Revolutionize Your Time Machine with This One Simple Trick: Move It to a Brand New Backup Drive Now!

As an avid Mac user, you’re probably aware of the importance of backing up your data. The Time Machine feature on your Mac is an excellent way to keep all of your files and documents safe, secure, and always accessible. However, there’s one thing you may not have considered when it comes to Time Machine backups, and that is the downside of keeping all backups on the same drive.

The fact is, if you store all your Time Machine backups on a single drive, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. If that drive fails, all of your backup files will be lost, and you’ll be left with nothing to restore. This is where the importance of using multiple backup drives comes into play.

So, what can you do to ensure that your Time Machine backups are always safe and secure? The answer is simple: move your backups to a brand new backup drive now. Here are some reasons why you should make this move:

  1. Avoid data loss in case of a hard drive failure

As mentioned earlier, storing all your Time Machine backups on a single drive can be risky. There’s always a possibility that the drive may fail, and you may lose all your backup files. However, if you have multiple backup drives, you can avoid this risk. If one drive fails, you still have other backups to restore from.

  1. Keep backups organized

Having multiple backup drives will help you keep your backups organized. You can use one drive for daily backups, another for weekly backups, and another for monthly backups. This way, you’ll have a neatly organized backup system that’s easy to navigate.

  1. Expand storage space

Another benefit of using multiple backup drives is that you can expand your storage space. If you run out of space on one drive, you can always use another drive to continue backing up your files. This way, you’ll never have to worry about running out of storage space.

  1. Protect against theft or disasters

In case of theft, fire, or natural disasters like hurricanes or floods, having multiple backup drives can come in handy. You can store one backup drive at a different location, ensuring that your files are safe even if something happens to your primary backup drive.

So, how can you move your Time Machine backups to a new backup drive? Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Purchase a brand new backup drive with enough storage space to hold all of your Time Machine backups.

Step 2: Connect the new backup drive to your Mac.

Step 3: Launch Time Machine from the System Preferences menu.

Step 4: In the Time Machine preferences window, click on the “Select Backup Disk” button.

Step 5: Choose the new backup drive as your backup destination.

Step 6: Click on the “Use Disk” button.

Step 7: Wait for Time Machine to complete the backup process.

Once the backup process is complete, you can now safely store your old backup drive or use it as an additional backup drive if you wish.

In conclusion, if you want to revolutionize your Time Machine, it’s essential to move your backups to a brand new backup drive. By doing this, you’ll be able to protect your data against hard drive failures, keep your backups organized, expand your storage space, and protect against theft or disasters. If you haven’t done so already, move your backups to a new drive today and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a well-organized and secure backup system.

This article explains how to move your backup files to a new, larger Time Machine drive without losing any data. Instructions cover devices running macOS 10.6 and later.

What to Know

  • Format the new drive, then right-click it and select Get Info. Ensure Ignore ownership on this volume is not active. Sign in as admin.In System Preferences > Time Machine, uncheck Back up Automatically. Drag Backups.backupdb from the old drive to the new.In the Time Machine preference pane, click Select Disk. Select the new disk and click Use Disk. Check the box next to Back Up Automatically.

Moving Time Machine to a New Drive

Follow these steps to move your current Time Machine backup to a new, larger drive.

  • Connect the new hard drive to your Mac, either internally or externally. External drives can connect to a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire port on the Mac.
  • Start up the computer.
  • Time Machine works with drives in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) formats and Xsan formats. If the backup drive you attach isn’t compatible, the Mac will prompt you to erase it. With some OS versions, the Mac prompts you to reformat at this step. If not, you can format the drive using Disk Utility.
  • Formatting the hard drive erases any data it contains.
  • How you use Disk Utility to format your new hard drive depends on which edition of macOS you’re using. The instructions are different for versions up to and including Yosemite and ones since El Capitan.
  • Once you finish formatting the new hard drive, it mounts on your Mac’s desktop.
  • Right-click the new hard drive icon on the desktop and select Get Info from the pop-up menu.
  • Make sure that Ignore ownership on this volume is NOT active. To change it, click the padlock icon located in the bottom right corner of the window.
  • When prompted, supply an administrator’s username and password. You can now make the changes.
  • Click the padlock again to save your changes.

