Here is how to transfer backups from a current backup drive to a new high-capacity backup drive
Step 01: First, check the format of your new backup drive
- Connect your new backup drive to your Mac.
- Open Disk Utility (located in the Utilities folder).
- In Disk Utility, select the new drive’s icon to ensure it has a GUID partition and is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Reformat it with the Mac OSX Extended (Journaled) option with a GUID partition. At this stage, you can format your new backup drive with Mac OSX Extended (Journaled, Encrypted) to password-protect it and thus safeguard your data. Remember to write down the encryption password you set for your drive this time.
Step 02: Set permissions on your new backup drive
- Open a new Finder window. In the sidebar, click the icon of the latest backup drive.
- Choose Get Info from the File menu.
- Make sure “Ignore ownership on this volume” is deselected (unchecked) at the bottom of the “Sharing & Permissions” section of the Get Info window.
Step 03: Temporarily turn the Time Machine off
- Go to System Preferences > Time Machine > Slide the Time Machine switch to Off.
Step 04: Copy your backup data from your original drive to your new drive
- Open a new Finder window for an original backup drive.
- Open yet another new Finder window for a new backup drive.
- Copy the ‘Backups.backupdb’ folder from the original backup drive to the new backup drive’s root level.
- Enter your administrator name and password to authenticate it, then click OK to start copying.
Note: Depending on the size of your backup, copying your backup data might take some time.
Step 05: Now set Time Machine to use your new drive
- After the copy has been finished
- Go to System Preferences > Time Machine > Click Select Disk in the Time Machine preferences window > Select the new backup drive > then click Use Disk.
Following these steps successfully, your transfer of the Time Machine backup drive is completed,
Hope it helps,
Thanks & Regards
Mandar Apte