How long for Time Machine backup with USB v. 1

My hard drive might be failing. I'm going to backup with Time Machine for
the first time ever. I'll be using a 1 TB external hard drive. My Mac only
has a USB v. 1, so how long should this take? I read where someone said
that Time Machine said it would take DAYS to do it. Say it ain't so!! Any
ideas our there? Thanks!

See this for an indication of transfer rates these are theoretical speeds - real world is slower!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bit_rates
USB 1.1 runs about 1.5MB/s at full rate.
How much data is on your internal disk?
Wolfram Alpha says 1TB would take 7 days & 17 hours.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1TB+at+1.5+MB%2Fs
I would add more days to that time to account for the fact that USB 1 is slower (more like 0.7MB/s in my tests from years ago).
This is an appalling idea - your disk could easily stop working in the time it takes to copy.
Fortunately you have got the spec wrong on this iMac…
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-2.4-20-inch-alu minum-early-2008-penryn-specs.html
It has USB2 ports & Firewire - connect directly to one of those & the time will be much less (more like 1/2 a day).

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Can two macs use same disk for Time Machine backup with Airport Extreme?

Hi
I use a Western Digital disk as a wireless Time Machine backup connected to the USB port on my Airport Extreme and it works great. My question is: can my girlfriend use that same disk for Time Machine backup from HER computer too? (I don't mind formatting the disk if needed.)
If she can't, is it then possible to connect a USB hub and have two disks hooked up to the Airport Extreme?
Thanks for helping. I am constantly in awe of all the help people like you give people like me. Thanks!!!
Jakob

I've gone through the manual setup and the assisted setup and can't seem to get my MacBook to use the Time Machine. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.
Well, as the Jolly Giant points out....+this type of configuration is not supported by Apple+, so it's difficult, if not impossible, to provide a fix for something that Apple says that you cannot do. Reference these Apple Support documents regarding this topic:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2038
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15139.html
Your situation is not unlike other users who try this and find that one computer may backup...(usually for a limited time before corruption issues start to creep in)...but another computer cannot backup. Count me as one of those users who thought that because things seemed to work that I had somehow "beat the system".
I started getting the corruption error messages after 4-5 weeks of successful backups, so I figured that it did not make sense to continue to try to get a second computer to backup (yes, I too could not setup a second Mac to backup).
Sorry, I could not get a second machine to backup, so can't tell you how to accomplish that goal. If you want to continue to try backing up this way, you might want to also think about a second backup strategy...just in case backups become corrupted on the WD drive.
Maybe if Apple says you cannot do this, they just may be right?
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

I have a lion server set up to host storage for time machine backups. Is there a limit to how many different computers can back up to the single server to back up. I am only backing up the users folders . The backup drive is an external Drobo with 6 TB.

I have a lion server set up to host storage for time machine backups. Is there a limit to how many different computers can back up to the single server to back up. I am only backing up the users folders . The backup drive is an external Drobo with 6 TB. Right now it seems to back up my users all day long. I set their time machine interval to every 5 hours but it still runs all day long and is very slow. Server is on a new Mac Server mini.

AFAIK, there is no user limit.. it is simply a question of the network load. AFP is a fairly clean protocol.. but TM is not.. it does a lot of testing of the backup.. infact your setting of 5hour gap could well make it worse.
I would sort out the clients that are doing 100GB backups to a different backup location.. no matter how fast your network.. 100GB takes time to backup.. and over wireless forever.. it will never end.
I guess some of these clients are on wireless?? I would separate the TM of wireless to those that are wired. No more than 4 or 5 wireless clients to a target device. Otherwise you are saturating your network with backup data. And use 5ghz.. so close by.. it is much faster than 2.4ghz and you will get much better transfer rates.

How do I connect Airport Extreme and Time Capsule to my new iMac so that AE is used for network and TC only used for Time Machine backup?

I didn't realize that Time Capsule will only support the print function of a wireless multifunction printer. So I want to use Extreme for my network to have full use of my printer and use TC as the Time machine backup only. How to I make the connections?

