Transfering files to a new Time Machine HD

[smitty1288]

Hi, I recently got a new external HD to use with Time Machine so I would have more space and not have to delete old backups. My old was 120 GB and now I have a 500 GB.

Anyway, I wanted to transfer the old backups to the new HD, so that I would have everything on the new one and would be able to use the old one for other things. I opened up the old HD and got to all the folders with the dates on them and then dragged them over to the new HD and dropped them with the folders with the dates on them (I hope you know what I mean). A little box came up saying it was preparing to copy a number of items, and that number just kept growing. I let it go all night and it ended up with like 2 million items at like 1.7 TB.

I know I must have done something wrong- there can't be 1.7 TB of stuff on a 120 GB HD... So if anyone knows an easier way to do this, I would be extremely happy. Thanks!

[chscag]

Why would you want to keep the old backups? Would they actually be useful if you had to restore a single file or the entire drive? This is just my opinion but unless you have some compelling reason to keep old backups (your own business, research, etc) make a new backup on the 500 Gb drive. Keep the 120 Gb around for awhile. When you feel comfortable enough, clear the drive and use it for whatever.

Regards.

[smitty1288]

Oh I guess I hadn't really thought about that option. I guess I could just pick and choose if there was anything I wanted to keep and then just clear the drive. Thanks for your different outlook chscag!