How do you erase Time Machine Backups?

I thought I could use a 1TB External drive to back up my 320GB startup disk, and use the rest of the empty 680GB for storage. However, Time Machine started taking up 600GB of spaceon the External drive! I was like "What the heck!?" So I put unwanted Time Machine Backups in the trash and emptied it. Nothing, they're stuck there now.
I'm planning on wiping the disk clean and starting over, but for future reference is there a proper way to delete Time Machine Backups? Surely there must be; (I mean, who would have known Time Machine would take up MORE SPACE than the drive it's backing up in the first place?!?) Thanks!

A Time Machine backup drive needs to be at least twice the capacity of the drive it backs up. This fact is quite well known. It takes up more space because Time Machine saves all changes rather than overwriting them. If you want the latter type of backup then use something other than Time Machine.
Use Disk Utility to erase the drive.

Similar Messages

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 you get time machine to reset your computer to the specific date you would like?

How do you get time machine to reset your computer to the specific date you would like?

Hey carlleeh,
Thanks for the question. The following resource may guide you through that process:
OS X Mountain Lion: Recover your entire system
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11192
Thanks,
Matt M.

When I get to the select disk page it says that the HD is uesd as time machine drive. How can I remove time machine backup from my Mac.

I am tring to installe OS X Mavericks. When I get to the select disk page it says that the HD is uesd as time machine drive. How can I remove time machine backup from my Mac.

Open up your Finder and click on Go on the top menu bar. Select Computer and then double click Macintosh HD. In here delete the backup folder. Might be called backups.backupdb.

How can I access Time Machine backups after doing an erase/reinstall of Mavericks?

I recently did a complete erase of my hard drive and re-installed Mavericks. I chose to start clean rather than use any Time Machine back-ups. I used the same external hard drive for my new Time Machine back-ups. Now I cannot open any back-ups/items prior to the re-install via Time Machine. They are listed along the right hand sidebar in Time Machine (star wars view) but will not open when clicked on.
Some files I can access if I go to the actual backup folder - ex a Pages doc BUT ff I try to open the iPhoto library from the back-up folders stored on the external drive, I get the following error message -
I cannot open the iPhoto "package" to access individual photos from these back-ups.
So - how can I get Time Machine to allow access to the pre-install back-ups??
thnx
Message was edited by: Rant&Raver
corrected some spelling errors!

To restore the library from your TM backup follow the instructions in this screenshot.
If you want to restore all of your Home folder documents you can use Migration Assistant.

HT201250 How do you let time machine know that a restored drive does not need a brand new backup set and just append to the old one?

I had an external drive failure and had to buy a brand new drive. I was able to restore my info onto a new drive, about 1.5 TB of data. When I go to launch time machine now with the new drive connected and my backup connected, it treats the new drive as if it had different data and wants to create a whole new backup set when it should just append. How do I get around this?
I could just reformat the backup drive and start fresh again but would rather not do that if I can avoid it, just in case there were errors in copying etc.

Hi
I should have been more clear, sorry. I work from a laptop. I have 2 external drives - one for my projects which failed but has since been replaced and restored from a backup. My 2nd external drive is the time machine backup drive.
When my project drive crashed, I bought a brand new drive and restored it using my time machine backup drive.
Now the data exists on 2 drives - the time machine backup drive, and the new drive. When I connect the backup drive now, it thinks my new drive has new data, probably since it is a new device/drive, and wants to do a brand new backup, when in fact the data already exists on that very drive. It shouldn't have to back up all 1.5 TB when nothing has changed!
Unless there is a way to tell time machine to simply append to the old backup, I think it will try and do a new backup (1.5 TB). I'm thinking maybe I should just initialize my time machine backup drive now and start over so it is only one backup set of 1.5 TB instead of (2) sets of 1.5 TB!

Backup management: how to update a Time Machine backup on a different Mac?

Hello everyone,
I need some advice. I have a question, which I think is simple, but my situation is a bit complicated, so I am not sure about what to do.
I will try to describe it as simply as possible.
There are 3 macs:
A: an old macbook (the white one)
B: a modern macbook pro (retina)
C: another modern macbook pro (TBD)
I am giving away B now; I expect to get C in 2 months time; I keep A with me all the time.
The goal is to migrate all of the data from B to C.
I have Time Machine backups of B.
Since the transition is a long time (2 months), I need to keep working on my data during this period. For this I will use A. This will generate new files, modify old ones, ...
Since A's HDD is much smaller than B's backup, I can move only part of them.
By the way, I have totally erased A and used migration assistant to restore part of my old data from B. So, when I use A now, I do it with my same account as in B (and the same I will use in C).
How do I manage my backups in such a way that, when I will get C, I can safely move all of the data I had in B plus all of the changes and modifications that I have done during the 2 month transition?
Can I just continue to use Time Machine (on A) to update the old backups? I am afraid that some mess could be created because the computers are different (before the backups were taken on B, while now on A), even the present data are different (because now A only contains a subset of the original B data, which I do NOT want to lose), the good point is that the user is the same.
Thanks for the patience to read through. If something is not clear I will be happy to explain better.

