Back Up Drive

Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
368
Reaction score
10
Points
18
Location
Long Island, New York
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 21.5 (2019)
I found a back up drive that I had used on my old Windows machine - long gone. I would liked to be able to use it as a second backup for my iMAC.

In order to use it I assume that it has to be "prepared" for the MAC system, sort of like the old format command in windows as I'm currently not able top save anything on it. What must I do in order to use the drive?

I would just as soon "format" the entire drive to get rid of whatever windows left over files are still on the machine. Thanks
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
3,626
Reaction score
111
Points
63
Your Mac's Specs
2018 15" MBP, 2019 11" iPad Pro, iPhone 11 Pro
You are correct. You would use Disk Utility in the utilities folder inside the applications folder (Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility).
Go to the Erase tab after you select your external HDD (it has to be plugged in, obviously). There you can select what format to use. If you want it to be used with Time Machine backups you'll want to choose MacOS Extended (Journaled).
 
OP
F
Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
368
Reaction score
10
Points
18
Location
Long Island, New York
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 21.5 (2019)
You are correct. You would use Disk Utility in the utilities folder inside the applications folder (Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility).
Go to the Erase tab after you select your external HDD (it has to be plugged in, obviously). There you can select what format to use. If you want it to be used with Time Machine backups you'll want to choose MacOS Extended (Journaled).
Thank you for the assistance.

One thing I must say. I have posted several questions on this forum as a result of my switching to a MAC. I simply cannot believe how quickly I have gotten a response in every case!!
 

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