How to get Time Machine write to TrueCrypt volume on external HDD.

Hi folks
I have an external HDD that I want to use as the destination for Time Machine's backed-up files.
I want to keep this backup data secure, so I have encrypted the entire HDD by creating a TrueCrypt volume on it (not a file container volume).
When I mount the TrueCrypt volume, Time Machine doesn't recognise it; within Time Machine, when I try to select a Backup Disk, my TrueCrypt volume in not listed.
I can, however, access the encrypted volume through Finder, so it seems to be a drawback of Time Machine, so it appears that TrueCrypt has successfully and correctly created the volume. The problem appears to be on Time Machine's part.
Has anyone successfully used a TrueCrypt volume as the destination for Time Machine backups?
I'm grateful for your help and advice.
Regards,
Ken.

Hi,
Pondini wrote:
I'm a bit confused . . . where is your iMac and where is the external HD? If you encrypt your backups, what about your iMac? Isn't it more likely to be stolen than an external HD?
Both co-located at my desk. iMac is secured with a cable lock, which, granted, is probably quite easy to cut for someone who is intent on taking the computer; somewhat of a deterrent for a burglar who might just grab whatever is easy to take. No slot for cable lock on HDD, so someone can just make off with that.
Do you really need to have all your backups encrypted?
No, not essential. However, the fact that anyone can connect a USB cable to the HDD and access all my files is a little worrying. I can password protect access to the iMac, but I have nothing similar for the HDD.
Also, I was just thinking that if I could write all the backups in an encrypted location, it would be done-and-dusted. No thinking about what files should be encrypted, which disk image do I save them to, no mounting/unmounting of the encrypted disk image when I need to access a sensitive file, etc. Just that little bit simpler—I'm a fan of no hassle.
An alternative would be to created an +encrypted disk image+ on your Mac, and put your sensitive documents in it. The backup of it will remain encrypted, so they're safe in both locations.
Will consider this option. Seems to be the most appropriate for what I'm trying to do.
See [Protecting confidential documents in a secure disk image|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=DiskUtility/11.5/en/7102.html]. Note that the disk image will not be backed-up while it's mounted.
Duly noted. Thanks again for your help.
Message was edited by: SmoothBall

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    Message was edited by: kostby

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    I have a 1TB drive and a 500gig partition on another drive, both dedicated to backups (my Macbook HD is 475gig). It will take awhile for each to fill up and who knows what could happen during that time. Having Time Machine alternate between hard drives would be a nice small bit of security if the worst happened.
    I realize that there are tons of other options for backing up but I just want to use Time Machine if I can.
    Again thank you for your help!

    You cannot use Time Machine in that way. I'm not sure where you heard that Time Machine alternates between drives automatically. What you can do is create a mirrored RAID array for the backup. This automatically duplicates whatever is on one drive onto the other drive.
    Both drives must be the same size, and prefereably, exactly the same make and model. RAIDs can be configured using OS X's Disk Utility.
    RAID Basics
    For basic definitions and discussion of what a RAID is and the different types of RAIDs see RAIDs.  Additional discussions plus advantages and disadvantages of RAIDs and different RAID arrays see:
    RAID Tutorial;
    RAID Array and Server:
    Hardware and Service Comparison.
    Hardware or Software RAID?
    RAID Hardware Vs RAID Software - What is your best option?
    RAID is a method of combining multiple disk drives into a single entity in order to improve the overall performance and reliability of your system. The different options for combining the disks are referred to as RAID levels. There are several different levels of RAID available depending on the needs of your system. One of the options available to you is whether you should use a Hardware RAID solution or a Software RAID solution.
    RAID Hardware is always a disk controller to which you can cable up the disk drives. RAID Software is a set of kernel modules coupled together with management utilities that implement RAID in Software and require no additional hardware.
    Pros and cons
    Software RAID is more flexible than Hardware RAID. Software RAID is also considerably less expensive. On the other hand, a Software RAID system requires more CPU cycles and power to run well than a comparable Hardware RAID System. Also, because Software RAID operates on a partition by partition basis where a number of individual disk partitions are grouped together as opposed to Hardware RAID systems which generally group together entire disk drives, Software RAID tends be slightly more complicated to run. This is because it has more available configurations and options. An added benefit to the slightly more expensive Hardware RAID solution is that many Hardware RAID systems incorporate features that are specialized for optimizing the performance of your system.
    For more detailed information on the differences between Software RAID and Hardware RAID you may want to read: Hardware RAID vs. Software RAID: Which Implementation is Best for my Application?

