Am trying to mount a new Sandixs 256GB storage stick which shows up fine immediately on plug-in.
However, when I try to add it as a disk option for my Time Machine Backup, I go through the requisite "set up disk" stages of Erasing the disk (as it apparently "has an incompatible file system" .......
but the process halts immediately leaving me with the message:
Anyone any clues please?
[Edited by Moderator]
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.6
Is this SanDisk 256GB drive a USB stick, or an SD Card, or an SSD? A USB stick should never be used for a TM backup. USB Sticks are not very reliable....many of them are of very poor quality. Even a good quality USB stick such as SanDisk is more likely to have issues than an actual SSD. Same goes for an SD Card.
Also, it is best to erase the whole physical drive in order to create a new fresh partition table. Many times the partitions from the factory may have issues or contain data secreted in empty areas which can sometimes cause problems with the OS or some apps. See the following Apple article on how to erase the whole physical drive since the physical drives are hidden by default in Disk Utility.
Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support
Is this SanDisk 256GB drive a USB stick, or an SD Card, or an SSD? A USB stick should never be used for a TM backup. USB Sticks are not very reliable....many of them are of very poor quality. Even a good quality USB stick such as SanDisk is more likely to have issues than an actual SSD. Same goes for an SD Card.
Also, it is best to erase the whole physical drive in order to create a new fresh partition table. Many times the partitions from the factory may have issues or contain data secreted in empty areas which can sometimes cause problems with the OS or some apps. See the following Apple article on how to erase the whole physical drive since the physical drives are hidden by default in Disk Utility.
Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support
I get that sometimes and use Disk Utility's "Unmount" button to unmount the drive and then run the erase and format routines.
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1 ) You need to use a USB External HDD or SSD that is 2x the size of your Mac's internal drive.
2) That USB External HDD or SSD may need to be erased and formatted for Time Machine.
OK - thanks
You're welcome.
Mounting External Storage Stick
