files. It has no.. repeat NO ability to back itself up.. it is a sealed unit without spare parts available.. If it dies.. apple will replace not recover. Say goodbye to all your files.. and frankly that are not that reliable.
TM cannot backup a network drive.. and you cannot backup without using a 3rd party software and another USB disk or NAS.. so.. to cut the long story short.. buy the right box.. a NAS.. QNAP and Synology make real NAS, with fully integrated backup that can do TM backups.
If you do decide on the TC for your files.. you can access it locally no problems.
From WAN over the net using BTMM and iCloud.. remember every file movement is restricted to the slowest speed in the network.. usually your upload speed at each end.. try doing anything at 800kbps which is all most people get. If you have high speed fibre then great.
A real NAS will be accessed by SFTP directly using dynamic dns or static public IP .. even better.. but the same limitation applies.. speed of the convoy is the speed of the slowest ship.
A dropbox in the cloud is often a better way although accessing 600GB is still not easy.. and getting it up there.. harder still. But download speed is a lot better than upload.

Using external hard drive as both a boot drive and time machine backup

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