can i back up my internal hard drive AND my external hard drive to time capsule?

If you are asking about using Time Machine to back up, yes you can do this......IF.....the external drive is connected directly to your Mac via a USB or FireWire connection.

Sure, first your Mac has to be setup to back up to the Time Capsule before you can add the external drive to be backed up.

Is your Mac already backing up using Time Machine, or have you not yet set up the Mac to back up using Time Machine?

Important note.....I am assuming that the external drive has already been formatted the same as your Mac.....in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), since the drive must be in this format for Time Machine to be able to back it up. Am I assuming correctly in this regard?

Then, you will need to use another application to handle your backups. Something like Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper or Chronosync.

Each of these applications will automatically back up your Mac and external drive on a schedule that you choose.

Everything will be copied over on the first backup, and then after that, only the changes that have occurred since the last backup on your Mac or the external will be backed up.

1kwords wrote:

I am not yet using Time Machine (shame on me!). And the external drive is formatted for Mac.

You can start using TM.. and you can then include the external drive.. it will be in the exclude list by default.. simply remove it from exclude and it will be included.

I think Bob read your post wrong.. Or I have.. but if you do start using TM and the disk is Mac formatted it can be included..

Although I would also note.. I do like using CCC as a substitute..

I am not yet using Time Machine (shame on me!). And the external drive is formatted for Mac.

I may have been confused before........understood from your post that you were backing up to the Time Capsule, but not using Time Machine for this.

Are you saying that you have not backed up your Mac at all yet, and you do want to use Time Machine to back up both your Mac and external drive to the Time Capsule?

Then, when you are ready, back up your Mac first. Once that is done, we'll get the external backing up as well.

Open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock)

Open Time Machine

Turn Time Machine "On"

Select the Time Capsule as the backup destination

Click Use Disk

The backup will begin shortly. If your Mac can connect to one of the Ethernet ports on the Time Capsule, backups will go faster than wireless.

Post back when the backup has completed and we'll take the next step to include the external drive with your backups.

Thanks, Bob. I am setting up this process as well, due to 500 GB of critical video/photos (in Photos app) that are constraining hard drive space on my 1TB iMac. If I am formatting the external drive with Disk Utility (before adding it to my Time Capsule backups) should I choose Mac OSx Journaled -- Mac OSx Journaled, Case-Sensitive? Or, if it doesn't matter, are there Pros/Cons between these? And, if I move my Photos Library in entirety to the external, will that affect sync functionality of iCloud (w/ regard to photos/video)? Or will iCloud view the external as integral to the iMac?