External hard drive backup

Hi, I've just got a new external hard drive and its currently doing a back up using Time Machine. I bought the hard drive so as to delete most stuff off my macbook. The hard drive on the macbook is nearly full and I was wondering if this is OK to do and will I be able to get all my photos etc at a later date??

I'm assuming I can't delete the likes of songs etc as it'll be a nightmare trying to sort out locations for iTunes to play them from etc. Also, if I decide to view photos using iPhoto, can I do this straight away or do I first have to copy them back to the macbook and then view them???

HELP!!

Depending on how large the external drive is, you can divide it into two partitions: One for Time Machine, the other for storing photos, iTunes folder, and so on. Follow Apple's instructions on how to move iTunes to an external hard drive or different folder.

However, I recommend you also consider replacing your internal hard drive with a larger faster model. That will give you the best of both worlds...

Regards.

Great, thanks for the advice!!! Appreciated.

I would recommend buying a Time Capsule for your backups and use your external hard drive as 100% user data.

If your going to buy a new hard drive consider a Solid State Disk. uber-fast uber-reliable. You won't need the additional storage if your using the external for user created content like iTunes and iPhoto.

if you're deleting the files from your main hard drive when you move them, you're not really "backing up" anything, even if you partition the external imho (1 for data, 1 for time machine), because that's a single point of failure. At minimum, also store your data on DVDs so that if that external crashes, you won't be wiped out. Better option would be to also store a copy at a different location (in the event of catastrophe like fire/flood or theft).

My take is that TM is great for historical changes and a restore if time is not of the essence and you have the OS available. SuperDuper bootable back up has saved my bacon and allowed life to continue without interruption, booting off Ext HD. So sort what is important and think - what if my MacBook fails tomorrow?

Collin Bl said:

My take is that TM is great for historical changes and a restore if time is not of the essence and you have the OS available. SuperDuper bootable back up has saved my bacon and allowed life to continue without interruption, booting off Ext HD. So sort what is important and think - what if my MacBook fails tomorrow?

Click to expand...

So do you use SuperDuper in conjunction with Time Machine? I have 500 GB internal HDD, and I have a 1TB external solely devoted to Time Machine. I'm thinking of adding a 2nd external to have SuperDuper back up to? Is that something like what you do? Just playing through variations. And wouldn't I just need another 500GB external for SuperDuper if it'd be backing up the 500GB internal? I'd still use the first 1TB drive as an exclusive time machine drive.

To rhone:

First you need to understand the difference in making a backup with Time Machine versus SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.

I recommend both - here's why: The Time Machine backup allows you to go back in time and pull versions of files and folders that you may have made when the system was running well. Also, upon reinstall of the operating system from a clean boot (your install DVD) the restoration process can use the Time Machine backup to get you back up and running quickly. However, Time Machine backups are not bootable.

SuperDuper (shareware) and Carbon Copy Cloner (donation ware) can be used to make a bootable clone of your hard drive to an external hard drive. The external can be booted and used to run OS X if something should happen to the internal drive. And.. both programs do incremental backups although that feature will only work in SuperDuper if you register the program first.

Regards.

chscag:
Thanks for the explanation. So I'm on track if I get a second external for SuperDuper because it adds a discrete backup benefit?

I'd then have:
1. my internal 500GB HDD, where I store files, etc,
2. my 1TB external, where Time Machine does it's thing (that's the only purpose for that drive), and
3. a 500GB external, to back up my HDD with SuperDuper independent of and in addition to Time Machine.

I'm doing 1 and 2 presently. I'm considering 3. I also back up to dual layer DVDs and store them offsite. But reality intervenes, of course, and no one ever does that as often as he/she should.

Am I understanding correctly or does this sound like a viable plan? Or am I missing something simpler and cheaper?

And to the OP, I hope this contributes to your original question (or to others) and isn't a straight hijack!

To rhone:

It sounds like a solid backup strategy and probably the least expensive for the amount of safety and redundancy you will have.

Regards.