Limiting the amount of space available for time machine

How do I limit the amount of space time machine is allowed to use on my 500gb external hard drive? I need the rest of the space for other stuff. Is there a way to partition the external hard drive or make time machine think there is only a certain amount of space available?

Yes. Open up Disk Utility (located in utilities in your applications folder), and select the drive. Make sure you select the actual Drive (the one with the amount of space listed on the name) on the panel on your left. click the partition tab, and open the drop down menu under "Volume Scheme". choose the number of partitions. I have my external drive at 2 partitions, one for TM and one for general files. move the slider bar that will appear in the panel below to determine the size of the partitions. the size of you TM-dedicated partition should be at least twice the size of the drive you are backing up.
Hope this helps.

Similar Messages

  • How can I limit the amount of space on a Time Capsule used by Time Machine?

    I know that you cannot partition a Time Capsule drive.  However, I was wondering about other options for limiting the amount of space used by Time Machine so that I can use the rest of the space for other purposes.
    I heard something about creating a disk image on the Time Capsule to limit the amount of space used by Time Machine.  If I create a disk image, would TM just use all the space that's not part of the disk image?  How do I access the disk image part?  Can I manually drag and drop files to it from my Mac like any other external drive?  Could I set up the disk image part to work with a Windows computer?
    I've also heard things about modifying sparsebundles which I don't know anything about.  How does this work?  What happens to the space that is not part of the TM sparsebundle?  How do I access it?  Can I manually drag and drop files to it from my Mac like any other external drive?  Could I set up the extra space to work with a Windows computer?

    Some other things to make note of:
    Some disk image formats have a maximum size and only use that size after they have had to expand to actually hold that much data. Make sure you are not using this type of image so you can guarantee the space is reserved. Sparse bundles are like this. I haven't read up on the sparse bundle trick, but I assume it's something to do with setting a maximum size for it.
    When you open up the Time Capsule disk, you will first be looking at the normal storage space. When you create an image, there will be a file you click on that mounts another drive that uses space on the Time Capsule. This shows up as just one file unless you open it to see it's contents.

  • Why do I get message "back up disc is not available" for Time Machine?  It

    why do I get message "back up disc is not available" for Time Machine?  It's plugged in.

    If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
    Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
    Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
    View ▹ Show Log List
    from the menu bar.
    Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message that corresponds to a failed backup. Now
    CLEAR THE WORD "Starting" FROM THE TEXT FIELD
    so that all messages are showning, and scroll back in the log to the time you noted. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
    If all you see are messages that contain the word "Starting," you didn't clear the text field.
    If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
    When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
    Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
    Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

  • Can I use the harddisk that I used for Time Machine on my previous computer on my new computer without deleting the old back-ups?

    Can I use the harddisk that I used for Time Machine on my previous computer on my new computer without deleting the old back-ups?

    Yes.  See:
    http://pondini.org/TM/4.html
    My only concern is that you may not have enough free space on the drive.

  • Mac os x mountain lion The volume is already used for Time Machine backups

    Hey
    I downloaded the Mac OS X Mountain Lion and then I clicked on the hard disk and then was "The volume is already used for Time Machine backups.
    Can you help me please

    Well, this isn't a download window, it's an installer window. You need to select one of your hard drive volumes on which to install Lion.
    Your computer's main drive apparently has been used by you for TM backups which is a first class "no no." See: OS X v10.6, OS X Lion- Cannot install Mac OS X v10.6 or later on a volume used by Time Machine for backups.

  • What is the best online storage service for time machine

    what is the best online storage service for time machine?

    ds store wrote:
    There isn't any, the reason is TimeMachine is a backup of your entire boot drive, can be many gigabytes in size which Internet Service Providers only provide a fraction of upload speed compared to download speed so it makes online backups rather impractical for most.
    You can share some files via a service like DropBox between remote computers, but to backup your whole system it's better to have it stored locally.
    After all how can you restore your hard drive if OS X isn't running to get online?
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
    Why is local storage better than offsite? I had a house that burned down and can tell you from experience that local backup was totally useless.

  • 'iphoto will open as soon as the iphoto library is available. Time machine might be backing it up" - message been cycling for hours now. Can't access anything in photos

    Up till yesterday, our iphoto was working correctly. At one point, I noticed the slideshow wasn't displaying, so I opened iphoto and the message said there was a newer version, so I selected upgrade. The next message said the library needs rebuilding. Selected rebuild. Next,
    I got the message in the header, and it's been cycling for hours now with no result. I'm not computer friendly, so I could use some help.

