Compressing Time Machine backup folder and burning to DVD

Can I compress the backup folder and burn to a DVD disc?
Most people seem to assume that an external hard drive won't fail and so keeping all files backed up to it is a good thing. Surprise - external HDDs fail also.
I'd really like to have compressed back ups on a DVD in order to have 3 locations with my files.

It would have to be a pretty small backup to fit on a DVD. You won't likely find too much benefit from compressing the data because much of it is in binary form that is most likely not going to reduce much if at all.
A single DL DVD can hold 8 GBs. If you have just OS X installed that will require 16 GBs less whatever you may save compressing the data. Personally, I would not risk compressing the data since that could prove just as problematic or more so than keeping it on a hard drive. Furthermore, if you want more than 5 years storage life out of the DVDs, then you have to avoid the stuff they sell at places like Office Depot which have a relatively short shelf life.
If you need to use more than one DVD, then you need a backup utility designed to span a backup across multiple media. Your choices are somewhat limited: Retrospect, Apple's Backup (requires a .Mac account to download and use,) and possible Tri-Backup (but I am not sure about it.)
Or you can buy several hard drives of suitable size, make multiple backup copies to each drive, store one in a vault off-site. Rotate your weekly and monthly backups to the other drives and once every quarter rotate the off-site drive. The chance of all the drives failing at once is pretty small.

Similar Messages

Time Machine: Backup folder changing size when connected to different computers

Can someone please help me wrap my head around why the size of my Time Machine backup folder changes when connected to different computers? I tried to be as thorough as possible. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this.
I made a backup of my one laptop (MacBook Pro running 10.6.8) before installing Mavericks. The backup folder size is 258.56 GB and it is on a 1TB WD external. There are no other computers backed up in this folder.
Last night, I tried to copy the backup folder to another 1TB WD external and ran into the “you can’t do that” message. After some researching, I came across articles explaining how Time Machine handles HDs and, in order for me to copy my backup folder, the drive I want to copy the folder to needs to have the “Ignore ownership on this volume” deselected.
Okay, so here is my situation: I have the “Ignore ownership on this volume” deselected and journaling is correct on the drive I want to copy the backup folder to. So I can continue working on my laptop, I want to use a different computer to copy the backup folder from one HD to the other. The problem I’m having is each computer I own is showing me a different backup folder size O.o.
(1) The computer I want to use – a Power Mac G5 Quad running 10.4.11 (non intel) – is showing a backup folder size of 592.7 MB, but the HD shows there is 258 GB being used. When I drag copy, I only get a 592.7 MB backup folder. For some reason, the backup folder is the only folder acting this way. I compared other folders from the same and different externals and all the sizes match up perfectly no matter the computer they were connected to. How is this possible?
(2) My second option - Mac Pro (early 2009) running 10.9.4 – is showing a 256.15 GB backup folder size. Very close, but not 258.56 GB.
(3) My last option is to use the computer I’m trying to stay away from, the MacBook Pro running 10.6.8. This is the computer I backed up and is showing me the correct folder size = 258.56GB. As I mentioned, I'd like to work on my laptop while copying the backup folder using one of my other computers.
I am able to drag and drop from each computer, but the folder size depends on the computer I’m using. I don’t understand why I can't do a simple drag and drop of a 258 GB folder.
Many thanks!!

The directory files that you are seeing are not real. They are links to the actual backup files that are stored in a hidden directory on the drive. If you were to look at the same drive on a pc, you would see the folders and you would a list files that are in the folders but the files would all be 0 byte files and Windows will tell you the file is empty because there is nothing there but a link which Windows does not understand.
So the point is you can't just copy the backupd files. The best solution that I know of (and maybe someone else will chime in) for copying them is to mirror the drive with something like Carbon Copy or some other program.
See this site for more information about time machine and how it works: http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

Limit Time Machine Backups Folder Size?

It there a way to limit the size of the Time Machine backups folder? I have 100GB of data on my MacBook's drive that TM is backing up to a 500GB external drive. In 18 months the backups folder has grown to 375GB. I'd prefer not to have to get another drive in 6 months, so can I put a limit on this somehow?