When you get MBP C and start it up for the first time you will be given the option to transfer data or not. You can transfer data from another Mac or from a backup such as Time Machine. The former requires that you be able to connect the two computers directly together either by Ethernet cable or by having both connected to a local Ethernet network. You can use wireless, but it's very slow compared to Ethernet, so I don't recommend wireless.
If you expect to perform the transfer from a Time Machine backup, then be sure to perform a backup of MBP B just before using it to transfer data to the new MBP C.
This same process can be used from MB A provided it is running Snow Leopard or later.
Also, see Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.

How do i install time machine backup from old mac to newer one

Hi, I know how to set up a brand new imac with full info and settings from an old mac from a time machine backup on a portable drive, BUT.... this time i have a 2011 imac in my studio already in use that we want to be completly swapped with full info and settings/software etc from an older 2009 imac, which we may sell on.
I have backup up via time machine the older 2009 mac, but when i plug this into the 2011 imac how do i completly wipe it and set up with info from the time machine?? it was easy doing it on a factoryt new mac but not this.
thanks
lee

If I have understood you properly, you want to migrate the data from the 2009 iMac onto the 2011 iMac but keeping the existing files on it.
To do this, use Migration Assistant > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889 It will create a new user with the transferred files from the old iMac.
If you want to wipe the 2011 iMac and restore everything from the 2009 iMac, the most reliable way is erasing the hard drive, reinstalling OS X and restoring the backup. If you are using the same OS X version on both iMacs, you can restore the Time Machine backup without having to reinstall OS X, just starting from the Mac OS X DVD (or Recovery HD, if you have OS X Lion or Mountain Lion)

How do I use time machine backup to restore onto a different computer

I am trying to troubleshoot the best way to back up my Mac. I have been a mac user since 20009 and always used a time machine. The two times I have needed it for backup, my computer did not read the portion the backup was. You could tell under disk utility the space was used. Just before the need of backup, it was backing up. So, I am wondering if I need to use a different method. I lost all of my Christmas 2015 movies. My computer did some weird thing with passwords and it needs some resetting I had to do with the support team on the phone. The support person could not figure out how to access the back up on time capsule. I noticed the password resetting made my computer name different by putting a 3 behind the name I assigned it.
One thought that has crossed my mind is can you use the time machine backup and open it up on a completely different computer? If so, I should have been able to someone access my information. I would like to know the answer and how do it so I know in case this ever happens again and so that I can rely on this expensive back up machine I have purchased two different times on two different computers and never been able to actually use.

Are you running Yosemite.. because it is the cause of loads of problems.
As to opening the TM backup from another computer.. yes you can.
Please read our TM expert Pondini.
Q14-17 on restore here.
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
Particularly as you will see Q17 and it will reference the prior info you need.
I have gone through this with several people.. and I have a post showing a manual file location and restore.
Can't access old files on time capsule
But not from Yosemite.. it has its own bunch of bugs.. as mentioned. Good luck with those.
I also strongly recommend people use a secondary backup method.. there are excellent third party.. I use Carbon Copy Cloner.. it is reasonable price.. $40 based on standard rsync.. and will create either bootable clones to a local drive or sparsebundle on a time capsule etc.
The bootable clone is the ideal way to recover files. since it is based on a simple computer reboot and then access of files that are in exactly the same place as you left them.. TM backs up in a most complicated manner.
See how tm works here. The top couple of articles and how it is different to clones. As Pondini suggests.. using both is no bad thing.
http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html
This is also useful for yosemite.. it is not working as TM used to.
Find files in Yosemite.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6681850?searchText=time%20machine%20yosemit e#27139370
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.
I am not sure why your previous use of TM failed.. In the midst of all its problems it does still work ok.. as mostly people can recover stuff they do.. albeit it needs a lot more messing than is typical Apple.