Thanks for your response and this is getting complicated but I just purchased a new iMac as well as the Airport TC. I've had the Airport Extreme for a year or so. The Airport Extreme worked perfectly with my old iMac wirelessly and I had all functions of my printer with no problems. I was expecting the same with the TC. But the instruction that came with TC say to connect the printer to the TC via USB...which I did. And the print function worked perfectly but nothing else. In researching I discovered that when wired that way the TC only supports the print function...not scan or fax or anything else. I tried going wireless since my AE worked perfectly via wireless but I got no printer functions at all that way. But I'm wondering also if I tried that during a time I was having other issues...I had to delete and re-add my printer which solved some other problems. I may try that again...and see if I can get all print functions with just the TC connected
As far as connecting both your AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule on your network, we're not clear on exactly how you want to do this. Will the AirPort Extreme connect to your modem using an Ethernet cable and the Time Capsule connect to the AirPort Extreme using an Ethernet cable?.......or......do you want the Time Capsule to connect to the network using wireless?
Well... first of all I would like not to have to use the AE at all...I would prefer using just my TC for network, all print functions and Time Machine backup if that's possible. My printer will not accept Ethernet connections (Canon MX512).
After failing at getting this to work, I decided I would try to use my AE for net and print functions and just use my TC for Time Machine backup. I tried several different connection configurations with no success until finally I connected cable modem to my AE via Ethernet and went wireless with the AE and printer. but connected the AE to the TC via Ethernet and amazingly everything worked like a charm (for a while) and I was patting myself on the back for being so smart. But now I find that the connection only lasts for a short time. If I leave it for a while the TC goes invisible...or at least I see a message saying the Ethernet is unplugged...but it is not... and I lose internet connection even though I have a green light on my AE. So now I'm at a loss. I don't know why I keep losing network signal and why my system thinks the Ethernet is unplugged.
So... after all this...I figured I wasn't so smart after all and I must have things wired incorrectly.
So... it sounds like you are saying I should go back and try again to get my new TC to work as I want it to via wireless instead of connecting via USB...is that correct? Could you tell me exactly how I should wire my equipment from cable modem to AE and/or TC to achieve net capability, full functions of my printer and Time Machine backup...
Thanks...

How much should I partition for Time Machine/Backup?

Hi all,
I upgraded my PB G4 HD to a 160GB recently and have just purchased a 1TB External HD. How much should I partition in the external to be used for Time Machine backup purposes of my internal HD? Will the same size suffice, or should I allocate more?
Also, I was thinking of formatting the drive so that it's both Windows and OS X friendly, but that means formatting it to MS-DOS something (I was just reading about it in another thread), will that cause any issues for the partition for Time Machine that I created? Thanks.

Also, I was thinking of formatting the drive so that it's both Windows and OS X friendly, but that means formatting it to MS-DOS something (I was just reading about it in another thread), will that cause any issues for the partition for Time Machine that I created? Thanks.
That's not practical. If you want to use the hard drive on a Windows machin while still being useful for Time Machine you should use MacDrive.
I upgraded my PB G4 HD to a 160GB recently and have just purchased a 1TB External HD. How much should I partition in the external to be used for Time Machine backup purposes of my internal HD? Will the same size suffice, or should I allocate more?
I would make the partition at least twice the size of the internal drive. Preferably, you would want 50 GB for a Leopard install that includes just the base operating system so you can boot off the 50 GB to recover your Time Machine data if your Leopard installer disc ever becomes unusable.
Also since you have a Powerbook, your 1 TB hard drive should be Firewire. USB will not boot Powerbooks. If it is USB only, you can remove the external hard drive case and replace it with one compatible with the drive inside that case from http://www.macsales.com/ that has Firewire.

HT201250 How do I find out what portable drive was the drive I used for Time Machine Backup?

