Can I delete this random time machine backup?

Hello -
I'm trying to finally get my act together to upgrade my OS from Lion to Mavericks (which means, I think, I need to do Mountain Lion as an interim step?) so I need to do a Time Machine back up before I do that.
I back up this laptop to our Time Machine Capsule but it's run out of space. When I look at the drive, I see my computer and my husbands, but then also a random backup file that is dated two years ago (and is huge)? I opened terminal to try to see to what the files were referring and it stated the same MacBook that I'm trying to Time Machine now, just from Dec 2012.
Thank you in advance!
Do you think I am safe to delete that file to create space on the drive? Here's a screenshot of what I'm seeing. Thank you!
Then, when I click on the big string of numbers (usually indicating a backup,) here's just a partial screen capture?

I just wanted to update all after my experieces:
Time Machine was not the problem. The problem was a defective WD external firewire drive (WD Green drive) which has since been replaced under warantee. Thank you WD for your comiitment.
Whenever I used this drive, I could hear it chugging and chugging away during mount and whenever I was accessing the drive.
I finally checked the drive (WD My Book) with DISK WARRIOR and the thing was toast. Tons of unrepairable hardware errors.
Thankfully the drive was under warantee and after receiving a replacement from WD (no issues with RMA replacement process, kudos to WD) have had ZERO issues with time machine and the replacement drive.
Initial 1st time- time machine backup was ~ 5 hours. (~120 GB of info). (I added the drive to spotlight 'do not index' prefs prior to setting up time machine.)
-This was a HUGE time difference. My prior initial backup with the defective drive was 3 DAYS, yes, DAYS.
If you are having these kind of problems, check you drive with Disk Warrior (Disk Utitlty does not cut it). If Disk Warrior reports problems, it is a hassle, but replace the drive.
Good luck. Karma +1

Similar Messages

How can I delete all the Time Machine backups to make room for more? And how do I force the trash to empty?

I moved a bunch of my husband's files from his Macbook (which is dieing) to my iMac. I created a user for him on my iMac so he'd be able to keep his stuff separate from mine. All is working great except my Time Machine is now unable to backup. The total of used space on my hard drive (including the recently added user's files) is about 420 GB. The amount of capacity of my external hard drive is 999GB. I think Time Machine failed because there was all of a sudden so much more data and a new full backup would be more than the unused capacity of the HD? Regardless I don't need any old backups. I have all my files and all his files. So I moved all the backups from the external HD to the trash. Apparently that's a no no. I can't fully empty the trash now and that is making my iMac crazy slow.
1) Can anyone tell me how to force the trash to empty?
2) Is there a way to delete the whole external HD and start over with a new full backup via Time Machine? In Disk Utility I try to erase the partition and get an error "Volume Erase failed with the error: Couldn't unmount disk." Then I try to Unmount it and get another "Unmount failed. The disk Backup iOmega could not be unmounted. Make sure that all applications and files are closed on this disk." I turned off Time Machine and tried again but with the same errors.
The external HD is called iOmega. It only connects to the iMac with USB. Any help is much appreciated!!!!

Try this instead:
Drive Partition and Format
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. Select the backup volume from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
4. Click on the Erase button.
You will need to reconfigure Time Machine preferences for the backup.
FYI: Never remove Time Machine backup data except through the Time Machine application. If you aren't sure about using Time Machine then visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things related to Time Machine.

I can not delete my old time machine backups

I manually backed them up to my 1TB seagatte, and then I moved old TM backups to the trash after it prompted me for my password, then I couldnt empty the trash.
Nothing lets me empty them, not even the "Secure Empty Trash" option. None of them even say "locked" when I hit "Get Info". The box is unchecked.
Please help! I hate seeing a stuffed trash can!

can you try restarting your computer then try deleting it again?
if it does not help, have a read to these links
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=80598
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
https://discussions.apple.com/message/17519859
what i usually do is format the external hard drive. i know i'm gonna loose data but as long as you know that all the important files are present on you computer, should be no issues.

I am out of space on my Macbook Air and have a Time Machine Backup. I want to complete reset my mac, but wonder if I can pick and choose what I restore to my computer? Can I also use my time machine backup and external storage as well?

