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Level 1

4 points

Transferring data to new iMac

How do I make a time machine backup to an external drive?

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Apr 17, 2021 10:41 AM

Top-ranking reply

Level 8

46,014 points

Posted on Apr 17, 2021 12:25 PM

You also may need to format your external disk first:

Go to Disk Utility (Finder --> Go --> Utilities)
In Disk Utility, select “View” --> “Show All Devices”.
Select the top level, non indented, drive in the external section of Disk Utility that matches the name of your external drive.
Click Erase
Name: any name you want
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if macOS Catalina or earlier, APFS if Big Sur.
Scheme: GUID
Click Erase
Setup Time Machine again.

Cheers,

Jack

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