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How do I use Time Machine using the internal hard drive on my Mac?

I don’t have the ability to get an external hard drive. When I tried it tells me that APFS or whatever it’s called is corrupted and to repair start up volume from recovery mode to run first aid. I’m in recovery mode and idk what I’m doing. I’m not very good at all this stuff. I need layman’s terms please.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on May 11, 2023 2:59 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 12, 2023 12:38 PM

To finally answer your question regarding use of the internal (source) volume, the answer is yes. Time Machine will reserve use of available storage for its own purposes, which can include restoring individual files, folders, or even the entire startup drive.


However, the need to back up your Mac to some other device external to it remains unchanged for the reasons I explained.


To learn how to use Time Machine please read Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 12, 2023 12:38 PM in response to Kalexander24

To finally answer your question regarding use of the internal (source) volume, the answer is yes. Time Machine will reserve use of available storage for its own purposes, which can include restoring individual files, folders, or even the entire startup drive.


However, the need to back up your Mac to some other device external to it remains unchanged for the reasons I explained.


To learn how to use Time Machine please read Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support.

May 12, 2023 3:51 AM in response to Kalexander24

Before explaining how to "repair" a Mac's startup disk in Recovery mode, you must first understand and accept the fact that if you do not back up your Mac, then by definition the prospect of permanently and irretrievably losing its entire contents does not concern you in the least. Confirm that is in fact the case before doing anything else.


Follow these instructions: How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility - Apple Support.

May 12, 2023 11:20 AM in response to Kalexander24

I recommending following John's advice. To be clear, backing up to the hard drive is of no use. When the HD fails, as all drives eventually do, everything on it will be lost! So then, get an external drive and install it using the USB cable provided by the vendor. Reformat it if necessary and use it exclusively for backups. The Time Machine app has detailed instructions on how to setup its app. I recommend you read them first.

How do I use Time Machine using the internal hard drive on my Mac?

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