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

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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.

I've mistakenly deleted Time Machine backups from my external HDD. How do I fix this?!

I manually deleted several Time Machine backups from my external HDD. Whenever I attempt to empty trash, it states (error code -22) has occurred. How do I fix my predicament?
I understand (now) that I should never do this and ONLY delete from the Time Machine app itself but I did not assume this would be so complex by taking a blind stab at it. How do I either a) place the Time Machine backups where the originated (Put Back is not an option when right-clicked) or b) successfully delete these so I can clear my bin.
I am running Mac OS 10.10 on a 13" MacBook Air (mid-2013) w/ 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. My external drive is a 5400 RPM WD USB 2.0 External Hard Drive.

Try Trash won't empty deleted time machine backups

How can I delete time machine backups from my external hard rive

My 2 TB hardrive is starting to fill up, so i went to check on what is taking all the space up, aparently time machine has use 321.90GB of space on my hardrive.
if it is possible I want to be able to delete a couple of backups but if i cant delete a couple of backups then i would not mind to delete all of the backups.
Thankyou

Time Machine manages space automatically. You should not delete snapshots yourself. You also should not use the backup drive for anything but backups. If there are non-backup files on the drive, move them to another drive (which must also be backed up.)

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

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

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

Is there any way to create a time machine backup to an external hard drive with content already on it? I have a hard drive that i have used for pictures but when i try to run a backup it says i need to start from a blank drive. Can i get around it?

Is there any way to create a time machine backup to an external hard drive with content already on it? I have a hard drive that i have used for pictures but when i try to run a backup it says i need to start from a blank drive. Can i get around it?

It would be much better if you had separate drives for the pictures and Time Machine backups.....but, if you want to use the same drive for both purposes, temporarily move the folder with the pictures to another location for safe storage.
Run the Time Machine backup on the hard drive and verify that everything is working correctly. Time Machine will format the disk for you in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as part of the backup process.
Then move the folder with the pictures back to the hard drive with the Time Machine backups.
When you have tested to make sure that everything is working again, then and only then should you delete the folder with pictures from the temporary storage area.
Again....it would be much better to keep Time Machine backups on a drive just for that purpose, and other data on another drive for that purpose. This is clearly one of those times when the fact that you can do something does not mean to imply that you should do it.

Put back deleted time machine backup files

I Accidentally deleted my time machine backups folder although I can still see all my files in the trash of the specific external hard drive. But when I choose put back I get a message saying the files can't be moved because they are backup files.
Is there anyway to go around this?
it seems I just need the right permissions to drag the folder back to its original place.
thank you

I'm up for anything! Those are my only backups and on top of that I can't boot my own computer properly (only through an external HD which has bad sectors) because it gets stuck on Yosemite installation reboot. So I'm trying to get my time machine files back so I can go into recovery mode and see if I can put my yosemite system onto the new internal HD.
I thank you for the help. Here is the information you requested:
Volume name is "Time Machine"
total 600
drwxrwxr-x 17 domingosmiguel staff     646 12 Dez 19:07 .
drwxrwxrwt@ 8 root            admin     272 18 Dez 09:48 ..
-r--------   1 domingosmiguel staff      16 6 Mai 2011 .00254bd50940
-rw-rw-r--@ 1 domingosmiguel staff    6148 15 Dez 11:21 .DS_Store
drwx------   5 domingosmiguel staff     170 15 Out 2011 .Spotlight-V100
drwxrwxrwt@ 3 domingosmiguel staff     102 13 Jun 2013 .TemporaryItems
drwx-wx-wx@ 3 domingosmiguel staff     102 12 Dez 18:40 .Trashes
-rw-r--r--   1 root            wheel 162570 25 Ago 2011 .VolumeIcon.icns
-rw-r--r--@ 1 domingosmiguel staff     312 13 Jun 2013 .apdisk
-rw-r--r--   1 domingosmiguel staff       0 6 Mai 2011 .com.apple.timemachine.supported
-rw-r--r--   1 root            staff     785 25 Nov 2013 .disk_label
-rw-r--r--   1 root            staff    3149 25 Nov 2013 .disk_label_2x
drwx------ 27 domingosmiguel staff     918 15 Dez 12:39 .fseventsd
drwxr-xr-x+ 6 root            staff     204 14 Dez 16:43 Backups.backupdb
-rwxr-xr-x@ 1 root            wheel 115716 29 Set 2013 tmbootpicker.efi
I thank you again for the help

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.

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

HT201250 How can I migrate a Time Machine backup from an external hard drive to a new TimeCapsuls?

