Can you delete Time Machine preferences

see my other question about time machine just spinning... I'm wondering if the preferences are corrupt? lf so, what happens if I delete them?

thanks. I've been burned when deleting Apple Mail preferences, so hesistated to do this with time machine.

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How can I delete time machine back up from my computer hard drive

How can I delete time machine back up from my computer hard drive?

How to Delete a Time Machine Backup - YouTube
If you want to remove an entire Time Machine backup on a backup drive, then the easiest way to do that is to erase the backup drive using Disk Utility. However, this will delete everything on the disk:
Drive Erase Snow Leopard and Earlier
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
If you are preparing an external or a non-startup drive, then open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select the volume you wish to format 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.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.

Can you use time machine on a networked hard drive

Can you use time machine on a networked hard drive?

See if this helps: Using Time Machine with a networked hard drive

Can you ask time machine to back up on command instead of waiting?

Can you ask time machine to back up on command instead of waiting for time machine to back-up on next back-up time?

ctrl (or right) click the TM icon in the Dock and say "Back up Now" is one way.
ctrl (or right) click the Backup Disk icon in the Finder and say "Back up Now" is another
This will give you an 'extra backup' as the regularly scheduled next backup will still take place.

Can you use time machine to back up an external hard drive?

I haven't used Time Machine so far and setting it up now.
Because my retina MBP has the limited hard drive size of 500GB, I'll be using a 2TB G-Tech hard drive as external hard drive.
I'll be partitioning it, 500 GB for the MBP as a time machine back-up, the rest as a hard drive for photography RAW files.
Can I set up time machine to back up the larger partition (the one with the RAW files) to a second external hard drive? Or does Time Machine only handle back-up from the main computer hard drive?
thanks!

Try reviewing this information.
Time Machine FAQ
You will definitely need more than 500 GB to use Time Machine - see question 1.
Time Machine works with the main hard drive and any locally attached storage, but I don't know of any way to make it backup the second partition without resetting the Time Machine Preferences. You can do that with a cloning program.
Clone - Carbon Copy Cloner
Clone – Data Backup
Clone – Deja Vu
Clone - SuperDuper
Clone Software – 6 Applications Tested
Two backups are better than one. Drives do fail.

How can I delete time machine backup folders moved into the trash from an external drive?

I made the mistake of moving Time Machine backup files into the trash, but I can't seem to delete them. I tried the option key when clicking on "Empty Trash" and "Secure Empty Trash" (before and after rebooting), but that always led to error 8003. The files won't allow me to change their name. Using approchaes to Terminal from three different Mac-related webpages also failed. I also tried Trash It, but it seemed to be making little progress after letting it run 48 hours. Any other suggestions before calling Apple?

Assuming these were not backups made over a network (thus not in a sparse bundle disk image), see #E6 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
But any way you empty the trash on that disk/partition is probably going to take a very long time -- there's no doubt several hundred thousand files there, perhaps a million or more.
You may have to just erase the disk (with Disk Utility) and start over.
You really shouldn't have to delete Time Machine backups, as it will do that automatically when the destination gets full. But if you really want to, see #12 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

Can't open time machine preferences

I just did a clean install of Lion on my macbook pro. I used migration assistant to pull most things over, but not everything. I was going to go into Time Machine to pull out a few documents, when I encountered this error message. I clicked on Open Time Machine Preferences and got: An unexpected error occurred (error code -6584). Does anyone know what this means?

Snowmeister wrote:
"iMovie cannot be opened because of a problem. Check with the developer to make sure iMovie works with this version of Mac OSX. You may need to reinstall the application" - this doesn't make sense, as I have reinstalled OS X)?
Are you re-installing from the original grey DVDs that came with your Mac, or from a retail SL installer? The retail version doesn't include iLife.
The OE discs should have iLife on disc 2, so if that's what you're using you can re-install from there.
As to what CleanMyMac has done, I don't know. To alter the apparent processor signature seems very odd. Maybe some of the other guys around here can come up with a theory.
Cleaning caches is totally unnecessary unless there's a specific problem to address; caches are there to help speed up the Mac. If you clear them, you slow down the Mac until all the various applications and processes have rebuilt their respective caches.
Removing language files can be tricky too. Remove the wrong ones and the System will cease to boot.
Likewise for fonts.
Logs are mostly harmless to clear, but they are there for a purpose too; to help you find the source of problems. In any case, the daily maintenance task built in to the OS does all that's needed in that regard.
Could be that one of those logs may have been able to tell you what that junk did.
Applications > Utilities > Console
Loads of logs in there.

