Updating to 10.13, what to do with backup drive?

[Ace2617]

Hi, I held off updating my MacBook Pro (2015) to 10.13 until now. I'm currently running Sierra. I think I'm ready to update it to 10.13, but I just have a question. I know it'll convert my internal SSD to APFS, but are there steps I need to take for my backup drive?

I have a Western Digital drive with Time Machine backups dating back at least a few years. I did a search, and found a thread here from back in September, but it didn't exactly answer my question. I know I'd have to convert the external drive to APFS myself, but my question is, do I have to? Can I keep the external on HFS, and then continue to use it to backup my MBP, which after the update will be APFS?

I want to update for some software compatibility reasons, but I just don't want to mess up my backups in the process.

Thanks.

 

[techwarrior]

You don't need to do a thing. And, don't try APFS on external TM drives, according to several reports, it is a recipe for disaster. Time machine relies on links that are not supported in APFS.

TM backups are really just a copy of versions of your Mac's files going back in time. They are bundled into an archive much like files are put into zip archives. But there are additional properties that the OS puts in the backup to facilitate the indexing and retrieval.

 

[Ace2617]

You don't need to do a thing. And, don't try APFS on external TM drives, according to several reports, it is a recipe for disaster. Time machine relies on links that are not supported in APFS.

TM backups are really just a copy of versions of your Mac's files going back in time. They are bundled into an archive much like files are put into zip archives. But there are additional properties that the OS puts in the backup to facilitate the indexing and retrieval.

That's very helpful, thank you! I appreciate it.

 

[dianeoforegon]

High Sierra 10.13.4 is due out soon....maybe next week. I would wait to update when it's released.

 

[Crunch]

Hi, I held off updating my MacBook Pro (2015) to 10.13 until now. I'm currently running Sierra. I think I'm ready to update it to 10.13, but I just have a question. I know it'll convert my internal SSD to APFS, but are there steps I need to take for my backup drive?

I have a Western Digital drive with Time Machine backups dating back at least a few years. I did a search, and found a thread here from back in September, but it didn't exactly answer my question. I know I'd have to convert the external drive to APFS myself, but my question is, do I have to? Can I keep the external on HFS, and then continue to use it to backup my MBP, which after the update will be APFS?

I want to update for some software compatibility reasons, but I just don't want to mess up my backups in the process.

Thanks.

I'd make an additional backup with Time Machine just in case and also a clone using CCC or SuperDuper. There are scores of people with all kinds of issues, but 10.13 may work for you, who knows. I'd also be very interested in what you have to say post installation.

I also agree with Diane. Wait for 10.3.4. I may give High Sierra another go when it drops.

 

[Ace2617]

I'd make an additional backup with Time Machine just in case and also a clone using CCC or SuperDuper. There are scores of people with all kinds of issues, but 10.13 may work for you, who knows. I'd also be very interested in what you have to say post installation.

I also agree with Diane. Wait for 10.3.4. I may give High Sierra another go when it drops.

Oh that's a good idea. Thanks. I'll use CCC for that. And I agree, once I heard 10.13.4 was coming up soon, it makes sense to wait. I'll make a note to update this thread with some thoughts after I've installed it.

 

[Crunch]

Oh that's a good idea. Thanks. I'll use CCC for that. And I agree, once I heard 10.13.4 was coming up soon, it makes sense to wait. I'll make a note to update this thread with some thoughts after I've installed it.

Good deal. One more thing. Even though Apple says so, you don't need to convert your startup partition to APFS, the new file system. People here have not reported any perceptible increase in speed, except when you're duplicating files, but how often does the average person need that? On the contrary, there have been a few members who have reported that it made their system slightly slower, but whatever. Point is, you have a choice, so if you want to stay with HFS+ for now, here's how to do it: (remember, you can always convert later to APFS, but there's no way back once you do.)

If you're installing over your current install, open Terminal and paste the following into the window:

/Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall --converttoapfs NO

This assumes that the installer is in the Applications folder, where it and all apps are downloaded from the Mac App Store. You will need the full 5.2 GB-ish installer to do this, which, for this and other reasons, you'll want to have on hand anyway.

If you're going to do a clean install, make yourself a bootable USB installer and open Terminal when the installer starts up by selecting it from the menu bar and paste the aforementioned and go from there.

For your convenience, here's the Terminal command to use to make a bootable USB installer:

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled

This again assumes that the installer is in the Applications folder and that your USB drive is named "untitled". If you're uncomfortable with that, download the free app Diskmaker X and you'll have a friendly GUI interface to make your drive with.

Happy installing.