How do i use time machine for storage,for example, have a folder named "art".

How do I set up the 3TB drive on my time machine so i can store files on it and free up the drive on my Macbook?

On your working Mac......please take a look at Migration Assistant.
Finder > Applications > Utilities > Migration Assistant

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How do you use time machine to find files you have deleted?

I have time machine set up with a USB drive. I have spotlight set up to index my backups.
If I go into the finder and type "order confirmation" it finds the PDF file with those words in it just fine.
If I delete that file from my desktop, it fails to find it. So then I enter Time Machine while still in the middle of the search, and press the back arrow to go back in time until spotlight can find it. It correctly goes back just one hour (my last backup had that file in it since I just deleted it) but it doesn't actually display that file.
So that's a simple test case of my having no idea how to get Spotlight and Time Machine to work together.
Am I doing it wrong?

Try the Time Machine Tutorial

How do you use time machine?

I just got my MBA and I was checking out all the new features of it, however, I can view them all and see them work except Time Machine.
I can turn the app on, which it to "On" but then nothing shows up in the field to choose to back up too.
How do I use this app?
Thanks!!

So its recommended to use one external storage device per mac computer.
That's not what I said. It works and is supported to use one backup device for multiple Macs as long as they're all running Leopard and so using Time Machine (and of course you have sufficient capacity on the backup device). It's a bit iffy to use a TM backup volume for purposes other than Time Machine backups, though.
How would I format the drive for the mac? Will that happen automatically upon plugging in the external drive and firing up TM?
No. You'll need to use Disk Utility to reformat the drive.
Why do you recommend a HDD instead of a flash drive or other device for example?
Flash drives are too limited in capacity to act as a backup device for an entire system unless you keep very little on your computer. It's pretty easy to exceed the capacity of most flash drives just with photos and music, and that doesn't include backing up your operating system and applications The cost per megabyte of an external hard drive is much lower than the cost per meg of a flash drive, so for all but very small backup needs, a hard drive is usually much more cost effective.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

How to revert a Time Machine backup storage?

I recently just used the WD Elements SE external storage device as my Time Machine backup. But when I did, I cannot get the WD to work on my Windows anymore. And can anyone show me how to revert a Time Machine backup storage back just to its default state so i use it on the Windows? It's a priority.
And if you can somehow show me how to get a Time Machine backup storage to work for the Windows as well then that would be even better.
Thank you.

Sorry, you can't get a TM backup to work with Windows.
To use the HD as storage for both Mac and Windows, you'll need to reformat the disc as FAT32, or FAT64 if both systems support it.
To reformat from Disk Utility on the Mac;
Turn off Time Machine.
In DU, highlight the WD drive in the sidebar (the actual drive, with the makers name and size)
Select the partition tab
Set the partition sceme to 1 partition
Under the options button, set the partition map to Master Boot Record (MBR)
Set the file system to MS-DOS and name the new volume.
Click 'apply'
The clean volume will now appear below the drive in the sidebar.
Be aware that there is a limit to file sizes on FAT32 volumes of a little over 4GB.

How do I use time machine to backup to an external hard drive plugged into my airport extreme

How do I use time machine to backup to an external hard drive plugged into my airport extreme? I used to be able to but now time machine will not recognize my hard drive to select as a backup when plugged into my airport extreme. I'm not sure what happened or changed. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

First thing to do is go to the Pondini tips page, then follow the link to his full TM site for all the details.

HT1338 Purchased a used macbook pro with Mountain Lion. My old Mac runs Snow Leopard is backed up to Time machine. How do I register the operating system to me and how do I use Time Machine to move my files to the new used computer?

Purchased a used macbook pro with Mountain Lion. My old Mac runs Snow Leopard is backed up to Time machine. How do I register the operating system to me and how do I use Time Machine to move my files to the new used computer?

