HT203177 Can I store my old time machine backup drive?

I don't want to take the time to copy the files from my 500GB backup drive to my new 2T. Can I simply store my old one, start using the new one, and then later if I need to find a really old file reconnect my old backup drive and expect to find the file>

Yes. The only issue would be if in the future you end up using an OS that would have trouble reading the drive. The files themselves should remain intact on the drive.

Similar Messages

I can't erase my old Time Machine Backup hard drive.

Hi,
I have a hard drive that I was using for my Time Machine backup. It now doesn't show up in Finder, but when I go to disk utilities it shows up but I can't erase it so I can use it again.
It is a WD hard drive and isn't too old.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Try repairing disk & repairing permissions on the drive in disk utility.
Have you tried partitioning it again?
Otherwise it sounds like it's dead.

Can I manually delete old Time Machine backups?

I've got a 1TB ext. HD that has 950GB of TM backups on it from my Mac Pro. The Pro has to go in for repairs so I'm using my Macbook Pro. Can I (& HOW) remove some of the older backups from the drive to make room for things off the Macbook Pro?

Of course. To do it, open Finder and choose the Time Machine drive in the Finder sidebar, under "Devices". Then, open the "Backups.backupdb" folder, open the folder with your MacBook Pro's name and delete the old backups. You can delete as many as you need.
Then, you have to create a volume in the external drive, as you can't use the Time Machine volume to store other data or you might damage the Time Machine structure. See > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html

Help: Can no longer see old time machine backups

Hello everyone and thank you for your help.
I have two computers, a Power Mac G5 tower and a Mac Book Pro both backing up using time machine to a USB drive connected to my Time Capsule. Previously my backup drive was connected via usb to my airport extreme, however when I moved the drive my Power Mac G5 stopped being able to see its old backups. However my Mac Book Pro can still see its backups. Both have always connected via WIFI for backups.
Also my G5 tower takes a very long time to "prepare" its backups (usually much longer than 30 minutes) while my mac book pro does not, any insight into why this might be?

Dude, was having the same problem; just saw this solution in the FAQ listed below you. It worked for me, just hold down the Option key while you click on the TM button and select "Other backups".
I had the same setup as you, an external drive that's been used as both an Airport disk and a locally mounted drive. TM gets confused when you switch it up like that.
17. What if I can't see my backups, or the Backups for a different Mac, via Enter Time Machine ?
TM keeps the backups for each Mac separate, and normally only shows the ones for the Mac it's running on, even if there are other Macs' backups on the same disk/partition.
Also, sometimes TM will start a new "sequence" of backups, as if they were from a different Mac.
To see these "other" backups, you need the (badly named) Browse Other Time Machine Disks option. It's available by holding down the Option key while selecting the TM icon in your Menubar, or by control-clicking (right-clicking) the TM icon in your Dock.
You'll see a selection screen showing all the disks/partitions that have TM backups on them. Select the one you want, and you'll be taken to the normal TM "Star Wars" interface, where you should see all the backups on that disk/partition.
This is the 3rd version of this tip. It was submitted on July 05, 2009 by Pondini.

Can i just delete OLD time machine backups?

I went to the BAckup directory because I keep getting this annoying window that time machine has run out of space.....It is 1 TB and my HD is 500gb and i am using about 400gb....roughly.
i think I see 2 backup ups from June 9th.
How can I change the setting on length of time TM keeps backups?

vdotmatrix wrote:
How can I change the setting on length of time TM keeps backups?
There is no such option. Time Machine keeps backups for as long as there's room on the backup disk, then deletes the oldest one(s) to make room for new ones.
It is 1 TB and my HD is 500gb and i am using about 400gb....roughly.
Which message are you getting? There's one that's just letting you know it deleted some old backups:
That's not really a problem -- it just means Time Machine is doing it's job of cleaning up old backups for you, so there's room for new ones. If you don't want to see it anymore, just click the box on the message.
But if the backups are actually failing, with a message like this;
Then something doesn't add up -- if you're backing-up 400 GB to a 1 TB drive, there should always be enough room, unless you have (lots of) other stuff on the same drive.
See #C4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting for details on those messages.
If those June backups are really the only ones left, it sounds like your backups have been failing for a long time (or you haven't done any). If so, your best bet is probably to erase the backups and let Time Machine start fresh. Then keep an eye on it -- if backups fail, or don't complete, investigate sooner rather than later. If you get an error message, see Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If you're backing-up to an external HD, just erase it with Disk Utility (see #2 in Using Disk Utility if you don't know how to do that).
If you're backing-up to a Time Capsule, erase it via Airport Utility (per the green box in Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule.
If you do have other data on the drive, roughly how much is there, and what sort of data is it?

