Help using time machine with a macbook pro

Can you force a backup to time machine? I have a laptop & it is not always connected to the external hard drive or not always on. I want to just backup every day or so at my convenience. whenever I connect it now it does not even show a scheduled time to backup.

Click on the Dock's Time Machine icon and select Back Up Now.
Make sure your Mag Safe is connected otherwise TM will not perform any backups.

Similar Messages

  • Using TIme Machine on a MacBook Pro with an AFP connected External HD

    I have successfully been able to setup my MacBook Pro to use TM to an external drive connected to my MacPro - however there are some interesting limitations/observations/
    To make this configuration work - I had to go into the sharing system preferences and select file sharing and then add that external drive to my shared folders list.
    Now if I have shut down my laptop and then come back home and plug it back into the network via Ethernet - TM will try to run the backup job at its next scheduled time but will fail! What I have to do to make it work is to open a finder window - click on my shared MacPro desktop which then pulls up all of the folders that are shared including the external TM hard drive (by the way), but it will still not be enabled via the system preference. This is especially odd since within the title bar of that finder window - it clearly states that I am connected to this computer as "William Harris" What I then have to do is double click on the folder that represents that external HD and as soon as I do that - the system preference shows the name of the external HD in bold (no longer grayed out) and the TM backup starts immediately!!! This will then continue to work without my intervention until I shut the laptop down again.
    So - the fact that I must manually "re-connect" the connected AFP share point before TM will start to work again IMHO is a bug!
    Anyone else seeing this function working differently?

    gogetgil wrote:
    Run a Synology DS211  and trying to get Time Machine on my MB Pro (Lion) to work with my NAS as backup. It show work...but...My Macbook Pro doesn't recognize the NAS when opening Time Machine, it doesnt show the NAS as an option. However, in Finder it does see my NAS and I can work with it. Can somebody explain in steps (for my MB Pro and NAS) what I am doing wrong?
    I don't use one, but many folks use Synology NASs with Time Machine.  However, a number of 3rd-party NASs need to be updated to work witih Lion, so check with Synology to be sure your model is compatible and/or has the latest updates.
    It can be a bit tricky setting them up, however, as part of it must be done on the NAS, with the NAS's software, so follow Synology's instructions very carefully. 

  • Problem using time machine from migrated MacBook Pro

    I upgraded from a 2.66Gig 15 inch dual core to a 2.2GHz 15 inch quad core (MacBook Pro 8,2) - I used setup assistant to transfer files and settings form the old mac to the new one over ethernet - Everything (apps, documents, preferences) transferred fine and the new mac is a clone of the other except for being able to use time machine. On running for the first time I get an error dialog "Time machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk image "Volumes/backups/restOfPath.sparsebundle" could not be accessed(error-1).
    I tried a full reset of TM (deselecting the backup drive, turning off, deleting the preferences .plist and rebooting), with the same result. The image that is created is 1.6TB (on a 1 TB Iomega Home Storage drive). The image of my old time machine reflects the drive size -I don't know if this is a problem, both images are twice the size of the respective mac's inbuilt drives).
    I looked at the troubleshooting tips and installed TM buddy - the log from the new mac shows this:
    Starting standard backup
    Attempting to mount network destination using URL: afp://Ray%[email protected]/backups
    Mounted network destination using URL: afp://Ray%[email protected]/backups
    Warning: Destination /Volumes/backups does not support TM Lock Stealing
    Warning: Destination /Volumes/backups does not support Server Reply Cache
    Error 257 looking up immutability for /Volumes/backups/Ray-Hicks-MacBook-Pro.local_c82a1408b246.sparsebundle/token
    Error writing Time Machine Information file: /Volumes/backups/Ray-Hicks-MacBook-Pro.local_c82a1408b246.sparsebundle/com.appl e.TimeMachine.MachineID.plist
    Running backup verification
    Failed to attach to image: /Volumes/backups/Ray-Hicks-MacBook-Pro.local_c82a1408b246.sparsebundle, DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 107
    Backup verification incomplete!
    Failed to attach to image: /Volumes/backups/Ray-Hicks-MacBook-Pro.local_c82a1408b246.sparsebundle, DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 107
    Mount failed... waiting 60 seconds and trying again.
    Ejected Time Machine network volume.
    The original mac can still use it's backup on the same disc - it gives the same warnings about Lock Stealing and Server Reply Cache, I'll append a report from TM Buddy below this one.
    I'd appreciate any help that people can provide - I'm using the same username and password connecting to the backup disc from either mac so I'm presuming it's not an access privilege thing (but if it is I may need an idiots guide to changing these:))
    Cheers
    TM Buddy log from old MacBook follows:
    Starting standard backup
    Attempting to mount network destination using URL: afp://Ray%[email protected]/backups
    Mounted network destination using URL: afp://Ray%[email protected]/backups
    Warning: Destination /Volumes/backups does not support TM Lock Stealing
    Warning: Destination /Volumes/backups does not support Server Reply Cache
    QUICKCHECK ONLY; FILESYSTEM CLEAN
    Disk image /Volumes/backups/Ray-Hickss-MacBook-Pro.local_109add54a619.sparsebundle mounted at: /Volumes/Backup
    Backing up to: /Volumes/Backup/Backups.backupdb
    No pre-backup thinning needed: 803.6 MB requested (including padding), 748.74 GB available
    Copied 358 files (2.8 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
    No pre-backup thinning needed: 800.4 MB requested (including padding), 748.74 GB available
    Copied 31 files (15 KB) from volume Macintosh HD.
    Starting post-backup thinning
    No post-back up thinning needed: no expired backups exist
    Backup completed successfully.
    Ejected Time Machine disk image.
    Ejected Time Machine network volume.
    Message was edited by: RayHicks

