It is the worst but most possible thing that the hardware drivers of your MacBook got into trouble and you lost all your important data files. Time machine is another great alternative to your backup and protects your data. But, How to access time machine files from another Mac? Let’s find it.
A single drop of water or by mistake dissertation delete can be enough for the data loss. Apple’s time machine is the best option to take backup of your data. Alternatively, you can do it on an external hard drive but there still persists the chance of data failure due to malfunction of the external hard drive.
We recommend using the Three-Two-One backup strategy to secure your important office & personal data in any way. Keep reading the article on How to access time machine files from another Mac, we have much more to share.
How To Access Time Machine Files From Another Mac?
Accessing the time machine backup from another Mac can be done in this way. First of all check for the external hard drive or Mac’s external data drive by following the below-mentioned steps.
- Connect the external drive to your MacBook on which you are planning to access the time machine backup.
- Once, the drive is connected, open the time machine menu by clicking the time machine application icon available in the taskbar
- Click the “Select Disk” button in order to select a disk drive
- Now click the “use Disk” if you want to spin the drive
Here, at that stage, the time machine software will ask you to make a selection. Either you want to replace your existing Time machine Drive or you wanted to utilize both drives separately. Make your selection for Both from the drop-down. Now the Time machine will backup data for each connected drive separately with put overlapping or replacing the existing time machine drive.
Once the backup is successfully taken, next is the step to access it. You can do it by following the same mentioned as below;
- Keep pressing the option key for a longer interval while clicking the Time machine icon on your mac can open the Time machine backups.
- Here you will see, a list of all backups generated by the Time machine. You can use either of them at a later stage just by clicking them.
- The process is not only limited to Time Machine. The same can be used with the Apple Time Capsule Network. So we can say that the conjunction of the Time machine & Apple Time Capsule for backup is the same.
- Through this method, the copy of data at other 2 or 3 drives is required. You can place one drive at your home and the other in your office. In this way, the risk of data loss will be minimized to almost zero percent. Hence, the data retrieval from the backup would not be an issue.
Tips for Time machine Taking backup:
Time machine allows you to customize the backup. This means you can exclude any specific file or folder from the backup. After the first time, the time machine does not take the full backup, it only compares the files with the previous backup and only updates the changed files. In this way, the Time machine saves you plenty of time taking backup.
The integrity of the network can also be verified using the Time machine backup method mentioned above. This can be done by selecting and holding the option button of the Time machine.
How To Access Time Machine Files From Another Mac, does not mean that the time machine is only limited to taking backups. Through it, you can also boot the OS. For that follow these steps;
- Hold down the option key when the Macbook is booting
- Double-check the “EFI boot” option is checked at the startup front-loaded page “Startup Manager”.
Which Storage Devices Time Machine Can Access?
The list of storage devices that can be accessed by the Time machine is as below;
- A good quality external hard drive that further attached to AirPort Extreme Station (802.11 AC type)
- Thunderbolt that is linked with your Mac
- USB attached to Mac
- AirPort Adopter
- Apple Time capsule
- AirPort Time Capsule
- FireWire Eternal drive
A fact that is lesser-known by most of us is that the time machine drive can back up multiple MacBooks. You can simply segregate it into two major portions. One is for conventional data which is regularly used on your Mac and the second is for Time machine backups.
Backup another mac using Disk Rotation?
Still, looking for How To Access Time Machine Files From Another Mac? Using disk rotation to take another backup on MacBook is a technique that is famous among IT professionals. It is wise to not put all eggs in one basket, this will save you from multiple troubles. Considering the same, you must have an alternative to a Time machine for backup. Although the time machine is an excellent software to save backup there are still chances of its failure as it is not failsafe.
All of all is dependent on the hard drive on which the backup is stored. If the hard drive malfunction all your data will be lost. The solution is Disc Rotation. The Time machine is, fortunately, able to handle the disc rotation. With the combination of a few clicks, you can add an alternative second hard drive to utilize the Time machine and restore the data.
Same as mentioned before, all of your data will be saved on the first connected hard drive to the time machine. And when the second will be connected, it will update itself with the data changed after the first backup. The issue will be the same for each connected hard drive.
How To Access Time Machine Files From Another Mac? – Frequently Asked Questions
We have tried to answer a few frequently asked questions in this segment. Hopefully, this will help you out.
Can Time Machine make a local backup?
Yes, the time machine can make local backups. There are many other applications that can also make the local backup like Code42 which is built for local and remote data storage. Using this application is helpful if you want to use a single system for both local and cloud backup storage.
Is it possible to roll back my Mac to a previous date without a Time Machine backup?
No, you cannot roll back to the previous date without a Time machine backup. The time machine backup is mandatory to roll back or restore your time machine to an earlier defined stage.
Why is the Restored time Machine Button Greyed out on my mac?
The grey button on your time machine indicates that you have selected nothing to back up. No file or folder is selected for a time machine to backup.
Words of Conclusion:
Good luck with your file secured using Time Machine.
Video Help:
If you want to know more then watch this video.
