Copy of large folders between network volumes

I have a PowerMac G5 running 10.4.4 and have 2 Novell server volumes mounted on the desktop. When I copy a folder or files that are roughly 200MB or more between the 2 server volumes, the copy process will freeze up and eventually disconnect me from the server.
Has any one seen this problem? the Novell servers are at version 6.5, as far as I know.
Thanks for any help or ideas.
Jerry Horn
CMP Media LLC

Are your WiFi driver up to date?
I used to be able to crash my T61 7663-13G (NVS140M, Intel 802.11agn(n-disabled), ...) too with heavy WiFi traffic (e.g. 3 MiB/s over some time).
Haven't tried it lately and don't know it's gone.
ThinkPad T61 (7663-13G) T7500 2.2GHz/4GiB/120GB SSD/Sierra MC8775 HSPA/Win7 Pro x64/(3rd Fan, 3rd NVS 140M), 2x 39T4587

Similar Messages

E1000 wifi dead whenever I copy a large file between 2 PC's

Whenever I try to copy a large file (eg. 200 MB) from one PC to another (both connected wirelessly to the Linksys E1000 router), the wifi on the router dies. I can see the wifi indicator light on the router go off, and my PC's lose their connection (of course).
I understand that the E1000 is a low-end router so if it copies really slowly I can accept it. But how can the wifi just die out like that? Is there something I didn't setup properly?
btw, this issue is present even after I upgraded to the latest firmware (2.1.02 build 5).
Would greatly appreciate any advice.

Hi,
Thank you for your reply.
1. Problem not due to firmware upgrade. The problem existed before the firmware upgrade, and persist after the upgrade. But yes, I did power off and power on my router again.
2. I followed some instructions on this forum to chnage the following settings:
Channel: 11
MTU: 1340
Beacon: 75
Fragmentation Threshold: 2304
RTS: 2304
And strangely enough, it works now!
3. This morning, upon seeing your reply, I decided to do some investigation to see which setting did the trick. I modified each setting back to the default, one by one, and tested the large file copy each time I revert something back to default.
Surprisingly, the file copy operation was successful throughout the tests, even upon reverting all settings back to default.
So, what is the "problem" with this router? I had problems for 1 month with the default settings, and then suddenly all problems disappear?
Wai Kee

Best way to copy large folders to external drive?

What is the best way to transfer large folders across to external drives?
I'm trying to clean up my internal hard drive and want to copy a folder (including its sub folders) of approx 10GB of video files to an external firewire drive.
I've tried drag and drop in finder (both copy and move) and it gets stuck on a particular file and then aborts the whole process.
1. Surely it should copy everything it can, and simply not copy the problem file.
2. Is there a way I can do copy and verify, a bit like when I burn a disk so I can be sure the video files have transferred safely before I delete them from my internal drive?
Many thanks in advance for any advice.

What you are trying to do makes perfect sense to me and I have done the same prior to getting myself a Time Machine system in place.
1. Surely it should copy everything it can, and simply not copy the problem file.
The fact that it is getting stuck on a particular file suggests that there is a problem with it. Try to identify which one it is and deal with that file on it's own. It could be that there is a disk error where that file is stored.
2. Is there a way I can do copy and verify....
The copy process you are using does that implicitly as I understand it.
Chris

Can't copy large folders to Windows 2008 Server - error code -50

We have two Macs running SL. We are having file server issues.
1) When trying to copy a large folder or file (10MB+ possibly) the progress bar gets nearly complete, then we get "This operation can't be completed because an unexpected error occured (error -50)" After the dialog box goes away, the attempted file/folder appears grey on the Server window and cannot be used. It can be deleted.
2) When browsing the server, newly opened windows often take a few seconds to come up, where under prior OS versions, they open virtually immediately.
Anyone experience these issues or have any suggestions?

I'd like to add a "me, too" to this topic. I am surprised that this is not a more heavily populated thread, as it seems like it should be a major issue to anyone using a mac in a modern windows-based infrastructure.
Thanks to Shawn for the suggestion that changing the folder to have a label colour allows copying: that has been a lifesaver.
It's still embarrassing, however, to have to explain to Mac newcomers that they have to do this before a simple copy...

