Mac substance abuser relying on Time Machine went through a rough transition a few years ago when Apple migrate aside from its long - used HFS+ format for encode hard drives and SSDs to the modern , more open , and more robustAPFS formatting . During that changeover , many drug user had problems calculate out the formats that external drives and Time Machine destination volumes had to be in to allow backups .
That ’s in the past , and we ’re in an APFS world now , with Time Machine supporting backing up bulk formatted either in HFS+ or APFS . But you could still be bitten by an old drive that function just all right with your Mac and has for eld , but which bank on a Windows - orient data formatting : ExFAT or NTFS . Apple sustain these formats ( and still does ) to permit compatibility between macOS and Windows . Or , you might buy a drive today that ’s format by nonremittal for Windows , likely in ExFAT , and not think to reformat it before putting it into use with your Mac .
When you go toSystem options > General > Time Machineand clickOptions , you will see that all ExFAT and NTFS volumes appear in theExclude from Backupslist along with any items you added manually and all Time Machine loudness mounted on your Mac . However , unlike the items you add , when you choose the international volume , note that the remove button ( a negative sign at the bottom of the list ) is grayed out and can not be clicked . ( It ’s difficult to see in the concealment seizure that it ’s a light Robert Gray than the minimal brain dysfunction button / plus polarity . )
A drive formatted in NTFS (“Untitled,” highlighted in red) can’t be removed from the excluded list (the remove button, highlighted in red, is disabled).
The answer is to back up the external intensity , reformat it as APFS , and restore its contentedness . Then , you ’ll be able to use Time Machine for routine archiving of it . If you ’re not using Time Machine , here are all thedetails on how to get startedwith the built - in backup system for macOS . And check our pickax for thebest heavy drive for your Mac .
This Mac 911 article is in response to a question submitted by Macworld reader Sally .
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