HT201250 When using Time Machine should I NOT switch between user accounts?

The reason I ask is that I don't want to lose data whilst switching between accounts. Which I need to do whilst working and on a very
regular basis.
neil

Time Machine isn't affected by switching accounts.

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HT201250 When using time machine do I need to keep my drive plugged in all the time or can I back up when I wish?

Is it necessary to keep the external drive plugged in at all times? Or can I unplug it and choose when I wish to back up my system.

No, I do not believe so. Time Machine would keep all those now-deleted files in previous backups, and as time goes by those backups might be deleted if you needed room, but it would still keep one backup from each day in last month, as well as one from each week forever, as long as you don't start running out of room, then just the oldest would be deleted to make room if needed.
I use a backup drive about double the size of my drive to be backed up, so I would guess it will never get to the point where deleted files being replaced by new ones being backed fill up that drive to the point where backups actually have to get deleted.

MacBook Pro i5 with retina will not recognize WD Passport even though I successfully used it to transfer programs and files from my older MacBook ten days ago. It receives power from the USB, but when using Time Machine I receive the message that there is

MacBook Pro i5 with retina will not recognize WD Passport even though I successfully used it to transfer programs and files from my older MacBook ten days ago. It receives power from the USB, but when using Time Machine I receive the message that there is not an external device connected.

If the modem is also a router, either use the modem in bridge and run pppoe client on the TC.. that is assuming ADSL or similar eg vdsl. If it is cable service.. and the modem is a router, then bridge the TC.. go to internet page and select connect by ethernet and below that set connection sharing to bridge.
Please tell us more about the modem if the above gives you issues.

When using Time Machine, if I delete items from my computer, will they still be backed up to access later on my external hard drive? In other words, when time machine backs up again, will it delete the files from the back up?

When using Time Machine, if I delete items from my computer, will they still be backed up to access later on my external hard drive?
In other words, when time machine backs up again, will it delete the files from the back up that I have deleted from my computer?

No, I do not believe so. Time Machine would keep all those now-deleted files in previous backups, and as time goes by those backups might be deleted if you needed room, but it would still keep one backup from each day in last month, as well as one from each week forever, as long as you don't start running out of room, then just the oldest would be deleted to make room if needed.
I use a backup drive about double the size of my drive to be backed up, so I would guess it will never get to the point where deleted files being replaced by new ones being backed fill up that drive to the point where backups actually have to get deleted.

Our iMac (intel, 11.2) freezes up when using Time Machine for Back Ups. We have 16GB of RAM and the BU drive is 1 TB on firewire.

Our iMac (intel, 11.2) freezes up when using Time Machine for Back Ups. We have 16GB of RAM and the BU drive is 1 TB on firewire.

See Pondini's TM FAQs for starters.

When using Time Machine to back up to external drive, does Time Machine back up content in your Trash folder?

When using Time Machine to back up to external drive, does Time Machine back up content in your Trash folder?

Go to System Preferences (under the Apple menu) > Time Machine and click the Options button. Click the "+" button in the lower left. In the resulting dialog, check the Show invisible items checkbox. Go to your home folder and look for Trash. Click the Exclude button in the lower right.

When switching between user accounts, the background desktop picture disappears and goes to just a blue background. Whats up with that?

When switching between user accounts, the background desktop picture disappears and goes to just a blue background. Whats up with that?

All fixed! It was TeamViewer that was causing the problem.

When using time machine with external hardrive to backup, some music items from iTunes and some photos from iPhoto do not transfer to backup hardrive. What am I ding wrong? Using latest version of mountain lion.

When I use time machine with my external harddrive to back up computer, some music from iTunes library, and some photos from iPhoto library are missing when I check backup disk. I am using latest version of mountain lion. Am I doing something wrong?