Can't eject network volume after extensive browsing

Hi!
I have a problem that seem to be related to Mac OS X itself.
After browsing an AFP network volume for an extended time theres a quite big chance that the volume won't eject properly.
What happens is that the volume icon vanishes from the desktop but it stays in the side bar of a Finder window.
Even if one waits for hours it still won't go away and upon clicking on the volume in the sidebar a dialog comes up saying it can't be found.
I've tried doing "sudo -f umount /Volumes/volumename" but it doesn't do anything.
If one tries to do a restart the system gets stuck because it can't properly unmount the volume.
If one force a relaunch of the Finder via the "Force Quit..." menu option in the Apple menu, what happens is that the AFP Client process stalls. It shows up red in Activity Monitor.
I can reproduce this behavior on several different computers and on G5's browsing the volume sometimes leads to a Kernel Panic involving "vnode_put".
All machines are running Mac OS X 10.4.8.
The AFP volume I'm browsing when this happens consists of several folders that contains several .eps images. The file-structure looks like in this screen shot: http://home.mac.se/star-affinity/filestructure.png
Anyone else recognize this?
G4 Quicksilver 867 MHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

The volumes are mounted via the Finder.
Ok, I'll try remove all the "dot" files I can find, but I can guarantee you it has got nothing to do with the volume not unmounting properly. :P
No, but seriously, I have made a clean install of the system on both machines and upgraded it to 10.4.8. I then duplicate 4 different .eps files that I copy from a third machine and I duplicate them and make a file structure somewhat like in the screen shot I link to above.
I then start file sharing on the machine with all the files and use the other to browse this machine. I browse from within the open/save dial of TextEdit.
I must say I wonder how any hidden files would cause a problem in this case.
I also wouldn't say that there are many issues with Tiger. It is this thing with network browsing and perhaps some kind of video driver issue that I've posted about here: http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=3302238#3302238
Otherwise I think it runs great!
Can't understand why you're still at 10.3.9.
Anyway, thanks for trying to help!

Unable to copy very large file to eSATA external HDD

I am trying to copy a VMWare Fusion virtual machine, 57 GB, from my Macbook Pro's laptop hard drive to an external, eSATA hard drive, which is attached through an ExpressPort adapter. VMWare Fusion is not running and the external drive has lots of room. The disk utility finds no problems with either drive. I have excluded both the external disk and the folder on my laptop hard drive that contains my virtual machine from my Time Machihne backups. At about the 42 GB mark, an error message appears:
The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "Windows1-Snapshot6.vmem" could not be read or written. (Error code -36)
After I press OK to remove the dialog, the copy does not continue, and I cannot cancel the copy. I have to force-quit the Finder to make the copy dialog go away before I can attempt the copy again. I've tried rebooting between attempts, still no luck. I have tried a total of 4 times now, exact same result at the exact same place, 42 GB / 57 GB.
Any ideas?

Still no breakthrough from Apple. They're telling me to terminate the VMWare processes before attempting the copy, but had they actually read my description of the problem first, they would have known that I already tried this. Hopefully they'll continue to investigate.
From a correspondence with Tim, a support representative at Apple:
Hi Tim,
Thank you for getting back to me, I got your message. Although it is true that at the time I ran the Capture Data program there were some VMWare-related processes running (PID's 105, 106, 107 and 108), this was not the case when the issue occurred earlier. After initially experiencing the problem, this possibility had occurred to me so I took the time to terminate all VMWare processes using the activity monitor before again attempting to copy the files, including the processes mentioned by your engineering department. I documented this in my posting to apple's forum as follows: (quote is from my post of Feb 19, 2008, 1:28pm, to the thread "Unable to copy very large file to eSATA external HDD", relevant section in >bold print<)
Thanks for the suggestions. I have since tried this operation with 3 different drives through two different interface types. Two of the drives are identical - 3.5" 7200 RPM 1TB Western Digital WD10EACS (WD Caviar SE16) in external hard drive enclosures, and the other is a smaller USB2 100GB Western Digital WD1200U0170-001 external drive. I tried the two 1TB drives through eSATA - ExpressPort and also over USB2. I have tried the 100GB drive only over USB2 since that is the only interface on the drive. In all cases the result is the same. All 3 drives are formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
I know the files work on my laptop's hard drive. They are a VMWare virtual machine that works just fine when I use it every day. >Before attempting the copy, I shut down VMWare and terminated all VMWare processes using the Activity Monitor for good measure.< I have tried the copy operation both through the finder and through the Unix command prompt using the drive's mount point of /Volumes/jfinney-ext-3.
Any more ideas?
Furthermore, to prove that there were no file locks present on the affected files, I moved them to a different location on my laptop's HDD and renamed them, which would not have been possible if there had been interference from vmware-related processes. So, that's not it.
Your suggested workaround, to compress the files before copying them to the external drive, may serve as a temporary workaround but it is not a solution. This VM will grow over time to the point where even the compressed version is larger than the 42GB maximum, and compressing and uncompressing the files will take me a lot of time for files of this size. Could you please continue to pursue this issue and identify the underlying cause?
Thank you,
- Jeremy

