02-27-2009, 02:07 PM

This is my first time using Time Machine. I purchased a 500 gb portable hard drive (Western Digital) which is mac compatible. When I got it, it I loaded all of my files from my pc onto the hard drive. I have transferred some of the files (mostly pictures and documents) to my MacBook hard drive. When I connected my portable hard drive and opened up Time Machine, I located the Western Digital drive fine but it said it needed to be reformatted and that it will erase all of the files on the hard drive. I think there are some files on it that are necessary to run the hard drive so I'm nervous about deleting them. Can I delete them and still have the hard drive run properly? Should I just transfer all of the remaining files to my laptop and then use the Time Machine program? I want to be able to periodically back up all of my files on the portable hard drive.

02-27-2009, 03:01 PM

In order to use your external HDD with Time Machine it must be formatted to HFS+. That process will wipe the drive clean and destroy all the data that is currently on it. Before formatting, save everything you need from the drive to a safe place.

There are no files on the WD drive that are necessary for it to run properly. Formatting it for Time Machine will prepare the drive to be used by your Mac for backups or even for storage of your OS X data if you choose.

You can even partition the drive into two partitions; one for Time Machine, the other for storage. The second partition can be created as FAT-32 and used for OS X and Windows file storage. If you need more help on this, post back and someone will lend a hand.

Regards.

02-27-2009, 07:46 PM

Thanks that was helpful. I saved all my files that were on the portable hard drive and then erased them using Time Machine. Then I ran Time Machine and it now has all of my back up on it. Can you provide details on the partitioning process. Thanks again.

02-28-2009, 01:33 AM

To partition the WD, go to Utilities, Disk Utility. Highlight the WD drive, erase it, and then create two partitions. Format one as HFS + (for Time Machine), format the second partition as MS DOS (FAT-32) for file storage.

See this web site. Link

Regards.

01-24-2011, 04:28 PM

Is it necessary to partition my external hard drive if I want to use it for Time Machine and to store loads of music that can't fit on my iMac? Like, will a separate folder do the trick? If not, will I still format the second partition as it is discussed previously in the thread?

Thanks!!

01-24-2011, 06:10 PM

No, it's not necessary to partition it for both Time Machine and to store iTunes music files. Time Machine backups will not overwrite your music files. And yes, you should store the music files in a separate folder on the drive.

05-15-2011, 06:19 AM

Hi, I'm in a similar situation. My 1tb hard drive has all my music, videos, etc stored in there and the format is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Will selecting it as my time machine backup hard drive just create a folder and work from that or will it erase the files and then backup?

Thanks!

05-16-2011, 12:28 AM

If your drive is already HFS+ extended Time Machine will not erase the files that are already there. If it is formatted as something else (say FAT 32) then it will need to be re-formatted and that would lead to lose of data.

One of the downsides to this arrangement is that as your music files take up more space on the drive there is less space for backups.