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I wish to transfer myBook/time machine backed up data to a G/Drive/Mobile device. myBook/time machine is nearly full.

I wish to transfer myBook/time machine backed up data to a G/Drive/Mobile device. myBook/time machine is nearly full. I want to allow time machine to start over with its back up capabilities. I'll store the G/Drive for future needs.

iMac (24-inch Early 2009), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 20, 2018 8:26 AM

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Feb 2, 2018 7:46 AM in response to rkaufmann87

I am about to purchase a G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mobile USB-C portable drive from the Apple Store and will need to transfer my data from a Time Capsule to it like bigdave47, or start over entirely (which is probably preferable). The article you reference describes how to switch from using one drive to another, but it appears to be outdated due to the switch to AFS in High Sierra which, I believe, eliminated the volume concept (unless I am mistaken, please feel free to correct me as I am new to macOS). So, if I am correct that it is outdated I was wondering if there is a more recent article which describes the process for High Sierra? For example, there is no longer a switch to move to Off in Time Machine so is unchecking automatic backups equivalent to the prior moving of the switch to Off? Lastly, if I want to completely start over with the new G-DRIVE and not retain all the old backup data, such that the first backup I do with the G-DRIVE is a full backup that is the new starting point, do you know of an article which describes how to do that? Thank you in advance for any help you are able to offer.

Feb 2, 2018 7:57 AM in response to MarkGunning

Hello Mark. I'm running os ElCapitan. I have an older iMac and that's as updated an iOS as I will get. I connected the G-drive mobile according to the advice I got and it worked fine. The G-drive immediately ran a backup. However, since I still had some space left on my original backup, (my book) , I disconnected the G-drive, started over, reconnected the G-drive and chose the "use both" as a backup option. So far, it appears to be working and backing up to my book only, as I see no changes in space remaining on my G-drive. I'm hoping once my book is full, it will automatically start backing up to the G-drive. ?? Film at 11. This probably doesn't help with your inquiry, but thought I'd let you know what I did. Good luck. BigD

Feb 2, 2018 8:51 AM in response to bigdave47

Thanks for that information, I didn't know it was an option to have multiple storage devices associated together, and I hope it works for you as you described. My post was erroneous regarding AFS eliminating the volume concept. That was due to a misunderstanding of an article I read, and only seeing the physical disk in Disk Utility since High Sierra by default does not show the volume until you click on View and select Show All Devices. I believe the local snapshots on my laptop were eliminated when I turned off automatic backups, which is good because I read that it is a bad idea to manually delete them from /.Mobile Backups where they are apparently stored and that doing so can cause Time Machine to stop working. In the end I decided to stop using Time Machine altogether and removed the Time Capsule as a Time Machine backup device, with the hope that this has resulted in the elimination of all the storage used on my laptop for Time Machine. I decided to leave the backups already on the Time Capsule there in case I need them someday. I have now switched to Carbon Copy Cloner and am using the G-Technology G-DRIVE with it and am very pleased with its fast performance and greater flexibility. I find Time Machine frustrating due to the lack of ability to control exactly what it is doing, and exactly how much storage it uses, especially on my MacBook Pro. I think turning off local snapshots and automatic backups probably solves the problem in terms of storage on my MacBook Pro, but I found it difficult to find definitive information on exactly how to wrangle Time Machine into doing precisely what I want it to do. I realize it was designed to be easy to use for those who don't want to exercise precise control with the added complexity that brings, so it does provide a set-and-forget tool for people who just want to turn something on and not have to deal with it again, but I am the type of user who wants extremely precise control over what my backup solution does. Carbon Copy Cloner, with its extensive documentation, provides that for me to my satisfaction. I am not claiming that someone with much greater knowledge of, and experience with, macOS than I have cannot control Time Machine to their satisfaction, so part of my frustration may just be due to lack of knowledge and experience.

Feb 2, 2018 9:03 AM in response to bigdave47

if it was me then I would format the my book and set it up from new for time machine


time machine is not a carbon copy of your storage it keep times of how your computer was so it will use more storage over time and starting anew will mean it will only require the storage that you use at the time of the initial backup

I wish to transfer myBook/time machine backed up data to a G/Drive/Mobile device. myBook/time machine is nearly full.

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