All Network Volumes set as Login Items open in Finder on EVERY startup

...after updating to 10.5.8
I have a Mac running on an otherwise all PC network. Before updating to 10.5.8 I had 5 network volumes set to "connect" on startup automatically (System Prefs / Accounts / Login Items). This worked perfectly and connected to these volumes silently without me having to ever worry about it. I didn't even have to check the "Hide" boxes.
After updating to 10.5.8 however, it became completely annoying. Now it still connects to these volumes, but opens up every single one in Finder upon every startup. That's 5 windows I have to close every time I startup my computer. It may not sound like the worst thing in the world, but mind you I have to log out and back in every day for work. Even checking the "Hide" checkboxes don't do anything.
Anybody experiencing the same problem? Anybody know a workaround or fix? My company has a rather large and complex network so staying connected to certain folders that I use is a must. Thanks.
Screenshots:
Login Items - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/Magick0ne/Other/Login_Items.jpg
Every Startup - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/Magick0ne/Other/Finder_Windows.jpg
Message was edited by: Pifman

Pifman wrote:
Thanks to both of you. I guess the search I ran wasn't good enough as I didn't find the discussion that you posted.
One of the possible workarounds posted there was to use a third-party program that I found difficult to understand and use. Instead I took V.K.'s advice and made an AppleScript and then made that script launch at login. Works like a charm.
Only difference is that my AppleScript isn't located in the Utilities folder (10.5.8), instead I got to it by going to Applications / AppleScript / Script Editor.
sorry, my mistake on the location.
Then I made a script and saved it as an application. I then put that application in my Login Items (System Prefs / Accounts / Login Items).
If you're having trouble finding the mount volume (or server) address, here's how you can find it: If you are currently connected to the volume(s) that you want to use, left-click it and hit Cmd+I (or right-click, Get Info). Use the address next to "Server:" - That's it!
Hopefully Apple will fix this bug soon so people don't have to make AppleScripts just to make the OS work correctly.
I wouldn't bet on it for leopard. leopard development has stopped now after snow leopard has been released. historically, Apple only releases security patches for old OS versions once a new one comes out. Interestingly, this bug is present in snow leopard too! or maybe they don't consider it a bug and this is how it should work. one can make a case for this, I guess.

Cannot use Network Volumes 10.1.1

After fighting with iMovie 11 to allow network volumes, Apple release another equally awkward and annoying piece of software to match the same issues!!!
We are a school and simply cannot allow students to save such large files to their personal home directories or to the local hard drive.
SO WHY IS IT YOU CANNOT CREATE A NEW PROJECT ON A NETWORK VOLUME?!
We currently have a hard drive attached to the server which students use to save their work.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks

In a networked environment, the best way to work is often to use external media.
Import the media to the network drive, create the libraries in the local drive, and do not copy the media.

