Why You Should Never Partition Your Backup Drive

[@JohnMHammer]

It's important to keep a backup of important data in another physical location for much the same reason. If the backup device is connected to the Mac and they both get stolen or destroyed, everything is gone. There are many "cloud" backup services but if you keep important documents in a safe deposit box that is a good place to keep your backups. Get TWO backup devices and swap them between your Mac and your bank no less frequently than you can afford to lose your data - for some people, that might mean weekly or even daily, for me once a month is good enough (but I do use "cloud" backup, too). If you live and work in two different locations, you can shuttle your backup devices between those two - don't use your backup devices in both locations, one location is where the device should be actively used and the other is just for storage.

[@robertl.4675]

Your advice is “pure gold”. Thanks for sharing!

[@portiagts9416]

Thanks for setting fire to my plan Gary, but I learned a lot. 👍

[@vernearase3044]

Actually, I _do_ partition an external drive to backup my 2021 MacBook Pro (which contains no critical data) - one partition contains a bootable clone and the other a Time Machine. A third backup exists on the network as a network Time Machine. I justify the two backups on one external drive as really a single backup - one allows me to boot if everything goes south, the other is a historical archival backup. If I lose the external drive there's always the network Time Machine. My main driver is an 2020 iMac 5K where the _real_ critical data lives, and it's backup up on a Thunderbolt clone drive, a Thunderbolt Time Machine disk, a network Time Machine, and a BackBlaze offsite backup. The iMac has a connected Thunderbolt disk array with 50 TB of data and that's backed up to a Synology NAS in the family room as well as on the BackBlaze backup.

[@rupertspencer6382]

I did partition my backup drive but I didn't store data on it. Partition 1 was Time Machine, partition 2 was a bootable backup created with Super Duper so both essentially had the same data. It came in very handy when my internal Mac hard drive died. I could still boot and run off the bootable external drive partition, albeit slower, but I wasn't dead in the water until I could get it fixed. I did eventually fill up the time machine but it still had months of backup.

[@ELEKTROGOWK]

I use a Sandisk G-Drive in raid 1 mode and split the drive into 2 volumes. One volume is for the TimeMachine, so I have incremental backups of my Mac system and my external work SSD every hour, and the other volume is used for large data storage, which doesn't need the incremental backup. Both volumes have the extra security with the raid1 setup.

[@macmost]

So the problem is your "large data storage" has no backup at all now.

[@markfreemantle7608]

I completely understand Gary's point. It makes perfect sense if the Data stored on a second partition is Read/Write data. I have one application, Band-in-a-Box, with Huge quantities of live music [keeping this simple]. Since I purchased the content, if I ever loose it I can access the account and re-download the data. However, as noted in another Comment, this Read-only data is very similar to a cache (viz. slow), so on my new iMac I purchased a very large SSD to install ALL data on the iMac. Now my old partitioned drive can serve as a backup for the Read-only data and I can set up the iMac Time Machine to exclude that Read-Only data folder.

[@SuperDave502]

Thank you for all of your informative videos. I look forward each day for them. A good follow up to this one might be how to transfer a Time Machine drive that is filling up to a larger drive without losing the previous archived data. (If that is possible) As you now have me thinking my current Time Machine drive needs upgrading.

[@macmost]

Don't. Just start a new backup on a new drive. Keep the old one around for a while in case you need a file from there.

[@globtrott74]

A useful piece of information. That clears up some of my questions. Thank you very much, Gary

[@basilbcf]

I do have a 20TB drive partitioned for time machine, BUT I also backup all my drives with BackBlaze.

[@maggiem.5904]

I didn't know about letting Time Machine automatically format a drive. What I have been doing is getting a new external drive when Apple rolls out a new operating system, and renaming with the new OS and brand of drive. Or if my TM gets full before that, I get a new drive. I start a fresh TM backup when I get the new drive. I have had external drives fail for no particular reason in the past - this way I don't have all my eggs in one basket, and I figure newer hard drives are less likely to fail. I also make clones on separate drives, and store/backup certain things on Dropbox.

[@loisskiathitis8926]

A very useful and informative video tutorial today! You explained so well. Thank you, Gary! 👏❤️

[@jimmyzbike]

Saving this. As I’m shopping for a NAS for the macmini

[@toadlguy]

In the new Cloud world, Time Machine is getting dated. Since TM keeps a copy of every file that’s changed and since iCloud and it’s various parts (files, photos, videos, books, settings) is constantly changing (particularly if you use the default settings and let it manage what’s kept locally) the vast majority of changed files are local caches of files already stored in iCloud. I have had days where I have changed only 1 or 2 actual documents, but TM is backing up 100s of MBs an hour. I keep multiple backups of work files but most of my day to day stuff is in the cloud (which also gets a complete backup from time to time). Video files and programming projects have separate backup strategies (BU drives and Git, respectively)

[@macmost]

See kzbin.info/www/bejne/r36QmZWjpbmZnas

[@AladdinsWindowTinting]

If a SSD if partitioned in half with the data mirrored, does that increase the chance of data recovery if that SSD fails?

