When i backup to the external hard drive, the hard drive shows that it's a Time Machine backup even though it isn't. How can I fix it?

[ToddJ]

I have been running out of room on my current external hard drive (i put all my photos from my sony camera onto it) so I tried to use one of my older hard drive to back up my latest SD card. However, when i plugged in one of my older hard drives that still have space on it., it shows the Time Machine icon next to the hard drive icon. Is there a way to shut that off it just is a regular hard drive?

 

[rm5]

That means that TM is configured on any of the partitions or APFS volumes. You can always reassign the "normal" drive icon by just hitting Cmd + I, selecting the drive icon, and hitting backspace (delete) on your keyboard to revert it!

 

[MacGizmo]

I have been running out of room on my current external hard drive (i put all my photos from my sony camera onto it) so I tried to use one of my older hard drive to back up my latest SD card. However, when i plugged in one of my older hard drives that still have space on it., it shows the Time Machine icon next to the hard drive icon. Is there a way to shut that off it just is a regular hard drive?

Remove the HD from the Time Machine System Settings. Erase the drive, then start using it as a normal HD. Of course, if all you want to do is change the icon, do as @rm5 instructed above.