Can't copy time machine folder

Hi,
I had to format the hd where I have time machine, so I copy the tm folder to a new folder in other external hard drive.
Now that I format the 1st external hd I trying to copy the tm folder to the root of the formated hd, but after a long wait I get a message saying that there is enought space...
How can solve thia ?
How can I copy that big folder faster, is there any other way ?
Thanks!

I've been doing a bit of experimentation -- sorry to say, it looks like you're out of luck.
I can explain what is happening, but am not entirely sure why.
It's the result of the rather unusual structure of Time Machine backups. The first backup copies everything. On all subsequent backups, only the items that changed are copied. But "hard links" are made to the items that did not change, so each backup appears to be a full one. See Hard Links in How Time Machine works its Magic for a better explanation.
Ordinarily when you copy the Backups.backupdb folder, those "hard links" are copied correctly -- there's still only one copy of the unchanged files, but multiple hard links to them.
Once the Backups.backupdb folder is moved from the top level of the drive (apparently), the copy doesn't work properly -- instead of copying the hard links, the actual files are copied. So if there are 3 backups, all containing hard links to the same unchanged version of a file, the file will be copied 3 times instead of once. Since few files change from one backup to the next, there will be lots of these, and the copied folder will be many times the size of the original.
That always happened on Leopard, but the Finder was rewritten effective with Snow Leopard so it wouldn't do that. Apparently it only works properly now if the Backups.backupdb folder is at the top level of the drive, not inside another folder.
So, your best bet is to let Time Machine start fresh on the reformatted drive. Keep the old backups as long as you think you may need them. You won't be able to restore from them via Time Machine, but you will be able to copy selected items from them via the Finder (but you may have permissions problems with them). If space is a problem, you can delete some of the individual date-stamped backup folders.

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Can't copy Time Machine backups to new hard drive

The external HD with the Time Machine files is unusable (it can't be written to). Disk Utilities reports missing/damaged nodes and recommends copying all files to a new volume and erasing the HD. I got a brand new HD and began copying the contents. I was able to transfer all the regular files but when I tried to copy the Time Machine files, I got this message: "The backup can't be copied because the backiup volume doesn't have ownership enabled."
I want to use the new HD as the TM volume and continue with the same sequence of backups. How can I enable the ownership soI can copy the files?
Thanks

Michael Brady wrote:
I want to use the new HD as the TM volume and continue with the same sequence of backups.
You can't.
Time Machine backups use a complex structure; everything is intricately linked together. If that structure is damaged, as yours is, they can't be copied successfully.
If you have a copy of +Disk Warrior+ or another heavy-duty 3rd-party disk repair app, it's possible it can repair the backups. DW is about $100, and probably a good investment for the future, but there's no guarantee it can fix the backups.
And it's not a good idea to mix other data with your backups. 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).

Can't copy Time Machine

I bought a larger Time Machine hard drive and now I need to copy the old Backups.backupdb file onto the new drive.
Whenever I try to do so it gives the message "The backup can’t be copied because the backup volume doesn’t have ownership enabled.".
How, exactly, do I "enable ownership"?

Select the drive in question. Press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom you should see a checked box labeled, Ignore ownership on ..... Uncheck the box.
BTW, the proper method for moving an old Time Machine backup to a new drive is by using Disk Utility to clone the old backup drive to the new one.
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag
it to the Destination entry field.
5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
the Source entry field.
6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the New backup drive. Source means the Old backup drive.

Can't copy Time Machine "Backups.backupdb" to another drive.

My external Time Machine backup drive now displays this message every time I connect it to my Mac.
Mac OS X can't repair the disk "Backup Drive"
You can still open or copy files on the disk, but you can’t save changes to files on the disk. Back up the disk and reformat it as soon as you can.
Since this is a Time Machine drive, I found these instructions here -- Time Machine: How to transfer backups from the current backup drive to a new backup drive -- that say to copy the Backups.backupdb to a new drive.
Every time I do this, the process gets to about 150,000 files then crashes my Mac. Sometimes it's a grey screen with words telling me to hold the Power Button down to force a reboot. Sometimes it just crashes and reboots itself.
I've repaired disk permissions and it keeps happening.
How do I copy Backups.backupdb to a new drive when the process keeps crashing my Mac?

Try using one of the clone apps to copy. It's possible the drive is too damaged and the files will not copy.
Both of these applications can be used to create a clone.
SuperDuper! http://www.shirt-pocket.com/
CCC http://www.bombich.com/download.html

How can I copy Time Machine's backup files?

