Deleting Backups in Time Machine

If I had a large file or folder on my hard drive temporarily which TM happened to backup but which I do not need an arxive of it used to be possible to right-click or ctrl-click on the file or folder to bring up the actions list within TM and select to delete every backup of the file. This function is still there if you show the action menu in View Options (a hassle to have go and turn this on each time) but I can no longer get to it by right clicking within TM.
Why not!?

The little gear icon is the "actions" menu I talked about.
It is not there if you chose in the view options not to clutter up your toolbar with it.
You used to be able to get the actions menu if you, just as you still do in the finder, right click on a file/folder.
But they have removed this function in TM.
Why? Why is Apple removing perfectly good functionality, they've done the same with the lack of ability to remove the Genre option in the iTunes 8 browser.
Everything is getting so cluttered with fake options I don't need and they are quietly and unnecessarily removing the simple little ones I did use that made the interface intuitive and non-thinking. Why are they making things more complicated than they used to be. Its like having to use a Windows PC. Grrr.

Similar Messages

  • Deleting Backups from Time Machine to Make Room

    Deleting Backups from Time Machine to Make Room
    So, I went into my 1.5 terabyte back-up drive and deleted a number of the TM backups because the drive was getting too full. (I also use that drive to store “permanent” photo files in other folders.)
    Evidently, the computer does not recognize the deletions because the drive shows the same miniscule amount of space as it did prior to the deletions.
    I know people have talked about using “actions” button in the gear icon. However, I can’t find that.
    Any ideas?
    Thanks.
    Tek

    Thanks for the reply, V.K.
    Unfortunately, I deleted via the finder and then emptied the trash. :-}
    I know now, (after the fact) that this was the wrong thing to do. However, I didn’t find a “delete” option within TM.
    It all seemed “logical” at the time. . . and quite frankly, still does. Why the heck is TM so difficult to control? Why can’t one just set it for X number of backups and have an easy to access delete button? (grumble, grumble)
    I looked at the FAQs, but am still not clear on how to find the “action” button. I am using a laptop with no “right click” feature. The mouse is a one piece model.
    My backup drive is directly attached, but, only when I want to backup since I work on a MB pro laptop.
    So please:
    How do I correct this?
    Do I need to format the backup drive and partition? I don’t want/need so many backups cluttering my drive. I need space for permanent photo archives which are very large. These are now merely in a separate folder on the backup drive.

  • How to delete the old backup in time machine?

    Hi all,
    As I have use the TM for a year,the backup folder is on a network dirve. HOw can I delete the old backup (eg 6 months ago) in order to release more space?
    Thank you
    Gary

    Hi, and welcome to the forums.
    I'll assume you mean a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, not a Time Capsule or external HD connected to a Time Capsule or other Mac on your network.
    If so, you can delete individual backups via Time Machine. See #12 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). That may not seem to gain any space, since the backups are in a rather odd container called a +sparse bundle.+ It won't shrink automatically when you delete things, but the space will be reused for new backups.
    You may be able to limit the size of the backups by limiting the amount of space available to Time Machine on the NAS, but you'll have to use whatever facilities the NAS supplies, not OSX. Some allow the disk to be partitioned as on a normal disk, or allocate space to shares.

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

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

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

  • I recently deleted imovie 9 .and i don't have a cd and i have not made backup from time machine ..i want it back.plz help me..

    i recently deleted imovie 9 .and i don't have a cd and i have not made backup from time machine ..i want it back.plz help me..

    It depends how you installed it.
    If you installed from your iLife 11 DVD, then you can insert the DVD and install it again.
    If you purchased it from the Mac App Store, you can open the Mac App Store, go to the Purchases tab, and reinstall from there.

  • Delete multiple backups in time machine?

    Is there a way to delete multiple backups in TIme Machine and not have to delete old files one by one by slow one by one?

    pcp0827 wrote:
    Is there a way to delete multiple backups in TIme Machine and not have to delete old files one by one by slow one by one?
    Yes, sort of.  You can delete indiividual backups, or all backups of selected items,via Time Machine.  See #12 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.  You can only select one backup at a time, but they're deleted in a separate process, so you can select another before the first one completes.  When you exit from Time Machine, you may see one or more progress bars for the individual deletions.  (As noted there, never delete anything from your backups via the Finder.)
    But you really shouldn't have to do that.  Time Machine will delete your oldest backups automatically, when it needs room for new ones.

  • How to delet old backups in time machine

    How to delete old backups in time machine.
    I have no space left for new backups

    See Here  >  Should I delete old backups?  If so, How?
    From Here  >  http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

  • How do I delete all backups of Time Machine in OSX 10.7.2?

    I had some huge photo files (100gb) that were on my computer for a few weeks and have now been processed and deleted. I suspect that Time Machine backed them up on my external hard drive. How can I delete all backups from Time Machine and start with a fresh series of backups?
    Tks

    That would work also.
    I like to reformat the disk just to rebuild the directory when I clean one.
    Allan

  • Is it possible to delete files from time machine?