Can you clear the old time machine backups and start fresh?

Is there a way to delete all of the backup sets at once, and start fresh with a new set of backups?

Do you really need Time Machine? It installed itself using my 300GB ext. drive. I never used it but watched it working-hard ever hour. And slowly it started filling-up my ext. drive until it warned me to remove some back-ups.
So I backed-up (manually) all the files I needed on the Ext. drive, cleaned the ext. drive completely with Disk Utility, disabled Time machine and haven't re-started it.
Now I see how great Leopard really is. Stable and fast. And now I back-up manually what I need when I need it.

I can not delete my old time machine backups

I manually backed them up to my 1TB seagatte, and then I moved old TM backups to the trash after it prompted me for my password, then I couldnt empty the trash.
Nothing lets me empty them, not even the "Secure Empty Trash" option. None of them even say "locked" when I hit "Get Info". The box is unchecked.
Please help! I hate seeing a stuffed trash can!

can you try restarting your computer then try deleting it again?
if it does not help, have a read to these links
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=80598
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
https://discussions.apple.com/message/17519859
what i usually do is format the external hard drive. i know i'm gonna loose data but as long as you know that all the important files are present on you computer, should be no issues.

Mavericks doesn't mount my Time Machine backup drive

Since I downloaded and installed Mavericks, it can't find my external Time Machine backup drive. Not found by disk utilites - not on my desk top.

I had a similar issue but I think I've solved it (temporarily atleast). You can try this and see if it works for you.
I restarted my MacBook with the external drive still plugged in. Once the system restarted, it ran the file-system check process (i.e. fsck_hfs process under Activity Monitor. If you're wondering what it does or why it utilizes a lot of CPU, here is some information: https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/ man8/fsck_hfs.8.html).
It ran the process for about 10 to 15 minutes (probably depends on your external drive size) and then Time Machine recognized the backup and just completed a backup minutes ago.
If you're interested in more information about the make of my MacBook, external drive and the problem I had, continue reading:
I've a 500GB WD My Passport with two partitions: Mac-Journaled partition for Time Machine backups and a FAT-32 partition for other stuff. My computer is a late-2009 white MacBook on which I've been running Mavericks since mid-October.
Yesterday I noticed that though both partitions showed up, the backup partition was orange and not green (which is the color usually) and the backup hadn't started automatically. I manually selected the partition in Time Machine and the backup began.
But today when I connected the external drive, only the FAT-32 partition showed up. The backup partition was not to be found anywhere other than the Disk Utility, where it was greyed out. The Repair Disk/Erase Disk didn't work (even when I did that in the boot screen after using the Command+R). I tried to earse the whole disk and partition it but even that was unsuccessful.
So that's when I restarted my MacBook with the external drive plugged in. My two cents: keep another backup (flash drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or a good old DVD) of very important information.

FIOS router drive as a Time Machine backup drive.

I would like to fine out if a hard drive connected to a FIOS router via the USB connection can be used as a Time Machine backup drive. If so can you point me to any instructions if needed. Thanks

Only if you can Mac Format it:
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18842?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Old Time Machine Hard Drive - Can't access files?

Hi
I have just put an external hard drive I have not used for a approx a year into a spare bay in my Mac Pro. It has HD video on it, but was surprised when I rebooted my machine to see it is a Time Machine drive (green and white desktop TM hard drive icon). There is just under 400GB free space of the total 1TB drive, but can only access approx 260GB of that free space.
So, I am wondering if the remainder of the drive - approx 140GB is an old Time Machine backup from either Lion or Snow Leopard.
Time Machine can not see the files nor can I access them via Finder. I only have Mountain Lion on my machine at present, but could partition my Boot SSD drive to add Lion or Snow Leopard on to it.
Is there any reason why I can't access these TM files if they do existing, or could there be other reasons why this is happening.
Thanks in advance.
Matt

Sorry, I think it's the way I replied to your last question.
TM remains switched off from doing last clean install and have not used it this time. I now use an SSD for my boot drive and all my important files I use as and when needed are stored on other hard drives.
TM at the moment is swtiched off, but with the paddlock open it is asking me to Select Backup Disk - is this what you meant in your last post? Just wanted to clarify - thanks

Can't get old time machine backups to delete from the trash can

time machine backups won't delete from my trash can

You shouldn't be deleting old Tima Machine backups. When TM runs out of space it automatically deletes the oldest backups to make rioom for the new
http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

I am out of space on my Macbook Air and have a Time Machine Backup. I want to complete reset my mac, but wonder if I can pick and choose what I restore to my computer? Can I also use my time machine backup and external storage as well?