Hi, I have 10.7.4 and need to figure out what drive I was using for Time Machine Backup. I have three drives and I have connected each of them to my macbook pro, but I get an error, "Time Machine Error, The backup disk is not available" when I hit the time machine icon on the top of the screen and the "backup delayed" prompt. If I try Back up Now I get message, "Time Machine could not complete the backup. Back up disk is not available." I am trying to figure out what the time machine back up would actually look like as a file on the drives but I don't see a folder/file name Time Machine. If I enter Time Machine I can see in the far right column, in purple, the last back up date (Sept. 12, 2012), but when I hit it nothing happens. In the Time Machine preference box the select disk has, in red and to the right, "Delayed" with an "i" within a circle, and the option indicates, "Next backup: when disk is connected."
I know I have a years worth of backups on one of the three drives, but I can't figure out how the heck to find them or how to determine what was the last drive I used for the backups within Time Machine. Help please.

Hi, I have 10.7.4 and need to figure out what drive I was using for Time Machine Backup. I have three drives and I have connected each of them to my macbook pro, but I get an error, "Time Machine Error, The backup disk is not available" when I hit the time machine icon on the top of the screen and the "backup delayed" prompt. If I try Back up Now I get message, "Time Machine could not complete the backup. Back up disk is not available." I am trying to figure out what the time machine back up would actually look like as a file on the drives but I don't see a folder/file name Time Machine. If I enter Time Machine I can see in the far right column, in purple, the last back up date (Sept. 12, 2012), but when I hit it nothing happens. In the Time Machine preference box the select disk has, in red and to the right, "Delayed" with an "i" within a circle, and the option indicates, "Next backup: when disk is connected."
I know I have a years worth of backups on one of the three drives, but I can't figure out how the heck to find them or how to determine what was the last drive I used for the backups within Time Machine. Help please.

External usb disc used for Time Machine backup disconnects when Mac has been into sleep mode

I use a 1Tb External usb disc used for Time Machine backup which works fine, but when the Mac goes into sleep mode & powers back on I get a message stating that you should always eject the Drive before removing.
Any suggestions on how to get around this problem would be welcome

Look at the root of your hard drive for a folder called Backups.backupdb.
Or, a sparse bundle disk image for one of mobile computers that might have tried to back up to your Mac.
If you have those, remove them and try again.

I am trying to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard. When I insert the disk and install starts, it states "This disk is used for Time Machine backups" and Mac OSX can't be installed. Does anyone know how to correct this (since Tiger doesn't have Time Mach

I am trying to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard. When I insert the disk and install starts, it states "This disk is used for Time Machine backups" and Mac OSX can't be installed. Does anyone know how to correct this (since Tiger doesn't have Time Machine)?

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2986

Cannot install Yosemite as hard drive is used for Time Machine Backup, How Do I Change This?

I have a 2010 MacBook Pro and when I attempted to install Yosemite the MacBook Pro Drive is greyed out and a message appears that read,"drive is used for Time Machine Backup." How do I change this to install Yosemite?
Thanks,
Scott

Well, if you don't want to use that drive for Time Machine anymore, then you should format it using Disk Utility. Then you can install Yosemite on it.
You should, of course, have another full backup somewhere. I really can't state this strongly enough: You should have a full and complete and up to date backup of all your data before you upgrade to OS X Yosemite.

Downloaded Yosemite but it will not install on Macintosh HD as it says it is used for Time Machine Backups but it is not. TM backup is to an external 2TB HD. Downloaded OX x twice with the same result.

Downloaded Yosemite but it will not install on Macintosh HD as it says it is used for Time Machine Backups but it is not. TM backup is to an external 2TB HD. Downloaded OX X twice with the same result.

OS X: Cannot install on a volume used by Time Machine for backups
For some reason you have a folder called Backups.backupdb at the root level of the hard disk on which you want to install Yosemite.
Move it to the Trash.

Macbook Pro -yosemite install stalls at disc select with ''This disc is used for Time Machine Backups' - help !

Having downloaded Yosemite it installed fine on my iMac but on my Macbook Pro installation has frozen at the Disc Selection stage (where you want it to install) with the message 'This disc is used for Time Machine Backups'.
I cant find a way past this to complete the installation.
Any ideas anyone ?
Many thanks.

