Wirelessly backing up without Time Capsule?

Question

I read that it's possible to wirelessly back up without Time Capsule as long as the external drive is connected to another Mac. Can anyone  help please?

Answer 1

1. You can do what you are now doing. You could transfer files via your home network using File Sharing.
2. Partitioning is done using Disk Utility. See:
To resize the drive do the following:
1. Open Disk Utility and select the drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list.
2. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. A portion may appear as a blue rectangle representing the used space on a partition.
3. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for each partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and move the bottom of the rectangle upwards until you have reduced the existing partition enough to create the desired new volume's size. The space below the resized partition will appear gray. Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.  (Note: You can only make a partition smaller in order to create new free space.)
4. Click on the [+] button below the sizing window to add a new partition in the gray space you freed up. Give the new volume a name, if you wish, then click on the Apply button. Wait until the process has completed.
You should now have a new volume on the drive.
It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as resizing is not necessarily free of risk for data loss.  Your drive must have sufficient contiguous free space for this process to work.
4. This can be done as you are now doing it. You can share the backup drive from the desktop computer if you have a home network. Select the drive. Press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. Check the box labeled "Shared." Now open Sharing preferences and check the box, "File Sharing." If the shared drive is not in the list then use the Add [+] button and add the drive to the list. On the other computer you should see your desktop now listed in the Finder's sidebar under Servers. Click on the desktop name then click on the Connect As link in the upper right. Log in as a registered user using your admin account on the desktop and enter your admin password on the desktop account. You should now see an array of folders you can access including the shared drive. Double-click on it and it will mount on the Desktop. You can now use it like any other drive. For more help with this process select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for "sharing."
Now, you can use a lot of different software for doing backups, syncs, etc. Here are a few:
Backup Software Recommendations
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
Silver Keeper
Super Flexible File Synchronizer
Synchronize Pro! X
Synk Pro
Synk Standard
Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore.  Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
All of the above can use a networked drive as a source or destination for backing up or syncing files.