Backing up and clearing space on my macbook.

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Level 1

8 points

Backing up and clearing space on my macbook.

hello, I just bought a Seagate Backup Plus (Slim) to allow me to backup my macbook Air, as well as to serve as a storage device so I can free up space on my Macbook. Can I use this device for both purposes? Also Time Machine is prompting me to erase the disc which worries me as I don't want to wipe off the start up information it comes with. I have a feeling I need to reformat the device before I can use it for both purposes?

Thankyou so much for any advice offered, very grateful.

Celia

MacBook Air 13", OS X 10.11

Posted on Oct 19, 2019 12:53 AM

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Answer 1

sterling r

Community Specialist

Oct 24, 2019 4:47 PM in response to ceil22

Hi ceil22,

I see you have some questions about Time Machine, and I'm glad to see if I can provide an answer.

This resource has some great general information: Back up your Mac with Time Machine

Technically, you could partition the external drive and use one partition for storage and one for a backup. However, it's often best to use a separate external drive for Time Machine to ensure it has sufficient space to keep backing up.

Also, you are correct; if you connect an external hard drive that isn't formatted for macOS, you would be need to reformat it when the prompt pops up as shown in the resource above.

I hope I've answered your questions! Kind regards.

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Answer 2

ceil22 Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 24, 2019 7:21 PM in response to sterling r

Hello Sterling, thankyou very much for your reply. Very helpful.

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Backing up and clearing space on my macbook.

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