Mac customers counting on Time Machine went via a tough transition a number of years in the past when Apple migrated away from its long-used HFS+ format for encoding onerous drives and SSDs to the fashionable, extra succesful, and extra strong APFS format. Throughout that changeover, many customers had issues determining the codecs that exterior drives and Time Machine vacation spot volumes needed to be in to permit backups.
That’s previously, and we’re in an APFS world now, with Time Machine supporting backing up volumes formatted both in HFS+ or APFS. However you may nonetheless be bitten by an previous drive that works simply superb along with your Mac and has for years, however which depends on a Home windows-oriented format: ExFAT or NTFS. Apple supported these codecs (and nonetheless does) to permit compatibility between macOS and Home windows. Or, you would possibly purchase a drive at this time that’s formatted by default for Home windows, seemingly in ExFAT, and never suppose to reformat it earlier than placing it into use along with your Mac.
Whenever you go to System Settings > Basic > Time Machine and click on Choices, you will notice that each one ExFAT and NTFS volumes seem within the Exclude from Backups record together with any objects you added manually and all Time Machine volumes mounted in your Mac. Nevertheless, in contrast to the objects you added, when you choose the exterior quantity, be aware that the take away button (a minus signal on the backside of the record) is grayed out and can’t be clicked. (It’s onerous to see within the display screen seize that it’s a lighter grey than the add button/plus signal.)
The answer is to again up the exterior quantity, reformat it as APFS, and restore its contents. Then, you’ll be capable of use Time Machine for routine archiving of it. Should you’re not utilizing Time Machine, listed here are all of the particulars on tips on how to get began with the built-in backup system for macOS. And verify our picks for the greatest onerous drive to your Mac.
This Mac 911 article is in response to a query submitted by Macworld reader Sally.
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