Product Title SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable External SSD - USB-C, USB 3.1 - SDSSDE60-1T00-G25 Average Rating: ( 4.5 ) out of 5 stars 11 ratings, based on 11 reviews Current Price $149.00 $ 149. An external drive is an additional storage space where you can store your files to free up important space for your internal drive. External hard drives are available in varying storage capacities, but all can be connected to a computer either by USB, eSATA, FireWire, or wirelessly through Bluetooth.
To use Time Machine to make a backup of your Mac, you need one of these types of storage devices:
- External drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac) or AirPort Time Capsule
External drive connected to your Mac
Time Machine can back up to an external drive connected to a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire port on your Mac. If the disk isn't using the correct format, Time Machine will prompt you to erase it.
Network-attached storage (NAS) device that supports Time Machine over SMB
Many third-party NAS devices support Time Machine over SMB. For details, check the documentation for your NAS device.
Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination
To use another Mac on your network as a Time Machine backup destination, complete these steps on the other Mac:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing.
- From the list of services on the left, select File Sharing.
- From the Shared Folders list on the right, click the add button (+), then choose a folder to use for Time Machine backups.
- Control-click the folder that you added, then choose Advanced Options from the shortcuts menu that appears.
- From the Advanced Options dialog, select 'Share as a Time Machine backup destination.'
When setting up Time Machine on your other Mac computers, you should now be able to select the shared folder as a backup disk.
External drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac) or AirPort Time Capsule
Time Machine can back up to an external USB drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac model) or AirPort Time Capsule.
- Connect the drive directly to your Mac, then use Disk Utility to erase it.
- Connect the drive to a USB port on your AirPort base station, then turn it on.
- Open AirPort Utility, then select your base station and click Edit to view its settings.
- Click the Disks tab in the settings window.
- Select your backup disk from the list of partitions, then select 'Enable file sharing':
- If more than one user on your network will back up to this disk with Time Machine, you can use the Secure Shared Disks pop-up menu to make sure that they can view only their own backups, not yours. Choose 'With accounts' from the menu, then click the add button (+) to add users.
- Click Update to restart your base station and apply the settings.
AirPort Time Capsule
Time Machine can back up to the built-in hard disk of an AirPort Time Capsule on your network.
Learn more
External Storage Devices Types
- Time Machine can't back up to a disk formatted for Windows, or to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
More commonly referred to as an external drive, external storage is storage that's not part of the internal parts of a computer. These drives often connect to the computer using USB, eSATA, or FireWire connection. The picture is an example of a Drobo and an example of a popular external storage solution.
Examples of external storage devices
The following list is of external storage devices used over the evolution of the computer. Clicking on any of these links open further information about that external storage device.
NoteExternal Storage Devices Definition
Some of the devices mentioned below could use an internal reader. For example, a floppy disk drive could be an internal drive that reads an external storage floppy disk. Also, new computers that no longer support floppy drives could use an external USB floppy drive that would make the drive and diskette external.
Why is external storage used?
Below is a list of the advantages to using an external storage device with a computer.
- Easy way to add additional storage or options to your computer without having to open the computer.
- With an external hard drive, you can store a lot of data for backup or to move between computers.
- An external disc drive can allow a computer without a disc drive to read CDs, DVDs, or other discs.
- Devices like the Drobo can give your computer additional features such as RAID help keep your data protected.
How do you access external storage?
Once connected, external storage is treated the same as internal storage (e.g., your hard drive) on your computer. For example, if you're connecting a USB thumb drive to a computer, it appears as a new drive letter in Explorer. If the next available drive letter was F:, the F: drive should appear in Explorer. Once visible, you can double-click the drive letter to open and browse the files on the thumb drive.
NoteExternal storage drives that have not yet been formatted (e.g., new external hard drive) must be set up before it's accessible on the computer. For help with setting up a new hard drive, see: How do I set up a hard drive and partition in Windows?
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