Deleting Time Capsule Files

I want to delete my backup files on my circa 2008 (1 TB) Time Capsule and start backing up fresh. I moved the sparsebundle to the trash, but it has been saying it is deleting for over 12 hours, and I continue to hear the Time Capsule working. Could it take that long to delete about 750 GB from the Time Capsule?

Just for future reference and clarification, a Time Capsule is a piece of Apple hardware that combines a wireless router and HD. 
Time Machine is Apple's backup software that's included with OSX.  It can back up to a Time Capsule or various other destintations.
To erase a drive in your Mac Pro, you need to use Disk Utility.  If it can't unmount it, that means something else is trying to use it.  Turn Time Machine OFF, be sure the "Star Wars" display isn't looking at it, etc.  You might have to exclude it from Spotlight indexing, via System Prefererences > Spotlight > Privacy.
If it still won't unmount, try Restarting your Mac, then immediately going in to Disk Utility to erase the disk.
If all else fails, start up from your Recovery HD (if you're running Lion) or OSX Install disc and use the copy of Disk Utility there.  See the yellow box in #1 of Using Disk Utility.

Similar Messages

  • I deleted time capsule files that were old, but now they won't delete from the trash

    I deleted some time capsule files from the drive I am using for time machine.  It placed them in the trash, but it won't delete them.  It is asking if I want to delete only locked files or if I want to delete all files.  I have tried both, but they are still showing up in the trash.  It won't remove them.  Does anyone have any suggestions, as I do not know what else to do.  By the way I tried holding the option key and clicking empty trash and that did not work either.

    Are these files being used by Time Machine. If so, this is how to delete files from a Time Machine backup. You can not delete them using Finder. Mac 101: Time Machine
    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.
    Important:  Do not use the Finder to move to the items to the Trash, or to move or delete items in your Time Machine backup repository. The folder containing your Time Machine backup repository is called "Backups.backupdb" and is located on the external disk or Time Capsule you have chosen in Time Machine preferences.

  • How do I delete time capsule files and starting over

    I installed a time capsule last week and backed up my HD using TM. After doing that, I started moving large movie files from my HD to an external drive, and backing up both the HD and external on the TC. Even though I have only 130 G worth of files in total, my TM is now nearing 400G, because it backed up several times during the process of transferring files. I tried to delete the TM backup, and even tried deleting everything on the TC using disk utility, but I can't get that memory back. I have not tried zeroing out the drive thru disk utility. How can I just wipe out the TC and start again?

    You can reformat the hard disk in the Time Capsule.
    Go to Airport Utility --> Manual Setup --> Disks --> Highlight "Time Capsule Disk" on the left --> Click "Erase" on the right.
    Rename the disk and select the level secure erasure. You're done and ready to begin backing up again.
    Hope this helps.

  • Storing and deleting time capsule files

    After reviewing a number of posts it seems partitioning the time capsule is very difficult at best. If I am using it to back up my computer and wanting to save other files to it, what happens when the disk reaches capacity? Can you delete backup files to make room for other files or will that corrupt the retrieval?

    Time Capsule is not intended for partitioning by Apple. If you need additional storage space, an additional HDD is best. However, you can delete back up files, but only do this via the Time Machine interface. Deleting files via Finder is asking for trouble.

  • Time Capsule file permissions

    Whenever I copy a file to the time capsule (either via finder by moving it there, or via terminal with cp) the file permissions of the file end up with -rwxrwxrwx, independently whether the file was an executable, or whether it only had reading permissions for all or group. Running chmod on the Time Capsule files has no effect.
    This is really silly and makes the Airport Disk sharing useless. This way I will never share files with my friends over the Airport disk because the files loose their property and all files are executables at the end.
    Is there a way to mount or configure the Time Capsule so that it conserves the file permissions?
    I am aware that time capsule cannot handle different users, but at least it should conserve the file permissions. I imagine it could be like a scp or ftp of files to another server. My files on the other server will not have my user name, but at least they conserve the file permissions. A -rw-r-r- file will still be a -rw-r-r- file even if I copy it 10 times from one server to another.
    I would lik to encourage Apple to take this problem seriously and provide an update for this issue. So many other Apple products are just so well integrated in a networking environment, even if it is a heterogeneous one, but not Time Capsule with this flaw.
    Best wishes,
    Reto

    Agree, this is a serious flaw, that makes the device very dangerous to use as a central server for shared files, for example, the family's photograph collection. Since there appears to be no way to write protect anything, how can I ensure the files don't get modified or deleted?
    Here's a nasty case I am seeing:
    We unload a digital camera onto the TC's disk, then someone goes to their iPhoto app, and adds these files to their iPhoto library. Then they do something simple, like rotate the photos, and voila! The master file on the TC has now been modified! Horrible.

  • I have "migrated" my Time Capsule files to my new iMac and most of the files to me "I don't have permission to view files" I am they admin....will I thought I was. What gives?

    I have "migrated" my Time Capsule files to my new iMac and most of the files to me "I don't have permission to view files" I am they admin....will I thought I was. What gives?

