I have used time machine to back up my mac and an external drive. If I unplug the external drive and enter time machine, I can no longer see the external drive.
If my external drive is lost or stolen, how will I access the backup?
iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)
You can't. If you're worried that it will get lost or stolen get another external, make a backup and keep that one in a very safe place.
Really?? I really thought that was largely the point of having Time Machine!
Oh no. :-(
Ok I have another question for you.
What if someone steals my imac? Does this only apply to external drives??
Keeping another backup off-premesis, is always a good strategy in case of fire, theft or drive failure. It won't always be completely up to date but it will have the bulk of your files. You can rotate the drives periodically. If someone steals your iMac, you're out of luck unless you have "Find My Mac" enabled...
Time machine - external drive retrieval