[@donaldcope8254]

I purchased a 4 TB external drive about one year ago. I partitioned it at that time. I am using one partition for Time Machine and have not used the other yet. I think that TM will be able to use all the "space" if I do not ever use the other partition. Correct? Both partitions currently show that there is 3.71 TB available.

[@macmost]

No. If you set aside another partition it is like another drive. Time Machine won't see it and can't use it. But if both drives show 3.71 TB on a 4 TB drive, then you didn't partition, you did something else and I'm not sure what.

[@giljusino]

Gary, I’m having issues with PHOTOS on my MacBook Air. I can’t seem to turn on the iCloud switch for the PHOTOS App in SYSTEMS PREFERENCES. I click it and I get a message to turn on iCloud with in the PHOTOS app, but the app will not allow me to connect to iCloud. So I’m not able to see photos taken on my iPhone over on my Mac Air.

[@macmost]

Not sure what you are experiencing there. Call Apple Support.

[@JacobAndJamal]

I recently upgraded from a 2018 MBP to a 2023 MBP. I had an external 2TBWestern Digital drive that I used for both Time Machine and external storage (I.e. the Backup. backup folder). I believe that was partitioned with Extended Journal. I attempted the same setup with a 4TB SanDisk and APFS, but after completing Time Machine, I noticed you cant use the same drive in the way as old. Thus, here I am searching the Webs trying to understand this. Ive never had the need to portion drives or create volumes in past, so IDK the details yet of that... Honestly, its frustrating.

[@macmost]

As I show in this video DONT. Just use an HDD for Time Machine backup (See kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnmTlGaBbteSnMk) and use the SSD for external storage for other things.

[@Cptblogh]

​GARY. You never answered this guy, you gave him a total bs link to your video. Let me tell you : I have exactly the same issue; I have a 2tb portable drive but it's hdd and after I upgraded to Ventura, I decided to format the portable hdd and redid the timemachine backups on the same portable hdd but fresh. To my surprise? I can't just drag and drop any file manually anymore to that external drive. It is locked only for timemachine backups. So, do you have any ideas then?

[@MyNinjapanda]

I don't quite understand your thinking on this. Apple says that if a Time Machine backup is almost full, then the software will go through the backup and delete older unneeded file so that there is always room on the drive for the next backups. Is this not correct?

[@ProVoiceBH]

I think that 2TB can give you (for example) 20 backup copies whereas 4TB can give you 40 copies. So with more space you can go back to very old copies comparing to small space. This is what I understand but let’s hear from the Mac guru, Gary 😉😂

[@macmost]

It does do that. But there are limits. If you delete a file it is still kept around on the backup (the whole point of a backup, really). So as you delete files over time, the backup will fill up.

[@MyNinjapanda]

@@macmost Maybe we are talking about two different things, but I have a Time Machine backup of 1TB that I put in place in 2017 when I bought my iMac. I back up to this drive every hour and periodically Time Machine eliminates the oldest backups, so I still have 118GB free backing up my computer of 512GB. The oldest backup I have on the drive is April of 2022 which is good enough for me as i also back up completely my iMac every day using SuperDuper!

[@macmost]

@@MyNinjapanda Sounds like you take backup seriously and have a second backup. So you are much better off than most. Time Machine will delete older VERSIONS of files, but when you delete a file it will keep it around in the backup. Say you have file A. You use file A. It gets backed up. Then you delete file A because you don't want it anymore. Time Machine keeps file A backed up in case you made a mistake when you deleted it (it can't read your mind). So files like that will eventually (and correctly) fill up a drive. That's why you could have 512GB on your drive and your backup could be bigger than 512GB and will eventually overrun a 1TB drive. May take years, but it will happen.

[@marcusbarnes5929]

What size HDD would be optimal for timemachine for a macbook that had 4TB internal storage?

[@macmost]

Are you using almost all of it? I would get one as large as you can afford. 12 TB? 20? There is no "Optimal" as there is no disadvantage (other than a few dollars) in going larger.

[@marcusbarnes5929]

@macmostvideo I have used up 2 TB of the total 4tb so far.

[@botabob]

Great information Gary - Enjoy The Journey - Cheers

[@carlpuccijr.]

Very nice Gary! Definitely answered my question.

[@carlpuccijr.]

No problem I just thought it would be a good video Idea, Sorry.

[@Mike-lu1pt]

I am backing up my 1tb mbp with a 1tb external drive. I also have a 5tb external drive for my photos library. Can/Should I get another 5tb drive to back up my other 5tb drive? Or should I get an 8tb to use time machine for both my mbp's ssd and external drive and remove the 1tb external drive from the equation?

[@macmost]

1TB is too small to back up 1TB. You should add up the size of your files (are you using all of the 5TB of the external, hopefully not yet). So if you are using 500GB internal and say 3TB external, then 3.5TB x 2 = 7TB. So that 8TB is a minimum. And it doesn't account for the future where your data may grow. Get as big as you can. I use a 12TB right now, but I would buy an 18TB today. Remember, Time Machine saves a history of files, not just one copy of each.

[@Mike-lu1pt]

​@@macmost Thank you for your sage advice!