    Sorry - I totally missed this longer post you made - here are the answers to the best of my knowledge - I seem to have answered a couple accidentally in my next post, but didn't directly address what you'd asked - sorry about that I just totally missed your post before reposting an update to (what I thought was) my one-man thread!
    {quote:title=Pondini wrote:}
    When you set up Time Machine on that NAS, do you create the sparse bundle manually, or does the NAS do it? Is there a setting on the NAS to limit the size? (One of the disadvantages to using a 3rd-party NAS is, few folks here, or with Apple, know much about how that particular NAS interacts with OSX).
    {quote}
    It seems that the NAS does it automatically, sometimes wrongly (it puts the wrong MAC in occasionally, and it appends .local after the username (not sure of the relevance of this, but in the manual setup that got me limping along in the later post, it doesn't mention the .local bit and I didn't use it (maybe this is why the access is through ip address now?)
    Those seem to mean your NAS isn't fully compatible with Snow Leopard. See if there's a software/firmware update for it.
    I'm using the latest firmware, and it works with the other mac also running 10 6.6
    also throwing the same warning but with no apparent problem (yet:P)
    I'd appreciate any help that people can provide - I'm using the same username and password connecting to the backup disc from either mac so I'm presuming it's not an access privilege thing (but if it is I may need an idiots guide to changing these:))
    That would be on the NAS, not OSX, so you'd need their instructions or help.
    Indeed it was (fix seems to be to manually install a newly created sparsebundle)
    You might try repairing the sparse bundle. Follow the instructions for a Time Capsule in #A5 of [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
    Thanks - I tried that I think ( I read though most of your site and tried many things:)), but with no joy - thanks for taking the time to provide this useful resource.
    On a Time Capsule or AirDisk, where Time Machine creates the sparse bundle, it's actual size starts out at just a few hundred MBs (the directory structure, etc.), then grows as backups are added. It's maximum size is set at the size of the volume it's on.
    That seems to be the way with this too (the actual size is a few hundred megs - though disc utility reports it to be 1.5TB which is twice the size of the Mac disc)
    Thanks again for your time and input,
    Ray

  • Sync Problems since used time machine to restore macbook pro

    Hi
    I had a macbook pro issues which to resolve Apple had me wipe clean my hard drive and reinstall snow leopard.
    I then used time machine to reload everything.
    Now I have a problem with BB DM mac.
    My ical and address book are restored but when I go to syn my BB 9700 I get the following in reference to my calendar
    The Previously selected items are no longer available
    I am at a loss. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the BB DM and still the same. Can't sync
    This is the response I got from Apple
    If I understand you correctly the message you indicate is coming from the Blackberry Desktop Manager, not from Addressbook or iCal?
    If that is the case you might find it advantageous to contact Blackberry as they would know how to troubleshoot their software.
    I would appreciate any suggestions on how to proceed so I can do a sync.
    Thanks ahead
    Margie

    Is the All Calendars radio button selected or Selected Calendars? I always leave the former selected as well as, under Advanced Settings, the Sync> All Events radio button. I'm hoping that the data that should be on your BB that, I assume, is not on your Mac will sync to your Mac.

