Backup + storage on external drive

[Thunderboltedge]

Hi All,

i have a question for the Mac community which maybe could be very silly but since i am new i got this doubt about using external drive.
I bought one to do my backup (as the one i before already had a backup of another device and timemachine asked me to erase all before the procedure).

This one, once i put it with the right extension as time machine requires, can i also use to store files and films or it will ask me anytime to erase the content before doing the backup?
Is there a way or guide to partition it in order to divide the backup from the storage?

Thanks

 

[Weaselboy]

That is not a problem at all as long as you realize that secondary data you have on there is not backed up anywhere.

Just follow this guide to make the partitions.

Once you do the partition setup and format, Time Machine will not erase the data on the second partition.

 

[asriznet]

Hi All,

i have a question for the Mac community which maybe could be very silly but since i am new i got this doubt about using external drive.
I bought one to do my backup (as the one i before already had a backup of another device and timemachine asked me to erase all before the procedure).

This one, once i put it with the right extension as time machine requires, can i also use to store files and films or it will ask me anytime to erase the content before doing the backup?
Is there a way or guide to partition it in order to divide the backup from the storage?

Thanks

You don't really need to have separate partition. Time machine backups will be stored in "Backups.backupdb" folder, if you store files outside that folder, it should be okay but I try to avoid if possible.

If you need to partition the external HDD and you want to make sure it's backed up to Time Machine as well, please ensure you remove the storage partition from the exclude list in Time Machine Preference.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14182

By default, Time Machine will exclude any external drives from being backed up. I just feel it's a bit pointless doing so because if your external HDD failed, it's most likely going to affect your time machine backup as well unless it's just specific to the storage partition.

 

[Thunderboltedge]

You don't really need to have separate partition. Time machine backups will be stored in "Backups.backupdb" folder, if you store files outside that folder, it should be okay but I try to avoid if possible.

If you need to partition the external HDD and you want to make sure it's backed up to Time Machine as well, please ensure you remove the storage partition from the exclude list in Time Machine Preference.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14182

By default, Time Machine will exclude any external drives from being backed up. I just feel it's a bit pointless doing so because if your external HDD failed, it's most likely going to affect your time machine backup as well unless it's just specific to the storage partition.

thanks for the link.
i will set up with guid a dual partition of it so that i can use 1 part for the backup and one part for the storage.

 

[hallux]

thanks for the link.
i will set up with guid a dual partition of it so that i can 1 part for the backup and one part for the storage.

That would work, as long as you're aware that the data stored on that secondary partition is at risk of being lost with no chance of recovery if you either lose the drive or the drive fails.

 

[Thunderboltedge]

That would work, as long as you're aware that the data stored on that secondary partition is at risk of being lost with no chance of recovery if you either lose the drive or the drive fails.

You mean the second partition that I plan to use for storage, if the drive get corrupted or get lost, i will loose all i stored, isn't it?
I am planning to put there films with high gb demanding to get space on the mac.
i think in this way I will avoid to take too much risk.

 

[Freyqq]

I like making two partitions on external hard drives, one for data and one for backups. That way, you can control how large the time machine backups get. Otherwise, it will eventually fill the drive. Also, you can set the time machine backups to use the second partition, making the data partition faster (hard drives only). Basically, the closer to the end of the disk of a hard drive, the slower it gets.

 

[Thunderboltedge]

I like making two partitions, one for data and one for backups. That way, you can control how large the time machine backups get. Otherwise, it will eventually fill the drive. Also, you can set the time machine backups to use the second partition, making the data partition faster (hard drives only). Basically, the closer to the end of the disk of a hard drive, the slower it gets.

Frey, you do refer to the external drive when you talk about making the 2 partitions, am I right?
Not the hard disk of the mac itself (assuming it can be done, which i honestly do not know).

 

[Mr Kram]

partition or not your data on the time machine drive is not being backed up via time machine, so unless you don't care about that data or it's being backed up another way, it is not a good idea.

 

[Freyqq]

Frey, you do refer to the external drive when you talk about making the 2 partitions, am I right?
Not the hard disk of the mac itself (assuming it can be done, which i honestly do not know).

I'm talking about the external drive. You can partition any drive though, if you really want to.