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Rather than partitioning and wasting space in external Samsung T7 SSD 1TB, I am wondering if I could Format an old 1TB Seagate Hard Disk drive and use it exclusively for, as Time Machine. I have just ordered a Mac Mini 256 and haven't received it as yet.
Would the Mac Mini accept a Hard disk drive for Formatting as Time Machine? Would the Mac slow down which I don't want it too. I am a Windows/ Linux User now wanting to use the power of the M1. Thanks
time machine should always be stored on an external harddisk different than the data it backsup otherwise if the harddisk fails all will be lost, defeating the main purpose of it
Types of disks you can use with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support
time machine should always be stored on an external harddisk different than the data it backsup otherwise if the harddisk fails all will be lost, defeating the main purpose of it
Types of disks you can use with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support
Thank you for sending the link. It cleared my doubt which format is preferable for the Time Machine - APFS or Mac OS Journalled. So an Old but working HDD Hard disk mechanical drive i could use as Backup in Time Machine. Since this backup would be on a separate USB outlet of the Mini, i would assume it would have no effect on the reading/writing speed on my main SSD T7 1 TB Drive.
Thanks a Lot
I have always preferred making backups with Carbon Copy Cloner. I guess it can be automated but I use it whenever I feel I don't want to lose any modifications in case the source goes bad. Then it does not slow things down in normal use.
Unlike Time Machine, it can make bootable backups although new macOS restrictions make this somewhat clumsier than before.
Grgehyd wrote:
... if I could Format an old 1TB Seagate Hard Disk drive and use it exclusively for, as Time Machine. ..
Just as a comment, a backup device should be the most reliable part of your system, otherwise there is no point.
An "old drive" could be living on borrowed time and as such should not be considered as a reliable device for a backup.
New hard drives are quite inexpensive these days, so my advice is to simply get something new and reliable.
Also note that if you're going to use Time Machine as your external backup, it should be about 3 times larger than your internal drive.
Thank you all of you for replying to me. I understand and appreciate all your comments. This case may be closed, if such a procedure exists.
Can HDD be used for Time Machine?
