Forgive me but I am a complete non-techie. I have a MyPassport 3 TB drive and I use it to back up my PC every night (which has a 250 GB HD). After just a few months of nightly backup the MyPassport is almost full, which doesn’t seem reasonable to me. Is it storing files multiple times? (for example if I update a particular word doc every day, is it saving every one of those old versions?).
The basic question is, how do I go about freeing up some space? I have no idea where to look to see what’s taking up all the space, or what to do.
Hi,
Are you using WD Backup software? If so, it should NOT copy the whole 250 GB HD each night. If it does, please describe how you are using WD Backup.
If you are NOT using WD Backup, then I assume you are copying the HD each night with Windows, which COULD result in filling up the Passport.
How do you know that the Passport is almost full? If you use Windows File Explorer, then you can open the drive and see a different folder for each backup. Just click on the Drive name and it will open.
I know it’s almost full because when I look at the drive level it shows the total size of the drive (3 TB) and shows how much is free (only about 100 GB).
OK thanks. How did you set up your Backup Plan? Is it for all of the C: drive? You could omit Program Files and Program Flies (x86) folders. They don’t change often and can be reinstalled.
Do include Program Data though. That may be where most of your changes are. There are other places which don’t really change.
Take a look in the Restore feature. Click on the Select Folders to Restore button. you will see a list of backup dates on the right. That will give you an idea of how much space you are using. Unfortunately you cannot delete old backups, unless you fill the drive, then an option comes up to let you select some backups to delete. It is a slow process, so start it when you leave.
Thanks, Cliff. I did try looking into the Restore feature, and sure enough I see scads and scads of old backups. That explains why I’m running out of room. It seems a little ridiculous not to be able to control the number of old backups (or perhaps by date)! So I guess I have no choice but to wait until I actually run out of room. I’m hoping that at that point I will be able to delete many old backups, not just enough (e.g., 1 or 2) to give myself room for the latest backup.
