User profile for user: Crea8Thunder
Crea8Thunder Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

How to disconnect this external drive from Time Machine?

Hi All - I am totally frustrated and hate time machine!

I really need some help.

So, I needed to use time machine to backup files so I can upgrade my Catalina system. So, I backed up on my external hard drive. But it kep not allowing me to use my hard drive for anything else and I used it for all of my graphics. So, I followed the direction to deselect the external drive, but there wasn't any "forget" it in the system. Now I am stuck in this horrible merry-go-round where it keeps still recognizing my external drive as a TM drive, despite TM being turned off and the drive itself NOT showing up when I go to Preferences/Options, etc.


How in the world can I turn my external drive just back into its normal drive and get the stupid Time Machine to stop doing this? It is making me put in my password for the system every time I want to move something in the external drive or copy something to it and it's a major frustration.


I really appreciate any help anyone can give me before I tear my hair out.

THANKS!! ;-)

Alex


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Mar 23, 2023 3:32 PM

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User profile for user: MrHoffman
MrHoffman
User level: Level 10
149,919 points

Posted on Mar 23, 2023 3:45 PM

The only way to mark data as being valuable is with backups. Otherwise, you’re one loss, one drop, one hardware failure, one mistake, one app corruption, one dunk, one theft, one loss away from catastrophic data loss. We get far too many folks around here who have lost data, had no backups, and they can really get yelly. And sad. And mad.


If you don’t want Time Machine using the archive, remove it from the Time Machine setup, and reformat the target disk using Disk Utility.


Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support (remove is in the same place as add, and you’ll want to shut off Time Machine, which means either you have some other backup strategy—and iCloud isn’t that—or your data has no value.)


Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support


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User profile for user: MrHoffman
MrHoffman
User level: Level 10
149,919 points

Mar 23, 2023 3:45 PM in response to Crea8Thunder

The only way to mark data as being valuable is with backups. Otherwise, you’re one loss, one drop, one hardware failure, one mistake, one app corruption, one dunk, one theft, one loss away from catastrophic data loss. We get far too many folks around here who have lost data, had no backups, and they can really get yelly. And sad. And mad.


If you don’t want Time Machine using the archive, remove it from the Time Machine setup, and reformat the target disk using Disk Utility.


Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support (remove is in the same place as add, and you’ll want to shut off Time Machine, which means either you have some other backup strategy—and iCloud isn’t that—or your data has no value.)


Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support


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How to disconnect this external drive from Time Machine?

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