    Is it possible to delete files from time machine? I had a drive crash, restored the files to a new drive, and now the old versions and the new versions of the files are both backed up, taking up a mountain of drive space. Do I just have to wait 'til the drive gets full and then tell it what to delete first?

    Hi, I need help in a related problem. I have 500gb time capsule. I needed larger hard drive, so I now use TM to back up to a different 1tb hard drive. So I don't need the TC as a TM back up device. But I want to use the TC's hard drive as an extra external hard drive. I deleted the files that were on it. but it still shows it has a sparsebundle file with a size of over 400gb ( probably the size of the old backups). When I use disk utility to try to erase it, I am not offered the erase tab. This "disk" does show on the desk top as a mounted disk (I think) with only 53 gb free. How can I set this up so all the disk space is free and I can use it for storing files, not as a back up? Thanks

  • How do you delete file from time machine back up?

    How do you delete file from time machine back up?

    This from Apple KB Article  If Time Machine is not in your Dock, you can enter Time Machine from the Menu Bar or System Preferences.
    Deleting data from a Time Machine backup
    To delete all backups of one or more items from a Time Machine backup, follow these steps:
    Click the Time Machine icon on your Dock to enter the Time Machine restore interface.
    Click on the item you would like to delete. Command-click to select multiple items.
    Control-click (or right click) the highlighted item(s) and select "Delete All Backups of..." from the contextual menu, or select "Delete all backups of..." from the Action Item menu.
    Authenticate with an administrator password when prompted.

  • HT201250 File deleted on Opperating Drive- will this delete file from Time Machine?

    If a file has been backed up to my time machine back ups and I delete the file from my computer, will the file be deleted from my time machine backups as well?

    Only if the drive used for the backups is out of space.
    (66314)

  • I have just upgraded to Mavericks and have been using Time Machine on an external disk with Snow Leopard.  Can I continue to backup with Time Machine on the same external disk or do I need a new disk since the operating system has changed?

    I have just upgraded to Mavericks and have been using Time Machine on an external disk with Snow Leopard.  Can I continue to backup with Time Machine on the same external disk or do I need a new disk since the operating system has changed?

    Hi there,
    I found that Time Machine in Mavericks will sort it all out for you. You shouldn't need to buy another backup drive, unless you have insufficient space left and can't afford to delete whats on there. It should just work fine.

  • Multiple iPhone backups in Time Machine

    I have my wife's iPhone and she was charging it on our Mac via cable. Our iTunes is instructed not to sync automatically. We have two phones in iTunes. Child comes along and somehow resets or wipes phone: not sure which one.
    My question is, if I were to enter into Time Machine is it possible to discern which backup is for which phone? The phone is not synced often and I'm guessing the last one was in September, if she even synced at all during that month .
    I'm on os x10.8 which was a recent upgrade. Our previous version residing on Time Machine is SL. I have been told to be careful on the restore just in case we need to resort to other (cough) measures in order to (cough) the data.
    Thanx

    pcp0827 wrote:
    Is there a way to delete multiple backups in TIme Machine and not have to delete old files one by one by slow one by one?
    Yes, sort of.  You can delete indiividual backups, or all backups of selected items,via Time Machine.  See #12 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.  You can only select one backup at a time, but they're deleted in a separate process, so you can select another before the first one completes.  When you exit from Time Machine, you may see one or more progress bars for the individual deletions.  (As noted there, never delete anything from your backups via the Finder.)
    But you really shouldn't have to do that.  Time Machine will delete your oldest backups automatically, when it needs room for new ones.

  • I recently upgraded my Macbook pro with a new Hard Drive.  I then transferred the data using Time Machine.  Now when I want to backup using Time Machine again, it won't do it as it did before to the same external HD.  How can I get it to reconnect?

    Purchased a new, larger solid state drive to replace my old drive.  I installed OSX then I had Time Machine do it's magic. 
    Now when I want to do a backup using Time Machine, it tells me that the external HD is full.  When I did so prior to upgrade, it would erase old backups and then do a new backup.
    Please help.  I am worried about losing files, and am tired of seeing the "Time Machine hasn't backed up in xxx days" Error Message.
    Thanks.

    it thinks yours is a new machine so it doesn't want to start deleting another machine's backups
    see the bottom of this page
    http://pondini.org/TM/19.html

  • HT201250 I want to use Time Machine to back up my pictures because my hard drive is full but I'm wondering if once I back up the pictures then delete them will time machine delete them off the back up too?

    I want to use Time Machine to back up my pictures because my hard drive is full but I'm wondering if once I back up the pictures then delete them will time machine delete them off the back up too?

    Evetually yes.
    If your pictures have been in the same location (same folder, same subfolder, ...) for more than a week, then copies if them will remain in your TM backups until it fills up. They are then vulnerable to being deleted.
    If they've been there for less than a week, TM could delete them as early as a month from now. If they've been there for only a few hours, chances are TM will delete them tomorrow.
    This is why TM is not the best tool to use to archive data that you will be deleting from your main hard drive. Copy them to a dedicated external drive, or burn DVDs.

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