I am out of space on my Macbook Air and have a Time Machine Backup. I want to complete reset my mac, but wonder if I can pick and choose what I restore to my computer? Can I also use my time machine backup as external storage as well for the files I don't need everyday?

If you are using "Restore from Time Machine Backup" option from OS X Recovery, you can only choose from the broad categories presented.
... Can I also use my time machine backup as external storage as well for the files I don't need everyday?
To be clear, if you are asking if you can use the volume containing your Time Machine backup to store additional, non-Time Machine files, the short answer is yes.
It's not a good idea though, since the Time Machine backup will eventually fill all available space, after which it begins to remove old, "expired" backups to make room for newer ones. The presence of additional files doesn't change that fact, and Time Machine will not erase them, but you will encounter a dilemma should you want to store additional files on that volume when there is no remaining space. You will have to make room for them on your own, by deleting existing files. Furthermore, since Time Machine cannot back up its own volume, those additional files will not be backed up by Time Machine.
The easy solution for what you describe is to purchase additional external storage. External USB hard disk drives have become very inexpensive; about $55 will buy a perfectly suitable 1 TB drive.
You can also choose to replace your MacBook Air's internal storage with a larger capacity one. Look for a suitable replacement from OWC / MacSales:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina
That gets a little more expensive but it is the optimum solution.

Can't connect to a Time Machine backup disk

I have erased my TM via Airport Utility
AirPort Utility 6.x: Erase an AirPort Time Capsule disk
So far so good...But now, I am unable to open TM, when I do it opens momentarily, then closes with message "Can't conect to a Time Machine backup disk".
I have turned off TM as I do not want to use the TM as backup..I want to use it as an EHD and transfer data to the disk manually (not by automatic TM backups).
How can I do this?

No. It is not in Finder at all..only I can see the Airport Capusle (on the left side) under "Shared"...but this does not allow for any data transfer.
It should show under "Devices", and allow for data transfer....don't know how to fix this one..

I can't access my wireless time machine backup.

When I try to access my backup files wirelessly it says enter your name and password for the server "Base Station ddb9a1". I do not know my name and password. I had did a clean install to upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion. I used the migration assistant, but I can't access my wireless time machine backup. Please someone help.

Hello,
I would like an answer to this question as well. As this is a time capsule and not a Airport extreme question I think here is a better start.
I'm planning on getting a Time Capsule but have been backing up to a 500GB USB drive connected directly to my MacBook. It's probably only a month or 2 worth of back ups and not that big of a deal but if i get a Time Capsule and want to access the old back ups it would be nice to know if that is possible and if so how it can be done. I was thinking it might be possible to use something like Carbon Copy Cloner and move the back up file to the Time Capsule drive and erase the external that I have now, and have Time Machine use that file like it has been doing from the wired drive.
I will look around the posts and see if I can find anything. In the mean time if someone finds something it would be nice if you could put the link in this discussion.
Cheers,
Shadowrider

HT201250 How can I exclude mail from Time Machine backups?

How can I exclude mail from Time Machine backups?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
Mails are stored on ~/Library/Mail, being ~ your user folder. As you are running Snow Leopard, it's easy to exclude your mails from your Time Machine backup.
Open System Preferences > Time Machine > Options, and add ~/Library/Mail to excluded items, so the next backup won't include mails. Note that you have to go to your user folder, in order to access to this directory

Can I have 2 Separate Time Machine backups on one Mac?

I have a Mac running Snow leopard which I keep connected to an external USB drive. That drive is set up to automatically back my machine through Time Machine and it works great.
I would like to also do a backup of my machine and all its files onto a portable USB drive that I can then take to the office (i.e. remove it from the house) for security purposes. Once every couple of weeks I would plan on bringing the portable USB drive back home, plugging it into the Mac, doing another Time Machine backup and then removing it again.
Can I have 2 separate Time Machine backups onto 2 separate hard drives (as described above) on a single Mac?

Well I tried it, and it worked.

TS1211 I lost one calendar from my Mac Osx 10.5.8 system on G4 how can I find it from time machine backup?

I lost one calendar from my Mac Osx 10.5.8 system on G4 how can I find it from time machine backup?
Can someone help me with that pls !!!!!!

