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Can I use Time Machine hard drive for other files?
Tip: Time Machine will by default use up all the space available on the drive. If you’d also like to use some of the hard drive space for storing other files, you’ll need to partition the drive into two volumes: one for the Time Machine backups and one for your other files.
You can link a single external hard drive to two or more computers that are on the same network. You cannot, however, connect two computers directly to the drive by USB, eSATA or Firewire. External hard drives can only be connected to one computer, and they can then be set up for sharing over a network.
Is there a way to back up all files in time machine?
To restrict specific files and folders you can go to the Time Machine system preferences and set up some “exclude” folders so Time Machine will ignore those folders. It will by default back up your entire system, including all user files. This is not duplicated for each user account, as Time Machine treats the whole system as one backup.
Can a NAS be used as a Time Machine backup?
Many third-party NAS devices support Time Machine over SMB. For details, check the documentation for your NAS device. To use another Mac on your network as a Time Machine backup destination, complete these steps on the other Mac: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing.
Can a user invoke time machine on their computer?
Users (depending on if they’ve got admin privileges) may have control over turning time machine on or off, but this does not change who can access the backups. All users will be able to invoke Time Machine to get to their backed up files. Time Machine does not make separate backups for individual users.
Can you back up multiple Macs to the same hard drive?
You can use the same external hard drive to back up multiple Macs if you wish. Here are the two main ways to do this. When you use an external hard drive to back up different Macs, Time Machine automatically creates separate folders, one for each computer.