Can I use this to store all my files from an old computer, plus unused files from my current Mac (like photos), and as the Time Machine back up?
1765420
Yes, but you will need to set up the Time Machine first. That's my understanding and that's how I did it with mine...
508353
I'm not a regular Mac user, so cannot answer this question with 100% certainty. To streamline the backup process, Apple has made it a bit challenging to use Time Machine with a network drive. To have Time Machine back up to the USB connected network drive you would have to create a HFS+ disk image, mount it to its permanent home, and point Time Machine there.
182459
YES, it can be selected to be a TIME MACHINE backup drive. ... (ADDITIONAL NOTE for Macbook users: What may be surprising to know is that you can also, if you know how to "partition" a drive when formatting it, choose to format this drive to be PART A -- 500GB for additional Data space for your laptop, and PART B -- 500GB which can be selected as your Time Machine volume. When you Partition a Drive, the computer then sees it as 2 separate drives on our desktop.) (hope that didn't confuse you)
1383192
i have this on my iMac using time machine to back up everything. But, there is the Seagate Dashboard program that may be able to do what you need...here's a link to some tutorials that may help you.. http://www.seagate.com/support/external-hard-drives/desktop-hard-drives/backup-plus-desk-mac/
2036121
If you have MacOS 10.4 or later on your laptops, yes you can. Windows 8 has the software to choose the files you wish to backup, not sure about apple.
704152
No, I don't think you can. These drives are usually either for a Mac or PC and not interchangeable. I don't know of any that you could use for the purpose you want. Have you looked into something like Carbonite? There are others like this out there. This is a remote program to store your files and then you can get them from anywhere. You could look into this. It takes quite a while to save your files initially but then works in the background after that. Congrats for switching to a Mac. There is a learning curve but I'm sure, in the end, you will be glad you did!
1343641
From my experience, you just refuse Time Machine for the device once, and then you can use it as a normal backup/file transfer device. Although it is true that I reformatted the drive to work with Windows and Mac using eXFAT file system.
267939
Yes, you would. Of course, you'd have to have a firewire port and a bootable backup on the drive, which you'd need to create using your 2008 iMac and a program like Super Duper. I highly recommend that particular software. Time Machine is NOT a bootable backup, so you'd need Super Duper. Trust me - from recent and harrowing experiences - is it WORTH IT to have Super Duper and make backups frequently. Just make a bootable backup from your iMac on the WD, and then you'll be able to boot from it.
2167744
I am using it to back up my entire HD with my MacBook Pro. I am not using it with Time Machine. Works fast and is excellent for my use.
1370072
"Can I use it for switching back and forth between a Mac and a PC without reformatting?" - Only if you reformat with a filesystem that is compatible with both OSX and Windows."If so, does this remove the option to use Time Machine?" - Yes and no. Time Machine requires HFS+ filesystem, and Windows cannot read/write to HFS+. However, it is possible to partition the disk and have part of the disk using NTFS and the other part using HFS+.
543721
Yes. Your Mac will ask how you want to format the drive. You choose the format that works best in your environment.
288400
Yes, you should be just fine. Just dont format your usb, or else all of your data will be wiped. Your mac should be able to use the usb just as fine as windows would
457650
I specifically purchased to back up my MacBook. I am unsure if you can reformat it to use it with a PC.
478856
No, you would need an actual External Hard Drive, like a Western Digital 1 Terrabyte drive, for instance, to back up using your Mac's built in "Time Machine" software. This Superdrive is for reading and burning CD's and DVD's to and from your computer. You could burn documents, pictures, etc onto a DVD or CD, but that is much more laborious. Hope this helps.
773617
Yes, when you put the hard drive into this enclosure and plug it into another computer it will come up as a storage device and you'll have access to all files that are on it so you can copy your old pics and documents.
1737271
Yes, I actually move files between Yosemite and and earlier version without a problem. Until I figured I could file share between computers! Now I just use it to back up.
2050238
Not unless you have IOMEGA zip disks you need to access. As others have said, it's old technology. You probably want a flash drive that is compatible with current computers.