Roast Beef wrote:
It there a way to limit the size of the Time Machine backups folder? I have 100GB of data on my MacBook's drive that TM is backing up to a 500GB external drive. In 18 months the backups folder has grown to 375GB. I'd prefer not to have to get another drive in 6 months, so can I put a limit on this somehow?
That's exactly how TM is designed. It will use all the space assigned to it for backups.
You won't have to get a new drive in 6 months. Just un-check the +Warn when old backups are deleted+ box in TM Preferences > Options, and when the disk gets almost full, TM will automatically delete your oldest backups to make room for new ones.
Or, if you want to use part of that drive for other things, you can make a second partition for the other data. See item #6 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum. It tells you how to add a TM partition to a disk that already has data on it, but the procedure is the same.
Just don't put important data on that other partition without backing it up some other way.

Deleting Time Machine backup folder from external drive

I'm trying to delete my Time Machine backup folder off my external hard drive, but the system won't let me because it says [my computer name] folder is in use, when it clearly isn't; I've turned off Time Machine and deselected my drive as backup.
Additionally, it takes about an hour for my trash bin to count the number of folders it needs to delete, and only after this does it say it is unable to delete these folders.
How can I delete my backup folder?

This is a picture of my Disk Utility display showing my internal drive (labeled 750.16 GB...... & below it the name ROBESPIERRE). Below that is an external drive I have connected (labeled 160.04 GB..... & below it the name untitled).
Note that the external HDD, 160.04 GB...... entry has been selected (shown in blue). That will open the 'Partition' window. If you select on the name, the 'Partition' window will not be an option.
Make certain that you have selected the correct entry.
Ciao.

Is it possible to move a Time Machine backup folder?

I have been using Time Machine with an external drive connected to my iMac via FireWire. Today I connected the external drive to my network using my AirPort Extreme via the USB port. The drive is no longer directly connected to my iMac
When I setup my Time Machine to back to the new drive location, it created a new backup set.
Question: would it have been possible for me to move my old time machine backup folder someplace so that I could continue backing up rather than having to create a new backup folder?

no, you can't do it. remote backups use sparse bundles and directly attached ones don't. you'll have to start a new backup sequence to back up remotely.

Freeing up space from time machine backup folder

can i just throw away some of the middle folders in time machines backup folder to free up some space? Each of those folders says its holding multiple gigs of data, which they are obviously not.
Throwing one of them away won't incite time machine to discard the originals, will it?

l_elephant wrote:
can i just throw away some of the middle folders in time machines backup folder to free up some space? Each of those folders says its holding multiple gigs of data, which they are obviously not.
Throwing one of them away won't incite time machine to discard the originals, will it?
That could result in a veritable disaster. You stand the chance of corrupting the entire TM database, rendering it useless. Never do anything directly in any of the TM folders or backups. Always use TM itself.
The proper way to remove TM backups is with TM.
Select an item and click the gear in the Finder. You have many choices including deleting all instances of a file or folder.
When TM determines that it needs more room, it properly deletes old files and folders, without any user intervention. It "knows" how to do this.
If you need more room on the HD for other purposes, I suggest using SuperDuper to clone your TM backup onto a larger drive.
Message was edited by: nerowolfe

HT201250 Can I take my time machine backup drive and put in on another iMac

Can I take my time machine backup drive and put in on another iMac

Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC

How do I copy the Time Machine backup folder to another folder? (Mac 10.7.5)

Short version: I like to make an initial backup of my Mac OS before I start installing stuff...just in case I need to get back to square one down the road. I travel as a freelancer for work, so every couple of months, I'm on a new rented system. But I need to move that initial backup folder to a sub-folder so that I can continue to run TM without ever deleting anything from that initial backup. When I go to move or copy it to another folder or drive, it tells me I don't have permission. How do I get permission to move it?
I've tried changing the permissions on the folder itself... It won't let me select any other users, and admins are not on the "write" list. No dice.
Any ideas?
I'm on a Mac Pro 8-core
MacPro3,1
OS 10.7.5
Thanks!