  • Using Time Capsule with multiple Macbook Pro accounts

    I have had a 500 GB Time Capsule for a number of years, using it both as a router and hard drive.  I recently added a 2TB Time Capsule, which I plan to use exclusively for storage and the 500 GB Time Capsule for the router and to store the Time Machine backups.  When I only had the 500GB Time Capsule, I could switch between users on my Macbook Pro and still have access to the data that was stored on the Time Capsule without having to log the original user out.  I am finding that with the 2TB Time Capsule, that if I switch users not only do I have to log out the orginal user, but I also have to disconnect that user from the Time Capsule.  Is there anyway to setup the Time Capsule where I will not have to do this, as it is very tedious and time consuming.
    Thanks in advance.

    In the 5.6 utility there is an option to disconnect all users.. this should fix it in one go.
    Download and install the 5.6 utility.. it has far superior controls to 6.0 which is more a NOUN utility than VERB.
    A number of issues were introduced with Lion and 7.6 firmware on the TC..
    You can try going back to 7.5.2 firmware although the later Gen4 TC seem to not allow themselves to go back earlier than 7.6.
    The older and simpler TC.. might be better as a file store.. Open it up and put a 2TB disk in it.
    At least if that works.. well may as well use it.

  • HT201250 which external hard drive should I choose/use as I am setting up Time Machine on my MacBook Pro 15 for the very first time?

    Which external hard drive should I use/choose as I am setting up Time Machine on my MacBook Pro 15 for the very first time?

    Any of these SATA HDDs that are at least the same size as your internal HDD (preferably larger capacity).  In addition you will need an enclosure, preferably one with a Firewire as well as a USB connection.
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
    Ciao.

  • TS1338 I have 4 Trojan Horse viruses on my external drive I use for Time Machine.  My MacBook Pro hard drive is clean.  I have eased the external drive 3 times using Disk Utility and it still has the 4 Trojan Horse viruses. How do I get rid of them. Wayne

    I have 4 Trojan Horse viruses on my external drive I use for Time Machine.  My MacBook Pro hard drive is clean.  I have eased the external drive 3 times using Disk Utility and it still has the 4 Trojan Horse viruses. How do I get rid of them. I am using 10.8.3  Wayne

    ksu62 wrote:
    The infection names are:  classload.jar-719ef6a5.zip
                                              classload.jar-5db452le31.zip
                                              ar3.jar-6ce3b2f-45l483f.zip
                                              classload.jar-lef99412-63bsd3fl.zip
    Those look alot like file names and not infection names. I don't find any reference to anything like that on Norton or VirusTotal. Since you said these were Trojans, I would expect to see "Trojan" as part of the infection name.
    ".jar" files are executable Java applets. The random alpha-numerics would seem to indicate a cache file, likely from a browser with Java enabled. And we all know what ".zip" means.
    Worst case is that you had Java enabled in a browser and were infected by one of the late variants of the Flashback Trojan over a year ago or one of a couple of other attacks using the same vulnerability but targetted against a small number of political sympathizers. Much more probable is that thes were Windows only Trojans. Hopefully you have a fully up-to-date OS X, including Java, and have disabled Java in all your browsers by now.

  • I've recently received an error message from Time Machine that my Macbook Pro's sparsebundle is in use.  What is this and what can I do about it?

    I've recently received an error message from Time Machine that my Macbook Pro's sparsebundle is in use.  What is this and what can I do about it?

    This is asked at least 5-6 times a day here.
    Look at the right hand column.. more like this.
    It is a bug in Mountain Lion.
    Read C12 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    But the fast solution.. unplug the TC.. count to 10.. plug it back in.

