Got a new Passport

[cramazing]

Im new to Mac and new to Time Machine and backups.

So I got a new 1TB External WD Passport for my RMBP that has 256GB.

What I want to do is format the drive with 2 Partitions, 1 for TM backup and 1 for file storage.

My question is this, do I partition the drive to be 50/50?

Or do I only set aside 256GB for Time Machine???

thanks for the help

 

[simsaladimbamba]

That is up to you, but you can use just one volume/partition for Time Machine and data storage.

Time Machine FAQ

 

[sjinsjca]

Your TM partition should be at least 2X the size of the disk(s) being backed up.

If the 256GB disk is the only disk that will be backed up, then the minimum TM partition should be 512GB.

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That is up to you, but you can use just one volume/partition for Time Machine and data storage.

Time Machine FAQ

True enough, but TM will fill up the disk pretty quickly. Partitioning it as the OP suggests will ensure there's some space for whatever else he wants to do.

 

[cramazing]

Your TM partition should be at least 2X the size of the disk(s) being backed up.

If the 256GB disk is the only disk that will be backed up, then the minimum TM partition should be 512GB.

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True enough, but TM will fill up the disk pretty quickly. Partitioning it as the OP suggests will ensure there's some space for whatever else he wants to do.

any reason why it should be double?

thats why i was to set a partition, because i hear TM will just keep doing backups and not delete any older files until your disk is full and it starts to delete old backups to make room for new ones, I dont need 1TB of backups

 

[cramazing]

Your TM partition should be at least 2X the size of the disk(s) being backed up.

If the 256GB disk is the only disk that will be backed up, then the minimum TM partition should be 512GB.

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True enough, but TM will fill up the disk pretty quickly. Partitioning it as the OP suggests will ensure there's some space for whatever else he wants to do.

well i went ahead and took your advice. 512GB it is.

I dont have too many files for now so 488GB is plenty

 

[sjinsjca]

any reason why it should be double?

I don't really know, but it seems like it's a common directive for incremental backup systems like Time Machine.

 

[Weaselboy]

any reason why it should be double?

thats why i was to set a partition, because i hear TM will just keep doing backups and not delete any older files until your disk is full and it starts to delete old backups to make room for new ones, I dont need 1TB of backups

It does not have to be double. Make it whatever size you think you might need to store some versions of personal files. For example, if you edit 5GB video files and save several versions of that file per day, you will need a lot of space as those "versions" will fill a backup drive quickly. If you are like me and only add a dozen photos and a few documents a month, it would take me twenty years to fill a backup drive with versions.

It also has little to do with the size of your drive and more to do with the amount of data you have. So if you get your system setup and all your data is on there, and you are using 60GB of space total, the fact you have a 256GB drive really is not relevant (unless you have plans to fill it up).

So add up your current disk usage, plus room for what you think you will add in the machine's lifetime, plus whatever cushion you want for file versions.

Back to me again. I have 60GB disk usage, plus add say 20GB for future storage. Even I wanted to double that for a ton of versions, I would likely only ever need ~160GB of backup space. So in my example, just because I might have a 512GB internal drive, I certainly would never need a 1TB backup drive.

Make sense?

 

[cramazing]

It does not have to be double. Make it whatever size you think you might need to store some versions of personal files. For example, if you edit 5GB video files and save several versions of that file per day, you will need a lot of space as those "versions" will fill a backup drive quickly. If you are like me and only add a dozen photos and a few documents a month, it would take me twenty years to fill a backup drive with versions.

It also has little to do with the size of your drive and more to do with the amount of data you have. So if you get your system setup and all your data is on there, and you are using 60GB of space total, the fact you have a 256GB drive really is not relevant (unless you have plans to fill it up).

So add up your current disk usage, plus room for what you think you will add in the machine's lifetime, plus whatever cushion you want for file versions.

Back to me again. I have 60GB disk usage, plus add say 20GB for future storage. Even I wanted to double that for a ton of versions, I would likely only ever need ~160GB of backup space. So in my example, just because I might have a 512GB internal drive, I certainly would never need a 1TB backup drive.

Make sense?

Yeah that makes sense for sure. And thats why I came to ask this question because i dont have much files.

But anywho, I already did what i did and dont feel like doing it again haha, plus 488GB is plenty for me to store my media files.

i guess getting a 1TB external was really the overkill part for me but it was for free so who cares haha