How to delete all time machine backups from an external HDD?

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Level 1

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Hopefully this question is in the right place...

Basically I've been using a 500GB Buffalo external HDD for my time machine backups but I now want to use the HDD for another purpose.

How do I delete all backups and return the HDD to being an empty, clean slate so to speak?

I know this might seem like a stupid question but I'm kinda confused so please try to be helpful when answering.

Thanks.

MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Sep 5, 2012 3:09 PM

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Answer 1

Here is how to delete all backups on your Time Machine disk:

Turn off Time Machine by choosing Apple menu > System Preferences, click on Time Machine, and set slider to "off".
Open the Applications folder on your hard disk, then open Utilities, then open Disk Utility.
Select your Time Machine backup disk at the left.
Click the "Erase" tab.
Click the "Erase" button located in the Erase tab.
Confirm that you want to erase disk in the confirmation dialog displayed.
Wait for the disk to be erased. The erasure may take an extremely long time to complete.

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Answer 2

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