Can you assign Time Machine to back up ONLY the starup drive?

MacPro Desktops. OS 10.5.7 and 10.5.8. I want Time Machine only to back up the startup drive. We do have other internal hard drives and also an external RAID on these machines that all contain audio/video data only, and we back these up separately to various client external drives that are then stored in our office. Can this be done? Thanks!

yes, you can add those other drives to TM's exclusion list in TM system preferences->options. drives attached to the computer for the first time are placed on the exclusion list automatically.

Can't delete Time Machine Backup Files - Authentication Issue??

Using time machine on my 20" iMac, Leopard v10.5.2 with no issues on an external Firewire 800 drive. When I go to the Time Machine view and choose a file, then the gears icon at the top so I can "Delete all backup copies of this file", when I choose to do that it brings up an authentication window asking me for my admin password however it will not let me click or type in the dialog box (though I can choose the OK or Cancel buttons). Given that I can't authenticate I can't delete back files, any clues??
Thx.
JS

I have the exact same problem, so your not alone.
When you select a file, and then delete all backups of this file, you get asked to authenticate, but aside from being able to click any of the buttons, it will not allow you to enter a name and password.
I first thought this may be due to the text not being visable, but even when entering the correct admin username and password, still nothing happens. All your able to do is click cancel to get out of the time machine area.
Clicking OK just gets a wrong password entered message.
I've tried doing a permissions repair and a disk util check, all is fine. Even techtool pro 4.6 checks out fine.

Can you use Time Machine to...

Back up and restore a system?
I'm planning on backing up my hard drive so I can reformat and reinstall os x... is time machine the correct way to back up my data to use when I reinstall, or is it intended to be just for retrieving lost files, etc... if so what's the best method of backing up my stuff? Hope that makes sense...

Qdelta wrote:
Okay thanks, that sounds like a plan... my HD is 250gb, and the time machine backup is 140gb or so, so plenty of room if I make say, a 30-40gb windows partition I guess...
yes, that should be fine.
And I think it'd be better to use time machine because I've already got everything backed up with it, and also I wouldn't feel as safe using third party software... especially if it was a trial version or something.
safety is exactly why I prefer the cloning method.
those programs are not trial. both superduper and CCCloner are very reliable programs and people trust them a lot more than they do TM. I certainly do. TM on the other hand is still extremely buggy. if something goes wrong with the restore from TM process you have nothing to fall back on as the old internal drive is already erased. the chances of that with the cloning method are basically nil. and even if the cloning process fails you still have your original drive intact.

Can't start Time Machine - Preferences stops responding

I've set up a Time Capsule.
It's connected by cable to my modem/router to extend the network, the setup went OK and it seems to be working fine but I can't carry out a backup. It doesn't matter whether I'm connected wirelessly or via ethernet.
When I switch on Time machine I just get the rainbow spinning disk and Preferences not responding. No matter how long I leave it. In the end I always have to force quit Preferences.
In Finder the time capsule shows up under SHARED not DEVICES.
Have tried resetting etc but to no effect. Am I missing something out here?

Bob
Thanks for responding - see answers below.
What is the setting for Wireless Mode?
Create a wireless network
What is the setting for Connection Sharing?
Off (Bridge Mode)
The time capsule is working fine to "increase" my wireless network. I know that the setting isn't "extend a wireless network". I can turn off the wireless access on my Sky Netgear modem/router and my iMac connects to the internet through the Time Capsule which is connected to the Sky modem/router by cable. I think this part of my set up is fine.
I might be wrong.
What I can't do is get Time Machine to run a backup whether connected by ethernet or wirelessly. As soon as I slide the Time Machine switch across I get the spinning rainbow disk and then nothing happens. No matter how long I wait the message through Activity Monitor or Apple | Force Quit is System Preferences (not responding).
I can copy files and folders to the Data Folder on the Time Capsule so presumably the disk is not at fault. Perhaps something is wrong with Time Machine and I need to reinstall or perhaps I haven't set it up correctly- I just don't know.
Jean

Can you use Time Machine to find Web sites?

