How do I know my external HD backed up my computer?

Using Time Machine, I have "backed up" my computer a few times in the last few years. I would like to free up disk space on my laptop HD, so I did a backup last night- it took all night long. Then, this morning, I tried to test my external HD by searching for the term "2013" and found absolutely NOTHING from this year. I found only a bunch of stuff from 2010- apparently that was the only time I did the back up correctly? Are my files "hidden" in the external HD? Did I do something incorrectly? Anyone know anything about this? Thank you.

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Do a test. Open the Time Machine app (in /Applications/Utilities) and look at the right sidebar, where you can select the backup date. Can you select the backup you made yesterday?
Also, choose the Time Machine icon on the menu bar and it will tell you when the last successful backup was created. To get more information about a backup problem, open System Preferences > Time Machine

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How do I know my external HD backed up my computer?

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