External hard drive used for Time machine is full and having a hard time backing up. what should I do?

External hard drive used for Time Machine is full and having a hrad time backing up. What is my best option moving forward? NAS?

For All things Time Machine see Pondini's Excellent Infirmation here...
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
Start with FAQs and Troubleshooting.

Similar Messages

  • After install of Lion, secondary internal hard drive used for backup and time machine is not showing on the desktop.

    After an install of Lion, my secondary internal hard drive used for backup and time machine is not showing on the desktop. Cannot be located with Disk Utility either. Contains vital files! please help...

    I have a TB internal drive, but this is what it shows for memory slots:
    Memory Slots:
      ECC:    Enabled
    DIMM Riser B/DIMM 1:
      Size:    2 GB
      Type:    DDR2 FB-DIMM
      Speed:    800 MHz
      Status:    OK
      Manufacturer:    0x0000
      Part Number:    0x000000463732353642363145353830304600
      Serial Number:    0x00000000
    DIMM Riser B/DIMM 2:
      Size:    2 GB
      Type:    DDR2 FB-DIMM
      Speed:    800 MHz
      Status:    OK
      Manufacturer:    0x0000
      Part Number:    0x000000463732353642363145353830304600
      Serial Number:    0x00000000
    DIMM Riser A/DIMM 1:
      Size:    1 GB
      Type:    DDR2 FB-DIMM
      Speed:    800 MHz
      Status:    OK
      Manufacturer:    0x80AD
      Part Number:    0x48594D5035313241373243503844332D5335
      Serial Number:    0x42076007
    DIMM Riser A/DIMM 2:
      Size:    1 GB
      Type:    DDR2 FB-DIMM
      Speed:    800 MHz
      Status:    OK
      Manufacturer:    0x80AD
      Part Number:    0x48594D5035313241373243503844332D5335
      Serial Number:    0x4207631E
    DIMM Riser B/DIMM 3:
      Size:    Empty
      Type:    Empty
      Speed:    Empty
      Status:    Empty
      Manufacturer:    Empty
      Part Number:    Empty
      Serial Number:    Empty
    DIMM Riser B/DIMM 4:
      Size:    Empty
      Type:    Empty
      Speed:    Empty
      Status:    Empty
      Manufacturer:    Empty
      Part Number:    Empty
      Serial Number:    Empty
    DIMM Riser A/DIMM 3:
      Size:    Empty
      Type:    Empty
      Speed:    Empty
      Status:    Empty
      Manufacturer:    Empty
      Part Number:    Empty
      Serial Number:    Empty
    DIMM Riser A/DIMM 4:
      Size:    Empty
      Type:    Empty
      Speed:    Empty
      Status:    Empty
      Manufacturer:    Empty
      Part Number:    Empty
      Serial Number:    Empty

  • Are all external FW drives used for Time Machine more prone to fail?

    Within a period of just several months, I've seen three different external FW drives used for time Machine in three different locations fail terminally.  They were different brands (Seagate, OWC and a nondescript generic from Fry's).
    Is there something intrinsically different about how Time Machines disks function compared to plain data storage drives?  Or was do these three drives amount to just a coincidence?
    Thanks in advance.

    Bus-powered seem not as robust as self-powered.
    Soemtimes cables are flaky.
    How did you decide these drives are "terminal?"

  • Using IMOVIE '08 to import from DV camera to 'BUSLINK' external hard drive( formatted for MAC ) but no success and kept getting this message: The import was canceled. You may not have permission to write to /Volumes/BUSLINK/iMovie Events.localized. Thanx

    Using IMOVIE '08 to import from DV camera to 'BUSLINK' external hard drive( formatted for MAC ) but no success and kept getting this message: The import was canceled. You may not have permission to write to /Volumes/BUSLINK/iMovie Events.localized. Thanx in advance!

    I finally got a representative that was able to help me, she had me go to Get Info, by right clicking iMovie from the finder, and I had to click on Sharing & Permissions>Everyone>Read & Write

  • My time capsule is full and when I attempt to back up, I only receive a preparing back up message and the earliest and most recent back up dates remain the same.  Why are the oldest backups not being deleted to make room for the newest backups?

    My time capsule is full and when I attempt to back up, I only receive a preparing back up message and the earliest and most recent back up dates remain the same.  Why are the oldest backups not being deleted to make room for the newest backups?

    linda mariefromharper woods wrote:
    My time capsule is full and when I attempt to back up, I only receive a preparing back up message and the earliest and most recent back up dates remain the same.  Why are the oldest backups not being deleted to make room for the newest backups?
    It may be in the process of making room.  What version of OSX are you on?    (That process can be excruciatingly slow on Leopard or Snow Leopard backups over a network;  Lion has improved it greatly.)
    A clue may be lurking in your logs.  Use the widget in #A1 of  Time Machine - Troubleshooting to display the backup messages from your logs.   That should help you figure out what's going on.  If in doubt, copy and post them here (but if the same ones repeat over and over, drop most of the duplicates).
    If you can, connect via Ethernet; it will be 2-3 times faster.

