Select files/folders and click on the Exclude button.Click on the + button to change what is excluded by Time machine.At this point the Backup Disk is selected and the next Time Machine Backup will start in 120 Seconds (2 Minutes)Įxcluding items from Time Machine backup plan ( Options): Select a drive and click on the Use Disk button.A window opens showing External Storage Drives connected to your Mac To open System Preferences - Click on the Apple icon > System Preferences Click Done, the backup will start in 60 seconds.If encrypting the drive, enter the password.

To open System Settings - Click on the Apple icon > System Settings Setting up the external drive to be used with Time Machine: Use this link for instructions on formatting your drive For macOS versions for 10.6 (Snow Leopard) to 10.15 (Catalina) use Mac OS Extended (Journaled) also referred to as HFS+ when setting up a new backup.

For Big Sur and later, use Apple File System (APFS) when setting up a new backup.

MacOS requires that a drive be formatted with a specific file system to be used with Time Machine Formatting a drive to be used with Time Machine:

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