If you look at the User Tips tab, you will find a write up on just this subject:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4053
The subject of buying/selling a Mac is quite complicated. Here is a guide to the steps involved. It is from the Seller's point of view, but easily read the other way too:
SELLING A MAC A
Internet Recovery, and Transferability of OS & iLife Apps
Selling an Old Mac:
• When selling an old Mac, the only OS that is legally transferable is the one that came preinstalled when the Mac was new. Selling a Mac with an upgraded OS isn't doing the new owner any favors. Attempting to do so will only result in headaches since the upgraded OS can't be registered by the new owner. If a clean install becomes necessary, they won't be able to do so and will be forced to install the original OS via Internet Recovery. Best to simply erase the drive and revert back to the original OS prior to selling any Mac.
• Additionally, upgrading the OS on a Mac you intend to sell means that you are leaving personally identifiable information on the Mac since the only way to upgrade the OS involves using your own AppleID to download the upgrade from the App Store. So there will be traces of your info and user account left behind. Again, best to erase the drive and revert to the original OS via Internet Recovery.
Internet Recovery:
• In the event that the OS has been upgraded to a newer version (i.e. Lion to Mountain Lion), Internet Recovery will offer the version of the OS that originally came with the Mac. So while booting to the Recovery Disk will show Mountain Lion as available for reinstall since that is the current version running, Internet Recovery, on the other hand, will only show Lion available since that was the OS shipped with that particular Mac.
• Though the Mac came with a particular version of Mac OS X, it appears that, when Internet Recovery is invoked, the most recent update of that version may be applied. (i.e. if the Mac originally came with 10.7.3, Internet Recovery may install a more recent update like 10.7.5)
iLife Apps:
• When the App Store is launched for the first time it will report that the iLife apps are available for the user to Accept under the Purchases section. The user will be required to enter their AppleID during the Acceptance process. From that point on the iLife apps will be tied to the AppleID used to Accept them. The user will be allowed to download the apps to other Macs they own if they wish using the same AppleID used to Accept them.
• Once Accepted on the new Mac, the iLife apps can not be transferred to any future owner when the Mac is sold. Attempting to use an AppleID after the apps have already been accepted using a different AppleID will result in the App Store reporting "These apps were already assigned to another Apple ID".
• It appears, however, that the iLife Apps do not automatically go to the first owner of the Mac. It's quite possible that the original owner, either by choice or neglect, never Accepted the iLife apps in the App Store. As a result, a future owner of the Mac may be able to successfully Accept the apps and retain them for themselves using their own AppleID. Bottom Line: Whoever Accepts the iLife apps first gets to keep them.
SELLING A MAC B
Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
Step One - Back up your data:
A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
side.
4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
sure to opt for that.
Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
startup drive.
Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
4. Install OS X.
5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
6. Shutdown the computer.
B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
it is three times faster than wireless.
1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
Utilities window appears.
2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button.
3. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click
on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
*If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License.

Getting a new macbook to replace old one...how do i use time machine to res

my current mac book is acting strange
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9527774#9527774
i bought a new one i should get tomorrow
how do i use time machine to restore my email, safari book marks etc?
thx

ironknee wrote:
caroly do you ever sleep?
I thought i clicked on the link... this link no??
vk yes i bought a white macbook just like my old one with more stuff
i'm just a designer... i have no idea wht u are talking about
there are two ways to restore your data from a TM backup.
the first is the one I described. you don't need to do anything, just follow the instructions during the setup assistant when you first turn the computer on. it will ask you if you want to import your data from a TM backup. say yes and follow the instructions. this method only restores your user data and applications but does not touch any system files.
the second method is different and it was suggested by the other posters. it wipes the hard drive and restores the entire computer including system files and everything to the exact state it was in at the backup time. this should only be used when restoring on the same computer or on the same EXACT hardware model. the fact that your new computer is also a macbook is not enough. the processor and the graphics card may have been upgraded since you bought your old computer. this happens all the time. if they did then the old install will lack necessary drivers for the new hardware and it will not work if you restore the entire system from the old computer to the new one.
Bottom line is, unless you are absolutely sure that your new computer has exact same specs and exact same hardware as the old one, use method one outlined above.

I upgraded my imac hard drive to a 2tb drive. how do i use time machine to get my computer back to normal?

i upgraded my imac hard drive to a 2tb drive. how do i use time machine to get my computer back to normal?

Thank you. I followed the faq#14 (using setup wizard from the osx install disk). Everything went just as planned until I woke up this morning and noticed there was no progress on the "transferring documents" meter. It stopped about 1/4 of the way. I can hear the computer working and the bar is somewhat animated like it is advancing but it's not.
Should I cancel and restart or should I wait it out? It already been about 13 hours since I started the process. Do you think it is my time machine or my iMac? Maybe the time machine file is corrupt or something.
Anyway, any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Before downloading lion, i want to backup my computer with time machine and a G-DRIVE Slim. But how can i use time machine to only backup my system once?

Just wondering, how can i use time machine to only backup my system once? Just this once and not on a weekly basis?

Upgrade. My three year old Mac Pro and year old MacBook Pro have no problem. Both seem faster.
And there's your problem reading entirely subjective views on forums, from people that might or might not have decently maintained systems, good operating practices, or whatever....
Strangely, when most companies issue new software, it is because they believe (and believe they have checked) that it is better than the previous version.

How do I use Time Machine on my Mac to back up files stored on an AirDisk?

