I have been told by an apple support advisor that i need to update the software on my mac. Before i do this i need to back it up using an external hard drive. Can i use any external hard drive or do i need a specific one that is compatable.
iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)
You can use the Time Capsule’s internal drive or any regular one, but will likely need to reformat a drive which isn’t specifically intended for Macs. Except as noted, Time Machine and other products which require that the backup drive be formatted as Mac OS Extended won’t be able to back up to a dedicated NAS.
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You can use almost any external hard drive. You just need to be sure you format it for a Mac. Most externals will not already come that way.
See the blue box here:
Thank you very much this helped a lot.
Thank you very much. Sorry I am not a computer wizard so I have to make sure I am doing this correctly!! Does that mean I can buy an external hard drive from Amazon then as long as i format it, it should work?
Will a Apple superdrive enable me to back up my mac?
1. Yes, unless it’s network attached storage other than a Time Capsule.
2. A SuperDrive isn’t a hard drive. You can, but the process would be much more complicated, and wouldn’t work as well.
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millyrose01 wrote:
Thank you very much. Sorry I am not a computer wizard so I have to make sure I am doing this correctly!! Does that mean I can buy an external hard drive from Amazon then as long as i format it, it should work?
Usually yes
No, that is a cd/dvd drive
Thank you for the response. would a
'Toshiba HDTB310EK3AA 1 TB Canvio Basics USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive - Black' work?
Yes, provided you reformat it for use on a Mac.
Thank you for your help.
You're welcome
Is formatting straight forward?
Time Machine will do this if it needs to; alternatively, choose Utilities from the Finder’s Go menu, open the Disk Utility, select the drive in the sidebar, and reformat it.
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millyrose01 wrote:
Is formatting straight forward?
Yes it is, and you can always ask here for help when you get it.
To back up a iMac do i need a specific external hard drive or can i use any?
