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How do I determine the storage capacity I need on an external drive?

I want to use an external drive (USB or Thunderbolt) to back up my Mac using Time Machine. How do I determine the storage capacity I need on the external drive? Any recommendations on a specific drive to use or a Brand? Thank you.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021, 2 ports)

Posted on Sep 1, 2022 1:56 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 1, 2022 2:14 PM

ozziemandius wrote:

I want to use an external drive (USB or Thunderbolt) to back up my Mac using Time Machine. How do I determine the storage capacity I need on the external drive? Any recommendations on a specific drive to use or a Brand? Thank you.


2.5 - 3 X the size of your internal storage is recommended


Back up your Mac Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support



There are literally 100's of choices in brand names etc— there is no best.


Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac

https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/erase-and-reformat-a-storage-device-dskutl14079/21.0/mac/12.0


1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 1, 2022 2:14 PM in response to ozziemandius

ozziemandius wrote:

I want to use an external drive (USB or Thunderbolt) to back up my Mac using Time Machine. How do I determine the storage capacity I need on the external drive? Any recommendations on a specific drive to use or a Brand? Thank you.


2.5 - 3 X the size of your internal storage is recommended


Back up your Mac Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support



There are literally 100's of choices in brand names etc— there is no best.


Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac

https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/erase-and-reformat-a-storage-device-dskutl14079/21.0/mac/12.0


How do I determine the storage capacity I need on an external drive?

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