Can I choose which backup for Time Machine to use if I have backups from two macs on one drive?

I have Time Machine backup on an external drive. I want to mirgrate all my files onto the new Mac Pro but migration is getting hung up and cant find the drive. Can I set up Time Machine for the new mac on this same drive and then select the old macs backup from within Time Machine?

Most likely, some folders were excluded from your backups as the result of a failed or aborted software installation.
Starting from a clean installation of OS X, set up a new administrator account and log in. Enter Time Machine and press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible.* Select the one you want and navigate to your home folder (in the Users folder at the top level of the old startup volume.)
You should now be able to restore your user data. I suggest you do this in two stages. Quit all applications except the Finder before you begin.
Restore all the visible items at the top level of your home folder.
Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Enter Time Machine and restore all items in the Library folder. Log out and log back in as soon as the restore is complete.
Any other invisible folders or files at the top level of your home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.
You'll have to reinstall all third-party applications from scratch, or restore them from another kind of backup, if you have one.
You'll have another problem if this is a new computer, or if you erased the startup volume: The next time you back up, Time Machine won't recognize any files as being the same as they were before, and will make a full copy of all files. There might not be enough space on one or more of your backup volumes for that. There are different ways of dealing with that situation, depending on your needs. The easiest way is to set your backup drives aside, if possible, until you're sure you'll no longer need the data on them, then erase them and start over. Meanwhile start a new backup on one or more empty storage devices. If that solution isn't workable for you, ask for instructions.
*If you don't see any snapshots in Time Machine, exit the time-travel view and then hold down the option key while selecting
Browse Other Backup Disks...
from the Time Machine menu, which has an icon that looks like a clock running backwards. Select the backups of your computer by its previous name. If you don't have the Time Machine menu, open the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences and check the box marked
Show Time Machine in menu bar

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Can anyone tell me what this Time Machine error means? The network backup disk does not support the required AFP features?

Can anyone tell me what this Time Machine error means? The network backup disk does not support the required AFP features?

AFP - Apple Filing Protocol
The Network Attached Storage (NAS) that you are pointing Time Machine at does not have the features needed by Time Machine in order to do its Thing. Time Machine needs some specific features that are not typically available on generic networked storage devices.
There are manufactures that support the Mac OS X HFS+ file system formats and implement all the needed AFP protocol packets necessary so that they can be used with Time Machine, but apparently yours does not.
If you are not using a networked mounted volume for Time Machine, then more information will be needed about your Time Machine setup.

How to reinitialize an external hard disk drive which serves for Time Machine?

How to reinitialize an external hard disk drive which serves for Time Machine?
Thanks for your answer.

Everything you need to know about initializing (formatting) is here.
http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html
Lots of useful information on TM is here in the same place.
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

HT201250 Is there any way to schedule backups on Time Machine? I hate it that backup happens every dang hour. I would like to have it back up at night.

Is there any way to schedule backups on Time Machine? I hate it that backup happens every dang hour. I would like to have it back up at night.

Richard Campbell2 wrote:
I hear you, I do. But the problem is that with my Mac, I have to stop and postpone whatever project I am working on while the backup occurs. It just slows down my computer.
Then something is wrong with your backups. Changing the interval will only deal with they symptoms, not the actual problem, and you won't be as well protected as with hourly backups.
If the backups are much larger than they ought to be, see #D4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If the sizes are reasonable, but it seems to take too long, see #D2 there.

Time Capsule, AEBS+USB drive, Linux server: Which system for Time Machine?

I'm planning to get a new Macbook Pro, and upgrading my iMac in the near future. In making the big leap to Leopard, I am going to upgrade my router to at least the AEBS. But I'm not sure what the best way is to take advantage of the Time Machine function.
Here's my take on the situation:
Time Capsule
Pros: all in one solution
Cons: I'm stuck if one day I need a bigger drive, or need to replace it.
AEBS+USB drive
Pros: Easy way to upgrade/replace drive if needed
Cons: Extra device needed
Using a drive on my Linux fileserver
Pros: Easy way to upgrade/replace drive(s) if needed, can set up RAID1 for extra redundancy
Cons: Not officially supported, but apparently can use the "defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1" tweak to get this going.
Which would you do?