Yeah, sorry...but there doesn't seem to be a "Time Machine" forum anywhere, this was the closest I could find. I could have posted in OS 10.7 forum...but I was worried the traffic would be much lighter there. If I should move my question there, I will.
Ok, so my Time Machine has backed up to my external drive which I have split into two separate partitions. I do not have automatic backups on. I just ran it once to get the "footprint" before I start to alter things to my needs. I'd like to compress and put away the backup on that first partition as sort of a general "back to square one" backup. I chose to use Time Machine because I can literally restore it back to all the original settings, etc. This is just a fire plan, but I really want to lock it off.
Then, I want to set my second partition on that same drive as my incremental Time Machine backup. That way, once I run out of space and it begins deleting the old stuff (and I will run out of space...I export several hundred gigs of video files per day), I can always retain that initial backup.
The problem is, when I go to move that backup....AFTER I've pointed Time Machine to the new partition...or any other drive for that matter... It tells me that either the folder doesn't have "ownership rights" or it simply "cannot do that." (I'll snag you a screen grab next time I'm by it if you want.)
So, how do I get it to move where I want it so that I can make a new one?

Time Machine backup folder trashed

I've screwed up. I sent my Time Machine Backups.backupdb folder to the trash.
Fortunately, I caught the error and didn't empty the Trash and dump the folder. But then instead of using "Put Back" I copied it out of Trash to the HDD and now have two folders: Backups. and RETRIEVED… but the Backups folder is empty and the RETRIEVED folder has an odd string of folders: HDD> iMac > 2011-08-08-000744 and 2011-08-09-124425 both of which have >HD > System >Library > Core Services> boot.efi
If I open Time Machine I see a full backup but only for the last day and I can't go back any further.
I still show a Backups.backupdb folder in the trash, but I don't know what, if anything, to do with it. If I use "Put Back" I will then have 3 such folders. I'll survive losing the backup files because I have been duplicating most of my data files from the past several months on another HD 'just in case,' but I want to get this set up correctly.
Any guidance on what I did, how to fix it? Thanks,
Brian

azartguy wrote:
I've screwed up. I sent my Time Machine Backups.backupdb folder to the trash.
Fortunately, I caught the error and didn't empty the Trash and dump the folder.
You can't. Once removed from the Backups.backupdb folder, backup folders can't be put back:
Unless you need something from it, move the "Retrieved" folder to the trash and empty it (while holding the Alt/Option key).
Or, if there's nothing left on the drive (not a good idea to mix other stuff with Time Machine backups anyway), just erase it with Disk Utility.