    You should be able to change the permissions on the files.. this is yet another bungle by Mavericks I suspect.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13799
    Sometimes it is because you Migrated wrongly.
    http://pondini.org/TM/E10.html
    It is not up to Mavericks because sadly the guy who wrote all this great info died recently.

  • FTP Time Capsule Files

    I have a MAC running OX X 10.5.6 and I am trying to access my Apple Time Capsule files remotely. I have port 21 open and have assigned it to my local Time Capsule address of 10.0.1.1 I am not sure why but I get the message "unable to connect to <IP address FTP server dropped the connection.
    My windows script is:
    Fetch 5.3 (5D161) Intel running on Mac OS X 10.5.6 (9G55) Intel English
    StuffIt Engine 0x820, StuffIt SDK Version 10.1.1b1
    Partial serial FETCH5X001-TGFE-PGCK T
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:35:21 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:35:21 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:35:33 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:35:33 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:36:55 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:36:55 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:37:11 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:37:11 PM)
    Update check skipped at 02/09/2009 10:37 PM (next check after 02/15/2009 07:20 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:37:43 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:37:43 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:37:49 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:37:49 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:38:33 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:38:33 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:39:10 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:39:10 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:44:43 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:44:43 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:44:48 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:44:48 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:48:19 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:48:19 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 10:48:37 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 10:48:37 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 11:01:13 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 11:01:13 PM)
    Connecting to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (Mac OS X firewall is allowing connections) (2/9/09 11:07:24 PM)
    Connected to 51.67.187.169 port 21 (2/9/09 11:07:24 PM)

    Buggy TC. You just need to restart it.
    Let me know how you get on.

  • Can I access time capsule file without using imac

    can I access time capsule file without using imac

    From a time machine backup? No. If you mean just a regular file stored on there? Not directly. There are a couple of apps out there where you can indirectly get to a file but it's a pain. If you have need of accessing a file both from the mac and the iPad then I suggest DropBox. You get 2GB free and it's a good way to share information between machines and devices.

  • HT4522 I would like to delete some time capsule files that I erased from my mac. Please and thanks

    Please help me deleting some files that are in my time capsule which I have erased from my computer
    thank you

    Since you deleted the files on your Mac, Time Machine will eventually delete them automatically from the Time Capsule, so you really need do nothing.
    If you really do want to delete the files right now, open Time Machine, wait for it to load and use the timeline on the right side of the window to go back to a date when the files were still on your Mac.
    Use the Finder like interface to navigate to the specific file that you want to delete and click on it to highlight it
    Click the gear icon at the top of Time Machine window and click "Delete all backups of  xxxxxxxx"
    Do the same for other files that you want to delete.
    Click Cancel at the lower left of the window to return to your normal desktop

  • URGENT: Deleting file on Mac will not delete Time Capsule copy?

    Hi, I seem to have run out of disk space on my iMac, and my Time Capsule (2 TB, latest model) was supposed to be my solution, however: Seeing as Time Capsule takes "snapshots" and so on, will deleting a file from my computer also delete it at the next Time machine backup, or will it be safely stored in my Time Capsule ((I know Time Capsule also deletes the oldest backup "snapshots", but that´s only when it gets full, right? Any idea how to prevent this, as well))?

    You MUST not do this..
    http://pondini.org/TM/20.html
    TM can at any time delete the file.. Eventually it will note that the file is missing and delete it from the backup.
    Use another utility.. CCC, Chronosync..
    Better still copy the files to the TC.
    Simply drag and drop them to a new folder .. not inside the backup.
    Big fat ugly BUTT... you then have but one copy of the file.. one day the TC will die..wipe itself, hdd crash.. you will have no backup. TM cannot backup a network drive.. TC is a backup device.. it cannot back itself up.
    Think long and hard where you are going to move stuff.
    In an imac as a desktop computer, buy external drive.. FW800 or Thunderbolt much preferred and faster than USB. Use external to provide extra space and TM can then do what it is best at.. backing up.. and TC can store backups as it is designed to.

  • Time Capsule - File sharing with accounts

    I recently got a brand new Time Capsule 1 TB. I have not copied any data to the internal (Airport) disk drive yet since I have been previously using a separate USB disk drive for Time machine backups and for storing other data. When I will have time I will just copy the data from the external USB drive to the Time capsule and use the Time capsule disk also for Time machine backups (I will delete the previous Time machine backups from the USB drive), while the USB drive will remain connected to the Time capsule for extended storage.
    I would like to secure my shared disk with accounts (Airport Utility ->Disks -> File Sharing -> Secure Shared Disks -> With Accounts); currently I have "With a disk password" option selected. Somewhere on the internet I've read that when I enable this feature a new directory is created for each of the user account added to the Time capsule for disk access and that the existing data is removed from the Time capsule. Also, a new folder is created in Time capsule with a name of the disk which can be used as a shared folder for all users with accounts on Time capsule.
    The questions I have are:
    1. What happens to the other external USB drive connected to Time machine when I enable the user account secutiry feature? Is the data deleted? Are user account also set for this drive?
    2. How to delete one user's data from the Time capsule after enabling user accounts access? If I delete his/her account on Time capsule, is his/her data also deleted from disk or just stays there?

