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User profile for user: munkey86
munkey86 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Clone Time Machine Hard Drive

Hi ,


Im looking to move my time machine folder to another HD to create a copy but to then also change the destination for my Time Machine to the new drive. I tried the whole drag the backup folder to the new HD however this looks as though it could take some time so have cancelled the copy. I have then read about cloning the HD in Disk Utility - Ive not done this before but seems relatively simple and am lead to believe that this will be somewhat faster than copy + Paste.

Im wondering when i clone the existing Time machine HD will it then erase it once it has copied to the new device or will I be left with both still having the data on?

currently using WD NAS but they are stopping updates and support soon but would like to keep it in reserve to have a "copy" should I ever need it. Im running Montery 12.0.01

Thanks

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Jan 16, 2022 7:04 AM

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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
133,201 points

Posted on Jan 16, 2022 7:12 AM

Don't copy your backup drive. You will copy any accumulated ERRORS as well.


Instead, ADD a new Drive to your backups. Just connect it and specify it as an additional destination drive. As long as both drives are present, Time machine will alternate backups -- every other backup to every-other drive.


The new drive will first complete a FULL backup, so that it can be a stand-alone backup set. This will take a lot of elapsed time, but the magic of time machine is that it works in the background, at low priority, and does not keep you from doing your important work at the same time.


Once the second drive has made its first backup, you can disconnect and store the old drive at any time. You may want to let them overlap for a week or more.

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User profile for user: Grant Bennet-Alder
Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10
133,201 points

Jan 16, 2022 7:12 AM in response to munkey86

Don't copy your backup drive. You will copy any accumulated ERRORS as well.


Instead, ADD a new Drive to your backups. Just connect it and specify it as an additional destination drive. As long as both drives are present, Time machine will alternate backups -- every other backup to every-other drive.


The new drive will first complete a FULL backup, so that it can be a stand-alone backup set. This will take a lot of elapsed time, but the magic of time machine is that it works in the background, at low priority, and does not keep you from doing your important work at the same time.


Once the second drive has made its first backup, you can disconnect and store the old drive at any time. You may want to let them overlap for a week or more.

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User profile for user: munkey86
munkey86 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Jan 20, 2022 1:33 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for the reply, I'm fully aware of how easy time machine runs in the background have been using it for years however I would still prefer to have a copy of those files also?.. Is there no way to check the drive for errors prior to cloning? as Copy And pasting the sparse bundle is going to be a ridiculous amount of time as there is 2.32TB.

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Clone Time Machine Hard Drive

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