  • I am trying to update my time machine backup on time capsule, but time machine keeps trying to create an entirely new backup (evidenced by the 200GB backup size). How can I get time machine to modify my old backup rather than create a new one?

    I am trying to update my time machine backup on time capsule, but time machine keeps trying to create an entirely new backup (evidenced by the 200GB backup size). How can I get time machine to modify my old backup rather than create a new one?

    It must have found the old backup corrupt.. so you will more than likely have little choice. You can archive off the old backup if it is still useful.
    You can also verify it. See A5 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    He also has some info on this problem. eg C13.

  • How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    Once you have the drive connected to your Mac, click System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock
    Click Time Machine
    Click Options
    Be default, the hard drive will be Excluded from backups. Click the drive to highlight it, then click the "-" (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the drive from Excluded items.
    The drive will be backed up on the next Time Machine pass
    Everything above assumes that the hard drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as Time Machine will only backup drives in that format.

  • How do I get Time Machine to back up my iTunes movies and tv shows?

    How do I get Time Machine to back up my iTunes movies and tv shows?

    They're backed up automatically unless in a folder in the exclusion list of the Time Machine pane of System Preferences.
    (59927)

  • How does one get Time Machine out of a "Preparing to Backup" loop to actually doing a backup? thanks, AR

    How does one get Time Machine out of a "Preparing to Backup" loop to actually doing a backup? thanks, AR

    Hi..
    Thanks for the reply..
    My original I Phone 5 was running IOS 6.12
    My I phone 5S currently runs IOS 8..When I upgraded it, it had IOS 7 on it which made the I Photo app compatible with everything below IOS 8...( which the photo app is not compatible with ) so I just connected the I Phone 5S to my computer and thinking the new phone had IOS 7 on it that these was nothing to worry about..I thought all 900 + pictures in the photo stream would transfer but somewhere in the process, I Tunes decides to just go and install IOS 8 which requires that you run a " Photo Migration App" to transfer photos from IOS 7 & below. The problem was is that I didn't want IOS 8 on my new 5S so I thought I wouldn't have to do that part..
    Anyway the phone emerged with IOS 8 on it and the only photos that remained were the ones that were actually on the phone..The 900 + I had in the stream didn't transfer because the Photos that works on IOS 7 and below isn't compatible with IOS 8..I guess you have to use the photo migration app that comes with IOS 8 & I phone 6..But I didn't ask to upgrade to IOS 8...It just did it on it's own!
    I still have the I Phone 5 Back up that I did just before giving it back to Verizon but if I try to restore the I Phone 5S running IOS 8 those photos in the stream will not go back on the phone because IOS 8 isn't compatible with the I Photos" that ran on IOS 7 and below..
    So I have an I Pad mini that runs IOS 7..should I try and erase it...and put that I Phone 5 backup on it and pray the photos that were in the stream come back on it so I can transfer them back to my computer...then erase the I pad mini again and restore it using it's original backup that I have on the computer and the in the cloud?
    I know this sounds confusing but I'm at a loss as to what to do..This is what I found ...http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201386
    but it doesn't help me..
    Steve

  • HT201250 How do I get Time Machine back on my dock? I made a mistake and removed it from dock, somehow ended up in trash, what do I do

    How do I get Time Machine back on my dock? I made a mistake and removed it from dock, somehow ended up in trash, what do I do?

    Uh…you're saying two entirely different things here. If you removed Time Machine from the Dock, it could not be in the Trash. But if you removed it from your Applications or Utilities folder and put it in the Trash, that's a problem.
    So, which one did you really do?

  • 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.

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