My iMac won't start up

I want to repair my Mac using disk utility. I have a backup from timemachine saved on to an external hard drive. My question is if I use the external hard drive back up to restore my iMac will the process damage or erase anything else that is saved on the external hard drive?

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Posted on Aug 12, 2016 5:38 AM

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4 replies

Aug 12, 2016 10:52 AM in response to robertfromhendon

Restoring from Time Machine should not damage or erase the external hard drive.

see > Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support


However, it is always a good idea to have a second backup just incase something should go wrong.

see > Time Machine: How to transfer backups from a current backup drive to a new backup drive - Apple Support

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For years, I use a multiply backup strategy which include a Time Machine backup, plus daily and weekly Clones made with CarbonCopyCloner.

Aug 12, 2016 10:51 AM in response to robertfromhendon

. My question is if I use the external hard drive back up to restore my iMac will the process damage or erase anything else that is saved on the external hard drive?

No the EHD should be okay. However many experienced users have 2 backups, because backups can fail too. In other words, sometimes redundancy is wise. For the second backup, many use a bootable clone. What I'd recommend is once the internal HD is fixed (or replaced) and you have restored from your TM backup, then make a bootable clone backup on a 2nd EHD using either SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner.

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My iMac won't start up

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