I recently bought a new external HD for my iMac, a 'LaCie d2 Quadra' with 320GB. I currently have a 'LaCie Brick' of 80GB which I use for Time Machine.
My question is: how can I copy the backup files from the Brick to the Quadra drive; then turn the Quadra into the new Time machine drive and reformat the Brick?
Is this possible, or are my backup files doomed?
Unfortunately I can't keep the Brick (I promised to give it to my sister), so having two Time Machine drives isn't an option.
Who can help me out?

It is possible as described at
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071128055047339
and read the comments as well.
Also make sure you do think about the difference between backing up (back up of the main hard drive) versus archiving (saving important data, usually off line). With backup, if you delete the data on the main hard drive, it will eventually be gone on the back up as well, when the 'old space' gets reused. You'll get a notification as this starts to happen, but over a long time period when the backup volume starts to fill up, this will happen.
All important files should be archived. Everything should be at least 'backed up.'

Manually copy Time Machine folder

I have a 2TB Time Machine drive that has failed (directory errors). Disk Utility, Disk Warrior and Data Rescue 3 didn't work. DR3 showed the directory but can't restore it. Can I manually restore the backup folder (backups.backupdb) ?

No. Time Machine doesn't make simple file by file backups. It would be easier to erase the backup drive and start over. You could possibly recover stuff using recovery software:
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as MAC Data Recovery, Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive. Two free alternatives are Disk Drill and TestDisk. Look for them and demos at MacUpdate or CNET Downloads. Recovery software usually provide trial versions that enable you to determine if the software would help before actually paying for it. Beyond this or if the drive has completely failed, then you would need to send the drive to a recovery service which is very expensive.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

Mountain Lion Mail - Can't see time machine recovered mailboxes

If anyone can please help!
Somehow upgrading to mountain lion I lost mail. I recovered these from time-machine. For a while I could see them in the left-most pane under a heading called Time Machine. But in archiving some old content this folder-header (like iCloud or on your mac) disappeared. I know that the mail is still there as I can search for it. Weirder still, if I create a new mail-box I can see a Time Machine folder under 'on your mac'. I just can't get to the mail! The screen-shot below shows two folders (one containing all my recovered mail sub-folders) in the 'create a new mailbox drop-down' but only one in the left-pane under 'on my mac'.
I really need to be able to use this mail; sort of why I backed it up....

Same problem here. After hitting the Restore-button in Time Machine to restore an e-mail, Time Machine is supposed to make a folder in Mail with the recoverd mail(s), but doesn't. Accessing by doing a search doesn't always lead to the restored file.
Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.2

How can I force Time Machine to make a complete backup of my Hard Drive. I just installed a new external drive for Backup since my previous one failed. Now when I back up, Time Machine only backs up my data folder and the Users folder.

How can I force Time Machine to make a complete backup of my Hard Drive. I just installed a new external drive for Backup since my previous one failed. Now when I back up, Time Machine only backs up my data folder and the Users folder.
When I start a backup. Time Machine says "Oldest Backup: None; Latest Backup: None", so it seems like it should do a complete backup, but it only does a partial.

Hi I'd like to jump in here. Your app showed me this:
Time Machine:
          Skip System Files: NO
          Mobile backups: OFF
          Auto backup: YES
          Volumes being backed up:
                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 749.3 GB Disk used: 453.81 GB
          Destinations:
                    Plastic Wrapper [Local] (Last used)
                    Total size: 999.86 GB
                    Total number of backups: 64
                    Oldest backup: 2013-07-24 23:25:11 +0000
                    Last backup: 2013-11-17 01:40:47 +0000
                    Size of backup disk: Too small
                              Backup size 999.86 GB < (Disk used 453.81 GB X 3)
          Time Machine details may not be accurate.
          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
          /sbin excluded from backup!
          /usr excluded from backup!
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          /bin excluded from backup!
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Aside from the size of my backup drive, which I will increase at some point, I'd really like to have time machine backing up all system folders, especially Applications. How to I reset this hidden exclusions?
Thanks,
Darcy

Copying Time Machine Backup

hi
i'm transferring Bacckups.backupdb to a new external hardrive - however, when I copy over the file structure is disrupted
So on the original drive everything is correct file structure... Backups.backupdb/MyMacbookPro/x14 dated folders
after copying to a new drive 3 of the dated folders are in the correct place and the other 11 (including 'Latest' folder) are sitting in the directory above
like this Backups.backupdb/MyMacbookPro + x11 dated folders/x3 dated folders
When opening up Time Machine it only sees those 3 dates and there seems no way of transferring the folders
i've tried an number of different things, anybody have any further suggestions?

