nelsonmay

Q: free up space and partition a TC HD?

I finally reconnected my MBP to my WD Netbook. I have 2 GB of space which I have 1.5GB dedicated to backup. Over time my Mac Pro sucked up a bunch of space. Rather than delete and start over, I want to free up space so my MBP can back up.

 

1. Can I go in and delete older backups to free space?

 

2. Is there a way to add a limit to my current backup space. I know I can't add another partition without reformatting the whole drive. It would take too long to transfer information, so can I give the 1.5GB I have for backups equal or proportional space to both my MBP and Mac Pro?

 

Thanks.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), Mac OS X (10.6.8), null

Posted on Sep 8, 2016 4:09 PM

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Q: free up space and partition a TC HD?

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 8, 2016 4:15 PM in response to nelsonmay
    Level 10 (270,278 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 8, 2016 4:15 PM in response to nelsonmay
    1. Yes. Use the Time Machine application assuming you use Time Machine for backups.
    2. No.
  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Sep 9, 2016 1:09 AM in response to nelsonmay
    Level 9 (52,300 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 9, 2016 1:09 AM in response to nelsonmay

    I finally reconnected my MBP to my WD Netbook.

    How is the MBP related to the WD netbook and what is the netbook ?? plugged into.. What is the actual model because nothing I know of WD products is called that.. mybook yes.. but that is USB. my cloud is networked.

     

    I have 2 GB of space which I have 1.5GB dedicated to backup.

    I am assuming you mean TB not GB. so just a typo.. but is that on the Time Capsule or this WD netbook?

     

    1. Can I go in and delete older backups to free space?

    It depends on what you mean here.. are you mixing up Time Machine.. TM and Time Capsule.. TC?

    Time Machine backs up differently to local vs network drives.. and I have no idea now what drive we are talking about.

     

    If you are talking about any single Time Machine backup, then the answer is yes, but I strongly recommend against it.. deleting parts of backup seldom saves any large amount of space and is highly likely to completely mess up the backup. TM already deletes multiple versions of the same file.. and will delete most variations even on a clear daily, weekly and monthly schedule.

     

    Pondini instructions are here. http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

     

    It is a bit out of date but still helpful.. IMHO don't do it. To discover when you need it that the backup is no longer viable is going to cause pain.. it is hard enough to keep Time Machine running with any reliability now.. messing with it is like Russian Roulette.. every sixth go you will shoot yourself on average. But it might happen on the first one.

     

    2. Is there a way to add a limit to my current backup space. I know I can't add another partition without reformatting the whole drive.

    You cannot add a partition to Time Capsule at all.

     

    Not a real one.. and virtual partitions are not as useful.

     

    If you are talking about the WD netbook.. and not a TC as per the title then it depends on the functionality of the firmware.