Just bought a base Mini...will partitions work ok with Time Machine?

[dmk1974]

I just bought a base 2011 Mac Mini today to replace my PC that has been used as my home file server. The way my PC was set up, was it had a master hard drive inside that had all the programs and then a slave drive, also inside, that had 4 folders in it (Documents, Music, Photos, Videos).

While I know I can mess around and add a 2nd hard drive into this new Mini, I'd prefer not to do so at this time. I do want to, if it makes sense, partition the stock 500 GB drive with about 50 GB for Lion and all the apps and then the remaining 450 GB to emulate the slave drive I used to have on the PC.

Will there be any issues with this approach? One main consideration is that I do want to make sure I can connect my external 1TB HDD frequently and use it for the Time Machine backup. I've never ran TM on a partitioned drive before and was wondering if I will have any hiccups during backup or restore. Is it a one-click backup for both drives similar to when I backup my MacBook Air (which is not partitioned)? TM is the easiest backup/restore program that I have ever used and want to keep it that way. Thanks!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

It will work with Time Machine.

Time Machine FAQ

 

[dmk1974]

It will work with Time Machine.

Time Machine FAQ

Thanks! I'm almost done transferring over my files from my PC and will likely run the first TM backup tonight.

 

[dmk1974]

One other question regarding setting up the TM backup.

I have an external USB 2.0 hard drive that I use for my TM backups. I just connect it to the MacBook Air every few days to run the backup. My plan would be to do the same for my new Mac Mini.

This Mac Mini is also connected via ethernet cable to my AirPort Extreme router. The AirPort Extreme also has a USB 2.0 port on it that I can connect the external TM hard drive to.

Since gigabit ethernet is faster than USB 2.0, would I see any speed reduction in the TM backups if I connected my external USB hard drive to my AirPort Extreme and just left it there (since it's in a different room on a different floor) vs the frequent connection directly to the Mac Mini? Thanks.