Although the documentation says you can copy Time Machine backups in the Finder, it's very slow and sometimes doesn't work at all.
First, open the Time Machine preference pane and click the Options button. You may have to unlock the settings first by clicking the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window. Authenticate as an administrator.
Delete the volume you're going to copy from the list of backup destinations. Then turn Time Machine OFF.
Launch Disk Utility, open the built-in help, and search for the term "Duplicate." Follow the instructions. All existing data on the destination volume will be erased. That shouldn't be a problem, because you don't want to mix backup and non-backup data on the same drive anyway.
In the TM preference pane, select the new volume as a backup destination.

Can I use Time Machine/Capsule more simply?

Every month, I plug in my external backup hard drive, delete all files from the last time I did a backup, and then copy my {user name} folder from my Mac to the hard drive. It takes awhile but serves my needs.
I would use Time Machine/Capsule if could be configured to be simple.
1) I don't need all the program files off my laptop, just my data (I can always re-install apps).
2) I don't need incremental backups (i.e. see the state of a file 3 months ago vs 2 months ago); I just need the last one I backed up.
Can I configure Time Machine/Capsule to do just this simply? I'm all about using Apple programs but would need it to be simple.
Thanks.

rcook349 wrote:
That makes no sense to me. I just want to back up my data folder
Why? Why not let Time Machine back up your entire system? That's what it was designed to do, and will protect you best that way. Yes, the first backup will copy everything, so it will take a long time (connect your Mac to the TC via an Ethernet cable if at all possible for this).
But thereafter, TM's hourly backups of only what's new or changed should be very quick.
Then when your internal HD fails, one simple step will recover your entire system to the exact condition it was in at the time of any backup (see #14 in the FAQ Tip below).
And the configuration is a one-time process, and quite simple.
You might want to review these:
Time Machine Tutorial
Time Machine 101
How to back up and restore your files
Time Machine Features
Apple - Support - Mac OSX v10.5 Leopard Time Machine
and perhaps browse the Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.

MAC OS 10.7 Trying to Delete from TRASH Time Machine FOLDER (file)

Trying to delete time machine Folder(files) from TRASH. even used secure option, goes through ok. but will not delete from TRASH. files delete from
Time Machine Drive ok, deletion gives you more space on TM DRIVE Time Machine runs ok, How to Delete the Folder (Files) From TRASH?

Hello Mtaff,
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
For more information, take a look at:
You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1526
press Shift-Option or Option key combination while emptying the Trash
Have a nice day,
Mario

How can I use time machine to back up and play media?

I just bought an external hard drive that I wanted to back up some media files onto (music and photos). I also want to stove videos/movies on the hard drive and play them from there. A few questions:
1. Is that the same as backing up with time machine or is it referred to as something else?
2. Can I use time machine to add new files, or should I do that manually?
3. Once the files are on my hard drive, can I remove them from my computer or should I keep them there?
I know that these questions may seem obvious, but I'm concerned about losing files because I don't understand what time machine actually does. Please feel free to ask me questions if you need to understand my question better. Thanks!

Time Machine makes a backup of your hard drive, which you can restore from, but not use as a repository of data.
Time Machine automatically makes incremental backups as you change things on the Mac HD.
Time Machine is not an archive, meaning if you make a backup, and then delete the originals from your Mac, Time Machine will eventually delete the copies it has made.
However, if you copy the files directly to the external, then you can remove them from the computer. But, those will be your only copies. If that disk dies, they'll be gone. So, that's really not a backup. It's the only source.
You can back up to Time Machine and also store other files on the same disk.

How can I use time machine to recover my iWeb09 files?

I read that iWeb stores one's website pages in the domain folder which can be located at ~/Library/Application Support/iWeb. Can I use time machine to recover my iWeb09 files? If so, how? -I tried. I entered my Time Machine back up, and went back in time and brought the domain file forward but it opened only my current site pages, not the ones I am trying to recover. And it says the Domain file was last modified in October 2007 which is crazy because I've been using iWeb a lot and have published many pages. It seems like the uncorrupted pages, which I am trying to recover, existed somewhere on my computer at one point in time and space, less than a week ago, becuse I just published my site to a new hosting service since Apple will soon stop web hosting. So why can I not find them using time machine?

