Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

My Mac desktop has a 1TB hard drive with only about 75GB used, and it will never use much more than that. Can I use on old Toshiba 500GB external HDD for TimeMachine backups

My Mac will never use much more than 75GB of its 1TB hard drive. Can I use an old Toshiba 500GB external HDD as TimeMachine's destination for backups?

Thanks in advance.

iMac Pro

Posted on Mar 25, 2020 11:20 AM

Reply
Question marked as Apple recommended

Yes. You will be limited to how much you can add to your internal drive and how far back in time you can recover data but yes you could use the drive.

Posted on Mar 25, 2020 12:18 PM

9 replies

Mar 25, 2020 12:21 PM in response to ClintonCornersAppleCommunity

I would reconsider that 500GB drive to one with larger capacity.


I am running macOS Mojave on a Late-2013 iMac with an internal 250 GB SSD. I have used 114 GB of that drive, and this is a relatively stable figure. The external Time Machine drive is a 1 TB Crucial SSD, and to date, I have used 300 GB of that drive, which was a new drive, when I upgraded to Mojave about 18 months ago.

My Mac desktop has a 1TB hard drive with only about 75GB used, and it will never use much more than that. Can I use on old Toshiba 500GB external HDD for TimeMachine backups

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.