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5176639

How can I "Put Back" a time machine backup from the trash to my external hard drive?

Basically what happened was I accidentally put an older time machine backup from my external hard drive into the trash on my macbook. Since then, time machine has made new backups onto my external hard drive. How can I either "Put Back" or replace the deleted backup back into my hard drive?
Whenever I try to move it it says "A newer item named “Backups.backupdb” already exists in this location. Do you want to replace it with the older one you’re moving?" I click replace and after a few minutes of loading, it says "Cannot replace. An item named "" already exists."

As long as you don't delete the trash, the files should be recoverable.
I suspect using the Put Back command could take a long time, so be patient.
If your Time Machine backups are mixed with your daughter's backups you might want to buy a larger drive and move the Time Machine files to the new drive.
Regarding missing photos in iPhoto...There might be options to rebuild/recover that data from iPhoto rather than trying to revert to a Time Machine backup.
Check out this third party app, iPhoto Library Manager. It has a demo.
http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/
Options for a larger drive.
I like the Seagate USB 3.0 Backup plus drives. Works on USB 2.0 ports. They come formatted for PC but easy to format in Disk Utility.
I don't recommend Western Digital because of the boot problem with some of their drives.
LaCie makes good drives.
All Mac formatted drives will cost more and it’s easy to reformat with Disk Utility. Do not use the software that comes with the drives. It’s recommended that you use Apple’s Disk Utility.
Prices vary but this gives you an idea of what you’ll find. As you notice the second and third TB is usually only $15 more per TB. Normally, you’ll find these prices but right now the 1T is more than the 2T
Seagate Backup Plus 1 TB USB 3.0 $85
Seagate Backup Plus 2 TB USB 3.0 $99
Seagate Backup Plus 3 TB USB 3.0 $115
I have seen the 3T on sale for $99.
Locally, Best Buy seems to have the best prices.

How can I tell if my Time Machine backups are encrypted?

Hi - I would really appreciate it if someone could help me find out if my Time Machine backps are actually encrypted.
I know that there is an 'encryption' option when choosing a disc for Time Machine to backup to, but the problem is I cannot remember whether or not I actually ticked it (as it was a couple of years ago).
Other info that might be helpful:
- The disk I use Time Machine to backup to is actually a Apple Time Capsule
- I do have FileVault2 enabled on my mac
- I have never encrypted the Time Capsule disc itself (via Disk Utility or anything similar)
- One possible clue might be: When I go into Time Machine preferences, and click on 'Select Disk...' (as if to choose another disk to back up to), and select the disc that Time Machine currently backs up to (i.e. the Time Capsule disc), it does show an 'Encrypt backups' checkbox at the bottom of the window... however this checkbox is unchecked and also greyed out.
Thanks in advance
a_quinn

a_quinn wrote:
- Because I originally created this Time Machine Backup (to the Time Capsule) back in my 'OS X Lion' days,
I wondered; you posted in the Mountain Lion forum, but your profile still says Lion.
that means that my backups now (and moving forward) will continue to be un-encrypted
Correct (as of now, anyway). You cannot encrypt existing network backups. I doubt that will be available in the future, and would take forever.
- The only way to encyrpt my backups now, moving forward, is to remove this Time Capsule disc (from Time Machine Preferences), and start all over again ensuring that I check the checkbox next to 'Encrypt Backup' when selecting the Time Capsule's disc to backup to.
Well, in theory it's possible, but would take forever, squared.
You could archive the TC's contents to a USB drive connected to it, per #Q6 in Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule).
Then delete the original, start a backup with encryption, and as soon as the encrypted sparse bundle is created, cancel the backup.
Mount the sparse bundle, open the disk image, and delete the Backups.backupdb folder inside it.
Connect the USB drive to your Mac, mount that sparse bundle, open its disk image, and copy the Backups.backupdb folder to the one on the TC.
Depending on how large the sparse bundle is, that could easily take a couple of days, at least, even connected via Ethernet.
Just for testing one day, I encrypted a very small set of existing test backups on a F/W 800 drive - 6 dated backups using a whole 12 GB. Took an hour.
An alternative would be, just do the "archive" and keep the USB drive "on the shelf" for a while. You can always connect it to your Mac and access those backups via the Browse Other Backup Disks option.
Trying to keep a couple of years worth of backups usually isn't a good idea. It's a very complex structure, so the odds of damage increase, it takes much longer to populate the TM browser, and it works slower and slower, and if you didn't need something for 6 months, are you really going to need it in 2 years?