    Thanks for the reply.
    I was wrong - the OS is 10.6.8. Is that old, too? I don't know where to find the version of iphoto I had and which one is trying to upgrade. Where would I find that. I restarted and still the same message.
    "Your photo library will not be readable by previous versions of iPhoto after the upgrade. The upgrade process for very large libraries may take an hour or more to complete." selected upgrade:
    "iphoto is unable to open this library. The library has issues that require rebuilding. The iphoto library is missing required database files and must be rebuilt before it can be opened" selected rebuild:
    Next message is: "waiting for iphoto library...will open as soon as library is available. Time machine might be backing it up" and cycling.....
    During this time, the iphoto file is unavailable, all options greyed out.
    I have an external hard drive connected and time machine is on.
    Like I said, not literate with computers, so I hope I'm giving the right information

  • Can you use the same external hard drive for Time Machine backups and as an additional storage drive?

    I have an external HD that I've been using exclusively for Time Machine backups. I need to clear space on my hard drive, so I was thinking to move music & photos to an external drive.  Wondering if I can use the same one I have (which I'll aslo keep using for Time Machine) or if I need to get another drive. 

    Hi Jossydtaylor,
    Time Machine can use either an entire external disk or a partition of that disk:
    OS X Mountain Lion: Disks you can use with Time Machine
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11171
    You can use Time Machine with a Time Capsule, and with USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt disks. The backup disk can be directly connected to your computer or be on a network. If the backup disk has been divided into partitions, you can use one of the partitions.
    If the disk is partitioned using the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition type, some partitions may not be available for use with Time Machine. The GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition type is recommended.
    For more info on partitioning, see this article:
    Disk Utility 12.x: Partition a disk
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845
    Cheers!
    - Ari

  • Making a new external drive available for Time Machine over wireless network

    I connected a new Seagate 2T external drive to my iMac to increase backup capacity using Time Machine.  I have a 1T Time Capsule.  I am backing up to the Time Capsule wirelessly to another Mac in the house.
    The Time Capsule is full.
    How do I make the new Seagate available to be used for wireless backup?  It does not show on the other Mac as being available in Time Machine?

    See #22 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

  • Can I use the same external hard drive for time machine and storing other files

    I have a 640GB external hard drive that I have been using for over a year for time machine backups.  My mac hard drive is now starting to fill up and I am looking to move audio, video and picture files to my external hard drive.  How do I do this without messing up my time machine backups?  Can I do both on the same external hard drive?  Do I just make new folders on the external hard drive to move the files I want?  Thanks for the help.

    If you move the files you will need to get another disk to back the files up to. You don't want to have only one copy of certain files (personal, professional etc.).

  • External Hard disk has space problem for Time Machine

    Im not sure this is the right place to post this, but I've just got OSX.5 so Time Machine is new to me. I've got a 500Gb Firewire Lacie Drive which I now have, as far as I can see, about 110GB of stuff in. I have a bout 300Gb to back up. Currently my mac can only see 260GB free, which means theres about 150GB that isnt explained. I have run Disk Inventory, which shows the dot files on the drive. There seem to be hardly any. Is there anything else that could be taking up such a large amount of disk space? Theres one movie file of 28GB that I cannot move off the drive.

    Tim Whelan2 wrote:
    Im not sure this is the right place to post this, but I've just got OSX.5 so Time Machine is new to me. I've got a 500Gb Firewire Lacie Drive which I now have, as far as I can see, about 110GB of stuff in.
    Let's see what Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) says. When it starts, click the top line for your drive in the sidebar (should have size and make), then the Partition tab. Towards the bottom is a *Total Capacity* line, followed by two different numbers: one in GB, the other in bytes. The first will be about 465 GB, the second roughly 500 billion. This is the different way of counting: decimal vs. binary.
    There's also a *Partition Map Scheme* line. This should be followed by GUID or +Apple Partition Map.+ If your drive isn't one of those, you're going to have a problem using it with Time Machine. Report back what this says.
    In the center part of the display is a diagram showing all the partitions currently on the disk. Each is represented by a box, with a name in the center, and the amount used represented by light blue shading.
    If there's only one partition, it's total size and amount available will be in the center, shown in GB.
    If there are 2 or more, click each one in turn to see it's sizes. The Total of the sizes should be almost the same as the total at the bottom (the Partition Map takes a bit of space).
    It sounds like you may have 2 partitions, one for TM backups, one for your "other stuff". If so, each partition is treated separately for most purposes: there should be two icons on your desktop and/or Finder sidebar, for example.
    Report back what you find, and whether it makes sense to you or not. Then we can figure out what's going on and what you need to do.
    But note this: This drive is a bit small to use with Time Machine. TM works best if it has 2-3 times the space of what it's backing-up, so it can keep a few months of your backups. See item #1 of the Frequently Asked Questions post at the top of this forum.
    Even if you could use the entire 465 GB or so, that's less than twice the 300 gb you want to back up. That would work, for a while, but depending on how you use your Mac, TM may not be able to keep your backups for very long.

  • Space requirements for Time Machine?