[@PriscilaKlopper]

Wish I had watched it before I partitioned hahah. Now, I have tons of backup and I'd like to free the other partition so Time Machine can use it too. Is there any way to do so without losing my TM backups? :(

[@macmost]

You should be able to, but you can also just erase the drive completely and start a new Time Machine backup from scratch.

[@PriscilaKlopper]

@ Thank you. Yeah, but by doing so, I would lose the backups I have so far. That’s okay then. Thank you.

[@generic_official]

Does it make sense or have the extra benefit of using a NAS for Time Machine?

[@macmost]

In some cases, like when using a MacBook and you are moving it around so much it is hard to keep a Time Machine drive attached.

[@JustGeekstuff]

I like how you explained in such detail with the plain simple obvious reasons lol.

[@ronaldpalmer6433]

This is very informative. I have a related problem, and could use some guidance. I bought a new external drive with the intention of using it as a Time Machine to backup BOTH my iMac and my MacBook Air. In the past, this was possible without partitioning the drive. But when I set up the backups, the OS partitioned the drive on its own. And now I don't know how to reformat the drive to a single partition without deleting all the backup data. Is there any way of reunifying the drive into a single partition while preserving just the backup data for the iMac?

[@macmost]

Yes, you should be able to do it just normally, no partitions. Are you sure it partitioned it? There should just be two backups on there, but no partition.

[@ronaldpalmer6433]

@@macmost When I run the Disk Utility, the external drive shows two volumes, one for each computer. Also when I set the Finder settings to show all external drives on the Desktop, TWO drive icons show up, one named for each of the two computers. Again, the operating system made this partition without any action on my part.

[@macmost]

@@ronaldpalmer6433 I don't have a drive that is being used for two backups to look right now, but I think you are good. These are different than manually partitioning the drive.

[@margeschindler9517]

Putting aside the subject of partitioning a back up drive for the moment, when you point out (and actually "stress" the fact) that a back up drive can fail, be rendered useless due to all sorts of other calamities, wouldn't this be the hazard whether [ or not ] you partition the drive? When using a "physical device" as one's backup any of the hazards mentioned in your tutorial are at risk. I believe that one should use both, a external drive as well as a cloud based source for backing up your computer.

[@macmost]

Yes, but when the original file and the backup of it are on the same drive it only takes one drive failure to lose the file. If they are on different drives (the backup drive is physically separate) it would take two simultaneous failures.

[@jeffstauffacher]

A bit off topic, but related. Can I move my home folder to an external SSD drive that I leave connected? Looking to free up space and just have the operating system on the internal ssd. I figured out how to move my photos and music libraries but can't see how to move the home folder, which includes my icloud drive folder.

[@macmost]

No, the Home folder needs to be on your internal drive. If you want to store files on your external, then just do that. Create a folder there (maybe "External Documents") and use it. But it won't sync to iCloud Drive.

[@vblack7372]

What size should the Time Machine drive be for a 2 TB machine? Currently I’m using a 5 TB for my 2 TB MacBook Pro. I feel like that’s appropriate but wanted to double check.

[@macmost]

2x the size of your drive is good. I always go with even more, but 5TB is a sweet spot right now for nice small cheap drives.

[@vblack7372]

@@macmost thank you

[@doubledark2]

great tutorial (as always)! Is it possible to copy TM from a local drive to a SparseImage? ( I want to backup to a central network drive (not a NAS but a drive attached to another Apple computer)

[@macmost]

I don't think so. I've never tried it. Lots of people use a Time Machine drive attached to a NAS. Just select the drive as your Time Machine drive and use it, no need for a disk image.

[@snappycattimesten]

3-2-1: one copy on computer ssd, one copy external HDD, one copy offsite/cloud.

[@macmost]

That's what I do.

[@warburgaby]

great video dear guys, but I have a question because maybe I didn't understand it perfectly: but then even the single volume completely dedicated to TM doesn't make much sense, or am I wrong... because this too can be broken, it can be stolen, it can fall off me in the swimming pool :) In any case, I too have divided my 4Tb WD into 3TB for TM and 1Tb for archive: but in the latter I don't put the same files that I have in the Mac... but only temporary things, I use it as a "key usb" when i go around...

[@macmost]

I'd use all of that 4TB for Time Machine. If you need an external drive, especially one you move around, get a separate drive for that. If you are concerned about the TM drive being lost, then do a second backup online (that's exactly what I do).

[@warburgaby]

@@macmost ok thank you .)

[@SteveSCHULTE-i1k]

I use Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! Instead of TIME MACHINE to avoid the problem you mentioned with the backup file filling-up. For TIME MACHINE I agree, don’t partition a backup drive. But with CCC or SD! - not an issue. So I have two “4tb” SSD’s - partitioned - each with 3tb for storage of files and 1 tb for a full backup. I do these backups regularly - and for my very important files that I want backed-up “constantly” - SugarSync is, for me, a better solution. Yes, there is an annual fee but with cloud storage - it’s not susceptible to getting lost, broken or corrupted like a TIME MACHINE external HD or SSD. Plus having TIME MACHINE constantly running with an external SSD or HD attached? That may be fine for home or office Macs - but today many people rely on MacBooks for their main computer. Very awkward to have to plug-in an external HD or SSD each time! That’s my 2¢ worth. Steve on 28 Dec 2024

[@macmost]

But the same problem exists: if that drive fails you lose both the storage partition and the backup partition. The files on the storage partition don’t exist anywhere else so you now have lost them forever.