I have a Macbook Pro 17-inch, Mid 2009, with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. I use an external HDD connected directly to my Mac via FireWire 800 for Time Machine backups. I have an external HDD connected to my Airport Extreme (Gigabit) router that I use for file storage. My iTunes library and iPhoto library are both stored on this AirDisk. Can I use Time Machine on my Mac to back up the files that I store on my AirDisk? If so, then please describe how to do so. Thank you for your assistance.

Unmount and physcially disconnect the TimeMachine drive and reboot the computer without it being connected.
Reboot the comptuer with the disk inside the machine holding the option or c key down, select the disk to boot from.
Second screen in is the installer, under the Ulitites menu is Disk Utility.
Use Disk Utility to Erase with Security option Zero all Data if your planning to wipe the drive and install 10.6
Don't do the above if your simply reinstalling only OS X 10.6 to cure a problem with it.
How to reinstall just OS X or erase/install OS X
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

How do I use Time Machine again after several weeks?

Hello,
I use Time Machine with 1 TB storage for backups of my iMac 27" (latest OS X 10.9.4). During 3 weeks I took my iMac with me on vacations and no backup took place. Now I'm back but every attempt to do a backup is cancelled because the available storage (298 GB) isn't sufficient for the backup the system say it needs (more than 700 GB).
It seems that the huge space needed is disabling the feature of "The oldest backups are deleted when your disk becomes full."
I don't mind loosing my backup history but I didn't find a way to use Time Machine from "scratch" again.
Does anybody know how to solve my problem?
Thank you in advance for any suggestion!
Regards
Peter

Buy a suitable USB drive.. 2TB or 3TB are great value.
Plug it directly into your iMac and backup.. that is the fastest and most reliable way to backup. Even if your iMac is too old to have USB3 ports do nowadays only buy USB3 drives which are cheap and will work hugely faster once you do upgrade.
You can also plug a USB into your TC.. archive it, so you have a backup of your existing backups.. and then erase the TC and start again.
I think you are unique.
During 3 weeks I took my iMac with me on vacations
27" iMac are not exactly portable.

How To Properly Use Time Machine...Please Assist

Hi,
I am new to Time Machine and am trying to figure out the best way to use it. I understand that Time Machine is a back up solution and not an archive solution. However, when the drive gets full am I able to control which files it begins to erase?
If the answer to this is no, then I need to find another place to store these files ie; dvd, tape back up for a long term archive.
Am I right to say that the best way to use Time Machine is as a redundant copy of your data so I can restore it any time and if I want to remove stuff off my hard drive that I want to keep I need to find another place to put it.
I am just confused as the way it was marketed was if you accidentally delete something, than you can go back in time to restore, but what if time machine decides to erase it arbitrarily?
Any assistance would be grateful
Thanks,

Elli Raynai1 wrote:
I am new to Time Machine and am trying to figure out the best way to use it. I understand that Time Machine is a back up solution and not an archive solution. However, when the drive gets full am I able to control which files it begins to erase?
No, it deletes the oldest monthly back ups first. It will warn you before it starts deleting anything. You have a choice at that time to use a different location to start a new Time Machine thus preserving all your old Time Machine Files.
If the answer to this is no, then I need to find another place to store these files ie; dvd, tape back up for a long term archive.
I think this is prudent. I make a disk image of my system the day I start a new time machine.
Am I right to say that the best way to use Time Machine is as a redundant copy of your data so I can restore it any time and if I want to remove stuff off my hard drive that I want to keep I need to find another place to put it.
This is what I do. I have one hard drive marked storage just for this purpose.
I am just confused as the way it was marketed was if you accidentally delete something, than you can go back in time to restore, but what if time machine decides to erase it arbitrarily?
For me it works as marketed. It does not atbitraingly delete stuff. It deletes the oldest monthly back up first and asks for permission before it does that. As long as you understand how it works you should not have a problem. I have never relied on one back up of anything even before time machine.
The bigger your Time Machine drive the longer back in time you can go.

How do I use Time Machine to backup a network drive

Let me clarify up-front... I DON'T want to use my NAS as my Time Machine backup drive. I want to backup my NAS to another drive using Time Machine. Here is my current configuation:
iMac 27" with 2TB HD backed up to a Firewire Drive using TM. I swap out an exact duplicate of that drive once-a-month and keep one of these drives off-site for disaster recovery.
I want to add a 3TB NAS drive for all of my media. But I'd like to backup ALL of the media on that NAS the same way that I backup the iMac, with TM -- routinely swapping out 3TB backup drives and keeping one off-site for disaster recovery.
In a perfect world, I could do this in the cloud. But transfer speeds and cost preclude me from choosing that option.
Here are my questions:
1) Can TM work on the 3TB NAS, standalone, to allow it to backup to that set of new 3TB backup drives?
2) I currently have a brand-new Hitachi 3TB HD in an older PowerPC Mac Pro. Could I fire that up and share it on the network as an NAS? I know I could run TM off of that configuration. But, I think that I would be compromising speed and performance vs. the new NAS drives out there. Am I wrong? Also, I'm not sure if that configuration would allow me to stream reliably as a UPnP server.
I know it's a long-winded request, but I would really appreciate the insight of others who have possibly solved this problem. Thanks!