More on the Time Machine backup folder issue

R C-R has a couple recent posts related to identifying the volume on which the current backup folder for Time Machine is located -- so other volumes can be safely unmounted. He developed a script that may be the best of all possible approaches and has asked forum members to test it in "Does this script work for you? (10.5 users only)". To date the responses have been positive.
I don't use 10.5 but figure that eventually I might. After R C-R's first post I wondered if the most recently modified backup folder might actually be the one he is looking for. Short of forcing Time Machine to do a backup just before running a script (I don't know how), there's no way (for me) to know whether the most recently modified backup folder is of any significance. But I had started fooling around with code to identify that folder and now have a script that seems to work nicely on a 10.4 mock-up of the Time Machine save scheme (or at least I think it is a mock-up). Of course, I find myself without a way to really test it.
SO: if anyone with 10.5 wants to give it a whirl, the questions are:
1) Does it run on 10.5?
2) Does it appear to return the name of the volume containing the most recently modified TM backup folder?
and
3) Is there any correlation between the volume name it returns and the result of R C-R's test script? (I won't be surprised if there isn't)
(BTW, through my own stupidity I encountered a number-comparison problem while writing the code, but other forum members quickly got me straightened out.)
--BEGIN (for me, the script runs in a fraction of a second)
set SI_ to system info
set CN_ to computer name of SI_
set IntList to {}
set VtrueList to {}
set VtrueList_par to "NONE!"
set minVol to "[Not Applicable]"
set Vlist to do shell script "ls /Volumes"
repeat with v_ from 1 to count paragraphs of Vlist
set VolName_ to paragraph v_ of Vlist
try
set SF_ to do shell script "ls /Volumes/'" & VolName_ & "'/Backups.backupdb"
if SF_ contains CN_ then
if VtrueList_par is "NONE!" then set VtrueList_par to ""
set Vtrue to VolName_
else
set Vtrue to ""
end if
tell application "Finder"
set IT_ to item ("" & Vtrue & ":Backups.backupdb:" & CN_)
set MD_ to modification date of IT_
end tell
set Interval_ to ((current date) - MD_)
if Vtrue is not "" then
set VtrueList to VtrueList & Vtrue as list
set VtrueList_par to VtrueList_par & Vtrue & return
end if
set IntList to IntList & Interval_ as list
end try
end repeat
try
set CI_ to count items of IntList
set MinInt_ to item 1 of IntList
repeat with i_ from 2 to CI_
set NextInt_ to item i_ of IntList
if MinInt_ > NextInt_ then set MinInt_ to NextInt_
end repeat
end try
repeat with q_ from 1 to CI_
set Int_ to (item q_ of IntList)
if Int_ = MinInt_ then
try
set minVol to (item q_ of VtrueList)
end try
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
activate
display dialog "The following connected volumes contain a Time Machine \"Backups.backupdb\" folder at the root level which in turn contains a subfolder with the name of this computer (" & CN_ & "):
" & VtrueList_par & "
The most recently modified of the subfolders is on:
" & minVol & "" buttons {"Unmount all volumes except
" & minVol & " (and the startup volume)", "Cancel"} default button 1 with title "TIME MACHINE BACKUP FOLDERS ON THIS COMPUTER"
if button returned of result contains "Unmount all volumes" then
beep 3 -- (or substitute code for unmounting the appropriate volumes)
end if
--END
Note: this is not a competition -- I'm just curious.

Hello osimp,
To distinguish two volumes with same name in plain AppleScript (without denpending upon particular applications such as 'Finder' or 'System Events'), I think you can use either POSIX file object or alias object.
if I'm not mistaken, POSIX file object has typeFileURL data, which contains mount point information. And alias object contains fertile information to track file system object dynamically not only by its path. (In order to create new alias objects for volumes with the same name, however, you'd have to distinguish them by other means, such as by using POSIX file object.)
E.g.
If you have two volumes named "Mac HD" and their mount points are:
/Volumes/Mac HD
/Volumes/Mac HD 1
I think you can distinguish them by:
set f1 to "/Volumes/Mac HD" as POSIX file
set f2 to "/Volumes/Mac HD 1" as POSIX file
or:
set a1 to "/Volumes/Mac HD" as POSIX file as alias
set a2 to "/Volumes/Mac HD 1" as POSIX file as alias
and these references can be used such as:
set d1 to modification date of (info for f1)
set d2 to modification date of (info for f2)
or:
tell application "Finder"
set d1a to modification date of a1
set d2a to modification date of a2
end tell
After all, you might write a script as follows:
--SCRIPT
set CN_ to computer name of (system info)
set IntList to {}
set VtrueList to {}
set curDate to current date (* get curDate, time origin, once *)
set Vlist to paragraphs of (do shell script "ls /Volumes")
repeat with v_ from 1 to count Vlist
set VolName_ to item v_ of Vlist
try
set BkDB_ to ("/Volumes/" & VolName_ & "/Backups.backupdb")
set SF_ to paragraphs of (do shell script "ls " & quoted form of BkDB_)
(* get SF_ as string list in order to do exact comparison between each string and CN_ *)
if SF_ contains CN_ then
set pf to (BkDB_ & "/" & CN_) as POSIX file
(* get pf as POSIX file in order to distinguish volumes by mount point. *)
set end of VtrueList to VolName_ -- mount point name
set end of IntList to curDate - (modification date of (info for pf))
end if
end try
end repeat
set CI_ to count IntList
set MinInt_ to item 1 of IntList
repeat with i_ from 2 to CI_
set NextInt_ to item i_ of IntList
if MinInt_ > NextInt_ then set MinInt_ to NextInt_
end repeat
set minVol to "[Not Applicable]"
repeat with q_ from 1 to CI_
set Int_ to (item q_ of IntList)
if Int_ = MinInt_ then
set minVol to (item q_ of VtrueList)
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
if CI_ = 0 then
set VtrueList_par to "NONE!"
else
try
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {return}
set VtrueList_par to VtrueList as Unicode text
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {""}
on error errs number errn
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {""}
error errs number errn
end try
end if
return {CN_, minVol, VtrueList, VtrueList_par} -- # for test
(* Rest omitted *)
--END OF SCRIPT
Hope this may be of some help,
H