[@SteveSCHULTE-i1k]

​@@macmost I have 19 external HD and SSD drives ranging in size from 500 gb to 5 tb - Two are partitioned, the others are not. A total of 35 tb of external drive storage. I have 86 PhotoLibraries going from 2003 to the present - several tb of photos. All my data and photolibraries are backed-up to at least 3 separate external drives (and the drives are 'random' that is no drive has exactly the same content as another). 8 external drives are devoted to photos - 25 tb total. So if I want to review photos from my 2016 trip to the western USA I pull-out my HD that has that photolibrary on it (everything logged onto an Excel spreadsheet) and load it. If somehow that doesn't work - the HD or SSD is corrupted or broken - then I have at least 2 other full backups on different external drives. My main data files (i.e. all else except photolibraries) are similarly backed-up but I also have fully bootable SuperDuper! drives. I'm running macOS 14.7.1 Sonoma - and realize that at this time macOS 15.2 Sequoia prevents SD! and CCC from making bootable backups. If that continues, then I will make external Sequoia startup drives. (Did that yesterday - works great on a Samsung T5 or similar SSD) and then copy data over if I have to replace my internal SSD. In addition, my "top 50 gb" of key data is constantly backed-up via SugarSync (which I can access on all my Macs, iPhone & iPad). Interesting tidbit about photos and data today: From 1975 to 1 March 2003 I have 5,876 printed 'film' photos in about 23 albums on my bookshelf - average 210 photos per year. Then 1 March 2003 I got a digital camera, later an iPhone. From 1 March 2003 until today I have over 190,000 photos. That's an average of 9,048 photos per year. Crazy! Steve on Saturday 28 December 2024

[@karl_m3013]

Respectfully. I partitioned a 4GB HD. 2GB for Time Machine and 2GB for Backup files from the 1 TB Mac SSD. I also backup to OneDrive about every 2-3 months. Time Machine is my emergency backup for the files that I have not backed up in my regular backups. In the future, I will be adding a 2 TB Thunderbolt external SSD. Then I will buy a 6 TB HD and have bot SSDs backed to a single HD. After that I will need to get a NAS....LOL

[@princebansal_]

How often should I turn off Macbook Pro ? Is 2-3 times a week good ? Or should I do it more frequently?

[@macmost]

Turn it off? You mean shut it down? Why do that at all? kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKTVhaN7qr14qsU

[@princebansal_]

I see.. shutting down should be minimal, Got it. I recently shifted from windows and bought a new MBP M2 pro so was going through your channel and found a lot of helpful videos.

[@rogerbeltz2370]

Thanks for the tutorial Gary but in trying to follow your logic (Re: partitioning a back up drive), when you speak of losing your backup drive (e.g.: your BU drive crashes, gets stolen, destroyed in a fire, etc) if this should occur, then wouldn't one be in exactly the "same place" (meaning all your backed up data is lost - gone regardless whether your back up was partitioned or not? Additionally, if one is restricted to backing ALL files, folders, pictures, etc all this data has to be one "one place" - on your internal hard drive. I am a photographer and graphic artist. I create TONS of pictures and graphic artwork. Do I want all this data (perhaps 800GB - 1TB) taking up space on my internal HD - I think not. Nor do I wish to pay for cloud storage. Bottom line question: If I use one entire drive for Time Machine backups and then at some later point, need to clear space off my internal drive so I delete a file (or files) that contain ALL my pictures and artwork I would have to "go back in time" in Time Machine to try and find where all my pictures & artwork were last saved, right? (and hope that Time Machine hasn't deleted these).

[@macmost]

I'm not sure what you are asking here. DO NOT use Time Machine as an "archive" of old files to save space. It is a backup to be used for emergencies. If you need to archive files and get them off your internal drive, then get a second external drive that is separate from your Time Machine drive.

[@rogerbeltz2370]

@@macmost I guess I did not make my question very clear. I have a 2TB SSD external drive that I propose to use for backing up my 1TB iMac. If at some point in the future this external drive should fail or get stolen or get smashed by a meteorite wouldn't I lose EVERYTHING that I backed up (regardless whether the drive was partitioned or not partitioned)? To use your words, the "other stuff" referred to in your tutorial is also being "stored" on Flash Drives (which of course are not 100% reliable either). Additionally, I am storing my data on iCloud. When it comes right down to it, NOTHING is 100% reliable as a backup - am I correct?

[@macmost]

@@rogerbeltz2370 If the backup drive broke, you would lose the backup, but the originals would be on your Mac. So you would start a new backup if that happened.

[@rogerbeltz2370]

@@macmost One final word on this matter. The whole idea is to GET ALL (or most all) of my pictures and artwork OFF OF my internal drive and store them on either, removable media and/or on a master server such as iCloud or MEGA or some other like service. Back to what I said; If one's back up drive crashes or is destroyed in a fire one will lose everything and in the case of the latter (a fire, or flood or tornado), more than likely one's computer would be totally destroyed as well so in the case of backing up on an external drive under these circumstances, one would lose EVERYTHING...........unless one has backed up to a cloud service.