Mount network volume: different users same credentials, see different shares

A set of network volumes on a NAS need to periodically be backed up to a local USB disk. Manually, I can mount most shares (from a Finder window). In a shell script I can list all files due (find) and use that list for backing up to a local USB volume (cpio). So far so good. However, I need to mount these network volumes first. The mount command doesn't seem to work for me.
How do I mount a network volume in a shell script?
Also I noticed that if under fast user switching user A logs in with credentials uName and uPassword, the NAS shows 6 shares to choose from. When user B on the same machine logs in with the same credentials uName and uPassword, only 5 shares are visible and one is not shown. It looks as if the credentials do not uniquely determine the volumes offered for mounting. Also, when user B mounts a share, it appears to be owned by user A (who is logged in but has not mounted any share on the NAS) rather than owned by B or by uName...
How do I mount this volume as user uName rather than A or B?
How can one uniquely determine the identity of the volume? Network volumes don't show UUIDs and the name given in the /Volume/ folder can change, as is discussed in message 11871367.

eljonco wrote:
I just checked: after a reboot, user A logs in (automatic login enabled), user A logs out, user B logs in, ls -a /Volumes only shows local HD and a USB HD. No network mounts there.
In the finder window, the NAS shows up on the left. Clicking it and entering credentials uName, uPassword, a list of five, not 6, items is offered for mounting. So your options 1 and 4 are then ruled out, unless an alias made by user A and copied to user B's home folder would still link to user A's mounting options.
Actually, only option 1 is ruled out. That Finder list is simply not reliable. It is likely cached somewhere and could be restored by deleting some hidden preference file. It regularly causes people to freak out when they see some sharepoint listed on a network that they have long since left.
If you did Go > Connect to Server in the Finder and typed in the location, you could still create an alias.
Once mounted one of 5 shares as uName with uPassword, an ls -al /Volumes shows the local drives and
drwx------@ 11 B staff <date> sharename
and all folders in sharename also show B:staff as user:group. I find that strange, as I did not log in to the share with credentials B, but with credentials uName. Anyhow.
The uName user is for the network share. When MacOS X mounts that, it gives it permissions appropriate for the user who did the mounting. If you did an NFS mount as root, the server would handle permissions via UNIX uid and gid. I'm really not familiar with the details of AFP.
As I read in a post about autoFS that 'cd /Volume/theHiddenShare' should magically mount that share, I gave it a shot. Alas, '/Volumes/theHiddenShare: No such file or directory'. Same long shot in the dark in the 'Go/Connect to' dialog gave 'The folder cannot be found'. Not surprisingly, I suppose.
Yes. That has to be setup
Here is what I've done to my /etc/auto_home:
# Automounter map for /home
#+auto_home # Use directory service
# Get /home records synthesized from user records
#+/usr/libexec/od_user_homes
myserver.org -allow_other,reconnect,fstype=sshfs [email protected]:/home/me_remote
I'm not on a big network, so I've disabled the system functionality by commenting out "+auto_home" and "+/usr/libexec/od_user_homes". Now, the system doesn't manage /home and I am free to do with it what I want. This will mount the path "/home/myserver.org" connected to the "me_remote" user on "myserver.org". I'm using the funky MacFUSE sshfs filesystem. Your AFP file system should work much better. Your line would look something like this:
drive5 -fstype=afp uUser@MyLocalServer:/theHiddenShare
Run "automount -vc" to reset your automount system.
Next use Finder Go > Connect to Server and type in "afp://uUser@MyLocalServer:/theHiddenShare".
You want to mount the drive once so that you can store uPassword in your keychain.
Now unmount the drive.
The Finder mounts all go into /Volumes and, as you have discovered, can get themselves confused. This automount will be at "/home/drive5". All you have to do is enter that folder in the Finder and it will be automatically mounted. If you haven't used it for a while, it will be unmounted automatically.
You may have to play around with this a little. I don't have any network AFP share that I need to mount on a regular basis, so those parameters may need to be adjusted somewhat.

Auto-mount network volumes upon changing locations

As I am shifting my Macbook between office and home and with working in office I need to access frequently into a few network locations which I ended up mounting them regularly manually.
Any solution on that so I can pre-set what volumes to mount upon changing locations?
Or perhaps auto-mount network volumes upon joining a particular SSID?

I'm sure there's a way to Script it, but that being beyond my capabilities, here's how I'd do it using Dynamic mounts...
Make two New Folders on the Desktop, (Office and Home might be good names).
After Mounting the Volumes at work, drag the Globe Icons to the Office Folder, after mounting the Shares at home, drag them to the Home folder, (you can even rename them once in the folders).
Drag those two Folders to the Dock between Applications and Trash to have two popup menus for nearly instant connecting.