Time machine backups cache and temp files?

Just bought a new external usb disk and used it as the time machine backup volume. All time machine configurations are remained as default, so it would backup all my current HD. While watching it estimating the time that the first backup would take, a question jump out in my mind:
Will time machine backup all files "honestly"? Will it make a copy of every file including the Internet cache and temp files when I'm browsing websites? I'm used to watch youtube a lot, and the temp flv file would be large (though I don't know where it is stored on Leopard). If these files would be backup-ed as well, I think it would be a great waste of disk space.
Can anyone confirm that those caches and temp files would be copied or not? If it would, how to prevent this? Thank you.

If you wish to exclude anything from the backup simply drag the item into the Exclude list. For example, you can save considerable space by excluding the /System/ folder. Cache files would be found in the /Library/ and /Home/Library/ folders. Each folder contains a folder named Caches. There is no specific folder in which temporary items as stored that is visible to the user because the operating system will usually delete temporary files on its own. This may not be the case for a specific program, however. Browsers may maintain their own reserved cache and temporary files, and manage them on their own.
I do not think, however, that TM backs up caches or temporary files. I find no such items in my TM backup - only the folders. I do not back up my /System/ folder.

Restore time machine backups folder or iPhoto library to get album data?

Simply said, can I use Data Rescue or Disk Drill to restore old Time Machine backups instead of just the entire glob of files? I'm specifically looking for an iPhoto backup with albums and metadata, instead of just restoring the photos themselves. See below for more details.
I am an amateur or hobbyist photographer. Recently I noted that I have over 70,000 photos in iPhoto and it was really dragging. Kept telling myself to clean it up but never found the time. The other day, it said this version needs to be upgraded. Clicked ok, and when done, all my photos were gone. I have the iPhoto Library on an external and I could see that "it" was still there (almost 700gb) so I went to work trying to find a solution. Went through all of the rebuilding options with no luck and then got my stupid, "I got this" hat on. I said, no problem, I have Time Machine and I'll just restore the iPhoto Library from a few days ago when I know it was working fine. Deleted that "corrupted" library first, went to Time Machine and didn't realize that TM, at the VERY same time, must've run out of room and reset itself - it only had a brand new backup with the now-empty iPhoto Library in it. Luckily, I found all of my photos and have them safe on an external. I've also decided to backup to a cloud site (should've done a long time ago!!) and I'm researching which photo-management software will be best to catalog my pix going forward (likely Lightroom) as the Apple peeps said iPhoto isn't really built to handle that type of load.
I know I can just re-import my found photos but have I lost all of my album and event data forever? When I go to the iPhoto Library and Show Package Contents, it looks like all that data is still there. Will that just "reset" once I bring back my photos? Otherwise, I have run both Data Rescue and Disk Drill and can see all of the files - either those deleted from the external, or the deleted files that were being backed up by TM on my other external TM disk. However, the reconstructed files don't seem to include an "iPhoto Library" or a backups.backupdb by name and I'm afraid if I do all the work to restore either of those, I'm stuck in the same situation I have now - all of the photos but no album data. Went through these posts extensively and tried all of Pondini's recommendations too.
In the end, do I chalk this up as a learning experience and spend 2-3 days recreating albums and organizing my photos? Or, is there a way that I can get all that organizational data back - from the iPhoto package contents, restoring from the external, or restoring an old TM backup?