I just got a 2TB Time Capsule. I want to migrate my time machine backups on an external hard drive to the new Time Capsule. I have about 430Gb of files to back up; I don't want to wait 7-8 days for the backup, unless I have to. I am using OS 10.7.5 (forget which cat that is). I have mounted the TC drive as 10.0.1.1; I tried to drag and drop from old to "data" on TC, but I get the error "The volume is the wrong format for a backup." Any ideas how I can move my old files to the new, and bypass creating a brand new backup file?
Thanks.

Rather than do that, which means starting over from scratch, losing all your edits, organisation and so on, why not simply use iPhoto Library Manager to revert the Library to the older version? Easier, less destructive.
The instructions on that are here
If you really want to start over: you can access the Originals folder simply by going to your Pictures Folder and finding the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.

I had to reformat my OSX 10.5.8 and i can't restore my emails from my time machine backup from an external hard drive - only the latest (post backup) time machine back ups are available to restore. Please can any help

I had to reformat my OSX 10.5.8 and I can't restore my emails from my time machine backup from an external hard drive - only the latest (post backup) time machine back ups are available to restore. Please can any help? I can find the mail folder in my libraries, but the Restore Button is grayed out

OSX treats the reformatted drive as a different one; it's the same as replacing it, and the old one is no longer connected.
See #E3 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting to see and restore from the "old" drive.
And, you may not want to restore via the Finder; see the blue box in #15 of Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

I threw out 24 time machine backups from an external hard drive into my desktop trash and now I can't empty my trash.

I threw out 24 time machine backups from an external hard drive into my IMac desktop trash and now I can't empty my trash.

Since you didn't mention what type of error message you were seeing, I'm going to guess on what is happening.
I'm guessing that since you threw away Time Machine backups, that Time Machine is probably active on your Mac. There is a chance then that the files you tossed are marked as in use. You can't delete files that are in use.
Try turning Time Machine off, then restart your Mac. Then try deleting them again.
Once done, turn Time Machine back on.
Tom

Is there a way to get my photos off an old time machine backup from an external hard drive?

Is there a way to get my photos off an old time machine backup from an external hard drive?

You will have to connect the Time Machine HDD and click on the Icon. You will see one folder called Backups.backupdb. Click on that and you will have to continue until you find the home folder. The iPhoto library (where the pictures are, not the application) will probably be in your pictures folder. You will have to drag that to your desk top. Then you will have access to individual images.
Ciao.

HT201250 is there any way to retrieve deleted time machine backups?

is there any way to retrieve deleted time machine backups? it has now deleted the oldest, but most important backup. It was made right before before upgrading to mountain lion. Because I had some issues with placing the files back the way I wanted, I had to connect my hard drive to my mac several times. Result, everytime I did so, a backup was made. Like today, when I was transferring everything from that specific backup. But in the meantime Time Machine made a new backup, deleting the old one I was using. Ironically, I lost everything while I was transferring the files back to my mac. Please give me good news.

Once the external hard drive that you use for Time machine deleted its oldest backup and overwrote it, the ability to retrieve those files disappeared. They are gone for good.
Hope this helps

Errors when transferring my Time Machine backup to an external drive.

Hello,
I need some help transferring my Time Machine backup to an external drive. Let me explain what happened.
I have a Mac OSX Mountain Lion that was upgraded to Mavericks when the upgrade came out. Prior to upgrading, I've been backing up WD Passport Mac with the proprietary software "WD Unlocker on it". It worked flawlessly but after upgrading to Mavericks, I decided to backup and noticed that once i inserted the WD Passport, my screen will flicker, windows will close and reappear.
I decided to read up on this and discovered that Mavericks is not compatible with the "WD Unlocker " program on the Passport drive. Since I already have a backup in place, i decided to restore my computer to factory settings and when I attached the Passport drive with my backup on it, My device will see the backup but it will keep spinning for hours without restoring my backup. I decided to read further on this and I got the same Mavericks compatibility conclusion.
I then copied my entire backups.backupdb folder to my Mac desktop and formatted my WD Passport external drive and got rid of the proprietary software "WD Unlocker".. Once this was completed, I then tried to copy my backups.backupdb folder to my external drive within finder. Each time i tried, i get error messages and permission messages. Even when i changed the permission on the backups.backupdb folder to read & write for everyone, i still get the permissions error.
Please helppppp. I have over 500gb of vital data in my backup.
Thank you.

Since you don't really have a question, I will give you a very broad information source for the next time you have a Time Machine question.
Please visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
Oh, you cannot use a computer whose only disk drive is the target of a an OS X cloning operation regardless of what software is used for the clone. You can, however, use the source drive except if you try to clone using Disk Utility.

Deleting Time Machine Backup Folder on External HD

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