Help partitioning external hard drive for time machine and storage.

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I just got a new Western Digital 1 TB passport external hard drive. I am trying to partition it into 2 partitions: one for Time Machine backup, and one for general storage. I would like advice on a few things:

First, I am not sure which partition scheme to use, although since I have an intel macbook I am pretty sure it is supposed to be the GUID Partition Table.

Second, I don't know which format to use for each volume. I don't know much about the different formats, but from the research I have done I think the Time Machine partition should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled). For the general storage partition I would like to have it windows comparable, so should I use MS-DOS (FAT)? I know this wouldn't allow me to store files over 4 GB, but what kind of individual files are that large? I have full movie and things and the biggest I have is 1.5 GB.

Finally, I am not sure how much space to allow for time machine. I was thinking either 200 or 250 GB, leaving 750 or 800 for storage.

I am looking for advice on all these things, mostly the format part. Is what I am saying the best way to go? and WHY?
 

cwa107


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I just got a new Western Digital 1 TB passport external hard drive. I am trying to partition it into 2 partitions: one for Time Machine backup, and one for general storage. I would like advice on a few things:

First, I am not sure which partition scheme to use, although since I have an intel macbook I am pretty sure it is supposed to be the GUID Partition Table.

Second, I don't know which format to use for each volume. I don't know much about the different formats, but from the research I have done I think the Time Machine partition should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled). For the general storage partition I would like to have it windows comparable, so should I use MS-DOS (FAT)? I know this wouldn't allow me to store files over 4 GB, but what kind of individual files are that large? I have full movie and things and the biggest I have is 1.5 GB.

Finally, I am not sure how much space to allow for time machine. I was thinking either 200 or 250 GB, leaving 750 or 800 for storage.

I am looking for advice on all these things, mostly the format part. Is what I am saying the best way to go? and WHY?

For compatibility purposes, you're on the right track. You'll want to create 2 partitions, using GUID. The Time Machine partition will need to be Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and the other will be MS-DOS (AKA FAT32). And of course, you will be limited to smaller file sizes. If that becomes a problem, you can always install Paragon's NTFS for Mac ( ~$30) and then format it in NTFS, which is more efficient overall.

As far as the size of the Time Machine partition, that's a tough question. Even if you make it equal to the size of your internal HDD, it's not going to have enough room to keep multiple versions of your data (which is the "killer feature" of Time Machine). Generally, you want to give it as much space as you can afford to.
 

Slydude

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You are correct about the formatting for Time Machine is extended journaled. You'll also want to use GUID as the partition type since you are using an Intel based Mac.

Off the top of my head I can't think of many files that would be larger than four Gb. If you rip/copy a DVD the files in that folder would take-up four Gb but that is collectively for the entire folder.

Too slow typing on the iPad. Looks like CWA beat me to it. For comparison Mt TM backup had a yehttp://www.atpm.com/15.03/howto.shtmlar of stuff but took up an entire TB. For a look at some of the things I excluded check out ATPM 15.03 - How To: Time Travel: Introduction to Time Machine
 

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