Backup disk

I have a 1 TB Mac and I seem to have filled up a 500 GIG backup disk already. Should I purchase a 1 TB or a 2 TB disk for a new back up disk? I don't want to run into this problem again. Thanks.

mindyann wrote:
Are there any files you could recommend that I exclude from the backup that would make my total backup smaller to accommodate the 500 gig drive? Or can't that be done? Apparently I am about 150 gigs over the limit. Thanks.
In that case you really should get a bigger external drive.
As to files Not to Include I'm not sure as it is not my computer. you would need to look through the folders on you Mac and make a decision which aren't important and which are. Definitely include all System and USER folder files. That doesn''t leave much to look at as OS X stores personal data in the User folder, unless you have manually move some of it.
Personally all files I have on one computer I have on ALL of the computer I own, Mac or Windows. Nothing beats redundancy when it comes to NOT losing your data.

Similar Messages

My external hard drive is not recognized by Time Machine; "The backup disk is not available" according to Disk Utility

I'm not completely tech savvy, but I'm having troubles with my external memory & time machine. I'm a student, and thus its very important to me to be able to back up my computer.
I wanted to back up my Time Machine the other day. I clicked the icon at the top of the page (beside the battery icon, etc.) and the message "The backup disk is not available". I have a 500GB Seagate passport (ie: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate---FreeAgent-GoFlex-500GB-External-USB-2.0-Po rtable-Hard-Drive---Silver/9929098.p?id=1218196478444&skuId=9929098)
My macbook pro is version 10.7.5 Mac OS X Lion. My external memory is only about a year old. It hasn't been dropped or anything; it permanently sits secured to my desk.
What appears when I click "Repair Disk":
Verify and Repair volume “Time Machine Backups”
Checking file systemChecking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Detected a case-sensitive volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Incorrect block count for file shutdown_time
(It should be 1 instead of 0)
Invalid node structure
Rebuilding catalog B-tree.
The volume Time Machine Backups could not be repaired.
Volume repair complete.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
After clicking "Repair Disk" this message pops up: "Disk Utility Stopped Repairing 'Time Machine Backups' Disk utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many as your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
I don't want to wipe my memory on my external disk just in case the disk doesn't restore (as I do not have another disk to back up my computer on to).
What is going on? Why is this happening out of the blue? How can I fix this?

Sounds like it either has, or is about to die.
If you don't need anything off the old drive, then yes, replace it immediately with something a little more reolaable. I use WD Caviar Black personally. But anything that has a known low failure rate.

HOW DO I USE THE BACKUP DISKS TO RESTORE MY SETTINGS AFTER A HAED DRIVE CRASH?

I RECENTLY HAD TO SET MY COMPUTER TO THE FACTORY SETTINGS AFTER A SYSTEM RECOVERY. HOWEVER
BEFORE DOING THIS I BURNED 7 BACKUP DISKS TO SAVE MY SETTINGS. NOE HOW DO I USE THESE DISKS
TO RESTORE MY ORIGINAL SETTINGS?

Hi
Put in your first recovery disc, then go into your BIOS and set the your cd/dvd drive as the first boot device, exit saving settings, your computer should restart and boot off your recovery disc.

How do I get support for Windows 7 on, and a W7 backup disk for, my new ThinkPad?

