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Is it possible to partition a hard drive in two and use one partition for Time Machine and the other for other uses? I am running Mac OS X 10.6.5 if it makes any difference.

EDIT: For clarification for future references: I am wishing to do this with an external hard drive.

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  • I assume you already know this but this servely limits time machine's potential as a backup utility.
    – Hemi
    Commented Dec 2, 2010 at 4:14
  • @Jaips: And why is that?
    – Wuffers
    Commented Dec 2, 2010 at 13:40
  • @Mr. Man: I'm under the assumption that you'll be partitioning an external drive for this purpose. Jaips might be under the assumption that you're interested in partitioning your internal drive.
    – fideli
    Commented Dec 2, 2010 at 14:04
  • @fideli: Yes, I am partitioning an external. Thanks.
    – Wuffers
    Commented Dec 2, 2010 at 14:20
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    You can also use the TM partition for data. TM puts backups in the folder Backups.backupdb. Ignore it and you're good. Only drawback of mixed use I have experienced: Deleting backups to get temporarily more disk space for storage is much easier when you can just delete a partition.
    – Daniel Beck ♦
    Commented Dec 6, 2010 at 22:27

1 Answer 1

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Yes, that is absolutely possible. Use Disk Utility, make the two partitions, and use the Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) filesystem for the partition you wish to use for Time Machine.

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    Just to clarify, just Mac OS X Extended for the Time Machine partition? And not Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)?
    – Wuffers
    Commented Dec 1, 2010 at 22:18
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    Sorry, I meant Journaled. Basically, some people like to use FAT32 as the filesystem for external drives and that won't work for Time Machine.
    – fideli
    Commented Dec 1, 2010 at 22:36
  • Does this mean Time Machine will backup the internal Mac HD AND the partition for data on the external?
    – Lee
    Commented Jun 22, 2021 at 13:16

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