First, Time Machine doesn't completely back up the iPhoto library while iPhoto is running. Make sure you quit iPhoto after making any changes to allow a backup to take place.
This simple procedure will clear your Time Machine settings, including both overt and hidden exclusions. If you have a long exclusion list that can't be recreated easily, you may prefer a more complicated procedure that preserves the exclusion list. In that case, ask for instructions. Otherwise, do as follows.
Triple-click the line below to select it:
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Reveal
from the contextual menu. A Finder window should open with a file selected. Copy it to the Desktop. Then move it (the original, not the copy) to the Trash. You'll be prompted for your administrator password. Reboot, recreate your settings in the Time Machine preference pane, and run a backup to test. If TM now performs as expected, delete the file you copied to the Desktop.

When using Time Machine in Mac Mail, everything works fine but restored files do not appear in MM - On My Mac, and I cannot find them anywhere. Thanks

Time Machine Problem: Mac Mail. Cannot Find Restored Files in Mac Sidebar where they are supposed to go.
I am using Mountain Lion on my MacBook. I have successfully used Time Machine in the past, but I have incurred the following problem that I am requesting help on.
I am attempting to recover Sent and Inbox Mac Mail sent. I go through all the steps properly and locating what I want to recover, and after hitting Restore everything seems to be working and I get a message "Restoring 207 files". The guides say that then I am supposed to find the files in Mac Mail sidebar under ON MY MAC. But they are not there nor anywhere else I have looked. In other words, everything appears to be working fine except I cannot find the restored files.
Thank you for you help.
Jerry

Although you can restore messages from a Time Machine snapshot within the Mail application, it generally won't work with messages that were saved by an older version of Mail. In that case, you have to use an alternative method.
Triple-click the line below to select it:
~/Library/Mail/V2
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Reveal
from the contextual menu. A Finder window should open with a folder selected. Inside that folder are subfolders representing your Mail accounts. The names refer to the email addresses you use. Decide which ones you want to restore messages from.
Enter Time Machine and scroll back to the snapshot you want. Select the account folders you want and then selectRestore ... to... from the action menu (gear icon) in the toolbar of the snapshot window. Restore the folders to the Desktop, not to their original location.
From the Mail menu bar, select
File ▹ Import Mailboxes...
Import from the mailboxes in the folders you restored to the Desktop. The imported messages will appear in a new mailbox. Move the ones you want to keep wherever you like and delete the rest. Then delete the folders on the Desktop.

HT201250 Will using Time Machine on my external drive, reformat or wipe my external drive?

I need to backup my whole computer, and was wondering if I can do this with Time Machine using my external hardrive. The problem is, that I am using this same external hardrive for other things and I don't want to lose that data. Will using Time Machine wipe my external hardrive? Apple did not make it so clear in their guide on using Time Machine, but I have a feeling that it must reformat the hardrive. If my hunch is correct, is their any other way I can backup my computer using an external hardrive without having to wipe it? I was thinking about just dragging Macintosh HD into a folder on my hardrive and letting the file transfer. What are the downsides of doing this?
NOTE: Don't know if this makes a big difference, but I am running OS X 10.8.3

If the drive is not formatted correctly for Time Machine, then it will have to format it. But, it won't do that automatically. It will ask if you want to use that disk for Time Machine when you attach it.
You can have Time Machine on a drive with other data. See Pondini's Time Machine FAQ: http://pondini.org/TM/3.html

How to fix podcast privileges when using time machine backup on another mac

hello,
my imac broke down the other day and is now at the menders. i had been using time machine with a LaCie 500gb external hard drive.
i am now using my macbook pro as a substitute and want to use the itunes library from my LaCie instead of copying everything over again. I have managed to achieve this by changing the library destination in itunes preferences. However, when i try to "get" the latest podcasts that usually subscribe to, it says "you do not have enough access privileges for this operation". similarly, when i try to buy anything from the itunes store, it will not let me download, giving me an error 5000 message instead. i had signed in correctly by the way. the purchased songs are still in the downloads folder but greyed out.
any advise would be much appreciated. i'm not that technically minded so please spell anything out to me!

johndave, did anyone ever respond to your post?