I know these have got to be stupid questions, since I am sure that they have to have been asked before (unless they are clearly explained somewhere that everyone else has found, and I am somehow completely missed it), but I did search the forums and was surprised NOT to find any info on getting Windows 7 technical support after it was factory installed in a month-old Thinkpad. I wonder if the apparent defects in my W7, or maybe a different problem in my browser, could be affecting my ability to search to forums?
I believe that my Windows 7 is defective, but calling Lenovo, they just talked about reinstalling Win7 from the partition, which makes no sense, if my W7 copy is defective, wouldn't the copy in the partition be defective too? My mom said she ordered a $20 W7 backup disk with the PC, but I never received it, and now Lenovo tech tells me those aren't actually available, and she must have confused it with the W7 upgrade disk, which didn't sound right, since I thought the upgrade disk was over $100, and I never received that one either anyway. If the W7 that was factory-installed is defective, I am assuming it's a copy of the same one in the partition, so that partition recovery is not feasible, is there any way to reorder a W7 re-install disk that will still register as Genuine Windows 7 on a Thinkpad? Now when I search the Lenovo site, I cannot find ANY W7 disks of any kind, neither a backup for factory-installed W7, nor for upgrade from a prior Windows version. Does anyone know how I could go about re-ordering the W7 backup disk when it appears to be missing from the online catalog? Unless this too is a defect in my browser search: can someone give me the link to page where I could select and re-purchase a W7 backup disk?
It has been a few years since I had a new PC, but I have never even heard of one before that did not come with instruction manuals and OS and support disks, and did not provide any tech support for its own factory-installed software or Windows, at least during the first few months of ownership. Where do new Thinkpad owners turn for individual W7 software support, since Microsoft swears it is Lenovo's responsibility to support W7 under its OEM license, yet Lenovo swears they only support hardware? It almost seems that new users are expected to know everything already, or be initiated enough with the product to know exactly what your problem is and what's causing it, in order to find an online fix. Who do you call if W7 or Lenovo software (but not an ISP issue) appear to be doing something to prevent online access, but there are no discernible hardware issues? Where do you call for individualized W7, as well as Lenovo software, support, especially after no one online has ever heard of your specific issues and has no workable ideas for fixing them, or when your problem prevents you from getting online at all?
Thanks so much

http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Boot Camp Assistant is already on your computer. You just need to buy Windows. Read the instructions and help files very carefully. Back up your data before taking on this task.

TIme Capsule can't find backup disk!!!!

Just installed a new Airport Extreme.
My wifi is working normally.
But, I cannot "see" the Time Capsule as backup disk.
Everytime I try to start the backup, It tells me to configure a new Time Capsule.
Tryed to reset and everytihing, but nothing so far.
Need help.
Tks

I don't follow ..
Just installed a new Airport Extreme.
Do you have a time capsule.. ?? Extreme and Time Capsule are different units.
There is no hard disk in a AE. You can use a USB on the current Gen6 AE for TM backups but none of the previous generation are actually reliable doing TM backups.
Everytime I try to start the backup, It tells me to configure a new Time Capsule.
Again because you do not have a Time Capsule if you are using an Airport Extreme.

My Time Capsule has stopped backing up. I have an Apple Time Capsule which backs up by wireless. For the last 3 days it has not backed up. I get this message: "The backup was not performed because an error occurred while copying files to the backup disk.

My Time Capsule has stopped backing up.
I have an Apple Time Capsule which backs up by wireless. For the last 3 days it has not backed up. I get this message:
"The backup was not performed because an error occurred while copying files to the backup disk."
I have gone into Mac Help and followed this down to stage 4:
under shared it lists my time capsule and my husband's iMac - both use the time machine but we have switched his off temporarily. Clicking on my Time capsule I get "Connected" and "Sharepoint" - I didn't have to enter connect or password
I don't understand stage 5: how and where do I select the disk or volume that contains Time Machine backups ? How do I know which it is? My disk utility lists 160.04 TOSHIBA MK... with sub-heading Macintosh HD. It also lists (with a "CD" icon) HL-DT-ST DVDRW GS22N
Under stage 6, how and where do I Locate your backup ? I try dragging my Time capsule from Finder to the Disk Utility side panel but it won't go. What is my computer's name?
Please someone help! I'm completely stumped.
Thanks,
Maggie
Mac Help says:
If you back up to a Time Capsule or network disk:
Open the Time Machine pane of System Preferences, and slide the switch to Off.
Open Time Machine preferences
Open Disk Utility, which is in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.
Open Disk Utility
Make sure the Time Capsule or network disk is turned on and available.
Open a Finder window, select your Time Capsule or network disk in the Shared section of the sidebar, and click Connect. If necessary, enter your user name and password.
On the Time Capsule or network disk, select the disk or volume that contains Time Machine backups. Depending on how your Time Capsule is set up, there may be one or more disks or volumes.
Locate your backup, and drag it to the Disk Utility sidebar.You can identify your backup by looking for your computer’s name in the backup’s filename.