I am out of space on my Macbook Air and have a Time Machine Backup. I want to complete reset my mac, but wonder if I can pick and choose what I restore to my computer? Can I also use my time machine backup as external storage as well for the files I don't need everyday?

If you are using "Restore from Time Machine Backup" option from OS X Recovery, you can only choose from the broad categories presented.
... Can I also use my time machine backup as external storage as well for the files I don't need everyday?
To be clear, if you are asking if you can use the volume containing your Time Machine backup to store additional, non-Time Machine files, the short answer is yes.
It's not a good idea though, since the Time Machine backup will eventually fill all available space, after which it begins to remove old, "expired" backups to make room for newer ones. The presence of additional files doesn't change that fact, and Time Machine will not erase them, but you will encounter a dilemma should you want to store additional files on that volume when there is no remaining space. You will have to make room for them on your own, by deleting existing files. Furthermore, since Time Machine cannot back up its own volume, those additional files will not be backed up by Time Machine.
The easy solution for what you describe is to purchase additional external storage. External USB hard disk drives have become very inexpensive; about $55 will buy a perfectly suitable 1 TB drive.
You can also choose to replace your MacBook Air's internal storage with a larger capacity one. Look for a suitable replacement from OWC / MacSales:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Air-Retina
That gets a little more expensive but it is the optimum solution.

Can't recover iMac from Time Machine backup

Hi there
I need your help! My photos, music, videos, and other data is gone.. Especially the photos i would like to have back, they were stored in my Aperture library (about 13.000 pictures).
For a few days ago my iMac (with Mountain Lion) wouldn't start, just showed the white screen with the 'thinking-circle' - no further… But I wasn't worried , because I had a Time Machine backup. So I restarted, holding down the option key. Then I chose to restore from the backup i had made. It started, but there wasn't going much time before it stopped, said there was an error with the backup.… When it started up again, tried again it said the same. So from there I couldn't boot the iMac, and i couldn't restore it with the Time Machine backup.
Then I made an fresh install of the OSX Mountain Lion on an other external hdd (from my Macbook Pro). I connected the external hdd to the iMac and booted from there. And then in the disk utility i could see the original hdd in the iMac. It sais - Capacity: 999,35 GB - Used: 733,3 MB. So it almost just erased/formatted… The backup hdd's capacity is: 2 TB - Used: 566 GB
Then I took my Macbook Pro and connected the backup hdd (2 TB) to it. But it didn't show me any hdd in the Finder. I opened the disk utility and there it was! The hdd showing as the other one i had connected. But the partition is grayed out. So I guess it was right that there is an error on the hdd. So i selected the hdd and pressed 'Repair disk'. It completed and said it was ok. Then i selected the partition and pressed 'Repair disk'. It took very much longer time (1-2 hours), and then it told me that it wasn't able to repair. 'Mac OS X can't repair the disk "GlennovitS 2TB". You can still open or copy files on the disk, but you can't save changes to files on the disk. Back up the disk and reformat it as soon as you can.'
But anyway the partition now was showing with black text, and therefore I could see it in the Finder. And opening it in the Finder showed me one folder: 'Backups.backupdb'. I can open that, and see whats in the folders (it is just VERY slow opening. Can hear the hdd working but it takes so long time to actually see the results.). So i can see the different dates from my backups, open and see whats backuped. And i can look through the folders and find the folder where my Aperture library is stored, and its there! So i copied it and tried to paste it to my other external hdd. But it wouldn't. It showed me the error: 'The Finder can't complete the operation because some data can't be read or written (Error code -36).'
I have googlet a lot, and tried a lot now. Both the hdd's is Mac OS (Journaled) format. There is space enough on the other hdd. I have tried using the 'dot_clean' operation in Terminal, to the library and to the folder that its located in, and then try copying again - still no success. Also tried to copy through Terminal with some 'sudo cp…' . Also I tried to remove the file-extension from the library (.aplibrary) so it should become an ordinary folder, but in the info of the file, the field with name is grayed out, can't edit in there. Also tried to compres the library or the folder its in, to a ZIP file, but it can't do that either. Tried to use a program called 'JFileRecovery' but didn't work either. Then I connected it to a Windows 7 pc, but it can't see the hdd at all.. I have also tried to connect the backup hdd to the iMac (booted from the clean installed external hdd) instead of the Macbook Pro, but it makes no difference.
If you need info about my setup it is:
iMac 27" 3,1 GHz - i5 - 12 GB ram - 1 TB hdd
Time Machine Backup drive: WD external - 2 TB
Second external: iomega 1 TB
Extra boot hdd (with the clean Mountain Lion install) : iomega 250 GB
Macbook Pro 15" - 2,53 GHz core2duo - 4 GB ram - 250 GB hdd
Aperture file size: 163,29 GB
My iTunes library was about 2.000 songs and 100 videos + app's + podcast… (haven't tried copying that yet, only the images because they are my main issue…)
If you have read all this, thank you for that. Hope you see my frustration and hopefully have some ideas of what to do?.. Recover from the original hdd - recover backup hdd - or fix the files / copy them from the corrupted backup somehow? Please help...
From Glenn :-)