  • How do I import images from my hard drive without losing resolution? My original files after import are significantly smaller. What should I do?

    How do I import images from my hard drive without losing resolution? My original files after import are significantly smaller. What should I do?

    Hi Keith, and all others chiming in, I do have the correct option checked in advanced settings telling iPhoto to copy the images into the library. What is a refernced library? Perhaps this is where I am getting confused. I exported my entire photo library from an old iMac5 to my external hard drive, from there I attempted to import the entire library to my new iMac. Am I overlooking an obvious and easy way to import from the hard drive to the new iMac--I dragged the entire photo pholder from the hard drive to the open window of iPhoto on the new computer. Now, I only get preview file sizes in iPhoto, unless I have my external drive open. Perhaps I need to import the original images from the hard drive in a different way...?! (This is making me feel pretty stupid.)

  • My apple-ID is blocked, and I can't access the e-mail I use for my apple-ID so I can't restore the account. What should I do?

    My apple-ID is blocked, and I can't access the e-mail I use for my apple-ID so I can't restore the account. What should I do?
    I can't remeber my security questions, and I can't ask for a new password because I can't log in to the email because it got hacked...

    Have you tried logging out of your account on your iPod by tapping on your id in Settings > iTunes & App Store and then logging back in to see if that 'refreshes' the account on it and if it then works ?

  • HT3275 My time machine backup hangs up when partly completed. It seems to back up 7.4 MB out of 159.8 MB, and then keeps on turning but nothing seems to be happening. I tried troubleshooting it by doing a disk utility on the external hard drive used for T

    My Time Machine seems to be hanging up (stopping) beforew completion. I'm running Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8.2) on my iMac G5, and I already trouble-shot the external drive used for Time Machine by using Repair on Disk Utilities. So--what gives?

    IMac G5 with Mountain Lion.. amazing.. I am pretty sure support for early Intel stopped at ML and support for G5 long before that.
    Load the widget and see if you get error message that the TM is ejecting the drive.. before the backup is complete.. that is one of those nice.. features.. Apple has made available in recent updates.. sometimes called bugs.
    A1 in here http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    Also look at the other info.. C12 C17 are common issues.

  • Apple TV & Time Capsule's Hard Drive Used for iTunes Media Only !

    I would like to use the Time Capsule Hard Drive just for my iTunes. Not Time Machine. Time Capsule will be my Wireless Base Station (router) as well. But I'm going to plug my Mac Mini into the Time Capsule via Gigabit Ethernet. Will this work & how well (fast) will it stream the media from my iTunes to the Apple TV? I'm not synching any files on the Apple TV's Hard Drive. All Video & Music will be streaming! I know this is not what Time Capsule was intended for, but will it work & again, how well will it stream ? Is there a downside to setting it up this way ? Also, I'm not buying any Movies from the iTunes store. Thanks in advance!

    OK, so having my Mac & TC hardwired by Ethernet, is like having the Hard Drive inside the TC hard wired to my Mac? Correct ? I'm sorry to repeat myself but I'm just trying to understand all this. I'm bad with Networking! So you think I should be streaming OK even with watching a movie I have in iTunes (which lives on the TC Internal Hard Drive) on my Apple TV? My Apple TV will be used Wirelessly. No Ethernet to Apple TV. Again, I appreciate the help. I don't want to buy it & find I can't do what I want. B&H in NY have the older TC 500 GB Model for $199.95 And I have a crappy router currently. So I figure I can kill 2 birds with one stone.( I love Birds. It's just an expression! If it works, it would be ideal for my situation.

  • External hard drive using for video

    I would like to buy an external hard drive to store some video on it  and want to use it on my LAN
    Is there  somebody who can tell me in wich format it schould be formated.
    Thx

    Ah, I somehow read "would" as "would not." Thanks Wade.
    For Benny:
    In any event, this could still be an issue with the enclosure. Here is some general FireWire troubleshooting advice that may help after you rule out problems with the enclosure:
    1. Bad FireWire port: try a different FireWire port on the Mac, if available. Also, try it with your other Mac (Power Mac Dual 2.7 GHz G5). If it does not work on either Mac, that rules out the iMac G5 as the source of the problem and you should consider skipping to step 5. If it works with the Power Mac G5, then continue troubleshooting the iMac G5.
    2. Review the AppleCare Knowledge Base document "What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire device".
    3. Reset PRAM and NVRAM on the iMac G5.
    4. Reset the SMU of the iMac G5: For instructions on resetting the SMU, see the document from the following list corresponding to the model iMac G5 you have:• iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor), iMac G5 (iSight): How to Reset the SMU."
    • "iMac G5: Troubleshooting when your computer won't turn on."
    5. The FireWire drive's partition map could be damaged. This can occur if the FireWire drive was disconnected from either the computer or mains power before it was ejected. If you need to attempt to recover the data from the FireWire drive, see my "Data Recovery" FAQ for comprehensive advice that may help you with this problem.
    Good luck!
    Dr. Smoke
    Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
    Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
    I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

  • 750 gig hard drive use for FCE?