Time machine needs its own partition to operate. So you are not going install a OSx Lion on that volume.
If there is enough room you may be able to partition the drive on the fly with DiskUtility
Are you saying you clean installed Lion and you are trying to move your user Data over with TM via the migration Assistant? Please explain.

Time Machine freezes with USB External attached to iMac

I've got a WD 320GB external USB HD attached to my iMac. I've formatted the external and set it up for Time Machine backups, but it freezes every single time midway through the backup process. Yesterday I tried for the third time, wiped the drive and again set it up for Time Machine. I then started the backup process, with an estimated 8-9 hours remaining. Woke up this morning and the time machine process stopped backing up at ~70gb, still saying it was in progress but nothing was being accomplished. My computer is not set to sleep whatsoever and the hard drive is having no issues with SMART status. It's been formatted properly as Time Machine recognizes this and does start the backup process.
How can I ever utilize Time Machine if something in Lion keeps preventing the backup from being completed? Any suggestions/recommendations?

Boot in safe mode. First, disconnect all wired peripherals except keyboard, mouse, and backup drive, if applicable. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including your login items.
Manually start a backup from the Time Machine menu or preference pane. Same result?
After backing up, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

Proven external disk for Time Machine backups?

I'm looking for a good, reasonably priced, external disk to temporarily use for Time Machine backups. My 10.9.4 install is messed up and Time Machine no longer works with my ReadyNAS NV+ system. I want to use the disk to backup my MBP and reinstall the OS. Can someone please suggest a proven external disk (2TB+) with a USB 2.0 (or Ethernet) interface?
Thanks,
Ira

Hello all,
I decided to give my 2007 MBP one last upgrade with a new 1TB internal disk that I will install with 10.9.4 from scratch and will (slowly) migrate all my digital hoarding over to it. I've been using the same OWC FW800/USB enclosure since upgrading the original 160GB disk way back when. If TM still doesn't work with the new install (which will narrow down the TM issue to the ReadyNAS NV+), then I will put the current 750GB disk into the enclosure, flash it, and retry TM.
For the record, I chose the HGST Travelstar 2.5-Inch 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache internal disk. It was just $75 from Amazon and I used Amazon Points to pay for half of it.
Regards,
Ira

Can you use the same external hard drive for Time Machine backups and as an additional storage drive?

I have an external HD that I've been using exclusively for Time Machine backups. I need to clear space on my hard drive, so I was thinking to move music & photos to an external drive. Wondering if I can use the same one I have (which I'll aslo keep using for Time Machine) or if I need to get another drive.

Hi Jossydtaylor,
Time Machine can use either an entire external disk or a partition of that disk:
OS X Mountain Lion: Disks you can use with Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11171
You can use Time Machine with a Time Capsule, and with USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt disks. The backup disk can be directly connected to your computer or be on a network. If the backup disk has been divided into partitions, you can use one of the partitions.
If the disk is partitioned using the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition type, some partitions may not be available for use with Time Machine. The GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition type is recommended.
For more info on partitioning, see this article:
Disk Utility 12.x: Partition a disk
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845
Cheers!
- Ari

Is it possible to use more than one external hard drive for Time Machine backups?

I want to use two hard drives for Time Machine backups.
Bigger one keep at home and be sure it is safe.
Second one (very small pocket size) keep with me for travels.
I want to backup to both drives to be sure I can restore everywhere and to be sure if something bad happened with my small travel disk I can restore from home backup.
Is there any problem with listed schema? Is it normal for Time Machine to handle backups for different drivers and keep everything consistent and smooth?

I really need some help! I have been using an Iomega NAS 1TB HD for the past year. And I received an error message. I believe I have ran out of memory on this drive.
Then recently in the last couple of months I got a ReadyNAS Duo 2TB with 2TB RAID. Should I switch my back ups to this one and delete the other back up file or keep the old back up image file on the Iomega?
Can I transfer the old image back up to this new ReadyNAS? How do I do this?
I appreciate any help.

How long for Time Machine backup with USB v. 1

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