Do you want to make sure that Time Machine backs up an external hard drive, USB flash drive or an SD card that is connected to your Mac? If so, here are instructions to make sure this happens.
If your Mac is using macOS 12 Monterey or older, use the instructions listed in Section 1
If your Mac is using macOS 13 Ventura or newer, jump to Section 2.
Section 1 – if your Mac is running macOS 12 Monterey or older
- Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences
- Click on Time Machine
- Click on the Options button in the lower right corner
- Look at the list of items under “Exclude these items from backups”
- If your external hard drive, USB flash drive or SD card is listed, click on it to select it and then click the minus sign icon. This will remove it from the list of excluded items. Thus, Time Machine will backup this drive or card.
- Click Save
- Click the red dot to close the Time Machine Preferences window.
Section 2 – if your Mac is running macOS 13 Ventura or newer
- Click on the Apple menu and select System Settings
- Click on General
- Click on Time Machine
- Click on the Options button in the lower right corner
- Look at the list of items under “Exclude from Backups”
- If your external hard drive, USB flash drive or SD card is listed, click on it to select it and then click the minus sign icon. This will remove it from the list of excluded items. Thus, Time Machine will backup this drive or card.
- Click Save
- Click the red dot to close the Time Machine Preferences window.