Hello,
Thanks to the great Pondini...
http://pondini.org/TM/C3.html

I am having issues with Time Machine. Error message "The backup disk image could not be created.

Error message "The backup disk image could not be created." I have tried everything I have found online in the community from TM full reset to changing my computers name. Anything else I can try? I am using a Seagate external HD with a connection through my router. I spent an hour on the phone with seagate and everything is ok on the HD end.
TM sees it and it is mounted but cannot go any further. HELP?!!!!
Thanks
-A

How should it be connected? It has a usb port and ethernet. The USB on the ExHD looks like the port on the back of my computer, so I would need one wth the same ends? Do they make those?
I can usually fix most my comp problems myself, but this new ExHD has stumped me.
Thanks for your help.
-A

I'm having trouble backing up my second macbook to a new time capsule. continue to get an error message -- "Time Machine Error. The backup disk image could not be created." Is there something I need to change in my time capsule or time machine?

I just set up a new time capsule. it worked fine on my first macbook. But now I cannot backup my second macbook. Getting "Time Machine Error" "The backup disk image could not be created." Do I need to change settings on my time capsule to allow the second computer, or do I need to change something on the computer to allow time machine to work right?

Try #C9 in Pondini's Time Machine Troublshooting
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

I loaded in Lion - but my time capsule will not back up. I get an message: couldn't complete backup due to a network prolem. Also it says "make sure your computer and back up disk are on the same network, and that the backup disk is turned on.

I installed Lion on my Mac Pro laptop. Regarding Time Capsul - I get a messaage as follows: couldn't complete backup due to a network problem. Make sure your computer and back up disk are on the same network and that the backup disk is turned on. Then try again to back up. I have time capsul turned on. bill

I have exactly same problem with my MBP and MBA, after upgrading to Lion. I've tried to fix this issue while cheking key chain issues and network setup, even formating hdd and time capsule firmware upgrade (ver. 7.6.1.). Nothing can help. It is very annoying.

My back up failed and I get a messageTime Machine couldn't complete the backup to "TimeCap". The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Mary Fleming's MacBook Pro .sparsebundle" is already in use.

I noticed today that my last back-up was this a.m. and it has tried several times to back up since but I keep getting this message
Time Machine couldn’t complete the backup to “TimeCap”.
The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/ MacBook Pro ."sparsebundle” is already in use.
I have never had this problem before and don't know what to do. I am not that great around computers so if anyone can help I would appreciate it. I did try to do some research but could not understand any of the content I read. I sure don't know what "sparsebundle" is and this is the first time I ever heard the term.
If anyone can help woold appreciate it.
I have Version 10.9.1

This is a standard issue..
Been around since LION but you missed out.. !! Well the old rule applies.. there are three types of Mac users.
1. The bugs have bitten you, and you have done the work arounds.
2. The bugs are biting you and you are now trying to find out what is going on.
3. The bugs will bite you. And in the meantime you laugh at everyone with problems and say it must be all their fault. Doesn't happen to my system.
You were simply in the last group.. now, with the wonders of mavericks to help, you got bit.
The solution is simple.. unplug the power cord from the TC .. count to 10.. power up the TC again.
No luck look at the more technical help.
C12 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Your naming might also be an issue if this continues to happen.. see C9.

"Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not availab

I have a Seagate 750 MB external disk connected to the USB port of my Airport Extreme Base Station. It worked fine with Time Machine under Leopard but it's not working the way it was under OS X 10.6.2. I'm hopeful someone can help me solve the problem.
Let's say the name of my Airport Extreme Base Station is "Airport." If I remember correctly, under Leopard time machine would start a wireless backup not long after I turned on the Seagate drive. That no longer happens.
I've erased and re-formatted the Seagate drive with 2 GUID partitions, one for my 24" iMac and one for my 17" MacBook Pro. Both computers are about 3 years old. In order to do the re-partitioning, I had to unplug the Seagate drive from the base station and plug it into one of the iMac's USB ports. If I didn't do this, nothing other than the iMac's drive appears in the left pane of Disk Utility, although the name of my base station, i.e, "Airport" does appear in the Finder and PathFinder (a replacement for Finder that I use).
In fact, Time Machine works under 10.6.2. as long as the Seagate drive is plugged into the iMac's USB port. As soon as I plug the Seagate drive into the USB port of the base station, Time Machine no longer works. The backup is "delayed." When I click on "Back Up Now" a few seconds go by and I get the following dialog box: "Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not available."
In my Airport Extreme Base Station setup (Airport Utility version 5.4.2), the "Disks" pane sees both partitions on the Seagate drive. File sharing is enabled on the "File sharing" pane and "Secure Shared Disks:" is set to "With a disk password." "Airport Disks Guest Access:" is not allowed, nor is "Share disks over WAN."
When the Seagate drive is plugged into the base station and I click on "Airport" in the Finder or PathFinder, I'm prompted for the password I mentioned above because the shared disks are secured with a password. Once the password is typed, both partitions on the Seagate drive appear in Finder and PathFinder. When I try a Time Machine backup at this point, I get the same error I described above, i.e., "Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not available."
One last thing, I did an "Archive and Install" when I upgraded to Snow Leopard since I thought the changes were relatively minor as compared with past OS X upgrades. Normally, I do a clean install but didn't feel like it this time. I also tried deleting the file /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist to no avail and restarted my iMac to no avail.
At this point I'm completely stumped. As I said, Time Machine works as long as the Seagate drive is plugged directly into one of the iMac's USB ports as opposed to the base station's USB port. But doesn't this defeat the purpose of having wireless backup? Once again, the wireless backup worked fine under 10.5.8.
I hope my message is clear and a solution would be most welcome.
Thank you,
Richard

I'm having the same problem. If my TimeMachine drive is not connected, I'll get the "Time machine could not complete the backup" "The backup disk is not available" warning a couple times a day. This is extremely problematic if I'm giving a presentation. I have tried changing my TimeMachine drive, removing that drive, repairing permissions, and have not been able to solve the problem.
Please help!

Can I use my Time Capsule as a backup disk and storage?

Can I use my Time Capsule as a backup disk and put files from my other USB external hard drive on it, using the TC as an external as well?

Actually, there is a way to limit the amount of space Time Machine uses for backup so that it won't eat up all your disk space...for example, I have mine set to only use 65GB, and then it starts to overwrite older backups...Google it for more info. To begin with, I deleted my Sparse Disk Image Bundle from Time Capsule, and used Disk Utility to create a Sparse Disk Image Bundle (turn off backups first!!!) with a capacity of 65GB in HFS Journaled, Case Sensitive...The Image must be named as follows "Full Computer Name_Ethernet MAC Address" (The ethernet MAC address is used even if you plan to solely use wifi for backups). for example, my Sparse Disk Image Bundle name is "Ahmad Atiya's MacBook Pro_00254b9d8f72.sparsebundle" Move this image to your time capsule's main directory (if you didn't create it there to begin with). Go to your Time Machine preferences, turn it on, and set it to use your Time Capsule. It should start using the image you created. If you click "get info" on the disk image, it'll show a capacity of whatever you created.

How to fix this error message The backup disk image "/Volumes/AirPort Disk/FARES DEL VALLE's iMac.sparsebundle" could not be accessed (error -1).

how to fix this error message The backup disk image “/Volumes/AirPort Disk/FARES DEL VALLE’s iMac.sparsebundle” could not be accessed (error -1).

The troubleshooting C17 is the specific article.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
This is generally a Lion error.. and you will need 5.6 utility to get access to the disk area.
So download the real utility. Run it instead of v6 toy version.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
Go to the manual setup, disk page and click on disconnect all users.. that will unmount all users connected to the disk and allow it to start working. But there are a number of other issues that are possible cause. Pondini lists some of them.

