How can I remove old Time Machine back-ups for a Mac I no longer have??

So, i am trying to back-up a brand new MBPro to my Time Machine but it says there's not enough room. Only 13.5 GB avail and need 284 GB. Is there a way to go into Time Machine and delete all the old back-ups from my former MBPro? (I've already migrated all the files and data to the new MBP from my iMac, also on the same Time Machine.) If I could wipe out the old MBP back-ups that should create enough room.

Delete the backups.
Q12 here. http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

Similar Messages

Using old time machine back ups for new mac

I have upgraded to a new intel macbook pro from a g4 powerbook. I was able to move my files and apps to the macbook pro. How do I get time machine to use the old back up data on my new laptop. I have selected the hard drive that has the back up data from my powerbook but the macbook does not pull up the info.

First a couple of things you're posting in the iMac forum not the MacBook Pro forum. In addition there is a Time Machine Forum. I'd recommend reading the Time Machine FAQ's there. You can find the TM forum at:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1342
and the MacBook Forum is at:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=190
Roger

Removing old Time Machine back ups from Time Capsule

I have just purchased a new iMac (2.7GHz Intel Core i5 running LION) that I am using to replace both my wife's old iMac (2GHz Intel Core Duo running Snow Leopard) and my 17" MBP Intel Core Duo - we've both made the switch to iPads for lap browsing. I migrated my user accounts from both the MBP and old iMac to the new iMac and I want use TimeCapsule as my back up disk. However, I cannot back up my new machine because the older back ups that I no longer need take up most of the TCs disk space.
How can I remove the older, no longer needed backups from TimeCapsule to make room to run back ups of my new iMac? I've tried deleting the sparsebundle, but that did not seem to work.
If anyone can help, please be as detailed as possible in how to remove the back ups. Thanks in advance.
- Ryan

Thanks for the tip.
You did forget to mention that it is necessary to click on the "MANUAL SETUP" button located at lower left part of the Airport Utility window to get to the Disk.
I went through the more generic/standard setup windows a couple of times because I was not seeing the disk and thought I was missing something. After I had an "ah-ha" moment and clicked the manual setup key, everything was there and erasing the disk was easy.
Thanks again,
RT

How do you delete old time machine back ups?

I have a 2009 iMac (currently on Snow Leopard) that has been using Time Machine (TM) to back up to a 2009 Time Capsule (TC) since new. I have a 2011 Macbook Pro (currently on Snow Leopard soon to be Lion) that I would like to begin backing up using TM to the TC as well. The problem is that I recently did one back up of the MBP to the TC and it used almost all of the remaining space on the TC. Going forward the iMac has continued to back up to the TC creating space by deleting it's oldest back ups. The MBP however says there is not enough space to back it up. I am guessing that the TM for the MBP is unable to delete old back ups of the iMac to create space and since there is only 1 back up of the MBP it cannot delete that.
So... long story short is it okay for me to go into the TC to delete old back ups of the iMac manually and if it is how do I do that?
Thanks for your help in advance
djbrown

Is this more what you mean?
Re: Can not delete sparsebundle backup
Nov 17, 2009 8:30 PM (in response to Ricardo Blach)
+What I really need is to delete the old sparsebundle from the TC. How can I do that?+
Open your Hard Drive and look for the Time Capsule icon under the SHARED heading. Click the TC icon and a folder will appear to the right. Double click this folder.
You should now see a xxxxx.sparsebundle file for each of the computers that have been backing up. The file contains the name of the computer and the MAC address so you should be able to easily identify the xxxxx.sparsebundle file that you want to delete.
Click the xxxxx.sparsebundle file to highlight it and then click the gear shaped icon just above and select Move to Trash.
Be very careful since you will not be able to retrieve the file if you make a mistake and delete the wrong file.
That comes from https://discussions.apple.com/message/10595875#10595875
...and no, I don't think I'm related to that Dave Bean.
david

HT3275 how do i delete old time machine back ups?

I just switched to a new MBP, and my external drive does not recognize it. How do I delete old backups in order to make room on the external for the new computer's backups?
Thank you.

You could click on the time capsule in the SHARED panel in Finder, then enter your data folder and delete the sparsebundles, but that will take some hours for the delete to finish with the millions of nodes.
You could also use the airport utility and click on the DISK tab, then do a quick erase.