Mirroring folders between to machines

Hi
I'd like to mirror one folder (which a bunch of sub-folders) between two OSX 10.4.8 machines (One is a iMac G4 and the other is iBook G4) . They are networked through a wireless router.
I'd like to do this without the use of an external server, I searched for mirroring on the apple website and found a number of articles that included a third machine acting as a server but I think this might be over kill for my needs.
thanks!

Ok, I am creating a basic photo archive for my folks who have over 3 gigs worth of photos. They travel a lot a have a laptop for travel. But when there at home use the desktop iMac. They had many problems with iphoto and I decided to fix all of these problems and create automatically backing up system.
For photo software I have installed the Iview Media Pro 3.1.2 and is installed in the machine.
In the iViews software it has the option to automatically update any new photos add to a selected folder. This is great because my folks really like that system.
But I'd like to take that onestep further and has that same folder mirrored on there desktop machine.
Here is the way I want the workflow to occur.
1. Download photos to Laptop from card reader with iview media pro
2. iview's Catalog will automatically update
3. Desktop machine will reconize new photos have been added to folder on the laptop and automatically copy photos over.
4. If either machine leaves the network (of 2) and then is reconected the folder will automatically mirror.
Things I don't want in this system
• Third party software, If the OSX 10.4.8 can do it all the better
• Having them to Manually hit the sync button.
• Making a duplicate copy of the folder each and everytime it connects.
I need something simple effective and without constant management. Both parents are not all that tech savy but know what they want in a system and it certainly wasn't iphoto anymore. . . .
Imac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 80g video ipod (black is back baby!)
Imac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 80g video ipod (black is back baby!)

Excel 2008, read-only file access from network volume

Hi,
Need some assistance please.
I recently setup a Macbook Pro 17" 2.4Ghz (10.5.2) and did a migration from a Powerbook G4. Installed Office 2008.
Excel will not open ANY files from a network volume without giving a read-only access error.
Word is ok and opens files fine.
drag the file from the network to the desktop and it opens ok. drag it back and it copys ok.
so, I created a new user and the problem persists.
I fired up a Macbook running 10.5.2 and Office 2008 and it logged onto the network fine and opened the excel docs just fine.
mmm, ok must be an OS problem.
So, I have just endured waiting for the archive and install to complete on the Macbook Pro and the problem is still there !!!!!
Help.
Is my only fix going to be a complete erase and start again from fresh ?
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

right then, as it looks like I'm talking to myself....
I have just wiped clean the Macbook Pro.
I installed Leopard from scratch, then installed Office 2008.
Logged back onto the network share, and the read-only error came up again, ONLY in Excel.
bugger.
Did the same thing with my Macbook and all is fine.
Copy the file to the local hard drive, opens ok.
I then copied the file to another Mac on the network.
mmmm, opens fine.
what's the difference....
mmmm, the machine it opens fine from is running 10.4
the machine which hosts all the data is running 10.3.9
could this be the problem.
Just done a software update check on the 10.3 machine and there are some security updates that need doing.
Going to run that now and see what happens, otherwise I think the iMac running 10.3.9 is going to need to come up to 10.4 and fingers crossed this will solve it.

Read-only file access from network volume

I get an read-only file access from network volume problem while sharing a drive from Snow Leopard to a Tiger install. Most of files were opening well, but *.fp7 (FileMaker) and *.xls (Excel) files won't open dealing with a read-only error.
As descibed in the last post of http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1406977 the client have the same share name of the server. Renomming it resolved the error!
Thanks!

right then, as it looks like I'm talking to myself....
I have just wiped clean the Macbook Pro.
I installed Leopard from scratch, then installed Office 2008.
Logged back onto the network share, and the read-only error came up again, ONLY in Excel.
bugger.
Did the same thing with my Macbook and all is fine.
Copy the file to the local hard drive, opens ok.
I then copied the file to another Mac on the network.
mmmm, opens fine.
what's the difference....
mmmm, the machine it opens fine from is running 10.4
the machine which hosts all the data is running 10.3.9
could this be the problem.
Just done a software update check on the 10.3 machine and there are some security updates that need doing.
Going to run that now and see what happens, otherwise I think the iMac running 10.3.9 is going to need to come up to 10.4 and fingers crossed this will solve it.