Assuming that the USB drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled)......
Open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock) on your Mac
Open Time Machine
Insure that the USB drive is configured as a destination for Time Machine backups
If it is not, click Add or Remove Disks
Click the USB drive to highlight it
Click Use Disk
Time Machine will now backup to the USB disk, and alternate disks if you have other disks selected as Time Machine backup destinations.

Can I partition my HD for Time Machine?

Hi all,
I just bought a drive intended for use with Time Machine. However, I would like to know, if its possible to partition the drive first and use only one half for Time Machine?
Another thing, do I have to format the drive to Mac OS Extended journaled first before I can use it? Its a Buffalo DriveStation Turbo USB External HD 500gb.
Thanks

Matt,
I think it's possible that the entire drive might show up as FAT32, but the two partitions (volumes) can be formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled)....I seem to recall this happening to me when I partitioned a WD 500Gb drive a couple of weeks ago. The Volume is the 'subset' shown just below the Hard Drive in Disk Utility.
Go ahead and partition the drive into two sections. Give each section a name that will be useful to you (perhaps, "Time Machine" for one, and "Data" for the other).
The two volumes should mount on your desktop. If, for some reason, they aren't Mac OS X Extended (Journaled), just use disk utility to erase/reformat them individually as you need.
I'll be off line for about 24 hours. You can't hurt the drive by experimenting with partitioning/formatting it... Just be careful about putting data on it, and then trying to reformat it--you'll lose the data that was on the external HD.
Bob

Online Backup for Time Machine Drive?

I've been looking around at the major names in online backup and most of them won't let you back up external drives, but I found BackBlaze and it looked good till I found out that it specifically won't allow you to backup a Time Machine drive to its service.
Does anyone know of a good online backup service that will let you back up your time machine drive?

i second Thomas' remarks.
you may want to consider Dropbox for that redundant backup.
JGG

HT203177 very long 'preparing for backup' for Time Machine

None of the issues discussed in the apple support page on this issue seem to apply to me (except one below regarding not completing the 'prepare for backup'). It still takes way too much time (a night is not enough) to prepare for time machine backup, even though there was a backup recently, and it is not a one-time event but a recurring problem, and there are no big changes to my files or disks.
And of course because most days it does not complete the backup before I have to leave to work, the condition on 'not interrupting the backup' cannot be respected. This looks like plain poor design.
The only thing that helps is to connect my laptop directly to the Time Machine by Ethernet but it is very inconvenient.
This is really annoying. I wish I had bought another disk back-up solution.

saggybaggy wrote:
The Mac Pro I'm backing up is Leopard 10.5.8, could this be the issue?
No, Time Machine works on 10.5.8.
I'm trying to back it up before I upgrade my operating system.
Good plan!
Also, for the backup I'm using the same external drive that I used to backup my MacBook Pro already... not sure if this would cause any issues in preparing.
Not in preparing, but it's usually not a good idea to use the same partition on the same drive for both. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #4 for an explanation.

I have been using my usb as my backup for time machine and now I want to unlock it and use it as a normal usb. How can I do this?

I am having trouble switching my usb from a backup for my time machine to a normal usb for my files.

Have you reformatted the drive?
Just go to Disk Utility (Applications>Utilities folder), select the drive and erase it, formatting it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a single GUID partition. You may want to change the name of the drive when you erase it.
Have you tried that?
Clinton

What do i need to buy for Time Machine to work . i want to backup my mac

Hi i want to back up my macbook pro and im not sure how to do it. But i know you use time machine. What do i need to buy. Also somthing about airport utility

I have a 512GB internal and use a 2Tb external for my Time Machine backups. Unless you choose to go with one of Apple's Time Capsules (which I wouldn't) you can get a good drive that has 2-3x your internal disk capacity with multiple ports from a variet of vendors. I have two of these G-Drives from Amazon and love them. One a 1Tb and one a 2tb.
For everything you ever wanted to know about Time Machine, check out Pondini's FAQs - http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html.
Good luck - call back with any questions...
Clinton

External HD backup for Time Machine

I have a 320GB MyBook Ext HD. When I was installing Leopard I got a message that if I chose my Ext HD as a backup HD all the content would erased.
So I didn't select it as a backup HD.
I've purchased another 320GB Ext HD.
What would happen, since my eMac has only one FireWire port, if I hooked up both Ext HDs to that port? Would I get two Ext HD, one in which my files wouldn't be erased and one that would serve as a backup HD?
Could I just hookup the new Ext HD initially to set up Time Machine and then connect the second Ext HD afterwards. Would that save my old Ext HD's files?