[@macmost]

@@rogerbeltz2370 First, your backup should never be the ONLY place the data is located. In that case it isn't a backup at all. Second, if the original data and the backup are I the same location, and that location has an issue, then yes, you lose the original and the backup. If that is something you fear, then an online backup should be used as well. Or, if the original location was a cloud service then you have it in the cloud.

[@ashishsaxena7671]

Gary can we use two different Mac's for backup on a single large external drive. Is it permissible??

[@macmost]

Yes. That's fine and commonly done, especially with homes that have multiple MacBooks all backing up over the local network to a Time Machine drive.

[@shara4389]

@@macmost Do you just name them differently? Like hubby's Mac and my Mac (different names)? Otherwise, wouldn't it overwrite the first mac's backup with the second mac's backup? And how to decide what size portable hard drive for the backups? Is there some "ratio" of backup to actual internal data usage overall? Love your videos by the way - you have such a calm and reassuring manner that makes it pleasant to learn from.

[@macmost]

@@shara4389 You don't name Time Machine backups. You just pick the drive to use and Time Machine handles it. It will store both backups separately. It knows they are separate Mac. As for which size, get at least 2X the amount of storage you are using on those Macs. But ideally as much as you can. For instance the price difference between a 12TB and 18TB drive could be small, so go for the larger.

[@shara4389]

@@macmost Perfect Gary! I guess I should have said to "rename the computer itself" instead of the TM backup - but that's another search to see how to name the different macs in the house. Good info on the size. I need to acquire a few more portables. Is there really much difference overall in the variety of portables? What is the best portable for the least $$?

[@macmost]

@@shara4389 Prices change often and I haven't been keeping track in the last few weeks. Shop around.

[@neuberry]

Great logic, Gary, thank you. But, I've already partitioned two external drives, and have been using both for Time Machine, figuring if/when one drive dies, I'll still have the other. Apparently, Time Machine alternates between the two drives for the backups. How do I un-partition (is that a word?) at least one of the drives without screwing up Time Machine?

[@macmost]

Will be tricky to remove a partition. You do it in Disk Utility. The partition you remove will be lost and the one you keep should be OK but it is a heavy task and you should only do it if you are prepared to lose it. In the case of a backup, that would just mean starting a fresh new Time Machine backup after erasing the drive, so it isn't a big deal.

[@neuberry]

Thanks Gary. I'll erase one of the drives, and start fresh with no partition.

[@neuberry]

@@macmost Thanks again, Gary, I will give it a shot.

[@quiles26]

I started using proton mail. Unfortunately unless you pay a premium you can only see one account at a time. Would it still be secure to add the PM accounts to Apple mail?

[@macmost]

Not sure what you are asking. Why wouldn't it be secure?

[@quiles26]

Thanks. I was reading about Apple having security issues with their email application. I don’t want Apple snooping on my emails. Not saying they do but I do know that Google does.

[@macmost]

@@quiles26 Source? I have never heard of Apple snooping on iCloud emails, let alone email from another service that would never even intersect with Apple's servers.

[@quiles26]

lol. Like I said, I am not saying Apple read them. Some other youtubers say they do. I know Google does. I ask you cause I’ve been following you for a while. You are very resourceful and your content is helpful and on point. I’m just the guy trying to learn and protect my privacy as much as I can.

[@quiles26]

Also. Thank you for taking the time to reply and help me with my concern. Not all KZbinrs take the time.

[@sammy_sam_leonardo]

So I was looking into creating a Partition (or Volume) on a 4TB HDD: one for Time Machine and another for a Google Drive backup (Takeout)… should I not do this?

[@macmost]

Right. Don't do that. Store the other backup somewhere else.

[@Mo_Klonus]

Kind of outside of the scope of this, but, could you take a 4TB drive and partition it into 2 - 2TB partitions and do a Time Machine backup from 1 Mac to 1 of the partitions and another to the other partition as a point-in-time the store as an offsite backup (hope that makes sense)? Basically, will there be an issue with Time Machine on the 2nd Mac seeing an existing Time Machine backup on 1 of the partitions, will it try to use that partition only or will it allow you to use the 2nd partition for the new Mac?

[@macmost]

Just backup both to the same single partition. Time Machine handles that fine.

[@mnmleung]

@@macmost That is interesting. I currently have multiple HDD (eg a Monday HDD, a Wednesday HDD and a Friday HDD) which has multiple APFS volumes, one for each of the Macs in the family. I just connect the same HDD on Monday to 3 physical Macs (physically, but two of my Macs have APFS volumes for both Monterey and Ventura, as I am in the process of migrating, and checking that every app works). So you are saying in theory, I could back all these up onto the same HDD with one single partition. ... I also have an ancient MacBook Pro 2011 running High Sierra. And that can also share the same Time Machine volume ?

[@macmost]

@@mnmleung To me, it sounds like you are way overcomplicating things. If you want that level of protection, just use an online backup instead for all. The way I do it is a normal Time Machine backup always connected to my Mac (normal hourly backups) and an online backup because it is a second location. For most people one Time Machine backup and iCloud get you 99% of that protection.

