RELATED: What's the Difference Between APFS, Mac OS Extended (HFS+), and ExFAT? A Better Option: Create Separate Partitions for Backups and Files Time Machine will also work toward filling up the entire drive, not leaving extra room for your files. Don’t place anything inside the Backups.backupdb folder-Time Machine automatically deletes files and folders inside there to free up space, so you may find your personal files deleted if put them there.īear in mind that Time Machine requires the drive be formatted with the Mac’s HFS+ file system, which means you won’t be able to easily access these files on Windows PCs or anything else that isn’t a Mac. Place personal files and folders outside the Backups.backupdb folder. Just leave this folder alone and let Time Machine use it normally. Time Machine stores all its backup files under this folder. You’ll see a folder named “Backups.backupdb”. Plug in your Time Machine drive and open it in the Finder. The easiest way to store files on your Time Machine drive is just placing the files on there directly. The Quick and Dirty Method: Put Files on the Time Machine Drive