  • I can not use CanoScan N670U with my Macbook pro. I download canoscan toolbox 4.1 from Cannon website. It keep saying "the scanner plug-in was not found". Please help

    I can not use CanaScan N670U with my Macbook Pro. I download Canoscan toolbox 4.1 from Cannon websit. It still keep saying "The scanner plug-in was not found". Please help

    There is a solution (I'm running Snow Leopard on a Core2Duo iMac, but this problem arose when I was running Leopard on a G4 PowerBook too).
    Problem:
    You download the OS X driver for the scanner from Canon's site. I already had the CanoScan Toolbox (4.1) stored on an external drive.
    You unzip the driver and run the VISE installer. After a search it finds your copy of Photoshop (and maybe even the CanoScan Toolbox), and you click to install on that/those location(s).
    You get a couple of error messages, which you click through.
    You restart your computer and try to run the scanner but you get an error that the driver is wrong or missing and the process will abort.
    Solution:
    BEFORE you restart, and with the installer package still open -
    1. Copy the Into_CFMSupport_Login & Into_CMPrefs folders to
    Applications : Canon Utilities
    Applications : Canoscan Toolbox
    and remove the prefix Into_ from each folder
    2. Check whether the installer placed N067U_Library.shlb into the top level (not User level)
    Library : CFMSupport
    and if it didn't, move it there yourself
    THEN restart, and try again. It worked for me (via Photoshop), but whether it will work for everyone, I don't know.

  • Problem using Time Machine with Seagate BackUp Plus Pls HELP!!

    I have a late 2006 iMac (running OS 10.5.8) & am trying to back up using Time Machine with a new Seagate BackUp Plus drive. When I select the Seagate drive in Time Machine it tells me I msut first erase the (Seagate) disk. When I hit ERASE, I get a Time Machine error : COULD NOT UNMOUNT DISK. I see from various posts that 10,5 & 10,6 have issues with some external drives so want to upgrade to Mavericks (to get around this incompatibility issue): HOwever apparently my iMac is too old (by 1 year) to allow this. Can anyone give me any advice on how to get my iMac content backed up via Time Machine using the Seagate BackUP PLus drive I  bought (becasue it is supposedly "compatible with PCs & Macs".
    Thank you!!
    Wendy

    Your Seagate drive should work just fine. If it doesn't have any important data on it, try re-formatting it with Disk Utility to blank it out. Or run the Disk verify/repair and see if you can get it to fix any problems.
    I have a Drobo FS too. You probably need a firmware update, they issued one a while back to fix problems with Time Machine. Use the Dashboard or download it from their support site, http://www.drobo.com/support/updates.php
    Just curious how long you let it run after it "stalled". If it is a big file it could just be taking a while to copy over, do you see activity lights on the USB drive? The first time you use time machine let it run overnight, it's going to take a while, after that it will update quickly.
    While you're at it, you might want to verify your start-up disk too with Disk Utility.

  • How to use Time Machine with an external drive?

    Hi…I’m new to this, I hope someone can help me=)
    I’m trying to back up my Macbook Pro 10.6.8 using Time Machine with an external drive Seagate Backplus Slim. I’ve tried several solutions that I’ve found through different forums but still wouldn’t work.
    Every time I opened Time Machine, it has this appearance:
    Then when I click “Select backup Disk”, it goes on like this:
    And after I click “Set Up Time Capsule”, it has this:
    It keeps saying that it couldn’t find AirPort wireless, even though I have good WIFI connection.
    Anyone know what I should do? Please help….Thanks everyone

    Ayuphie ~ In your Time Machine Preferences panel, slide the OFF-ON switch to the ON position:

  • I am trying to get an answer to whether or not I can successfully use Time Machine with an external HDD connected to an airport extreme?  Some forums say yes, some say no.

    I am trying to get an answer to whether or not I can successfuly use Time Machine with an external HDD connected to an airport extreme.  Some forums say yes, some say no.  I'm also curious about formatting the hard drive to work both on my wife's MacBook Pro and my PC.  Any help would definitely be appreciated.

