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User profile for user: seekerofadvice
seekerofadvice Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Time Machine: Claim existing backups vs. Start separate backups

Hi Community,


Context:

I still have my old mac and would like to keep backups separate on the off chance that I need to do something on my old mac that requires a backup associated with it.


Questions:

  1. If I use “start separate backups”, it’s essentially like partitioning the drive so that old backups are on one side and new backups are on the other - is that right?
  2. Once separated, if on my new mac I needed (for some reason) to restore from a Time Machine backup associated with my old mac, that would still be possible, right?
  3. Compared to claiming existing backups, are there any downsides to using separate backups (aside from the obvious downside of not being able to access the backup history on the new mac)?


Thanks all

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 13.4

Posted on Jul 4, 2023 11:01 AM

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User profile for user: steve626
steve626
User level: Level 6
11,477 points

Posted on Jul 4, 2023 5:10 PM

Apple says:


"If you’re replacing an old Mac and want the new Mac to use the backups from the old one, click Inherit Backup.

If you plan to continue to use your old Mac, click Create New Backup to preserve the backup history and start separate backups for the new Mac."


"...after the new Mac 'inherits' the backup history, you can’t use the backup history on the original Mac."


When I get a new Mac, I start doing Time Machine backups with a brand new backup drive. I keep using the old Time Machine backup drive with the old Mac. You can still retrieve files from the old backup drive on the old Mac and then copy them to the new Mac; or you can connect the old Mac's backup drive to the new Mac to copy files from an old backup to the new Mac.


If you inherit the backup drive for the new Mac, the backup drive can no longer be used with the old Mac.


The cleanest approach is use separate Time Machine backup drives for each computer. Then each one is "protected" by backups and old files backed up can be retrieved on either Mac.



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User profile for user: steve626
steve626
User level: Level 6
11,477 points

Jul 4, 2023 5:10 PM in response to seekerofadvice

Apple says:


"If you’re replacing an old Mac and want the new Mac to use the backups from the old one, click Inherit Backup.

If you plan to continue to use your old Mac, click Create New Backup to preserve the backup history and start separate backups for the new Mac."


"...after the new Mac 'inherits' the backup history, you can’t use the backup history on the original Mac."


When I get a new Mac, I start doing Time Machine backups with a brand new backup drive. I keep using the old Time Machine backup drive with the old Mac. You can still retrieve files from the old backup drive on the old Mac and then copy them to the new Mac; or you can connect the old Mac's backup drive to the new Mac to copy files from an old backup to the new Mac.


If you inherit the backup drive for the new Mac, the backup drive can no longer be used with the old Mac.


The cleanest approach is use separate Time Machine backup drives for each computer. Then each one is "protected" by backups and old files backed up can be retrieved on either Mac.



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Time Machine: Claim existing backups vs. Start separate backups

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