Time Machine will only back up internal and directly connected external drives. It will not back up a network attached storage device. You'll have to use some other software to back up the NAS.

How can I use time machine to recover my iWeb09 files?

I read that iWeb stores one's website pages in the domain folder which can be located at ~/Library/Application Support/iWeb. Can I use time machine to recover my iWeb09 files? If so, how? -I tried. I entered my Time Machine back up, and went back in time and brought the domain file forward but it opened only my current site pages, not the ones I am trying to recover. And it says the Domain file was last modified in October 2007 which is crazy because I've been using iWeb a lot and have published many pages. It seems like the uncorrupted pages, which I am trying to recover, existed somewhere on my computer at one point in time and space, less than a week ago, becuse I just published my site to a new hosting service since Apple will soon stop web hosting. So why can I not find them using time machine?

I continued searching and read another person's advise to down load an app named "Find File," then search for .sites. She said spotlight doesn't always find all files. So I did and sure enough, when I searched for .sites I found another Domain package, which I have no idea how it was created but which, it ends up, was the one actually being used by iWeb. So I went to that package then did the time machine and went back to before my web pages became corrupted. I had to delete corrupt blog pages out of my website menu to get iWeb to upload the other page changes even to a local folder.
So I went to that newly found Domain, went back in time, then brought that forward and as you pointed out the domain package had the parts of the pages, the files and jpegs, but not the structure/layout of the pages. So, I guess I gave up on finding the old pages.
Those pages still exist on the Apple hosting server but iWeb doesn't not reverse publication. Cyberduck would bring back the files and bits and peices but again not the pages as a total entity. I'm preparing for the end of Apple website hosting (next month?) and am republishing my old site. I decided to use a new domain name. So my entire original site is still totally intact on the web under the original domain name, on my mobile me site, I guess it will be there till sometime in June?
My problems started when I tried to publish my website to the new server. It just would not publish the whole website in one session. So I decided to do it a few pages at a time. Some pages went up, but as I added more, for some unknown reason the, blog pages, (about 70 subpages), which had aleardy uploaded just fine to the new server, became corrupt and locked up iWeb. Of course once I deleted the corrupt pages I didn't want to continue publishing the site to the host until I found and reinserted uncorrupted pages, knowing publishing changes would delete the already published pages.
At first I thought it was the hosting server's fault, but when I discovered that it wouldn't publish even to a local fold I was able to locate the cause within iWeb, deleted those pages then tested by publishing to a local folder. iWeb worked locally, so I knew I had found the problem pages. Well this is way more than you wanted to know. Thanks for your advise but I'll just start the blogging pages over.

HOW CAN I USE TIME MACHINE TO BACKUP ONLY PART OF MY FILES ON EXTERNAL D?

Hi, I am using time machine to back up all my files at the moment. but I want to get rid of video and photo material from my laptop and keep it on the external hard drive to which the time machine backs up my stuff.
how can i do this without losing the video and photo files permamnently?
thank a lot!

nefsi wrote:
doesn't time machine back up my files on the External hard disk?
By default, Time Machine backs-up almost everything on your internal HD to your External HD. It can also back up things on an external HD, if you want it to.
What I would like is, to find a way so that I could back up everything, but not have all the videos and photos I do not use often, on my laptop. instead I want to put them on the external hard drive and have time machine update all the other files.
Yes, you can do that, but there are two considerations:
You should partition the external HD so the TM backups are in one partition, and the other files are in the other partition. A partition (also called a volume), is treated like a separate disk for most purposes. See #3 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
You should find another way to back-up the videos and photos in that other partition, such as archiving them to CDs/DVDs.
In other words, can Time machine back up only some of my files?
Yes. You can exclude things from Time Machine. See #10 in the FAQ Tip. If you partition your TM drive, the other partition on it should be excluded automatically; but if it isn't, you can easily add it to the +Do not back up+ list in TM Preferences > Options.
For detailed instructions on making another partition on your external HD, see #6 in the FAQ Tip. It shows how to add a TM partition to a drive that already has other data on it, but the procedure is the same.

How do i use time machine for storage,for example, have a folder named "art".

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