    Greetings,
    I have recently bought an iMac (last week) and awaiting my update to Leopard. One of the novelties that interests me most about Leopard is the Time Machine, but I was wondering how much disk space it would require on my external drive.
    I know this depends on the data I need to back up. Both my internal and external drive are 500 Gb. I have for some 100 Gb worth of data, pictures and applications on my internal drive, and for some 350 Gb of data on the external drive.
    Does Time Machine backup everything, including the installed applications, or can one indicate which files should and should not be backed up.
    Thanks for your response.
    Cheers,
    Amenhotep III

    ...but I was wondering how much disk space it would require on my external drive.
    You'll need enough space on the external to contain the initial backup, subsequent hourly backups will be incremental as you create/ make changes to files/ folder. One of the nice features with TM is that you can set its preferences to exclude files and folder, making the backups much smaller in size.
    I have for some 100 Gb worth of data, pictures and applications on my internal drive, and for some 350 Gb of data on the external drive.
    The external will be of sufficient size for TM backup. When TM finally fills the external it can then over-write the older backups if you wish (or you can attach another disk to keep every backup it ever made, not necessary for most I think).

  • Space needed for Time Machine backups?

    I have a 160 gb macbook pro and am wondering how much space I would need on an external hard drive if I plan on backing up with Time Machine. I bought a 500 gb drive already, but would also like to use it for backing up a pc computer and don't know if I have enough space for both. Any advice would be appreciated!

    In addition to Bob's advice, note that you should partition the drive, so Time Machine has it's own, exclusive space.
    See #5 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum) for formatting instructions.
    You'll have to figure out what Format to apply to the second partition for the PC backups, probably either MS-DOTS(FAT) or ExFAT.

  • How do I password protect the external hard drive used for Time Machine backup

    Can anyone help me to put password protection on the external hard drive I use to Time Machine backup my iMac internal hard drive?  I use Snow Leopard 10.6

    I think that was FileVault 1.  Starting with Lion (10.7) Mac OS X uses FileVault 2, which is whole disk encryption.
    Based on complaints seen in these forums, I would say FileVault 2's only complaint has been when people forget their password/encryption key (it seems an encrypted disk does prevent anyone without the password from accessing the data, including the real owner).  Otherwise it does not seem to be causing any serious issues.  Your Mileage may vary and objects are closer than they appear in your side view mirror (standard disclaimer).  Of course this is all academic while you are using Snow Leopard (10.6).
    There are other whole disk encryption packages available, such as PGP Whole Disk Encryption, HOWEVER, I would not advise it for your Mac OS X boot disk, as it has been known to be a problem when you try to install operating system updates or upgrade to a new version.  NOTE:  I have not seen PGP Whole Disk Encryption discussed much, ever since FileVault 2 came along.

  • How do i change so that the HDD currently being used for Time machine becomes the startup disk?

    Hi there,
    I bought this mac with 2 HDD's (a 250gb and a 2tb). When I booted up the mac for the first time, I accidently chose the 2tb HDD as the time machine.......thing so this makes the 250gb HDD the startup drive. This is useless for me as I only want the documents to be backed up so I want the 250gb drive to be the time machine and the 2tb to be the startup drive.
    I've tried opening the Mac OS X installer and it doesn't allow me to set the start up drive to the 2tb drive as it isbeing used for the time machine and i've already turned it off within the system preferences.
    Please tell me it's possible to switch them around other-wise this will just be a wasted purchase completely. I already accept the fact that I may have to wipe the drive and re-install everything as well as the documents etc but as long as I get some sort of solution that will allow me to do this.
    Can someone please help me with this!
    Regards
    Eric Wade

    Copy off everything you want, restart from the iMac's original disk, choose Disk Utility from the Utilities menu, wipe drives as desired, and then install the OS.
    (58930)

Maybe you are looking for

  • Iphoto does not open

    Hi, Noticed this week that my iPhoto refuses to start. I have a mac-book pro with retina display, running OS X 10.9. I get an iPhoto quit unexpectedly message. I copied some of the detail below. I looked in the posts on this webpage and i tried the "

  • How to hide materials in iTunes U Materials Library

    When creating an iTunes U course for the high school level, my teachers would like to hide online quizzes and some other documents until students reach that topic.  Is there any way to hide items in the Materials Library from student view until they

  • Adding dynamic filter expressions

    I am working on a ESB flow and I wanted to write a filter expression that can dynamically fetch database values and accordingly route the flow. Since it didnt work, I thought of assigning this to a xsl variable and compare this variable value in the

  • ITunes Freezes when transfering a CD

    As soon as I upgraded to iTunes 6 it freezes when I try to transfer songs from my CD. I spent 3 hours with a genius at the Apple Store to no avail. The phone tech guy had no clue and never heard of iTunes freezing, I think they all need to start read

  • Officejet 6500: All print jobs (except copies) come out with black smudged background. Fixes?

    I have an Officejet 6500.:  All print jobs (except copies) come out with dark black smudged background and the text is also smudged.  Any suggestions?  Thx