Can't delete files in Time Machine

I have a time machine backup that was used to back up a borrowed computer. The computer has been returned and I want to delete the backups. I can get into time machine with the new computer and delete some of the backup. But some of the files just won't delete.
It asks me if I want to deleted them. I enter an administrator password. And it makes the sound to indicate it is finished, but the files (and the folder they are in) are still there.
These are files in the "System" and "Library" directories.

davidpsummers wrote:
I should clarify. The drive has more stuff than just that backup. I would have to find a place to put it all (non-trivial) and then wipe it.
That's likely what you need to do. It sounds like the previous deletions left some "abandoned" space you'll never get back otherwise, and there may be directory damage, too, which can compromise your backups.
Then partition the drive, so Time Machine has it's own, exclusive partition. See #3 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 this forum).
Or, your best bet may be to use a separate drive for Time Machine.

Problem moving/deleting files from time machine backup

I recently ran into some problems with my hardrive and had to get it replaced at the mac store.
Unfortunatly, i only ran a partial time machine backup on the hardrive before i lost it.
Fotrunatly though, it did manage to save some important stuff, but now for the next problem....
I have dragged my files from my external hardrive with the partial time machine backup onto my new desktop but it wont let me do stuff with them
this includes;
asking for my password whenever i want to delete one of them
saying "cannnot be modified" whenever i try to drag the files to a new location.
as you can imagine, this is a bit of a pain.
anyone have anything similair?
help would be great
thanks
Chris

That is not how you restore from a Time Machine backup.
Repairing the permissions of a home folder in Lion is a complicated procedure. I don’t know of a simpler one that always works.
Back up all data now. Before proceeding, you must be sure you can restore your system to its present state
Launch the Terminal 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 Terminal in the page that opens.
Drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:
chmod -R -N ~
The command will take a noticeable amount of time to run. When a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) appears below what you entered, it’s done. You may see a few error messages about an “invalid argument” while the command is running. You can ignore those. If you get an error message with the words “Permission denied,” enter this:
sudo !!
You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up.
Next, boot from your recovery partition by holding down the key combination command-R at startup. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
When the recovery desktop appears, select Utilities ▹ Terminal from the menu bar.
In the Terminal window, enter “resetpassword” (without the quotes) and press return. A Reset Password window opens. You’re not going to reset the password.
Select your boot volume if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select  ▹ Restart from the menu bar.

Why can't I select previous Time Machine Backups?

I'm running 10.7.5 on a 2010 Macbook Pro and, as of a few hours ago, I can no longer select previous back ups in Time Machine in order to delete entire back ups or single files. Can someone help me here? My ext HD is full and I want to create some space on it since Time Machine doesn't seem to be doing it automatically.
Thanks!

Hey Anania!
I have an article for you that addresses this situation:
OS X Mountain Lion: If your Time Machine backup disk runs out of space
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11169
Thanks for coming to the Apple Support Communities!
Cheers,
Braden

Deleting a Partial Time Machine Backup? Trash?

OK so the other night I left my computer alone for a bit and it started making a backup that I didn't want. When I came back to my computer it was half done so I told it to stop backing up. Long story short I had put a clone on the drive and forgot to tell time machine to not backup to that same drive. So now I have a partition with a clone and a partial time machine backup. I want to remove the backup.
I can't find it within the actual time machine window, since it wasn't a finished backup. Also, I read online somewhere that I shouldn't try to delete in the trash, cus a) that can cause problems supposedly and b) it takes forever.
Does anyone know how I can do this?
It is currently sitting in my trash, but I haven't actually deleted it from there yet.
Thanks

The issue is that it may take days for the removal to occur if it occurs at all mainly because the backup contains a disc image file with all the data then a bunch of incremental backups that contain some files and some hard links. The system has a real problem when it tries to delete a file that is pointed to by a link but the file is stuck inside an unmountable disc image.
Trust me. Erasing the volume is your only safe bet.

Can I delete this random time machine backup?

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