Can't save multiple folders to external drive. Get: "The operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items." when dragging large folders to mac os extended journalled external drive from OS 10.6.8

Hi
I am feeling VERY desperate!
After losing an external drive [dont ask....] -   I got another one : 2TB WD formatted properly [ OS extended journalled for mac ] ready for action to move my thousands of files and images and ppts in hundreds of folders across from the laptop to this drive because I travel a bit with the laptop and this is too risky not to back up at home.
But this message came up after starting on moving folders across [** and not straight away, sometimes after moving a folder when 4 of 6 gb of files across then the message comes up = very frustrating]:
"The operation can’t be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items."
I am dragging mixed sometimes large complex folders to this os extended journalled external drive from my mac book pro OS 10.6.8 - it would take decades to move items one by one or even folder by folder and really confusing.
I have dragged-copied various small folders and files across successfully, but it is only working 50:50 and I can't leave machine with the idea of things copying eg: overnight - it just won't work....
I have been browsing google and find some people describing in CODE how they overcome this 'message'   .... but I [and I guess some other viewers of this in future & also in desperation] would need instructions for beginners.... to try this type of thing. I don't know any code.
How can this be happening - I feel ANGRY at APPLE !!!! for not posting easy fix instructions yet re; this, or better still updating software so it doesn't happen [ that I can find at least !!! ] .   There seem to be hundreds of people stuck with this stupid message and inability to back up their projects etc.
Can anyone help ?
Many thanks
Julie
15 August 2011

hi Samberl
thanks a lot for the fast reply.
I was dragging folders from main folders on the laptop-desktop onto the external drive icon - to copy them across....
Your suggestion sounds very promising - I didn't know about 'cloning'.
Yes the idea is to backup the laptop -    I thought I would just move it all now, new - and then keep saving/dragging physically   across to the new drive myself each day or two...
Would this be the sizeof the internal hard drive = c.500 gb ?   =   under the HD icon on desktop is written :
" 499.76gb , 311.5 gb free "
I can erase and start agin on the new external drive - so this plan is to make two partititions, rather than the one at present, and make one of them 500 gb ?
I have found CCC [carbon copy cloner] googling - looks good.
When CCC site says it backs up the hard drive - would this mean all my files [over 100 gb] that are mostly in folders on the desktop, plus the others in itunes, iphotos etc found in the HD icon, would all copy across successfully [wherever they are in the computer ] ?
thanks again, hope you can clarify these things and then I will go for it.
It would be great and amazing if this 'lack of permission' message doesn't show up in the process of doing this ccc transfer - hopeful!
Julie

"Backup is too large for the backup volume" error

I've been backing up with TM for a while now, and finally it seems as though the hard drive is full, since I'm down to 4.2GB available of 114.4GB.
Whenever TM tries to do a backup, it gives me the error "This backup is too large for the backup volume. The backup requires 10.8 GB but only 4.2GB are available. To select a larger volume, or make the backup smaller by excluding files, open System Preferences and choose Time Machine."
I understand that I have those two options, but why can't TM just erase the oldest backup and use that free space to make the new backup? I know a 120GB drive is pretty small, but if I have to just keep accumulating backups infinitely, I'm afraid I'll end up with 10 years of backups and a 890-zettabyte drive taking up my garage. I'm hoping there's a more practical solution.

