Help with configuration of Time Machine backups on a wireless network

Hello,
I was wondering if someone could help me with the configuration of Time Machine on a wireless network. I have it working some what but I am unsure if this is the best way or if it is the right way.
I have a G4 Mac mini connected to a Airport Extreme base station via ethernet.
I have a Lacie 500GB USB drive connected to the Mac mini (Lacie is formatted GUID)
I have a Macbook that I connect via wireless to the Airport and perform backups to the Lacie 500GB via wireless.
I initially had the USB drive connected to the Macbook and Time Machine worked flawlessly.
Now that I have the setup mentioned above configured, Time Machine works but... now instead of creating folders under the Backups.backupdb folder it is doing a initial backup of everything and creating a .sparsebundle file.
I am not sure if this is working correctly? Have I configured it correctly?
Permission on the Lacie? I am also controlling the Mac mini using ARD.
Perhaps I should format the drive and start from scratch and identifying the Lacie 500GB as the Time Machine backup drive for the Macbook.
I am NOT backing up the Mac mini to the Lacie 500GB
Another question is of course the initial backup over wireless will be very slow but after that it should be quicker as only files that change are backed up correct?
Hope to have some feedback on this as I believe a lot of people are trying this setup as a workaround to not being able to backup to a Airport USB drive.
Macbook and Mac mini are both using latest Leopard with updates.

James I think what you've done is correct. The thing to be aware of is that TM backs up to a directly connected HD using a Folder and deposits data into this folder in Finder format making it easy to navigate. When TM backs up to your networked HD attached to the Mac mini as you've configured for your MacBook a sparsebundle disk image is created by TM.
Now when TM on the MacBook executes it will auto mount that sparsebundle disk image on the MacBook to perform the backup and then dismounts it.
If you invoke the TM browser on your MacBook while the TM backup is in progress the TM browser has something to work with and will display the TM history. If however, on your MacBook you launch the TM browser when the TM backup is not executing you will see no history. What you need to do is to mount that network Mac mini LaCie 500GB USB HD on your MacBook and I believe you can then see the TM history.
This is very similar to the AirDisk feature that Apple dropped off from the TM feature list just prior to Leopard GM release on Occ 26.
Now having said all that, I'm a little puzzled why the TM browser launched on the MacBook isn't auto mounting your backup volume (the LaCie USB HD) as this is clearly what's required. This maybe a bug that should be reported to Apple via their Feedback process.
Hopefully I've understood your configuration and what you've posted as an issue(s).

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Apple's iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.)
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S@ggy wrote:
I ve just bought a macbook pro & I m very new to MAC OS. I wanna to take recovery of only Original OS with out using time machine & I also dnt want 2 store my personal files & stuffs. Pls guys suggest some tips for recovering my os If any problem occurs in future.
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Hello community,
I just set up a wireless network with my new time capsule. As I used to do my time machine backups on an external USB hard drive (Intenso), I connected it to the TC for extending my network space and going on using this volume as my backup-volume.
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Unfortunately Time Machine doesn't recognize the Intenso drive as my old backup volume although I did nothing else than plugging it into the TC instead of my Macbook.
Nothing is the same. There is a huge difference here depending on whether a hard drive is connected directly to a Mac......in which case it is a "local" drive.....or if a drive is connected to a device like the Time Capsule.....which is a "network" device.
In other words, if you connect a drive to the USB port on the Time Capsule, the drive becomes a "network" drive.
Time Machine stores backups differently depending on whether the drive is attached as a "local" drive or whether the drive will be connected as a "network" drive. On a "network" drive, Time Machine backups are stored in a special type of container called a sparsebundle.
You can set up Time Machine to back up to the drive connected to the Time Capsule.......but Time Machine will not continue to back up to the same file that was being used when the drive was connected directly to your Mac. Instead, Time Machine will make a new, complete backup and then continue to back up incrementally once the first "master" back up is done.
Obviously, this will require quite a bit more space on the hard drive, since you will have two sets of backups on the drive.
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Link my Macbook with an existing time machine backup of the same macbook.

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No. Only those Apps that are not installed on the new will migrate over.

Help with configuration of Time Machine backups on a wireless network

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