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.

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Can I back up to Time Machine from hard drive of failed Macbook?

My Macbook has just completely failed (I think an issue with power supply).
I had a bulging battery and have a new Macbook Pro on the way, but as I live in a very remote area this is taking a while. So, one day, my Macbook just wouldn't start again.
I hadn't backed up to Time Machine for about a week and would really like to get all the missing data. When the new computer arrives I'm planning to use Migration Assistant to migrate all my data from Time Machine.
So, my question is, is it possible to back up to Time Machine from the hard drive of my dead Macbook? I was thinking either cloning it somehow, or making a disk image and booting it from another Macbook, but this is stretching the limits of my limited IT skills. I don't want to interfere with the other Macbook I'm using or inadvertently wipe the data on the hard drive or Time Machine disk.
Any advice much appreciated!
My Macbook ran Snow Leopard and was up to date with software updates as of two days ago. It was purchased about two years ago, but I think it's manufacture date was about March 2008.

Thanks Noondaywitch and Pondini!
The HD of the failed Macbook turned out to be fine. Just to be safe I did a full functional back-up of my Time Machine disk to another external disk as well as cloning my Macbook hard drive using Carbon Cloner to another partition of the external disk.
I then booted from a friend's Macbook and did an incremental Time Machine backup from the original Macbook HD to the original TM backup (making sure I excluded the host computer's hard drive from the backup!); when I did the backup it asked whether I wanted to "Reuse backup" I clicked yes.
As said, the hard drive was fine, but at setup I needed an ethernet or firewire connection, which I didn't have on the enclosure, so I migrated my data to the new Macbook Pro using the original TM backup. Strangely, the backup said it was transferring only 120GB, whereas the HD had 150GB of used space. Redundant files, etc. perhaps? Anyway, it's just transferring now, so will sit back and read the paper and see what it looks like in an hour and a half!
Thanks very much again!
Now, if anyone's got any suggestions to fix my old Macbook, which I was going to give away to impecunious friends if they bought a new battery……
HD is fine, power seems buggered, the rest, I don't know. Suggestions welcomed (I live 300+kms from the nearest service centre, so it's strictly DIY or go to local computer shop who know nothing about Macs).

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?

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 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

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.

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.

Can't restore system (with Time Machine) after Hard Drive recall

Hi, so first a bit of history...
- Purchased my iMac in 2010
- Upgraded iMac to Mountain Lion in 2012 (I downloaded it so don’t have install disks)
- iMac hard drive was recalled 2013 (Seagate 1TB) – before taking the iMac back, I made sure Time Machine was up to date
I got my iMac back yesterday – I’ve now tried to restore it twice from the Time Machine. On both occasions the progress bar has got close to the end, then just frozen.
Any ideas? I’m wondering if the Mac store restore these recalled Macs with the original OSX it was purchased with, and since my back-ups have been on a newer OSX that might be it. But even if that is the problem, I have no idea how to fix it.
It may have been answered already, but I can’t find any same questions on here.

Hi, sorry I never use TM.
Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Can't imaging something not being covered there.

Where are the actual files on the Time Machine backup hard drive?

If I take my time machine back up hard drive and hook it up to another computer, I cannot find my files. For instance, the files that would be in my home folder (pictures, music and movies).
When I open the finder window and go to my user folder, all I see are the folders, but they are aliases.
I get the message that the volume "documents" cannot be found.
So where are these files?
Thanks in advance.

I am not running leopard on the other computers, and so Time Machine is not available.
On the other computers, I need to have classic support, so I haven't installed Leopard, so that is not an option.
I just don't understand why these files do not show up on other computers. At some level, if I can't access the files on other computers, it nearly defeats the purpose of Time Machine.

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.

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.

Accessing Old Time Machine Backup From a New Account

I have had problems with my old Account and decided to create a new Account. I can "see" the old Time Machine backup lists from the new Account, but can't open or restore them to the new Account. I get the message that I do not have sufficient privileges although I set the new Account up with Administrator privleges.

You should have used Setup Assistant, not Migration Assistant, to transfer your data. I suggest you start over by booting into Recovery, erasing the startup volume, and installing OS X. When you reboot, Setup Assistant will start automatically. Follow the prompt to import data from a Time Machine snapshot. The backup history will then be inherited. The first backup will still be a full one; that can't be avoided.

I can't access my wireless time machine backup.

When I try to access my backup files wirelessly it says enter your name and password for the server "Base Station ddb9a1". I do not know my name and password. I had did a clean install to upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion. I used the migration assistant, but I can't access my wireless time machine backup. Please someone help.

Hello,
I would like an answer to this question as well. As this is a time capsule and not a Airport extreme question I think here is a better start.
I'm planning on getting a Time Capsule but have been backing up to a 500GB USB drive connected directly to my MacBook. It's probably only a month or 2 worth of back ups and not that big of a deal but if i get a Time Capsule and want to access the old back ups it would be nice to know if that is possible and if so how it can be done. I was thinking it might be possible to use something like Carbon Copy Cloner and move the back up file to the Time Capsule drive and erase the external that I have now, and have Time Machine use that file like it has been doing from the wired drive.
I will look around the posts and see if I can find anything. In the mean time if someone finds something it would be nice if you could put the link in this discussion.
Cheers,
Shadowrider

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.

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

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