I just called Western Digital and the tech guy said I could link the MyBook HDs. He said that another MyBook icon would show up on my desktop and finder.
I'm just nervous about the potential of erasing the older Ext HD.
Is there an idiot proof way to do this?
When I went to the Apple Store last weekend only one person in the store had actually installed Leopard and I had a hard time getting answers. I'm sure now it would be different. The Geniuses hadn't even installed it!

Can Time Machine Be Used to Back Up Files from An External Hard Drive?

Please let me provide a little more information to clarify the question.
The hard drive on my computer is not large enough for all my photo and video files so I am planning to purchase a new external hard drive and move my "Pictures" and "Movies" folders to the new external hard drive as a way of freeing up space on my computer. A different external hard drive is now used for backup of the computer's hard drive.
My question is about how backups will be handled if I upgrade to Snow Leopard.
I understand that Time Machine will take the place of the software now being used to back up the MacHD, but back up is still needed for the photo and video files which would be moved off of the MacHD. Will Time Machine back up those files too? That is, will Time Machine back up specified folders which are being stored on one external hard drive and place the backups on a different external hard drive? And, will Time Machine do that in addition to backing up the MacHD? If so, are separate partitions needed for the MacHD and the Photo/Video backups, or will Time Machine put everything in the same partition?
Any advice and/or suggestions for handling this in would be most appreciated.
Thanks for your help.

As captfred says, yes (as long as the drive is formatted for a Mac, not Windoze).
You might want to review the [Time Machine Tutorial|http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#timemachinebasics] and perhaps browse [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 this forum).

Can I run a Mountain Lion Time Machine Back up if I have a Snow Leopord boot up disc?

HI, I have a new hard drive in my Mac after my old hard drive crashed.
The only boot up disk I have is a Snow Leaoprd (which came with the computer). However, I had since upgraded to Mountain Lion. My most recent Time Machine Back ups were all on in Mountain Lion.
My question....If I use the Snow Leopard boot disc, will I be able to restore the Mountain Lion back up through TIme Machine? Or do I need a Mountain Lion boot disc?
Thanks!!

Restart with the Command-R keys held down to get to the Mountain Lion recovery volume that you can use to reinstall or reload from backup, or if your drive has just been replaced and does not have this, then if your system was made in 2011 or later then it likely has an internet-recovery option to load these tools, which can be started by booting with Option-Command-R held down.
Alternatively you can create your own external recovery drive using Apple's Recovery Disk Assistant tool (http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1433) to use if your system does not support Internet Recovery and you need to access these tools. To boot to this external drive once created, boot with the drive attached and the Option key held down, and then select it from the boot menu that appears.

I used my not empty hard drive for the time machine, so now i only have stuff from time machine, everything else is gone!!! please help, does this mean everything else is completely gone?

Did mac format everything that was there? if not, why cant i see it when i opebn the drive, and if it did format it is there a way to bring it back? my whole life is on that harddrive!!!!

If you clicked through a warning that Time Machine was going to erase the drive, then yes, everything that was there before is gone. Restore from one of your backups.

Which HD for Time Machine should I buy?

Here are my thoughts:
I've seen people complain about so many drives, I was wondering if anyone has a drive that has worked for more than 5 or 6 months.
I would prefer FireWire 800 or 400 rather than USB.
I would prefer a QUIET drive WITH a fan - there have been issues which I think may be fan related.
My first drive was a Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 320 GB. It stopped working ater 4 month. Hooking it up now lags my Mac and makes it crash. It's that bad.
I just want a good, affordable drive that works.
Oh yes, and I would prefer it to automatically turn on/off with my Mac.
Thanks!

Well. I've been using LaCie d2's some of them for years without an issue with them. Also, a good brand is the Mercury Elite from OWC. AFA turning on and off with your Mac, that is pot luck The same drives on one system will turn off and on another not. But it's really not an issue as within 15 minutes of inactivity they spin down.
-mj

Can I choose which backup for Time Machine to use if I have backups from two macs on one drive?

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