Time machine partition

Question

Level 1

8 points

Time machine partition

Hello.

I have a Mac Mini using Big Sur. I just had 2 external hard drives fail within 2 months of each other since switching over to my new Mac Mini. This time I would like to buy 2 x 4TB hard drives and allocate 2TB to each external drive for Time Machine backups and have TM back up alternately to each partition.

Is there any reason not to do this? Also, from what I've read, you should format as APFS? My Lacie setup info said it has to be set up as Mac OS Extended. I'm assuming this is outdated information??? I haven't been able to find anything official from Apple about this.

I've always had a partition so that Time Machine wouldn't take over the whole hard drive. I also had a situation where I had to reformat my Time Machine partition, which would have been complicated had I not had it partitioned.

Any direction would be appreciated, on both the format and the partition with Big Sur.

Wanda

Posted on Aug 7, 2021 5:24 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

APPLEAL

Level 3

527 points

Aug 7, 2021 9:36 PM in response to Squidly

If you are running Big Sur, Time Machine should be formatted APFS. Others may object to not having a dedicated TM drive, but I have a similar set up and has worked fine for years. I see no problem with partitioning. Don't forget to have alternate backup strategies, so called 3,2,1 strategy. Three backups, 2 different ways with 1 offsite.

Also, make sure your TM partition is sized correctly 2-3 times the size of your hard drive

Reply

Answer 2

PRP_53

Level 10

85,567 points

Aug 8, 2021 2:48 AM in response to Squidly

The biggest issue to consider if partitioning the external drive for multi-purposes, what will happen if or when if fails. Because it is multi-purposed - all the eggs are in one basket.

As mentioned, rightfully so by previous poster, having multi-layered Rescue Plan is an essential for good computing.

Rescue Plan In-Place. This comprises having 3 Backups using 2 methods and 1 Off Site incase of Theft, Loss or Natural Disasters. A Time Machine Backup is very useful and can be used to Revert to Previous Working macOS. For addition purposes - two Tested Bootable Clones each to separate external drives. This is insurance incase things go sideways or drive failures. At least one Tested Clone and / or Time Machine Backup should be Off - Site

Reply

Answer 3

Squidly Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 8, 2021 7:29 AM in response to APPLEAL

Thank you, Appeal. This is my 12th hard drive failure. At least since I switched over to Mac, I've never had an internal hard drive failure. LOL I learned the hard way after the 1st failure that you can't have too many backups. Besides my 2 external hard drives, I have BackBlaze and I also backup to Dropbox. I'm annoyed with myself that I never considered 2 external hard drives to alternate my time machine backups between corruption and hard drive failures I've recently experienced.

I noticed the "2-3 times the size of your hard drive" rule yesterday when searching. I'll probably end up using this one to do TM backups alone and get a 10TB and allocate a partition.

I have a Mac Mini. There aren't a lot of ports to have 2 external hard drives. I'll have to invest in a hub as well.

Reply

Answer 4

Squidly Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 8, 2021 7:38 AM in response to PRP_53

Thanks, P. Phillips.

Yes, I have other backup systems. I ususally have 2 external hard drives, plus BackBlaze and I also use Dropbox to backup too. I only had TM on one of the external hard drives. These hard drive failures only affected my TM backups as everything else was redundant. It's annoying b/c TM is the easiest way to restore files, although it's not the ONLY way for me since I have other backups.

Reply

Answer 5

PRP_53

Level 10

85,567 points

Aug 8, 2021 7:39 AM in response to Squidly

Welcome and very best :-)

Reply

Time machine partition

Similar questions