[@malcolmj7670]

I wish I khad seen this vid before!!!! Thanks for educating me!

[@fbergmansr]

Gary, I rely on your videos for everything but is this what your saying...If you only have one backup drive, don't partition your external backup drive with Time Machine on one of the partitions? If you have multiple backup drives and a dedicated Time Machine drive then a partition Carbon Copy Cloner and a partition with your photos on your other drives would be fine?

[@macmost]

So one drive is just Time Machine? That's good. Then you have a second drive with another backup and also your photos? Well then I suppose as long as you are backing up your photos partition to the Time Machine drive too, then that works. But you'd have 2 backups of all of your internal drive files and only one backup of your photos. Usually people are more concerned about their photos, not less.

[@LisadeKramer]

I have a second backup drive that I have never used. I have very little space on my Mac left. Can I just transfer everything onto the second drive and get rid of iCloud all together? Then anything new that I want to save just send it to the hard drive. I do not know how to do that.

[@macmost]

You'll lose all the benefits of iCloud Drive then, slow things down (external drive is probably much slower) and need that external drive attached at all times to access those files. Why not just turn on "Optimize" for iCloud Drive instead?

[@LisadeKramer]

@@macmost Not sure what Optimie for iCloud is. I just hate paying for more space on iCloud.

[@macmost]

@@LisadeKramer See kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWitinuOZ86Hb7M This won't change what is in iCloud, it stores fewer files locally. So you are actually getting more benefit from what you are paying for iCloud Drive.

[@andrewdanvers7175]

OOPS just watched the formatting video but created 2 partitions, 1 for Time Machine and other for my stuff ARGHHHHH I best go back and start over lol but did want to ask, when I set up Time Machine it asked if I wanted to replace TM (I guess on internal hard drive) with Time Machine on External OR Keep Both? Internal is using about 200Gb (used and other volumes) of 1 TB and my external is 1TB so theres kind of plenty of space on both to back up to both (well 800gb worth) so should I start over and choose 'keep both??? then if internal drive fails, ive back up on external and vice versa, essentially covering all bases, whats your thoughts?

[@macmost]

Not sure what you mean. You don't backup to your internal drive. I'm not sure what it was asking you there.

[@thomascool1335]

Hi, I gotta question. since I move my videos & photos from my Mac (actually from my iPhone) to the external, I'm no longer be able to see the locations but I can still be able to see another details like which device I took the photo from and date. Is that normal or I missed something during the process? Thank you

[@macmost]

See the locations where? You should be able to see it when you look at info for the photo.

[@thomascool1335]

@@macmost location like cities, or any other location name

[@macmost]

@@thomascool1335 I mean where are you looking to see the locations in the software? Like in the Photos app, select a photo, Get Info on that photo?

[@thomascool1335]

@@macmost I'm looking the location on the photo that I already transferred to the external storage. if you take a pic you'll be able to see the location (location's name & map). but since I move to to another device, I can't see those details

[@macmost]

@@thomascool1335 I think we aren't communicating here. Are you talking about the Photos library in your Photos app? Or are you taking about just a simple file on your drive? If just a file, then open it in the Preview app and look under the Tools menu to find location info.

[@ellenslerner255]

What happens if apple makes new devices and the older backup devices have different cords that do not work in newer computers? I have several back ups from earlier Apple computers and they will not work in today's Mac computers. I had a Time Capsule with Two TBs of space and wifi, but recently my provider said it was too slow and gave me a new modem and new wifi. So now I have no automatic back ups anymore. I have other backup drives but still miss my Time Capsule. I had a lot of storage space left on that device and of course Apple doesn't make Time capsules any more. I avoid Icloud like the plague. What if that fails? No guarantee is there? Why would I have to keep spending money to feed that icloud? I don't know how to transition to Time Machine. If I do what are the chances that will become old technology and not work eventually?

[@macmost]

You can usually get adapters for a long time after a major change like that. Of course other things change as well, like the size of older drives will be smaller than what you get now. So it isn't like you would buy a backup drive and expect to use it the rest of your life, even even for 10 years. iCloud is a huge server system with redundancy. Your one local Time Machine drive is not. It is far more likely that your local backup will fail than all of iCloud. Plus iCloud is not a backup, it is a cloud service that does much more (all of your data across all of your devices, effortlessly). Just get a new external drive and backup to that. Or, if you want it to be on the network, get network storage (maybe the Wi-Fi router you have now already has this function).

[@jeffpicken5057]

The logic that I should keep all the space for Time Machine because it's going to fill up the drive eventually doesn't hold water for me. If instead of the 4TB drive I purchase two 2TB drives, my Time Machine drive still only has 2TBs of space. If I buy a 4TB drive, that's also going to fill up eventually. There's no logical limit; I have to choose one. So, 2TBs, or half of my 4TB drive seems fine to me. The single point of failure is a valid argument against storing both the external backup and the Time Machine backup on one drive. But if you're using Time Machine, what's the point of the extra 'archive' volume/partition anyway, especially if you're going to put those files on both the separate partition and on Time Machine on that same physical drive?