John,
Please review the following article as it might explain what you are encountering.
*_“This Backup is Too Large for the Backup Volume”_*
First, much depends on the size of your Mac’s internal hard disk, the quantity of data it contains, and the size of the hard disk designated for Time Machine backups. It is recommended that any hard disk designated for Time Machine backups be +at least+ twice as large as the hard disk it is backing up from. You see, the more space it has to grow, the greater the history it can preserve.
*Disk Management*
Time Machine is designed to use the space it is given as economically as possible. When backups reach the limit of expansion, Time Machine will begin to delete old backups to make way for newer data. The less space you provide for backups the sooner older data will be discarded. [http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/15137.html]
However, Time Machine will only delete what it considers “expired”. Within the Console Logs this process is referred to as “thinning”. It appears that many of these “expired” backups are deleted when hourly backups are consolidated into daily backups and daily backups are consolidated into weekly backups. This consolidation takes place once hourly backups reach 24 hours old and daily backups reach about 30 days old. Weekly backups will only be deleted, or ‘thinned’, once the backup drive nears full capacity.
One thing seems for sure, though; If a new incremental backup happens to be larger than what Time Machine currently considers “expired” then you will get the message “This backup is too large for the backup volume.” In other words, Time Machine believes it would have to sacrifice to much to accommodate the latest incremental backup. This is probably why Time Machine always overestimates incremental backups by 2 to 10 times the actual size of the data currently being backed up. Within the Console logs this is referred to as “padding”. This is so that backup files never actually reach the physically limits of the backup disk itself.
*Recovering Backup Space*
If you have discovered that large unwanted files have been backed up, you can use the Time Machine “time travel” interface to recovered some of that space. Do NOT, however, delete files from a Time Machine backup disk by manually mounting the disk and dragging files to the trash. You can damage or destroy your original backups by this means.
Additionally, deleting files you no longer wish to keep on your Mac does not immediately remove such files from Time Machine backups. Once data has been removed from your Macs' hard disk it will remain in backups for some time until Time Machine determines that it has "expired". That's one of its’ benefits - it retains data you may have unintentionally deleted. But eventually that data is expunged. If, however, you need to remove backed up files immediately, do this:
Launch Time Machine from the Dock icon.
Initially, you are presented with a window labeled “Today (Now)”. This window represents the state of your Mac as it exists now. +DO NOT+ delete or make changes to files while you see “Today (Now)” at the bottom of the screen. Otherwise, you will be deleting files that exist "today" - not yesterday or last week.
Click on the window just behind “Today (Now)”. This represents the last successful backup and should display the date and time of this backup at the bottom of the screen.
Now, navigate to where the unwanted file resides. If it has been some time since you deleted the file from your Mac, you may need to go farther back in time to see the unwanted file. In that case, use the time scale on the right to choose a date prior to when you actually deleted the file from your Mac.
Highlight the file and click the Actions menu (Gear icon) from the toolbar.
Select “Delete all backups of <this file>”.
*Full Backup After Restore*
If you are running out of disk space sooner than expected it may be that Time Machine is ignoring previous backups and is trying to perform another full backup of your system? This will happen if you have reinstalled the System Software (Mac OS), or replaced your computer with a new one, or hard significant repair work done on your exisitng Mac. Time Machine will perform a new full backup. This is normal. [http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1338]
You have several options if Time Machine is unable to perform the new full backup:
A. Delete the old backups, and let Time Machine begin a fresh.
B. Attach another external hard disk and begin backups there, while keeping this current hard disk. After you are satisfied with the new backup set, you can later reformat the old hard disk and use it for other storage.
C. Ctrl-Click the Time Machine Dock icon and select "Browse Other Time Machine disks...". Then select the old backup set. Navigate to files/folders you don't really need backups of and go up to the Action menu ("Gear" icon) and select "Delete all backups of this file." If you delete enough useless stuff, you may be able to free up enough space for the new backup to take place. However, this method is not assured as it may not free up enough "contiguous space" for the new backup to take place.
*Outgrown Your Backup Disk?*
On the other hand, your computers drive contents may very well have outgrown the capacity of the Time Machine backup disk. It may be time to purchase a larger capacity hard drive for Time Machine backups. Alternatively, you can begin using the Time Machine Preferences exclusion list to prevent Time Machine from backing up unneeded files/folders.
Consider as well: Do you really need ALL that data on your primary hard disk? It sounds like you might need to Archive to a different hard disk anything that's is not of immediate importance. You see, Time Machine is not designed for archiving purposes, just as a backup of your local drive(s). In the event of disaster, it can get your system back to its' current state without having to reinstall everything. But if you need LONG TERM storage, then you need another drive that is removed from your normal everyday working environment.
This KB article discusses this scenario with some suggestions including Archiving the old backups and starting fresh [http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/15137.html]
Let us know if this clarifies things.
Cheers!

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