HT201250 My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

Inherit a Backup
Inherit a Backup (2)

How do I get back iphone app information from a DELETED Time Machine Backup disk

Hi People,
here is what happened:
I have been using an iPhone App (Audio Memos Free - The Voice Recorder) to record song ideas (I am a songwriter). I have been using it for years.
I backed up my iphone to itunes, and backed up my mac on Time Machine. After a month or so I did a fresh OSX install on my mac, copied all of my files back from Time Machine into my mac, and tried to set up Time Machine. I was not able to do so, so I had to format the Time Machine Backup disk and doing a "fresh" mac Time Machine Backup.
After a week or so, my iphone asks me something like "you do not possess the rights for one or more applications". do not know what i did, but after 1 minute my iPhone was wiped out of all my apps and app contents. I had also the icloud app sync, so i did not worry, recovered from icloud notes, contacts, and all other things. so i did another backup to itunes.
Now i discover icloud did not recover or save the "Audio Memos Free" app content. I know the data are hidden into the Time machine Backup HD, but i do not know where to search for the itunes backup in it.
I know it is in library, but library won't show up.
Any help would be much appreciated.
PS there is a chance that, even without a data recovery, my latest itunes backup was containing these songs, but i do not know how to fish that out of the Time machine drive.
Thank you in advance.

I would email iTunes Customer Service:
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/browser/
CG

Cannot Connect to Time Capsule: "the backup disk is not available"

I am having a problem that I can't diagnose with my 500 GB Time Capsule (my HD is 128GB). The firmware is current. I first did a search for 'the backup disk is not available' since that is the message displayed in the Time Machine window (with the red checkmark).The Time Machine widget says this:
Attempting to mount network destination using URL: afp://[email protected]/xxx%20xxx's%20Time%20Capsu
NetAuthConnectToServerSync failed with error: 89 for url: afp://[email protected]/xxx%20xxx's%20Time%20Capsu
I installed the widget after I went to the Time Machine - Troubleshooting user tip, here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2057525. Also went to Using TIME MACHINE with a TIME CAPSULE, here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2296894
I also renewed the DHCP lease, tried to do 'connect as' from the Sidebar window, also via go-> connect to server ("there was an error connecting to the server Timecapsule; Check the server name or IP address & try again"), go to Time Machine under System Preferences, select "None" for hard drive, turned off Time Machine, then turned it back on and reselect Time Capsule as the hard drive to backup (timed out), tried re-setting up the Time Capsule both automatic & manual (times out when reading TC configuration)., and finally, writing this post.
I am connected to the internet with the Time Capsule, and I am concerned about making too many changes, because I don't want to risk losing my internet connection, since that seems to be working fine. I was able to make regular backups until yesterday. Tracing my steps from when it used to work to when it 'broke':
1)I attempted (unsuccessfully) to mount the Time Capsule so that I could do a search on it. (I didn't realize at the time that I couldn't mount a wireless device.)
2)The only other thing I did was drag some music folders that I wanted backed up next to my sparsebundle backup (which I can no longer see, because the Time Capsule is no longer accessible via the finder) only to get the spinning ball with the copying window, which I couldn't force quit unless I quit the Finder. So, I force quit, rebooted, and repaired the disk/permissions with disk utility.
Did I do something wrong by dragging & dropping my files over trying to use it as a backup AND a an external HD? Or trying to mount the drive? Or maybe since adding several gigs of music, I took up too much space & now don't have room for a backup? (In which case, I need to access the drive & erase the music, and start over: if only I could SEE it I could do that.)
I am still doing searches trying to see what I need to do; I haven't yet re-set it, due to my concern about my internet connection, which could potentially prevent me from getting any information to fix it. At this time, I am not sure if this is a Time Capsule, Time Machine, or Airport issue. During the time that I have been writing this, the red check changed to 'connecting' but then the 'delayed - Time Machine is not available' message came back up
TIA

Reboot the network in correct order.. modem.. router/TC.. clients.. 2min gap.
This is just standard windows.. woops, Mac OS networking now.

Backup disk

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