How can I remove all Time Machine data from an external HD, while retaining the other folders/files on the disk?

I recently replaced my old Macbook Pro with a new Macbook Pro Retina.
The original MBP had Time Machine set up on an external HD, and I also had some manually saved/backed up files (stuff that didn't need incremental backups; very old stuff) on the disk as well, in folders. This worked fine and well for the life of the original MBP.
When I set up the MBPr, I did not elect to transfer everything over from a Time Machine disk, as I wanted a Fresh Install; I chose to just re-download/install the apps I needed from the App Store. Much cleaner, more stable. I updated to Yosemite immediately so, it gave me more of a clean install.
The problem is, Time Machine now won't read any Time Machine backups from that disk. Migration assistant can pull data from it, but it's a bit wonky. It was easier to just manually copy over what I needed.
Now, I just want to "reset", and completely remove the old Time Machine data from the external hard drive, since it is completely useless to me now (I can't access it on this computer, and it's taking up space). I want to remove the Time Machine data, as if it were never there, but keep my other folders/files that are on the disk (so, a format is not feasible).
I will then set the disk up as a new, fresh Time Machine disk for the new MBPr.
What is the proper method for removing Time Machine data from an external disk (which doesn't seem to be associated with this machine anyway)? I know a simple rm -rf will cause problems.
Thanks for any help provided.

See the yellow box in #12 of Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

How do I copy old Time Machine back-up data onto my new (second) back up drive?

I recently bought a second back-up drive for use with my MacBook Pro (running 10.9.4).
I'm successfully backing up my computer to both drives on a regular basis using Time Machine. (a Seagate drive and a Western Digital drive respectively)
I was wondering if there's an easy way to add the old back-up files from the old drive to the new drive as well. That is to say, I wish I had all the data that precedes my new back-up drive on BOTH drives. There's plenty of space on the new drive.
Again, I'm already running Time Machine successfully to both drives, is it perhaps as easy as connecting both drives to my computer and copying the older dated back-up files over to the newer drive within the Backups.backupdb folder for my profile?
Thanks for any help!

Although the documentation says you can copy Time Machine backups in the Finder, it's very slow and sometimes doesn't work at all.
This technique will only work if the volume you're copying to is the same size, or larger than, the one you're copying from.
First, open the Time Machine preference pane and click the Options button. You may have to unlock the settings first by clicking the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window. Authenticate as an administrator.
Delete the volume you're going to copy from the list of backup destinations. Then turn Time Machine OFF.
Launch Disk Utility, open the built-in help, and search for the term "Duplicate." Follow the instructions. All existing data on the destination volume will be erased.
If the volume you're copying was encrypted by Time Machine, you may have to unlock it first. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar of the Disk Utility window.
Turn Time Machine back ON and select the new volume as a backup destination. You can also continue to use the old volume, if you wish. The two will be alternated when both are available.
CAUTION: If the volume you're copying is corrupt, as shown by Repair Disk or Verify Disk in Disk Utility, then that corruption will be copied to the new drive. Don't copy data from a corrupt volume on a malfunctioning drive. Put the drive aside and don't use it until you're sure you'll no longer need the data. Then securely erase it and take it to a recycling center. Do the same if the Restore operation fails with "disk errors."

Deleting old Time Machine Back ups, locked files wont delete?

Will unlocking them help-if so how do you unlock? I can open with Text edit but due to years of caution when not knowing what I'm doing causes more problems I ask before doing things-grin (Suppose it shouldn't matter since all I want to do is trash them????)
The file in particular is the boot file boot.efi. Trash basket is still full presumable until I can delete.

See > Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions 12. Should I delete old backups? If so, How?
of the > Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions

Can people see my Time Machine back ups?

If people are connected to my wireless network, are they able to access the contents of what is in my Time Machine drive? I know there is no way to actually encrypt or password protect it, so I am worried about people being able to see my personal information. Thanks!

Can people see my Time Machine backups?
No, not unless they are logged on as you from your Mac.....or they go through a really convoluted process that would still require that they know the main admin password of your Mac.

How do I remove old time machine backups?

Yesterday I learned that I had no more room in my external hard drive to back up my computer, so I moved old backups to trash. Computer won't let me delete them and I don't know how to put them back.
Has anyone faced this before? What should I do?