I am hoping I can use Time Machine can get me into a website I visited last month. This website (a museum website in China) is now blocked due to a 403 error. Any ideas on how to do this would be appreciated.
MMH

Hello Marcia:
I thought about your question for awhile (intriguing).
Anyway, something you might try.
Go to your home folder ~library>safari. Highlight the history plist. Restore it from a TM backup that predates your visit. For good measure (although I do no know what it does, I would restore a file called historyindex.sk.
That may or may not work, but it is worth a shot.
As always, be sure you have a backup before you do anything that is software-related.
Barry

Can you use time machine without using the airport router

Can you use the time machine and not the airport router?

Time Machine is software on your Mac computer that allows it to back up the data on the Mac to another hard drive.
More detals here: Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac - Apple Support
A Time Capsule is a wireless router with a built-in hard drive that is desgined to store Time Machine backups from a Mac computer.
More details here: AirPort Time Capsule
Please provide more details on what it is that you want to do.
What devices will connect to what other devices on your network? How will they connect? Wireless? Wired?

Can you restore Time Machine to any Intel based Mac?

I have a bet with a friend on this one.
If you have a full Time Machine backup of your Intel based Mac and your Mac breaks down, can you use your Time Machine to restore the full system to any other Intel based Mac? Or is your Time Machine backup specific to the computer model you were using?
Similarly, if you are running your Intel based Mac off of an external drive (like a portable USB drive), can you carry that drive with you and boot any other Intel based Mac off of it, so you can, for example, use the same system at work and at home?
Thanks,
doug

If you have a full Time Machine backup of your Intel based Mac and your Mac breaks down, can you use your Time Machine to restore the full system to any other Intel based Mac? Or is your Time Machine backup specific to the computer model you were using?
The backup is specific to one particular computer, not just a computer of the same model. You can use Migration Assistant on a different computer to get all your user accounts and data onto another computer if that computer already has OSX installed.
Similarly, if you are running your Intel based Mac off of an external drive (like a portable USB drive), can you carry that drive with you and boot any other Intel based Mac off of it, so you can, for example, use the same system at work and at home?
Not always. It won't work on a Mac that shipped with an OSX more recent than that on the USB drive. Also there are some OSX updates that install only on certain hardware, so you my want to run Softwae Update when you move the USB drive to a different Mac.

Can you configure Time Machine to backup external HDD's too

I have my "stuff" on 3 separate external HDDS - 1 for photos (50GB), 1 for Music (140GB) and 1 for VIDEO (350GB).
I want to buy a 2TB drive as a backup drive and have time machine manange this so that the MAC and the 3 external drives are all backed up to this 2TB drive.
Is this possible with TIMEMACHINE and secondly, even if it is, is there a better 3rd party application for managing this?
Thanks for any help

TM does back up directly attached external drives that are formatted as Mac OS Extended, but you must specifically include them. I think they are excluded by default in the Options… area of TM Prefs.
You can always find something better depending on how you frame the criteria. You should always have more than one backup of the items you describe, with at least one off-site. As drive prices have dropped significantly, this is more a reality for the home users as compared to corporate endeavors.
There are several programs that work well for that. Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper both have the benefit of being able to make an bootable clone of your startup drive--nice feature if your boot drive fails. They are also starting to make Fire Safes with a USB drive inside for backup. I believe Retrospect Backup is still around, also.
I've heard of people who swap drives for TM so that they get two backup sets, but I haven't tried that. Mostly, I back up the pictures to iPhoto Libraries on DVD.
Cloud backup services are starting to gain steam. Carbonite, Mozy, DropBox… These all scare me as I don't have physical control of the media--but that might be a good thing.

Can you delete Time Machine preferences

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