Apple Intelligence now features Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools enhancements, seamless support for ChatGPT, and visual intelligence.

Apple Intelligence has also begun language expansion with localized English support for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. Learn more >

You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

m2804 Author

Level 1

4 points

can I reuse an external hdd to make a new backup of another macbook?

Years ago I used an external hdd & TimeMachine to make a backup of my old macbook. That's history and I don't need the data anymore. Now I have another, newer Macbook (Air) that I should upgrade, and before that, backup. Can I just plug in this external hdd I've used before (with the backup of the old macbook still on it) and run TimeMachine to make a backup of my current Macbook?

Thanks for answering!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Aug 4, 2023 4:07 AM

Top-ranking reply

kaz-k

Level 9

50,304 points

Posted on Aug 4, 2023 6:03 AM

Hi,

Yes, you can, if there is good enough free space on the external drive, though if you don't need data on the drive anymore, reformat the drive with DiskUtility as APFS and use it for new MacBook Air as back up drive.

View in context

can I reuse an external hdd to make a new backup of another macbook?

Similar questions