Hi. I read this very helpful....but I wish I had seen it before I put old backups into the trash.....can't explain exactly how or why but my computer crashed and when it came back to life the trash was emptied....but now I can't get time machine to work at all. I imagine I need to reconfigure my external hard drive.....any other ideas?
Thanks for all your help.

HT201250 How can I make sure time machine backed up my photos and music?

I recently got a new MacBook Pro, and I sucsessfully transferred all of my information onto my new computer from my old MacBook. I also bought a new external hard drive. I used Time Machine to back it all up. It says that it transferred everything, but all I can see are the Applications. I want to be sure that I have it backed up in two places before I erase my old hard drive and sell my old computer.
Thanks for the help.

When you enter Time Machine and navigate to a snapshot, you see only applications? Nothing in your home folder, for example?

Can I safely delete old Time Machine back ups?

I use a 1TB external drive for Time Machine but it's nearly full. There are 43 different back ups on the drive, can I safely delete all but the most recent one or two? I realize I would not be able to restore my system from a deleted back up but I can't think of a reson I'd want to. Would greatly appreciate any insight on this, thanks!
p.s. Why does Time Machine keep so many back ups in the first place? I can't find anything in preferences to limit the number of stored back ups. Is there a way to limit the number?

Hello:
I use a 1TB external drive for Time Machine but it's nearly full. There are 43 different back ups on the drive, can I safely delete all but the most recent one or two? I realize I would not be able to restore my system from a deleted back up but I can't think of a reson I'd want to.
It makes no sense to delete old backups. Time Machine automatically deletes backups if it needs space. If you start deleting backups, you will do it ONE at a time.
Why does Time Machine keep so many back ups in the first place?
It is designed that way.
Is there a way to limit the number?
No.
Why are you having a problem with the design of Time Machine? Do you need, for some reason, extra space on the external drive? If that is the case, you should have partitioned the external.
Barry

How can I tell if Time Machine backed up applications?, How can I tell if Time Machine backed up applications?

Hi - I have backed up my daughter's Macbook using Time Machine - I think it did backup applications, for I can see a folder on the backup external disc. Before I erase the Mac HD, I want to ensure I've done it correctly. Is the presence of an Application Folder within the Time Machine backup all I need to see to ensure that all programs will back up once I reformat the Mac with Snow Leopard? Thanks for your help.
Mike

When you enter Time Machine and navigate to a snapshot, you see only applications? Nothing in your home folder, for example?

How can I access old Time Machine backups after restoring from Time Machine?

Just restored my iMac and I can only see "Now" when I enter Time Machine. How can I see all the backups and dates I had before I restored?

While in Time Machine, press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible. Select the one you want and navigate to the files you want to restore.

Deleting Old Time Machine Back ups

I regularly back up my system ( every couple of weeks! ) and data to an external 2TB drive however I only really need a copy of recent state of system and data. Will it be good practice to enter time machine and go back to the old back ups and delete so that only recent backs up are maintained on drive. This would also free up space on my external drive? I just want to ensure deleting old back ups does not harm the integrity of the data.
Also i wanted to ascertain if it is possible to use time machine drive in another mac and simply drag and drop files from the latest back up onto this other computer?

DO NOT manually adjust Time Machine Backups. That can cause you to lose the integrity of the Backup database.
Time Machine deletes portions of older backups when space starts to get scarce. It carefully computes what files must continue to be saved and ensures it has a copy of those files, never deleting the last copy as long as the original is still present.
If you would like to understand better how it does this, there is an excellent Multi-page description or how it works written by the late James Pond on his site:
How Time Machine Works its Magic
NB> When you have read the first page, click the Next link at the bottom of the page for more -- the detailed description continues on several more pages.
It is inadvisable to keep other files on a Time Machine drive. If you want to maintain your Backups manually, I strongly recommend you use a different Backup method. Buy yourself an additional drive -- they are cheap.
The BIG advantage to Time Machine is that it is the Backup that actually happens, automatically and in the Background without interfering with your work. Other Backup schemes can be MUCH more clever, but they have the tragic flaw that you need to remember to do them.

How can I remove old Time Machine back-ups for a Mac I no longer have??

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for