New to Using Time Machine, Should I Even Use It in This Case?

Hey everyone
So I just started a full Time Machine backup on my Macbook Pro to my Seagate 2TB External Hard drive. I make music, so I have a lot of projects and sounds, which I would like to have backed up just incase something happens to my Macbook. I have around 250GB of stuff on my computer, and it says that's it's going to take around 12 hours to back everything up. I'm new to using Time Machine, so I have a few questions:
Will this occur all the time if Time Machine is running? Like, will it keep updating the data I already have and replacing it, or will it just backup new changes/files after this first backup is complete? Is there an option/preference I can change so it only backs up new changes/files instead fully backing up every day?
Does Time Machine store the files/folders onto the external hard drive, or is it just like a backup file that you run which backs up everything?
Thank you guys in advance, really need help with this!

You should not use a Time Machine backup drive for permanent data storage. Use a separate drive for that purpose. It's much safer. Time Machine will over time delete files if they are deleted from the source drive which makes Time Machine a poor long term storage option. If you want a permanent storage option buy a separate drive for that purpose, but do not use Time Machine. User other backup software:
Suggested Backup Software
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

HT201250 I use Time Machine to back up my entire computer with my external hard drive. I am getting a brand new iMac this month and was wondering what is the process of using this back up to restore my new computer exactly how my old computer was?

I use Time Machine to back up my entire computer with my external hard drive. I am getting a brand new iMac this month and was wondering what is the process of using this back up to restore my new computer exactly how my old computer was? I want to make sure I will still have various important files on my new computer, like my songs in iTunes, my photos in iPhoto, etc, etc. Thanks so much in advance!

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
When you turn on the new iMac for the first time, Setup Assistant will ask you to restore a backup, so connect the external disk and follow steps to restore all your files to your new iMac. Your new Mac will have the same settings and programs as your old computer.
In other cases, I would recommend to restore the whole backup without using Migration Assistant or Setup Assistant, but a Late 2012 iMac uses a special OS X build, so the OS X version that you're using on your old Mac won't work on the new one. For more information, see > http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

HT201250 When restoring Time Machine after a failure, does it also restore the files to the same order, for example - within iPhoto I have pics/ videos in folders and sub folders organised as family/events etc - will it go back to this exact order after a

When restoring Time Machine after a failure, does it also restore the files to the same order, for example - within iPhoto I have pics/ videos in folders and sub folders organised as family/events etc - will it go back to this exact order after a restore?

Hi Stavros0203,
When restoring your entire system from a Time Machine backup, it is restored to the state it was when that backup was made. See this article for reference -
OS X Yosemite: Recover your entire system
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

HT3275 Continue using Time Machine backup history after switching disk from local to Airport Extreme?

I have been using Time Machine on my iMac for backups for quite some time. The disk I've been using is a single disk connected via USB. Now that I got an AirPort Extreme base station, I wanted to switch the disk drive to the AirPort Extreme, but continue to use my existing backup history and not start a new one.
When I did that, Time Machine complaint that the disk does not have enough space left to do the initial backup. Again, I don't want to start a new backup history but rather seamlessly append to and continue with my existing backup history that's already on the disk.
Is this possible and how?
Thanks,
Torsten

torbu_us wrote:
I have been using Time Machine on my iMac for backups for quite some time. The disk I've been using is a single disk connected via USB. Now that I got an AirPort Extreme base station, I wanted to switch the disk drive to the AirPort Extreme, but continue to use my existing backup history and not start a new one.
As the other poster says, that's usually unreliable and not supported by Apple. See: Using Time Machine with an Airport Extreme Air Disk.
When I did that, Time Machine complaint that the disk does not have enough space left to do the initial backup.
That's because Time Machine stores backups differently when they're done over a network. See the blue box in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #17 for an explanation.

HT201250 When using Time Machine should I NOT switch between user accounts?

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