It’s the worst thinking that your Mac’s hard disk failed and you lost all of your precious images or dissertation deletion by mistake. Despite what you may think, a single drop of water on your MacBook might cause you to lose everything.
With the help of Time Machine from Apple, you can make a copy of your Mac’s hard disc. However, what if the external disc you’re using to store your Time Machine backups is damaged? You’ll be safe if you follow our 3-2-1 Backup Strategy, but there’s more you can do.
So, How To Access Time Machine Files From Another Mac? Let’s find out…
How to access time machine files from another mac?
Here’s how it’s done. Check to see whether you still have the previous Mac’s external backup drive. From there:
To use a second hard drive, connect it to your Mac.
Open Time Machine options by clicking on the Time Machine icon in the menu bar.
Select a Disk by clicking the Select Disk button.
To spin a disc, choose the drive and then click Use Disk.
The Time Machine software will ask if you want to replace your current Time Machine drive, or if you choose to utilize both drives. Select Use Both from the drop-down menu.
Each connected drive will now be backed up separately by Time Machine.
Holding down the option key while clicking on the Time Machine icon in your menu bar will allow you to access your Time Machine backups at a later time. You’ll notice the option to browse other backup discs in the list. You may use it to access any Time Machine backups you’d like.
If you use an Apple Time Capsule network device in conjunction with a Time Machine backup drive, the procedure is the same. Both can be backed up without any issue.
When you use this method, you’ll have a copy of your data on two or more separate discs. Leaving one at home and the other in the office is a viable option. Thus, having a backup from which you can quickly and easily restore your data will never be an issue.
In order to exclude objects from your Time Machine backup, open the Time Machine settings, select Options, and then click the Add (+) button. Select an item, such as an external hard drive, and click the Remove (–) button to stop it from being excluded.
It is possible to check the integrity of Time Machine backups to a network drive if you use this method. Select Verify Backups from the Time Machine menu by pressing and holding the Option button.
Time Machine may now be used to start up OS X Lion, v10.7.3, or later. While your Mac is booting, hold down the Option key. Make sure that “EFI Boot” is selected as your starting disc when you arrive at the Startup Manager page.
Which Storage Devices Can Time Machine Access?
To use Time Machine, you’ll need one of the following external storage devices:
USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire external drives that are linked to your Mac
AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac type) or AirPort Adapter
An external hard drive attached to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac type)
The Time Capsule
AirPort Time Capsule
A lesser-known fact is that you can use one Time Machine backup disc to back up several Macs. It’s possible to divide a huge drive into two halves, one for conventional data and the other for Time Machine backups.
Use Disk Rotation to Backup Another Mac
It is a technique that has been adopted from the professional IT world. As long as you don’t put your eggs in one basket, you won’t have a problem Although Time Machine is excellent backup software, it is not completely failsafe. Your Time Machine backups will be lost if the hard disc in which they are stored dies.
It’s fortunate that Time Machine is able to manage the complexities of disc rotation. With only a few mouse clicks, you can add a second hard drive to Time Machine and utilize it to restore data. All of your data will be saved when Time Machine is linked to your first backup drive.
Then the second one will do the same. Everything that has changed on your Mac since the last time the external backup disc was attached is backed up by Time Machine. So each disc will be able to restore from a complete backup of Time Machine.
FAQs
Do You Make Local Backups Using Time Machine?
Both the Time Machine and Code42 backup apps were built for local and remote data storage. Utilize the Code42 app to back up to both a local and cloud destination if you only want to use one system.
Is it possible to roll back my Mac to a previous date without a Time Machine backup?
No, you must have a Time Machine backup to restore your Mac to an earlier date.
Why is the Restore Time Machine button greyed out on my mac?
A greyed-out button on your Time Machine Restore button indicates that you haven’t selected a file or folder for recovery.
Final words
In this article, we knew that how to access time machine files from another mac. It’s possible that data recovery software can recover your files if you’ve tried to restore them using Time Machine with success. To get the best results, cease using the device with the lost files until the recovery process is complete. Good luck restoring access to your files!
Robert Smith is a technology lover and loves to write about laptops, monitors, printers, tablets, Apple products and anything that's related to computers and games. He is passionate enough that he maintains this blog regarding tech updates on a daily basis.
Robert Smith is a technology lover and loves to write about laptops, monitors, printers, tablets, Apple products and anything that's related to computers and games. He is passionate enough that he maintains this blog regarding tech updates on a daily basis.
