How do I back up my external hd as well as my Power Mac?

Question

How do I back up my external hd as well as my Power Mac?

I used Time Machine to back up my Power Mac HD and my external HD to another 2TB external HD. I was successful backing up my Power Mac, but I don't know how to get Time Machine to see my external HD that needs backing up. Any suggestions? Thanks!

G5 Power Mac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Nov 22, 2010 5:45 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

159,326 points

Nov 22, 2010 6:32 PM in response to Deborah Davis

Welcome to the discussion area, Deborah!

but I don't know how to get Time Machine to see my external HD that needs backing up.

Open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock)
Open Time Machine
Click the Options button

A list of files/drives that are currently excluded from normal backups will appear. If you see the name of the drive that you would like to have backed up with Time Machine, click it to highlight it, then click the - (minus) button at the bottom of the exclusions list.

Now the drive will be backed up as part of the normal Time Machine backup.

Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

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Answer 2

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Nov 22, 2010 9:30 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Bob Timmons wrote:
. . .
If you see the name of the drive that you would like to have backed up with Time Machine, click it to highlight it, then click the - (minus) button at the bottom of the exclusions list.

Unless it's shown in gray, meaning it's not formatted for a Mac (HFS+). If it is, you can't remove the exclusion, since Time Machine can't back it up.

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Answer 3

Nov 22, 2010 10:16 PM in response to Bob Timmons

thanks, bob, that worked. after I backed up my external hd, I looked at the contents of my backup external hd and saw that it had backed up my computer 5 times including backing it up again when I did the external hd backup.

why is that happening? I know I didn't consciously do that.

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Answer 4

Nov 22, 2010 10:18 PM in response to Pondini

thanks, good to know.

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Answer 5

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Nov 23, 2010 6:35 AM in response to Deborah Davis

Deborah Davis wrote:
thanks, bob, that worked. after I backed up my external hd, I looked at the contents of my backup external hd and saw that it had backed up my computer 5 times including backing it up again when I did the external hd backup.

why is that happening? I know I didn't consciously do that.

Time Machine didn't back up only that HD; every time it runs, it backs up what's new or changed on your +entire system.+

If it's ON, and your Mac is awake and in range of the TC, it will do that hourly.

You might want to review the [Time Machine Tutorial|http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#timemachinebasics] and perhaps browse [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum).

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Answer 6

Nov 23, 2010 10:17 AM in response to Pondini

thank you for that information. i was going to ask for a link to a tutorial. thanks for thinking of that too!

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Answer 7

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Nov 23, 2010 10:27 AM in response to Deborah Davis

Great - glad it helped (Time Machine is a bit of an unusual critter 😉 )

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