SOLVED Concerning ext HD and backing up 2 x Macs.

[Steve Hope]

Hi guys, I have been using SuperDuper to back up my MacBook Pro for a couple of years now and would like to know if I can use the same 2TB ext HD to back up my wife's MacBook Air.? I am going to buy SuperDuper for her computer and CleanMyMac has a discount for 2 Macs also as a Christmas present. I would only buy a second 2TB ext HD if really necessary, I would prefer to use the one I have, it has lots of available space.
What do you guys think? Do you backup multiple Macs on one HD? Thanks for you help.
I should add that my specs are both Macs use Mohave 10.14.2 .

 

[Lufbrarunner]

It is no a strategy that I would use, if the Drive fails you lose both backups. Much better to have 1 backup per drive.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

I agree with Lufbrarunner. To add to his comments, you would have to have the external partitioned into at least two partitions to use SuperDuper! to clone the two Macs. If you didn't, one clone would overwrite parts of the other. SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner work differently than Time Machine.

C

 

[Steve Hope]

Thanks guys. Moving forward, am I correct to assume that if I buy a second ext HD and partition that into 2 sides, say "my mac" and "wife's air" then I could store backups for each from SuperDuper; then I could format my existing ext HD and partition into 2 sides and do exactly the same with that? That would give me 2 back-ups of each, correct? Can I also add Time Machine to these partitions, or would I need to partition each HD 4 ways and add the 2 extra Time Machine back-ups to the extra partitions? Thank You.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Yes, you can partition both drives into two and make SuperDuper! clones to each drive. Because SuperDuper! clones are bootable, there wouldn't be any need to add Time Machine into the mix. Time Machine is easier, as you just connect the drive and it works automatically. But, Time Machine backups are not bootable like SuperDuper! clones.

C

 

[Lufbrarunner]

Yes, two drives partitioned into 2 would be a good strategy. Each partition would need to be at least the size of the drive being cloned.
As Cory said, the Time Machine backup would not necessarily be needed.
My backups are all set to run automatically, twice a day Time Machine backs up to a Time capsule and once a week a full SuperDuper backup. I also cloned the Mac HD straight after installing the clean OS, that is stored away safely in case of emergency

The Time Machine backups are useful in day to day usage if I I need to get an old file back and the SuperDuper clone is there to cover any HD failures.

 

[Steve Hope]

Thank you very much for the input. Now I have a good plan.