I continued searching and read another person's advise to down load an app named "Find File," then search for .sites. She said spotlight doesn't always find all files. So I did and sure enough, when I searched for .sites I found another Domain package, which I have no idea how it was created but which, it ends up, was the one actually being used by iWeb. So I went to that package then did the time machine and went back to before my web pages became corrupted. I had to delete corrupt blog pages out of my website menu to get iWeb to upload the other page changes even to a local folder.
So I went to that newly found Domain, went back in time, then brought that forward and as you pointed out the domain package had the parts of the pages, the files and jpegs, but not the structure/layout of the pages. So, I guess I gave up on finding the old pages.
Those pages still exist on the Apple hosting server but iWeb doesn't not reverse publication. Cyberduck would bring back the files and bits and peices but again not the pages as a total entity. I'm preparing for the end of Apple website hosting (next month?) and am republishing my old site. I decided to use a new domain name. So my entire original site is still totally intact on the web under the original domain name, on my mobile me site, I guess it will be there till sometime in June?
My problems started when I tried to publish my website to the new server. It just would not publish the whole website in one session. So I decided to do it a few pages at a time. Some pages went up, but as I added more, for some unknown reason the, blog pages, (about 70 subpages), which had aleardy uploaded just fine to the new server, became corrupt and locked up iWeb. Of course once I deleted the corrupt pages I didn't want to continue publishing the site to the host until I found and reinserted uncorrupted pages, knowing publishing changes would delete the already published pages.
At first I thought it was the hosting server's fault, but when I discovered that it wouldn't publish even to a local fold I was able to locate the cause within iWeb, deleted those pages then tested by publishing to a local folder. iWeb worked locally, so I knew I had found the problem pages. Well this is way more than you wanted to know. Thanks for your advise but I'll just start the blogging pages over.

How to share more than one Time Machine folder

Hi,
With Snow Leo Server I found how to find how to share more than one Time Machine Folder but I can't see how to do the same with Lion Server, could you help me with that ?
The goal of that is to offer one TM folder per user which is located on a dedicated partition in order to limit the size of TM backups per user (150Gig).
In Lion, in can only share one TM folder for everybody and I didn'tfind if I can set a limit size per user...
Thank you in advance,

I have figured out a way to enable multiple backup targets.
However, it's one of these things I wouldn't want to describe to anyone except true programmer types, because everyone else has a 90%+ chance of messing up their system if they do something wrong.
It involves turning off file sharing, and then editing the plist files in /private/var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/sharepoints/
The gist of it is this:
a) first create all the share points you later want to use for TimeMachine, and set them up for afp-only file sharing, also create one TM target, which you can either use later, or have there so the system has one entry it knows how to handle. I just made a bogus one that I'm not actively using.
b) turn off file sharing in Server.app
c) turn off TimeMachine in Server.app
d) now you can edit the files, the easiest is with Xcode, so you may want to install that first
e) for each sharpoint you made in a) there will be a corresponding .plist file in the location indicated, these are the files that need to be edited.
f) for each of these files
     1) the item0 string property in the timeMachineBackup array must be switched from 0 to 1
     2) a new key of type array with the name timeMachineBackupUUID must be created
     3) in the newly created array an item of type string must be placed with the value of a UUID, which can be created with the shell command uuidgen
g) make sure all the edited plist files are saved
h) turn on TimeMachine in the Server.app again
If all went well, you now should be able to go to one of your networked client computers and see all the time machine share points just created as options for being a time machine target.
Anyway, if you go that route: be careful, don't blame me if you muck things up...

Can I use Time Machine to back files on an External Hard Drive

My MacBook Pro hard drive filled up with movies, pictures, and music, so I bought a 2TB Time Capsule. I have a external hard drive that is about the same capacity as my MacBook hard drive. Sine the Time Capsule is by far the largest drive I have, I moved all my movies, music, and pictures to the Time Capsule and am using it as an external hard drive. I attached a 500GB external hard drive to the Time Capsule and I use that as the backup drive for Time Machine. However, the problem I am encountering is that I can't seem to direct Time Machine to include all of my files on my Time Capsule in the back up on to the other external hard drive.
Can I use Time Machine to backup data that I store on my Time Capsule to a external hard drive? If not, what is hte best method for backing up my files that are on my Time Capsule?
Thanks,
David

You need to use a different utility .. eg CCC or Chronosync to backup from the TC to yet another drive.. the problem is, that drive should be connected to the computer.. if you use a USB drive on the TC.. the file copying will be slow as slow as you will not believe.. all files are copied to the computer, then back to the TC.. it cannot copy directly to the TC..
As Neil said.. one way or another you need to use an external drive on the computer, even if you don't use it all the time.. the danger of course is not doing regular backups.. and forgetting their importance.
A true NAS will have automated backup incrementally of the files stored.. The TC is not a NAS in that sense.. it is a backup target for TM above and beyond anything else.

Can't copy time machine folder

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