Need external hard drive for Time Machine?
- Thread starter Movingon
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You could use a partition on an internal drive but I don't really like the idea. Having your data and the backup on the same drive means that a drive failure ruins the initial data and the backup.
Time Machine can work with an external drive, a second internal drive, or a network device.
Time Machine can work with an external drive, a second internal drive, or a network device.
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Yes, you do need an external drive. Time Machine is just the app that performs the backups and allows you to browse through them and restore files from your backups. It's like going back in time, get it?
Don't spend extra on a hard drive just because it says it is just for Macs. Pretty much any drive can be reformatted with Disk Utility on your Mac before you perform your first backup. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to do that if you are a visual person.
Don't spend extra on a hard drive just because it says it is just for Macs. Pretty much any drive can be reformatted with Disk Utility on your Mac before you perform your first backup. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to do that if you are a visual person.
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As stated above if the day your hard drive fails, and they all will sooner or later, you will lose your backup as well. Personally prefer cloning on to the external hard drive. If you provide computer details can advise if you should go UBS2, USB3, Thunderbolt or Firewire.
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I back up my 2011 i7 27 inch iMac running OS 10.9.2 to an external WD Elements 1TB drive which I bought for around $75-$80 then reformatted as stated above. I also have an emergency start up drive created on an 8GB USB drive. Haven't had to use either yet although I suppose I am tempting fate by saying that!
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You'll learn Wardy you'll learn tempting the IT gods like that!
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Hi Movingon - take heed of this great advice, i.e. at the very minimum you need an external HD running Time Machine (TM) for a basic backup (BU) - BUT also redundant BUs especially of your important personal files should be done. Before continuing, please let us know your needs? Dave
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