What is the best way to set up external storage and Time Machine on new Mac?

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Jamie Crain Author

Level 1

40 points

What is the best way to set up external storage and Time Machine on new Mac?

My old set up:

2017 iMac with 2TB SSD. About 1TB used. Backs up to 2TB Time Machine over ethernet.

New set up:

2023 Mac Studio 512GB, plus external 2TB via Thunderbolt. I have stored my Photos library on the external SSD.

I would prefer to keep the Photos library locally i.e. save an original copy on the external SSD, rather than relying wholly on iCloud Photos (which I use for all my other devices). However I understand that Time Machine will only back up from the internal SSD. Therefore if I add more full res photos to the Photos library on the external SSD, these will have to be backed up manually. That would not be ideal.

What I want is to continue adding photos to my library, knowing that they will be backed up on both iCloud Photos, AND an automatic local backup.

Best way to set this up?

(and, no, I can't return the Mac Studio and get a bigger internal SSD, simply too expensive).

Thanks, J

Mac Studio (2023)

Posted on Mar 1, 2024 3:51 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

6x6

Level 7

22,589 points

Mar 1, 2024 5:07 PM in response to Jamie Crain

If I understand you correctly, you now have a 2TB drive for your Time Machine backups and another external SSD to store your photo library.

If that's the case, you can back up the photo library SSD on the Time Machine disk. You only need to remove the photo library SSD from the exclusion list in the Time Machine settings.

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Answer 2

Jamie Crain Author

Level 1

40 points

Mar 2, 2024 3:51 PM in response to markwmsn

Ah so it *will* backup external drives as well?

Yes I can see that TM settings automatically excludes the external SSD. So all I have to do is remove the exclusion rule?

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Answer 3

6x6

Level 7

22,589 points

Mar 2, 2024 4:23 PM in response to Jamie Crain

Yes, this is what I meant in my reply: if you remove the SSD from the exclusion list, it will be automatically backed up. External drives are automatically added to the exclusion list; you have to remove them yourself so they can be backed up.

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Answer 4

Jamie Crain Author

Level 1

40 points

Mar 1, 2024 5:57 PM in response to 6x6

To clarify, Time Machine is backing up to a 2TB Time Capsule which is located at the other end of the house via ethernet.

The old setup worked fine. Everything was stored on the iMac and it backed up automatically to the TC.

With the new setup, Time Machine wants to back up the Mac Studio only, which would miss my Photos library on my new external SSD. It won't let me create a second backup process for the Photos, nor will it include it in the main backup. Basically it seems that storing the Photos on the separate SSD requires a completely different backup strategy, unless I am missing something?

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Answer 5

6x6

Level 7

22,589 points

Mar 9, 2024 4:58 PM in response to Jamie Crain

You had the right reflex to post a brand-new question. I took a look at it and, unfortunately, I'm not a specialist in that domain. I'm sure you'll get plenty of replies from the more advanced contributors on this forum, though.

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