Transferring Your Time Machine Backup to a New Hard Drive

Once you’ve set up the new drive, you’ll need to transfer your old Time Machine backups to it. Here’s what to do.

Connect the new hard drive to your Mac, either internally or externally. External drives can connect to a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire port on the Mac.

Start up the computer.

Time Machine works with drives in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) formats and Xsan formats. If the backup drive you attach isn’t compatible, the Mac will prompt you to erase it. With some OS versions, the Mac prompts you to reformat at this step. If not, you can format the drive using Disk Utility.

Formatting the hard drive erases any data it contains.

How you use Disk Utility to format your new hard drive depends on which edition of macOS you’re using. The instructions are different for versions up to and including Yosemite and ones since El Capitan.

Once you finish formatting the new hard drive, it mounts on your Mac’s desktop.

Right-click the new hard drive icon on the desktop and select Get Info from the pop-up menu.

Make sure that Ignore ownership on this volume is NOT active. To change it, click the padlock icon located in the bottom right corner of the window.

When prompted, supply an administrator’s username and password. You can now make the changes.

Click the padlock again to save your changes.

  • Launch System Preferences by clicking the System Preferences icon in the Dock, or selecting System Preferences from the Apple menu.
  • Select the Time Machine preference pane.
  • Slide the Time Machine switch to Off or remove the checkmark from the Back Up Automatically box. Both perform the same function.
  • Connect your original drive to your computer and drag the Backups.backupdb folder to the new drive.
  • If asked, supply an administrator name and password. The copying process can take a while, depending on the size of your current Time Machine backup.
  • Once the copying is complete, return to the Time Machine preference pane and click Select Disk.
  • Select the new disk from the list and click Use Disk.
  • Set the Time Machine switch to On or check the box in front of Back Up Automatically.

Why Would You Need a New Time Machine Backup Drive?

Eventually, you may decide you need more room for your Time Machine backups and want to move them to a larger drive. You may need more room for two reasons. The amount of data you store on your Mac has no doubt grown over time as you added more applications and created and saved more documents. At some point, you may outgrow the amount of space available on your original Time Machine hard drive.

Launch System Preferences by clicking the System Preferences icon in the Dock, or selecting System Preferences from the Apple menu.

Select the Time Machine preference pane.

Slide the Time Machine switch to Off or remove the checkmark from the Back Up Automatically box. Both perform the same function.

Connect your original drive to your computer and drag the Backups.backupdb folder to the new drive.

If asked, supply an administrator name and password. The copying process can take a while, depending on the size of your current Time Machine backup.

Once the copying is complete, return to the Time Machine preference pane and click Select Disk.

Select the new disk from the list and click Use Disk.

Set the Time Machine switch to On or check the box in front of Back Up Automatically.

The other reason for needing more room is a desire to store more data history. The more data history you store, the farther back in time you can retrieve a file. Time Machine saves multiple generations of documents or other data as long as you have enough room to accommodate them. However, when the drive fills up, Time Machine purges older backups to provide room for the most current data.

Selecting a New Time Machine Drive

With a Time Machine, drive size is more important than overall performance. Drive speed shouldn’t matter for a backup drive that you’re mostly using to store data without retrieving it, so you should look for the most storage you can afford.

External enclosures are an excellent choice for Time Machine drives, allowing you to connect the drive to your Mac using Thunderbolt or USB 3 depending on your needs. USB 3 and later enclosures are by far the most popular and the least expensive of the enclosure options, and they are a good value for this use. Just make sure the enclosure is from a reputable manufacturer.

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