If you use an external virtual machine, such as VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop, to run Windows on your Mac, we recommend excluding it from your Time Machine backups. To save space on your backup drive, exclude items you don’t need to backup. You can change your mind about these at any time by selecting a file and clicking the minus-sign (-) button. In the large Exclude list, you’ll see the folders or individual files that you selected. From there, pick and choose the items you’d like to leave out, and click Exclude when you’re finished. Then click the plus-sign (+) button under the list labeled Exclude these items from backups. Go to the Time Machine preferences pane and click Options. A full system backup will begin immediately.Įxclude items you don’t need: If you don’t need to save some items-restaurant takeout menus in your Downloads folder, for example, or miscellaneous screenshots that live on your Desktop-you can select items to omit from your system’s regular backups. Your Mac will recognize the added hardware, and a window will appear, asking you whether you want to use the drive to back up with Time Machine.
If you already know that your hard drive is compatible, just hook it up.
If not, you’ll have to reformat the drive: Click the Erase tab, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the Format pop-up menu, and click Erase.įor more information, see “ How to format a hard drive.” If the disk’s Format reads ‘Mac OS Extended (Journaled)’, you’re good to go. At the bottom of the window, you’ll see information about it. In the left-hand column of the Disk Utility window, select the disk that you want to designate as your Time Machine backup. If in doubt, connect the hard drive to your Mac and open OS X’s Disk Utility (in the /Applications/Utilities folder). Once you have an external drive, confirm that it’s properly formatted for the Mac.