alternative to Time Machine with an NTFS external drive

Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi! I've installed Macfuse and NTFS-3g and they work just fine. But now I need help in finding a solution to backup my files.

On my Windows laptop I used to use the software (Maxtor Manager) bundled with my external hard drive (Maxtor OneTouch 4 500gb), this app is also available for Mac but the first step in installing it is to format my hard drive to HFS, I don't want to do that. Time machine also doesn't recognize NTFS formatted drives.

So my question is: are there any (free) alternatives to backup my macbook? (I don't want to manually drag and drop files to the hard drive once in a while to backup my files because the process will simply replace

OR: I could format my drive to HFS but how can I make my Windows XP laptop use the drive (for free)?
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
I found the best solution to backing up two different systems (Mac and PC) is to purchase and use two external drives. I have one external formatted to HFS+ which I use with "Carbon Copy Cloner" to image my Macintosh internal HDD and another external formatted to FAT-32 that I use for Windows XP.

With todays large inexpensive external hard drives that are available, there really is no reason to put your data at risk.

Of course you could always partition your external hard drive to accommodate both systems. One partition for HFS+ to use with Time Machine, the other formatted to FAT-32 or NTFS to use for Windows. Just make sure the drive is large enough to serve as a backup device for both.

Regards.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top