How do I move time machine backup on filled time capsule to external disk

TIme machine backups from imac and mbp are currently on 1TB time capsule running out of space.
I want to split the time capsule and move just the imac backups to a new external drive which I want to share with a new macbook air.
The new external drive has been set up with mac OS extended with a GUID partition.
THe instructions on MAC 101: time machine Mac OS X v10.6: How to transfer your backups from your current hard drive to a new hard drive tell me to drag "backups.backupdb" to a new drive but I can't find it. I have just upgraded to Lion thinking I would find it now but it is still not there. Is this becaue I have both imac and mbp backups on the TIme capsule? Here is a screen image of my DATA folder. Desktop seems to be empty. A search for "backups" finds nothing.
EVen if I found backups.backupdb I am not sure whether I should have the external drive connected to the time capsule or the imac to move this file. It will be kept as an external drive connected to the time capsule so I can use it for both the imac and the macbook air.
And I am not sure whether I first need to set up the new drive as the time machine backup drive on the new macbook air or do it after I move the file.
Thanks for any help you can give me.

oops, I just found how to find backups.backupdb by myself, or at least with help from:
Pondini's excellent resource.....Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions
http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html
See #18.
I will come back to this forum and update after I try what I have learned from the fantastic Pondini.

2nd External Drive - how to restore from Time Machine backup?

I have had Time Machine configured to back up my photos and videos on an external drive. My Time Machine backup is a separate drive attached to my MacBook by FireWire. I have Leopard OS. I have in the past successfully retrieved deleted photos from the Time Machine backups using iPhoto.
Now, unfortunately, the external drive with the photos and videos has developed a problem (possibly power-related) so that my MacBook no longer recognizes that drive. Obviously, this means that iPhoto can't find/open that photo library. Which means that iPhoto can't access the backup via Time Machine. Help! The photos must surely be on the Time Machine backup but I can't figure out any way to retrieve them.

callipygia600,
This one's easy. Purchase a new drive to replace the one that went "belly up." Format (erase) it using Mac OS Extended, and give the volume that will be created the exact same name as the bad drive. Navigate into the new (empty) volume in the Finder, then open Time Machine from the Dock.
You should be able to navigate "back in time" and see the backed up contents. Select everything you see, and click "Restore." It will all be restored to your new external drive. The key is to use the same name for the new drive.
In the meantime, your backup can be accessed in the Finder if necessary. Using the Finder, navigate into the "Backups.backupdb" folder on the backup drive, then into the latest backup. You will see one folder named for your startup disk, and another named for your secondary/external volume. Within that second folder you will find the items that were stored on the bad drive. You can safely copy these to another volume using the Finder, but do not attempt to move or modify them otherwise (do what you like with the copies).
Scott

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 I get Time Machine backups OFF my external hard drive?!?!?

I'm not asking how I restore a backup.
I plugged in my 250GB external to try out TM. Before TM did it's first backup I have 160GB free. After TM did its backup I have 1GB free. I no longer want to use TM and have told it to "Stop Backing Up" in Sys Prefs. The problem is that I still only have 1GB of space left. When I view the external in the finder I only see my 90GB of drag and drop backups, but it says the disk only has 1GB of free space. Are the Time Machine backups invisible? How do I reclaim my space back?
Thanks!

pvonk wrote:
Looking at info, I found the folder was owned by root. Even with my admin privileges, I couldn't delete. I then found that root wasn't activated on that machine, so I had to do more dancing around.
In cases like this, you should be able to delete it from the command line by using sudo: sudo rm -rf directory (be careful with this command)
After deleting the TM backup folder, the drive still indicated that the former lost space was still lost. I eventually reformatted.
How did you delete it? Could it be that the folder was still in the Trash of the external disk?

How to restore a Time Machine Backup from ML to Mavericks

Due to a failed install of Mavericks, I had to do a clean install. How do I restore an iPhoto Library contained in a ML Time Machine backup to Mavericks iPhoto. I'm almost to the point of opening the iPhoto Library in Preview and saving the files and re-importing them.

I think what you are saying is you have a backup that was done on Mavericks and want to restore it to an installation of Mountain Lion, is that correct? If so no that will not work as you are finding out. If I am still not understanding please tell me what version of OS X is installed on the iMac (Lion, ML, Mavericks etc..) and what version OS X you created the TM backup with.

HT201250 Any ideas on how to recover my Time Machine backup with a lost password?

I am trying to migrate my Time Machine backup to a new Macbook, but lost the Time machine administrator name and password.
My old Macbook still connects to Time machine, so the information (administrator and password) is in that computer somewhwere - I just can't find it.
Is there a way to find that information in my old machine or otherwise get into the Time Machine files?
I am using a Seagate external drive connected to a wireless router.

I have a similar problem.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/25676099#25676099
Did you ever find out how to reset the Time machine name and password? I would appreciate hearing from you.
Francisco

How do you erase Time Machine Backups?

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