Time Machine: New external drive, exclude old backups

Manually add it to Time Machine

Open System Settings

Click General

Click Time Machine

Click Add Backup Disk…

Select the new external hard drive

Click Set Up Disk

If the old Time Machine drive is still connected, macOS might try to rotate between disks.

To avoid that:

In Time Machine settings

Select the old backup disk

Click Remove Disk

D.I. Johnson wrote:

Adding a new drive to continue with Time Machine backups is straightforward as you follow the guidance provided by our friend, @OWL-53. 👍🏽

brightappel wrote:

[...]

I don't want to add every backup from the old (full) one. Can anyone advise how to do this? Thanks from a technical fool.

FYI, strictly speaking, adding a new drive for TM to make backups to does not "add every backup from the old (full) one". The old drive has served its purpose as a backup destination and any backups saved there will simply remain in place as-is until you erase that drive. TM does not backup data from an old TM drive to another. Exclusion of TM drives from a current backup is automatic.

Once a backup drive becomes full, you have options:

• You can set that drive aside as a data archive in case you need to recover something from it later.

• You can erase that drive and start a new backup set, if you are comfortable that you have no need for any of the old data that has already been backed up to it.

• You can erase the drive and use it as simple external storage for your Mac.

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

👍

🦉-53

Adding a new drive to continue with Time Machine backups is straightforward as you follow the guidance provided by our friend, @OWL-53. 👍🏽

brightappel wrote:

[...]

I don't want to add every backup from the old (full) one. Can anyone advise how to do this? Thanks from a technical fool.

FYI, strictly speaking, adding a new drive for TM to make backups to does not "add every backup from the old (full) one". The old drive has served its purpose as a backup destination and any backups saved there will simply remain in place as-is until you erase that drive. TM does not backup data from an old TM drive to another. Exclusion of TM drives from a current backup is automatic.

Once a backup drive becomes full, you have options:

• You can set that drive aside as a data archive in case you need to recover something from it later.

• You can erase that drive and start a new backup set, if you are comfortable that you have no need for any of the old data that has already been backed up to it.

• You can erase the drive and use it as simple external storage for your Mac.

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