Copying time machine from old external to new...

TuckerdogAVL

TuckerdogAVL

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Is there an easy way to copy old Time Machine backups from one external to another? I have to replace an external (and I'm hoping it is still able to mount) and instead of losing all the old backups, I wanted to copy the external drive (old) to the external drive (new) Is there a way to do this? Through Disk Utility perhaps? Thanks for any advice....
 
Question #18 in Pondini's FAQs will probably be the answer that you want:
http://pondini.org/TM/18.html
You'll note that answer tells you that the best bet is to simply let the backups start fresh on the new external. You'll still have the OLD backups, which you can use, if you need them. At some point in the future, you can decide that you won't need anything from the old set, and you can erase/reuse that older drive - perhaps as a second backup, that you could rotate with your newer drive, and have two independent backups for all your important data. Too Many backups is WAY better than "not enough"!
 
DeltaMac said:
Question #18 in Pondini's FAQs will probably be the answer that you want:
http://pondini.org/TM/18.html
You'll note that answer tells you that the best bet is to simply let the backups start fresh on the new external. You'll still have the OLD backups, which you can use, if you need them. At some point in the future, you can decide that you won't need anything from the old set, and you can erase/reuse that older drive - perhaps as a second backup, that you could rotate with your newer drive, and have two independent backups for all your important data. Too Many backups is WAY better than "not enough"!
Click to expand...

No, I have to return the old external drive as it's getting wonky and may stop working altogether. I need to get the info off and onto the new one, then format and clear the old one.
 
Exactly right!
The point that I was trying to make is: A backup is only as good as the media that you have.
That FAQ will aid you in your quest to move your old backup to the replacement drive.

Keep in mind that experienced folks here will recommend that you should add a _second_ backup volume as a part of a good backup plan.
 
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