[@macmost]

So you got a 2TB backup for a 4TB drive? There's a problem with that...

[@jeffpicken5057]

@@macmost That was a hypothetical. Either way, I would say that's an 'it depends' kind of question. I would suggest that most older people have waaaay more storage than they'll ever use. They use their computer for email and searching the internet. Maybe that offload pictures from their phone. They may never go about 1TB on their internal hard drive. And if the main thing they're backing up is pictuers, Time Machine isn't going to have much in the way of incremental backups.

[@macmost]

@@jeffpicken5057 I don't think it is true at all that "most older people have waaaay more storage than they'll ever use" as I am constantly hearing from people that buy the minimum and then regret it. I don't think people are buying 1TB drives when they aren't storing anything.

[@ceeell5772]

Once again, excellent advice for minor geeks like me. Succinct and readily understood.

[@augustusmartinez4562]

hello. can I still recover the deleted back up in Time Machine in my external drive,, unfortunately after doing partition the back up was also deleted, and I can't find it anymore in my external drive, all of my photos and documents are gone now, please help me

[@macmost]

So you deleted both your internal drive and your Time Machine drive at the same time? Unless they were stored in iCloud or some other service, then you are probably out of luck.

[@augustusmartinez4562]

@@macmost unfortunately yes, and i didnt use any service or even icloud, does any software could recover all those files?

[@macmost]

@@augustusmartinez4562 maybe If you were using an older HDD instead of an SSD, and you took it to an expert, they may be able to recover some of the files. Hard to say.

[@JaKamps]

@@augustusmartinez4562 maybe something Disk Drill (data recovery software)?

[@courtlandmarshall5131]

I have a 2TB Samsung SSD M.2 I placed it on a Time Machine back up and the option to user only 500GB of the drive for the TM. But now I can't use the Drive for anything else and now the drive is only 500GB. How do I get the other 1.5 T back ? Did I just destroy my 2TB SSD ?

[@macmost]

Make sure there is nothing on it you need. Then reformat and erase it without the partition. Then start the Time Machine backup again.

[@jimlad01]

Sounds like another argument to not use Time Machine. Carbon Copy Cloner seems like a better solution and you can boot from a CCC backup. Backblaze also looks interesting. Neither take up more space than necessary. Wouldn't choosing volumes rather than partitions be a better idea anyway if you did decide to divide up a large external drive? Surely having an organised file naming structure and work process would mitigate accidentally deleting files. If you wanted multiple iterations of files for specific projects you could simply save them ending as V2, V3 etc. Thanks Gary.

[@macmost]

A clone won't give you the history you may need to recover a file you changed or deleted. And it won't solve the problem where an original file and the backup are on the same device if you partition it.

[@gypsy.withgucci]

I mean to be totally honest I have an 18 TB drive I use for time machine back up. I have 11 TB partitioned for time machine the other is used for when I have files I don’t have any place to put them or I don’t have time to upload them directly to my cloud service. It’s a temporary storage area, I mean yeah if you’re just gonna get a 4 TB drive well I mean yeah I wouldn’t use that for anything else but I wouldn’t waste my money on a 4 TB drive when you can buy 14 TB drives especially on holidays prime day all these events and you can pick up big storage drives for a good price

[@rjctube394]

I backup to an SSD, however SSDs shouldn't be used to their maximum capacity so I create a small partition to prevent Time Machine using the entire SSD. Interested in your take, please?

[@macmost]

Where did you hear that? I don't think that is necessary at all. I don't recommend SSDs for backup drives. SSDs are great for speed. But for a Time Machine backup you don't really need speed, you need size. Economy helps too. Would rather have a 12TB HDD than a 4TB SSD for a backup any day.

[@rjctube394]

@@macmost I agree - i have a large capacity HDD connected to the mac for regular backups, however use two SSDs (swapping) for off site backups. Hence the question about SSDs.

[@carlpuccijr.]

Gary, I have a video idea. How about Fonts, Font Libraries, add and removing, address the unusual fonts that don't seem useful, etc. I looked back in your videos and didn't see anything on that that was very current.

[@macmost]

I wouldn't remove any fonts that come with your Mac. They don't take up any real space and you could run into issues if apps expect them to be there. Adding fonts is just drag and drop into Font Book. Unfortunately I'm not seeing much interest in this topic anymore.

[@maggiem.5904]

I do like to use SSDs for backups, when I can afford them, because they are much more portable and take up much less room on my desk.

[@shousley5817]

Some of the same issues, but I use volumes, not partitions. Time machine is on a separate drive. Superduper for everything else.

[@desertpatient]

Thanks bunches

[@mitchellsmith4601]

NEVER partition a backup drive? This is bad advice. We have been partitioning backup drives for use with Time Machine and CCC/SD for more than a decade. It works great for our clients.

[@macmost]

So you are backing up twice to the same drive? What if the drive fails or is destroyed/lost/stolen? You lose both backups.

[@delanescott7872]

there's and even better plan than what he said and its quite simple and what every smart person does when backing up important data, you ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS BACK UP IMPORTANT DATA AND FILES ON TWO DIFFERENT DEVICES!!!! I don't trust cloud to keep my most important stuff so all my pictures and videos of my children growing up I backup on a ssd and also on a hdd. one you always leave home safe and put away.