    mikkec wrote:
    I recently got a brand new Time Capsule 1 TB. I have not copied any data to the internal (Airport) disk drive yet since I have been previously using a separate USB disk drive for Time machine backups and for storing other data. When I will have time I will just copy the data from the external USB drive to the Time capsule and use the Time capsule disk also for Time machine backups
    this will not work. TM treats backups to locally attached drives differently to those made to networked drives. click here for information.
    (I will delete the previous Time machine backups from the USB drive), while the USB drive will remain connected to the Time capsule for extended storage.
    I would like to secure my shared disk with accounts (Airport Utility ->Disks -> File Sharing -> Secure Shared Disks -> With Accounts); currently I have "With a disk password" option selected. Somewhere on the internet I've read that when I enable this feature a new directory is created for each of the user account added to the Time capsule for disk access and that the existing data is removed from the Time capsule. Also, a new folder is created in Time capsule with a name of the disk which can be used as a shared folder for all users with accounts on Time capsule.
    The questions I have are:
    1. What happens to the other external USB drive connected to Time machine when I enable the user account secutiry feature? Is the data deleted? Are user account also set for this drive?
    2. How to delete one user's data from the Time capsule after enabling user accounts access? If I delete his/her account on Time capsule, is his/her data also deleted from disk or just stays there?
    somebody else will need to address these questions.

  • How do you look through Time Capsule files individually?

    I'm backing up for the first time ever on my new Time Capsule that I just picked up from the Apple store. I was wondering, because I noticed that while I'm still backing up that there's one file marked for today's date and backup, if there was a way to individually sort through which files are getting backed up to make 100% sure they're recopied. I cannot afford to accidentally delete something thinking it's on here.
    Thanks!

    check out this user tip.

  • How to delete Time Capsule backups for old discs?

    Does anyone know how I can delete a no longer needed backup for my old Powerbook and reclaim the disc space it's taking up? 1TB Time Capsule getting low on space, but I don't want to erase the whole drive, just the Powerbook backup.
    I can't see it from the Time Machine interface, just the one for the MacBook I now use, but I can see it as a sparseimage in the FInder. The problem is that deleting the sparseimage from the Finder just doesn't work. Dialogue box states "Deleting…" and "0 items to be deleted" but stays open forever and the file never gets deleted.
    Any help would be much appreciated as I'm driving myself nuts with this...

    ee601 wrote:
    Ok, it's 4 hours now since deleting the sparsebundle with the TC connected directly, and the Trash dialogue window says "The operation can’t be completed because the item “bands” is in use." Does that give any clues?
    unfortunately not.
    how comfy would you be to erase your TC's HD ? I mean, would you be willing to completely start over ? via airport utility, you have the option to erase your TC's HD, which of course would mean also to erase all other sparsebundles on it.
    generally, TM backups to a TC should be only *one part* of an overall backup strategy. besides using TM to backup my machines to my TC, i make bootable clones of both regularly.
    anyways, post back if you decide to +start over+ - the necessary steps can be provided ...

  • How to recover time capsule file from formatted hdd?

    Hi everyone!
    Yesterday i accidentally formatted my external HDD which i used for time capsule backup and other files backup.
    Do you know any recovering program to recover my .sparsebundle file from the time capsule? I have tried data rescue 3 and disk drill but i get tons of files with no names on it... just .mov, .xls, etc...
    Any good ideas? I've tried to find in pondinis site but it doesn't recommend any recovery software with this specific function?
    Many thanks for your help!!

    The sparsebundle is hugely difficult to recover.. I simply would not bother. TM breaks files up when they are stored.. it creates literally millions of bits of your files and puts them back together.. once you delete the file tables the TM backup is really dead.
    You should however be able to recover you files.. they are far more important and the file structure allows them to be recovered.. even if you lose the name you can open a file and identify it.

  • Delete time capsule

    After a hard re-set, I created a new Time Capsule.  I never formatted it.  I would now like to delete it.  How do I go about this?

    I have a little different situation that maybe someone on this post can help me with?
    I have a new iMac with dual drives. I started Time Machine ( now turned off after a complete backup )
    and backed up my entire computer on the second 2 TB internal drive.
    Along with the Time Machine Backups.backupdb files, I have other files on the same internal HD.
    Now, I want to buy a 2 TB Time Capsule and start fresh. ( I currently have an Airport Express, I want to replace )
    How do I do this?
    Can I just go thru the process of setting up the new Time Capsule.
    Then going to Time Machine Preferences Set up and selecting the new Time Capsule HD?
    If this is possible? what happens to the old Backups.backupdb files? Can I drag it to the trash?
    I really don't want this second backup on this internal HD, I don't have a long history that I need saving.
    Thanks in advance, Tom

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