What I would do is restore the older version to a different location. Then first try the following on it:
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down to open the First Aid window. Be sure to follow the circled recommendation in the screenshot.
2 - run Option #4, Rebuild Database.
If that doesn't do the trick continue with
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.>Click on the Add Library button,
2 - select the library you want to add from those in the selection window.
3 - make sure that in the rebuild window the checkbox "Scavange orphaned photos" is checked.
4 - now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
5 - in the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed. Click on the Create button.
Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
Note 2: Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.

Deleting Time Machine Backup Folder on External HD

HI everyone,
Well I liked the idea of Time Machine so much, that I went out and bought an external HD to hook up to my mac to back up my files. So my time machine backups are located now on my external.
After a recent update gone wrong, I had to wipe out the mac, and was able to get almost everything back because of time machine!! So I was sold on the idea of Time Capsule.
Now that I have a time capsule and ready to set it up and use it for back ups, I would like to use my external for other things, but most of it is full from the Time Machine backs ups. Is there a way to delete the back ups from my external?

Go to the Time Machine preferences pane. In there you can specify what disks you use as TM backup disks under the options tab, You should see the external HD with a tick next to it. Just untick it and that will turn the disk in to a normal drive again (not that TM actually changes the drive file structure, just gives it a new icon to show that it's a TM disk is all.
Regards,
Peter.
Here's Apple's Knowledge Base article on how to do it:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
Message was edited by: Peter Miller

Each Time Machine backup grows and grows. How do I stop this?

Hi everyone. In basic terms, let's say that my external LaCie 3TB hard drive has 2TB of data. This 2TB includes my Time Machine backup. That means that I have 1TB of free space. My last backup was one week ago (I don't keep my external HD hooked up because of travel and I don't care for so many frequent backups). Right now I am backing up, and the backup is 30GB larger than last week. THERE IS NO WAY I MADE 30GB OF CHANGES IN THIS PAST WEEK! At the most, I probably made 1GB of changes. This situation has happened before, so it seems that with each backup (every time I reconnect my external HD for the sole purpose of backing up... Again, I don't leave my HD connected so I back up manually whenever I feel like it, instead of automatic), my data seems to have grown by dozens of GB. Dozens! I'm gonna run outta space soon if this keeps up.
I've read a number of threads on this topic and checked out Pondini.org but my one question does not seem to be answered:
How do I stop my backups from growing so big when I know for a fact I did not make big changes?
This does not equate. If I made 1GB of changes (I'm guessing), then why does Time Machine back up an additional 29GB?
I'm considering ditching Time Machine and backing up totally manually, like, dragging/copying/pasting files and folders from my laptop into my external HD. At least that way I can control and understand that 2TB of data means 2TB, not: "Surprise! 2.03TB... 2.5TB... 2.75TB and mysteriously growing!"
Any help would be appreciated, please. Also, I don't know code and I can't do open-source stuff and I don't know jargon. I also don't do advanced stuff like Parallel (I don't know what that is). If you could please help a dummy like me with plain-speak, that would be beyond awesome. Thanks!
***MacBook Pro from late 2011, OSX 10.7.5, LaCie Porsche external HD 3TB***

Some good options are:
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
SuperDuper!
Synk Pro
Tri-Backup
Each provides a trial version before paying.

Two Discs shown for wireless time machine backup., "Data" and "Extreme"

I have a new 1TB iMAC 24" connected to Time Capsule via ethernet and wireless, one MacBook connected to Time Capsule via ethernet, and another MacBook that uses wireless. The iMAC and the ethernet-connected MacBook backup just fine using Time Machine. When I try a wireless Time Machine backup from the wireless MacBook, the backup fails and I get the "unable to ... image ..." message (don't remember the exact wording). When I try to "Change Disc" in Time Capsule preferences, I see two discs, one labeled "Data" and the other labeled "Extreme." Which one should I choose?

Try a new post in the 10.5 Time Machine forum.
DALE

Compressing Time Machine backup folder and burning to DVD

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