    I just purchased a 750 gig iomega minimax hard drive for my video editing. i hooked up the hard drive to my mini with a firewire and then my camera to the hard drive by firewire. when i open up FCE and click capture the captrue window appears like always. its shows me that i have 30 gigs left on my mac mini hard drive..
    Now is the esternal hard drive for storage only or can i used it to store my video footage where i can retrieve it for editing. i need help with this issue. thanks in advance jim k.

    Go to System Settings and change the scratch disk to the Iomega drive.

  • If my time machine is full and it deletes backups to free up space does it mean i will eventually loose data

    I have been backing up my hard drive with a external hard drive as atime machine
    the last time i backed up time machine said that it had deleted the oldest backup to make more space for newer ones .
    I looked back through the various back ups i have made and found that all my vidoes that i had taken off my computor and put on my external hard drive  were only on the earlest backups
    my question is if the earliest backups are deleted to make space will i eventually loose all my videos -  if so is there a way to avoid data being lost

    troyboy65 wrote:
    My time machine is full as it is backing up my imac and macbook. I am getting the orange flashing light.
    I have looked at the settings and it does not seem to give many options on length of backups etc.
    Im not sure what to do.
    You may not need to do anything; Time Machine ordinarily deletes your oldest backups automatically when it needs room for new ones. The orange light is completely separate and independent from that.
    Are both Macs getting backed-up regularly? Check via Time Machine Preferences > Options.
    How much data is on each of your Macs, and how large is your TC?
    I do have an old 500gb hard drive. Can i re format this and piggy back it to the time capsule to give me 1.5 tb?
    No. Time Machine backups can't "span" multiple drives.
    But if there really isn't enough space, you could connect that drive to your Time Capsule's USB port and back up one of the Macs to it, instead.

  • I have just installed a new hard drive in my imac intel 20" (2006) and now the hard drive does not show up in the 'select destinations' folder of the install program.

    I have just installed a new hard drive in my imac intel 20" (2006) and upgraded the memory and now the hard drive does not show up in the 'select destinations' folder of the install program. I can see the hard drive in the disk utilities window however it wont let me do anything.
    It is a seagate 1TB SATA II drive however it is displaying it as a 7.3 TB.
    If anyone has any suggestions I would be happy to hear them.
    I have tried to erase and partition and get the same error message each time, 'Input/Output error'.
    I have tried starting the thing with the install disk which is Mac OS X (Tiger?) which came with the computer. No good.
    Anyone?

    Thats correct. I can see it in the list however when I attempt to erase it or partition it it's like it's not being found or recognised and it throws up the input/output error message. I am pretty sure that the sensor it attached correctly and it is a SATA drive. I can see all the infor regarding the drive when disk utility is open and it all looks good but I cant access it or do anything with it. It's taunting me!
    The install disk is in the drive and the install program runs right up to the point where you have to select the location for the install and there is just nothing in the box where you have to select the hard drive icon.
    I have my suspiscions about the drive but any help would be appreciated.

  • Cleaning virus-infected files on external hard drive used for Time Machine

    I am kinda reposting this with some extra explanation since I didn't really get any good respnses on my first post:
    I am running McAfee VirusScan and it locates and cleans virus infected files just fine on my computer, but when it finds infected files on the external hard drive I use for Time Machine backups, it says "Repair Failed". Is there a way to clean infected files on my Time Machine backup drive?
    I had found a virus in several documents on my Mac, which I cleaned, but it seemed to infect a bunch of the files located in Time Machine as well. I know these files shouldn't harm my Mac, but I still don't like having virus infected files. They seem to propagate and I don't want to give them to any of my Windows-using friends.

    Hi,
    Usually (but not always), virus-infected files aren't system-related, so if they cannot be repaired, there should be an option in VirusScan to delete them or quarantine them instead of repairing them. Assuming that you are archiving Mac-related files and not archives of Windows files, then it should certainly be safe to just have VirusScan delete or quarantine them. An alternative is that you could delete them manually. But before you do any of this, be sure to take a look at the filename and its location in the folder hierarchy to make sure that you aren't removing a file that's critical to the operation of some piece of software.
    Hope this helps,
    Ken

  • How do I password protect the external hard drive used for Time Machine backup

    Can anyone help me to put password protection on the external hard drive I use to Time Machine backup my iMac internal hard drive?  I use Snow Leopard 10.6

    I think that was FileVault 1.  Starting with Lion (10.7) Mac OS X uses FileVault 2, which is whole disk encryption.
    Based on complaints seen in these forums, I would say FileVault 2's only complaint has been when people forget their password/encryption key (it seems an encrypted disk does prevent anyone without the password from accessing the data, including the real owner).  Otherwise it does not seem to be causing any serious issues.  Your Mileage may vary and objects are closer than they appear in your side view mirror (standard disclaimer).  Of course this is all academic while you are using Snow Leopard (10.6).
    There are other whole disk encryption packages available, such as PGP Whole Disk Encryption, HOWEVER, I would not advise it for your Mac OS X boot disk, as it has been known to be a problem when you try to install operating system updates or upgrade to a new version.  NOTE:  I have not seen PGP Whole Disk Encryption discussed much, ever since FileVault 2 came along.

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