format an external hard drive for mac time machine

#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine mac os
#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine full
#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine software
#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine windows

If Time Machine finds an issue with your backup, it displays a message with details.

While holding down the Option key on your keyboard, click the Time Machine menu in the menu bar, then choose Verify Backups.

If you back up to a server, AirPort Time Capsule, or drive connected to your AirPort Extreme Base Station, make sure that your current Time Machine backup doesn't have any issues that could prevent further backups: You can select your wireless network from the Wi-Fi status menu. If you back up to a server, AirPort Time Capsule, or drive connected to your AirPort Extreme Base Station, make sure that your Mac is connected to the same network as your backup drive. To restart, unplug the base station from AC power for 5 seconds, then plug it back in.

Restart your base station and see if the issue continues.

If you're using an AirPort Time Capsule or a drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station, make sure that your AirPort firmware is up to date.

Restart your Mac and see if the issue continues.

#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine software

Make sure that your Mac software is up to date.

External hard drive connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac) on your network.

Time Capsule or macOS Server on your network.

External hard drive connected to a USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt port on your Mac.

According to Apple's official instructions ( ), when you have a problem with Time Machine, check these things if you see an alert that Time Machine is unable to back up your data, or if you can't select your backup disk in Time Machine preferences. One phenomenon to get Time Machine backup failed is that you can't back up or access an existing Time Machine backup, or restore from an earlier backup won't work. Can't Backup or Restore Your Mac Using Time Machine

#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine full

Full stepsĭownload software to recover missing backups > repair unrecognized. Full stepsĬreate a new backup > restart Time Machine > repair with terminal command. Follow the on-screen instructions when the New Simple Volume Wizard appears.Check Time Machine system requirements > check your Mac.

To create a new partition, right click on the volume and select New Simple Volume.

If it is currently formatted, right click on the partition and then choose Delete.

The partition must be available to format.

From the list of storage devices in the middle of the Disk Management window, locate your LaCie device.

In the search results, double-click Disk Management.

Go to Search and then type diskmgmt.msc.

Make sure the storage device is connected to and mounted on the computer.

For Format, select OS X Extended (Journaled).

This will be the name displayed when the drive mounts. This feature was introduced in macOS 10.13 and is not available in 10.11 or 10.12. The view button is in the upper left side of the Disk Utility window. If you don’t see two entries listed in the sidebar, change the view in disk utility to show both the drive and the volume. MacOS starting version 10.13-Make sure to select the disk and not just the volume.

#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine windows

A FAT32 partition can reach up to 32GB when formatted on a Windows PC. However, FAT32 is a legacy file system designed for low capacity hard drives and it is not recommended for modern hard drives or operating systems. exFAT is not a journaled file system which means it can be more susceptible to data corruption when errors occur or the drive is not disconnected properly from the computer.įAT32-Compatible with Mac and Windows. APFS is only supported on macOS 10.13 or later.ĮxFAT-Compatible with Mac and Windows.

Format LaCie Mobile Drive to HFS+ if you intend to use it with Time Machine.

You cannot use an APFS-formatted disk as your Time Machine backup drive.

While you can format your hard disk drive (HDD) in APFS, performance may be degraded when files on the drive are routinely subjected to extensive editing (for example, large-scale image, video, audio, and music editing). This is the best format if you intend to use LaCie Mobile Drive with Time Machine.ĪPFS (Apple File System)-An Apple file system optimized for solid state drives (SSDs) and flash-based storage systems.

Windows cannot natively read or write to HFS+ (journaled) volumes.

#Format an external hard drive for mac time machine mac os

Mac OS Extended (HFS+)-The native hard drive file system for macOS. macOS can read NTFS volumes but cannot natively write to them. Use Disk Management (Windows) or Disk Utility (Mac) to format your drive in non-native formats. Format your drive for optimal performance with just a few simple clicks.