Backup Plus and Seagate Slim

[alberto8777]

I need help. I am trying to use the BackUp Plus to backup my MacBook Pro using Time Machine and I also want it to backup two separete PCs that use WindowsXP.

When I first connected the BackUp Plus drive to my MacBook Pro, and I went to TimeMachine, a window asked if I wanted to erase the hard drive so that TimeMachine would work. I have not made a decision on that and need help since the message said that unless I erased the drive I could not use TimeMachine to back  up the MacBook Pro. What should I do?

Second, if I want to back up the two PCs plus the MacBook Pro, can I achieve this by creating two volumes in the Seagate BackUp Plus drive? Can I use one volume for the PCs back up and the other volume for the MacBook Pro back up using Time Machine?

Third, if I am able to back up both PCs and the MacBook Pro, will I be able to take a Word file backedup from one of the PCs and use it on the Mac? Or viceversa? How about photos that have been saved in the PCs - can they be loaded into the Mac?

I am perplexed because it seems that some of the information from Seagate says that you can use the BackUp Plus for both PCs and for Mac, that you will be able to share files, etc.,  but when you begin to install it it doesn't seem like you can.

Can someone please provide some guidance for me? Any information will be greatly appreciated.

[AlanM]

Well, I am sorry to say that you are probably going to need a Backup Plus for Mac drive. 

So, see if you can take  it back to the manufacturer and swap it for one of those. 

The BU+ for Mac drive can work with Time Machine and then you can connect it to a PC and use the "HFS+ Driver" to make it accessible on the PC. It won't be able to use any backup software on the PC, like Windows Backup or Dashboard or something like that, but you can drag and drop or copy and paste data to it. 

As it stands now, with the 'regular' Backup Plus drive, you can't use Time Machine. You can use the drive on Mac but can only drag and drop data to it.

[mask8]

Hi, I encountered the same issue and just saw this topic. It doesn't make sense that I cannot backup both windows and mac even tutorial video tells me you can do backup mac with even boot camp data with time machine. The box of this product says compatible with Windows and Mac, "Use with both PC and Mac computures - no reformatting". I even asked a guy at a store and he said I could do both backups. Are you sure it is really impossible?

[AlanM]

I am sorry for the difficulty. What you need is a Backup Plus **for Mac** drive.

Here's what I mean.

BACKUP PLUS DRIVE:
Does work with both PC and Mac. Preformatted for use in Windows.
Becomes intercompatible with Mac and PC when you install the NTFS driver on the Mac computer. This means Time Machine cannot be used with the drive in Mac.

BACKUP PLUS FOR MAC DRIVE:
Does work with both PC and Mac. Preformated for use in MacOS.
Becomes intercompatible with Mac and PC when you install the HFS+ driver in the Windows computer. This means Time Machine **CAN** be used in Mac, and you can't use any backup software on the *Windows* PC.

[mask8]

Hi Alan, Thanks for reply, it seems you are right unless you reformat it.

I figured out how to do both backups for win and mac in one drive although It did require reformat. I just post here what I did so it might be helpful to someone.

1. Plug in the drive to mac and install NTFS driver by clicking Mac Installer.dmg in the drive

2. Delete existing partition by Disk Utitility tool of Mac(be sure you backup data in the drive if you have some)

3. Create TWO(or more if you want) partitions, one in NTFS(A) and another in "Mac OS Extended"(B)

4. Set up time machine to use the partition (B) with encryption if you want

5. You can still use another disk (A) for your windows backup

[AlanM]

The issue with splitting any Time Machine drive into partitions is that you can affect the bootability of the drive. It may not be able to boot from the Time Machine backup. The bootability of Time-Machine-backed-up external drives makes restoration (or running off the external drive in a pinch) very easy, so that might not be available. With a partitioned drive, you will most likely have to boot from the OS DVD to recover in case of a system problem, and newer Macs don't come with a DVD.

I don't think Seagate tests multiple partitions like that, and I doubt it is among the top test cases at Apple. A better solution might be to get another drive to use for storage expansion or data transfers, then use this one drive for just that one purpose - Time Machine backups.

I'm just offering a thought, for your edification. Your solution is ingenious, but I'm afraid it weakens the effectiveness of Time Machine.