If there is any chance of recovery at all your best bet is Prosoft Data Rescue 3 . There is a free trial to see if it can recover what you need. But don't do another process on that drive until you've downloaded and run it.
That means that ideally you should use another bootable drive to download and run Data Rescue. Or booted from another Mac in firewire mode. Also, there is always the option of ordering or going to the store to purchase the DVD. Then running from the optical drive.

How to transfer a single Application from an old Time Machine backup

Hi
My old G5 unexpectedly died so i picked up a new iMac. When I set it up I used migration assistant to transfer everything but was told by a Genius not to "check" applications as I would need to re-install any apps that used a key anyway and there may be issues with snow leopard.
Turns out the new machine didn't have Snow Leopard after all and the one key application that I forgot to account for was my Palm Desktop. This of course has all of my addresses etc. and was far more up to date then the handheld which I haven't used in a couple years.
Is there any way to selectively retrieve this application from the Time machine backup for my old G5? I would even be happy if I could just get the data but I have no idea where to even look for it.
Thoughts?
Thanks to any caring sole who thinks they can help
SDK

This is what I would do, if you absolutely had to run the old Palm Desktop app on your new iMac.
The last version of Palm Desktop appears to still be available from palm.com
http://kb.palm.com/wps/portal/kb/common/article/33219_en.html
Note: This is probably an old PowerPC application, so your Intel iMac will be using Rosetta to run it. That is fine, but a window letting you know may pop up if it is the first PowerPC app you have run.
Hopefully, the installer and application will work properly on a new Mac with Leopard or Snow Leopard.
When it sets up the new user, it should create a folder in your user home folder somewhere. I do not know where this will be, but I would look in places like
<user home folder>/Library/
<user home folder>/Library/Application Support/
<user home folder>/Documents/
for a folder with Palm in the name.
If you can find that folder, note where it is located. Connect the Time Machine backup drive from the G5. In Finder, go into the backup folder to the latest date/time folder. You should be able to navigate to that same location and find that same +Palm data+ folder. First, just copy it over to the iMac's Desktop. Once you have it on the iMac, the idea here (with Palm Desktop NOT running) is to replace the new folder it created with the one from the old iMac. When you run Palm Desktop, hopefully, it will use your old data from the iMac G5.
I have not done this myself for Palm Desktop, but this technique works in other similar situations.

Help. I hit 'Restore All' in an old Time Machine backup

I fully realize I made a terrible mistake. I had an iphoto library on my imac that i haven't backed up at all. I was playing around with an old time machine backup and i pressed restore all thinking it would warn me that i was going to overwrite my existing library. well, now i have lost a years worth of photos without having backed them up. my question is, is there anyway to retrieve them? the trash holds nothing. there is no backup save my iphone. when i hook that up it only shows 2 photos. hide already imported photos is NOT checked. i imagine i can pull them off. i'm wondering if they will be the full resolution however. i would like to UNDO the restore first if there is a way. if not i guess i have to do it with the iphone which i'm not sure if it had all the photos from my previous library anyways. please advise and i will love you forever.
mark

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. About the only recourse is to use a file recovery application like SubrosaSoft FileSalvage. You can run it in demo mode to verify that you can recover the photos you want before you have to pay for it.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

HT203177 Can I store my old time machine backup drive?

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