    You may be going on a recollection, that I share, that at one time Apple stated this would be possible:
    In fact, Apple’s Time Machine Web page touted this very capability as recently as last Tuesday, as you can see from Google’s October 16 cache of the page
    Effortless meets wireless. With a hard disk connected to your AirPort Extreme Base Station, all the Macs in your house can use Time Machine to back up wirelessly. Simply select your AirPort Disk as the backup disk for each computer and the whole family can enjoy the benefits of Time Machine.
    But if you look at the current Time Machine page on Apple’s Web site, that text is nowhere to be found.
    That was a long time ago, it has never been officially implemented, and at present they specifically say it cannot be done.
    In summary, it may work, but probably won't, and even if it does it may not be reliable.
    Reference:
    Disks that can be used with Time Machine
    Time Machine can’t back up to an external disk connected to an AirPort Extreme, or...
    and
    Mac OS X v10.5: Time Machine doesn't back up to AirPort Extreme AirPort Disks

  • 2 user folders after time machine backup. Macbook Pro 13", Mac OS X 10.6.8

    After a time machine backup my macbook pro runs fine, however the backup has created a 2nd user file. my new user file is now named like my old one, just with " 1" added. I have 2 user folders, can I delete the old one?
    After a random check of the content in both user folders I found out that it's not identical. Some files that weren't backed up with the time machine before the re-setup are in the original folder, while the new uder folder obviously only backup what it could find on the time machine disc. (Time machine backed up my whole hdd about 2 days before the crash & re-setup)
    Due to this situation my local HDD is almost full now. The original user folder has 205 GB, the new one user 1 has 210 GB, plus applications with a 500GB HDD, I now have only 44GB left.
    Can I delete the old user folder?
    Can I then re-name the new one (user 1) back to "user"?
    Thanks
    J.

    I've never heard of a 'problem' as you're having - and I searched Pondoni's Time Machine Troubleshooting FAQs and couldn't fine anythig similar.
    I would be wary of deleting anything manually from your TM backup - the sparsebundles are rather sensitive. If you like, however, you could always erase your TM backups and start anew... that's the only way I would know to 'fix' the problem.
    Good luck,
    Clinton

  • How can I restore my data from iCal? I didn't make any backup, but I use  time machine with an external HD. I deleted iCal when I deleted my gmail account. I have tried to restore, but I can only restore the iCal software and not the data.

    How can I restore my data from iCal? I didn't make any backup, but I use  time machine with an external HD. I deleted iCal when I deleted my gmail account. I have tried to restore, but I can only restore the iCal software and not the data.

    So what is your question?
    If you forgot your encryption password:
    Warning: Make sure it's a password you will remember or write it down for safekeeping. If you encrypt an iPhone backup in iTunes and forget your password, you can't restore from backup and your data will be unrecoverable.
    If you can't remember the password and want to start again, you must perform a full software restore and chooseset up as a new device when iTunes prompts you to select the backup from which to restore.
    The above comes from here:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946

  • Using Time MACHINE with a USB drive connected to an Airport Extreme

    Disclaimer: Apple does not necessarily endorse any suggestions, solutions, or third-party software products that may be mentioned in the topic below. Apple encourages you to first seek a solution at Apple Support. The following links are provided as is, with no guarantee of the effectiveness or reliability of the information. Apple does not guarantee that these links will be maintained or functional at any given time. Use the information below at your own discretion.
    Please click here:
    |
    Using Time Machine with an Airport Extreme AirDisk
    |
    Note: If you got here by clicking a link that looks like this:
    _. . . discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2299608#Q1_
    Note the number at the end, after the +*pound sign,+* (#) and click the corresponding item below:
    Please pardon the inconvenience.
    |
    QUESTIONS
    *Q1. Can I use the USB drive(s) for Time Machine backups AND other data?*
    *Q2. How do I set up Time Machine to back up to a USB drive connected to my Airport Extreme?*
    *Q3. How do I delete backups?*
    *Q4. How do I back-up my backups?*
    If you don't see your question here, try Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
    |
    PROBLEMS
    *P1. The Backup disk image could not be created.*
    *P2. Time Machine could not complete the backup . . sparsebundle could not be accessed. (Error 109).*
    If you don't see your problem here, try Time Machine - Troubleshooting
    This is the 3rd version of this tip. It was submitted on May 16, 2010 by Pondini.
    Do you want to provide feedback on this User Contributed Tip or contribute your own? If you have achieved Level 2 status, visit the User Tips Library Contributions forum for more information.

    Hi, Nubz!
    Yes, I just saw that, and am still chuckling.
    Maybe that will mollify the Jive gods?
    Thanks again,
    Jim

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