[@macmost]

Whether you backup to two devices or not, the point of this video is to not put other data on the same drive as a backup. Also, if you really want to have two backups, make the second one an online backup (not cloud storage, but a real backup like Backblaze, etc).

[@TheJoaolyraaraujo]

I used partition to have content cache.

[@macmost]

A content cache for what? Caches are all about speed. Putting a cache on a slower external drive with a connection bottleneck is not a good idea because of that.

[@TheEricBooth]

Now you tell me. This is exactly what I did.

[@csimet]

Always follow the 3-2-1 backup rule... keep 3 backups, on 2 differing media (drives) and put 1 offsite. I follow a 4-3-2 rule... 4 backups (1 being long term archival on several different disks for that purpose - once per year after tax season, each kept for 7 years minimum), on 3 media (3 different drives at a minimum, one being that annual archive, using TimeMachine, Carbon Copy Cloner and Backblaze) and 2 are kept offsite (one in my safe deposit box using CCC which is the archive and one in cloud storage with Backblaze including version history). Yah, I'm anal about it... spent ~40 years in IT and I have seen so many lose data due to poor backup procedures or having none al all.

[@itasarah]

I likeed it a lot better when I had real pictures to put in real albums. Keeping multiple backup drives and switching them and buy new ones all the time is too much busy work. Like I said my original backup drives I cannot get adapters for so they’re gone forever. Some of my pictures have continued on from one computer or external drive to another hard drive or computer but even finding all these pictures is difficult. I’m trying to put some items on flash drives and wonder how long it will last? Even so I have a lot of flash drives hanging around now and haven’t had the time to sort them out or put them in different places or label them -whatever. It’s all too much and I’m too old.

[@itasarah]

PS I used to put pictures etc. on Disks but now that I don’t have an Optical drive in my computer which used to make things a lot handier, I’m just out of the habit of doing it anymore. I do have an external optical drive but it’s something else to do now that is more of an inconvenience that didn’t used to be.

[@BobSchoepenjr]

I m getting depressed…

[@Weston_Guidero]

I think its fine, as long as you have another backup of your backup ;) hehe

[@AutieTortie]

Never say never. There are situations in which a partitioned backup drive is fine or even better. Besides, you would be better getting a non-Mac or non-Apple machine if you REALLY care about backups and security.

[@macmost]

Why?

[@BobSchoepenjr]

Master teacher

[@brucethompson412]

I use Time Machine to back up my Mac, and for years backed it up to a single partition. However, retrieving a file was getting to be slower and slower. I have now partitioned my external drive to two partions - one for this year's back ups and another for last year's. I don't feel I need any back ups older than last year, so at the beginning of the year I erase the partition with the old back ups and reuse it. This has solved the problem with retrieving files.

[@macmost]

I don't know why you would do that. Just have one partition and one backup.

[@brucethompson412]

@@macmost In my experience, after several backup, retrieving files becomes impossibly slow. That is why I back up for year and then start a new back up partition.

[@macmost]

@@brucethompson412 That should not be the case.

[@knightone57]

By that logic don't use an external drive as a backup as it might be destroyed.

[@macmost]

How so? What I'm saying is don't store the data and the backup on the same drive. But if your data is on your internal drive and your backup is on an external drive, then you don't have a single point of failure anymore.

[@knightone57]

@@macmost Oh OK,I misunderstood.

[@adreaminfocus]

what would i be today with out you. thank you so much

[@coolstuff_.]

Cool

[@kyleb4327]

Where are 2tb drives only $60 ? Lol

[@macmost]

I see a Toshiba portable 2tb drive at Amazon right now for $64.

[@kyleb4327]

@macmost yeah, i guess 5gb/s is sufficient for backups. I wanted to partition it still tough lol. If my "other" ssd burns in a fire, I'd guess my "backup" ssd would as well..

[@macmost]

It is far more likely that the drive would "break" than you would have a fire. Drives fail. It happens. If you partition the drive and put both the original data on it (storage) and your backup on it, then the drive failing will take both copies and you've lost those files forever. That's why you don't partition the same drive to hold both data and the backup of the data.

[@Mangold108]

Oops

[@leoingson]

Both arguments are a bit .. questionable.

[@macmost]

How so? A single point of failure, at least, shouldn't be "questionable." It is a fact that if your original and your backup are on the same drive and it breaks, is lost, is stolen or something else, then you lose both and the backup of that file was pointless. The second point (give Time Machine all the space) I suppose could be questioned if you want to argue that you can't afford a second drive.

[@leoingson]

@@macmost Ah, understand your thinking better now. I was like: if it breaks, it breaks, partitions don't matter. I have 2 disks, both with timemachine + normal files :) Actually 4, planning to rotate + store at friends place.

[@MagicMuff749]

no shit

[@sergeya]

I’m sorry, but this is so made up!

[@macmost]

Huh? What do you mean by that?

[@sergeya]

@@macmost I mean that most of the reasons are very far fetched. IMHO. All drives fail. And it is not the reason not to keep files on ‘em. No one in his right mind backs up files from external drive to the save drive. And so on, and so on.