I can't set up time machine

see this from Pondini
You might want to review the Time Machine Tutorial, and perhaps browseTime Machine - Frequently Asked Questions,

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I can't set up Time Machine---Help! What "User Name" and password do I use

I finally got the Time Capsule and installed Leopard, but now that I'm trying to set up Time Machine, it's asking for a user name and password. I've entered the admin user name and password to my computer with no luck, then tried the name of the Time Capsule and the password for that, no luck there either. What the heck is it looking for? Thank you for any help you can give me!!!!

smithrj wrote:
Thank you for correcting me, I think it's time for bed.
Ray
Hey, I got left and right confused late one night No problem.
I mentioned it only because I once used that software and only because I checked it before upgrading to Leopard did I realize it didn't work too well, even with Tiger.
LaCie makes great hardware, but in the software area they are a bit soft.

Can't set up Time Machine to backup to WD external drive

Hi, I have a WD external drive that I want to use to back up my Mac book Pro 10.8 files.
I connected the WD to the computer's USB and it appears in the "Devices" list in the Finder Window.
I opened "System Preferences / Time Machine" switched it to "On", clicked the option "Other Time Capsule" and the "Set up..." button
A new screen opened and I couldn't find the option to choose the WD drive as the Time Machine backup location.
This screen only says:
"no new Airport base stations discovered"
"no remote Airport base stations discovered"
"no configured Airport base stations have been found. AirPort utility will continue searching"
Am I doing something wrong? Why can't I find the option to save the backup to the WD drive?
Thanks

Not only should it be OSX Extended (journaled), it should also
be repartitioned to a GUID partition format. Click Partition tab
is Disk Utility (make sure you have the WD drive selected),
reset to create one or however many partitions you want,
click the Options button. Select GUID partition map, then
repartition.

Hi! how can I set the time machine/capsule back-up intervals? Heron 2

HI! EVERYBODY,
HOW CAN I SYNC 2 TIME CAPSULES INSTALLED IN TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, MAIN HOME AND SUMMER HOME?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.
MERCi
HERON2

To use different backup intervals use TimeMachineEditor 2.5.3. I do not think syncing two Time Capsule to one another is feasible or possible. For all things Time Machine visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ

Can't set up time machine.

When I click on the "Choose backup disk" icon, the box comes on empty. In other words, it doesn't allow me to choose a disk but is instead blank. The "Use for Backup" icon is not highlighted. I'd appreciate anyone's help. Thanks.

when you select an external hard drive, just make sure that it is BIG. 3 or 4 times as big as your internal drive.
USB or FireWire or FireWire 800 will all work. Firewire is faster, but it actally won't work any faster than a USB drive because TM is usually slower than USB.
Make sure that you select Partition in the disk utility and set one partition. Push the Options button and select GUID for an intel mac or AFP for a PPC mac although it really isn't terribly important if you don't intend to make the external drive bootable. Just make sure that you've selected GUID or AFP. The Master Boot Record partition will not work.
You can use multiple partitions, but that sort of defeats the purpose of buying a bigger drive to give TM some working room, which it really needs.
If you want to make a bootable backup, buy TWO drives, one big one for TM and one the same size as your internal drive (or bigger) to make a bootable backup.
- gws
Message was edited by: GW Schreyer

How do I change the name I have called my MacBook Air so I can add 11" and 13" into the title of whose computer this is for more clarity when I set up Time Machine and save to it with both computers? Both are named with "my name and MacBook Air"

I'm still learning the whole Mac thing but these are great machines! I purchased a MacBook Air 13" and then thought I should also get a MacBook Air 11" for travel. When I set it up at the Apple store I told the assistant the exact same name for each machine, i.e., "my name and MacBook Air." What I want to do is go back in and rename both of them adding the 11" and 13" designation to the name so that when I set up Time Machine or whatever else I know exactly which machine is what. I'm sure it is very simple but I cannot seem to figure it out. Help please. Thanks.

Go to System Preferences - Sharing and change the computer name there. You can also, optionally, change the name of your hard drive to further clarify the origin of your backups. Click once on the "Macintosh HD" on your desktop, then click its name to allow you to edit it.
Matt

Will my mac back up to time machine wile it is on but shut (asleep) and can you set a time for backups???

will my mac back up to time machine wile it is on but shut (asleep) and can you set a time for backups???

If your Mac Model supports POWERNAP under Mountain Lion, yes backups and software updates can occur while the mac is taking a power nap (kind of light sleep).

When I try to set up Time Machine, there are no back up disks displayed. Therefore, I cannot turn on Time Machine. How can I fix this?

When I try to set up Time Machine, there are no back up disks displayed. Therefore, I cannot turn on Time Machine. How can I fix this?

Thanks - let it finish, but zero out data is unnecessary. That option is intended to thoroughly erase previously recorded data so that it cannot be recovered without sophisticated data recovery techniques.
Case sensitive is OK but I suggest you simply select Mac OS X Extended since "case sensitive" may complicate things for you in the future, should it be necessary to restore files to a case-ignorant volume.
Once it finishes, make sure it appears as a selectable option in Time Machine. If it does your problems are solved, but consider using Disk Utility and reformatting it. This time don't worry about zeroing unused space, and select Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). It will only take a few seconds this time.
For a more thorough description read Apple Support Communites contributor Pondini's FAQ: http://pondini.org/TM/5.html Read the pink box regarding the subject of case sensitivity.
Also: Mac Basics: Time Machine

I can't seem to set up time machine. Time machine window for backup but no window to pic back up volume

I can't seem to set up time machine. I open time machine preference and check hard drive, but I get no window to set backup volume. so I get an error message no backup volume has been selected.

If you want to back up to an external HD (USB or Firewire, directly connected to your Mac), see #21 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
If you want to back up to a Time Capsule, see #Q1 in Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule.

HT201250 I set up Time Machine yesterday (using a WD 2T drive) and got the message that the first backup was complete. I can open every file I try except Quicken and TurboTax. What am I doing wrong?

I set up Time Machine yesterday (using a WD 2T drive) and got the message that the first backup was complete. I can open every file I try except Quicken and Turbotax. What am I doing wrong?

burgessiii22 wrote:
Thanks for the answer Linc, but how do I check to make sure the back-up process is working if I don't think I need to restore?
Create a test file with Text Edit (or any other program) and save it to your desktop.
Run Time Machine from the menu bar.
When the Time Machine icon in the menu bar stops spinning, drag your test file to the trash.
Open Time Machine and go back 1 page. You should see your test file on the desktop.

How do I set up Time Machine to work with an Iomega network hard drive?

I have just bought a new iMac having switched from Windows, and am very much a beginner when it comes to all things Apple. Previously I had used my NAS hard drive with my old windows pc. i successfully used it to transfer a lot of data from the old pc to the iMac but can't seem to get it recognised when I try to configure time machine. I have downloaded the latest version of Iomega Home storage manager which appears in the application folder in the dock, but when I click on The HSM icon it just disappears and nothing happens. I can access the drive through the Bonjour service and can see its contents in Finder. I have looked through the forums here but much of the info assumes a level of knowledge that i don't have. Is there an 'idiot's guide' anywhere to enable me to set up time machine to use the network hard drive?

You would probably benefit from a couple of things, first going through these 2 links
Time Machine FAQs & Time Machine Troubleshooting.
If you still have questions there is a TM forum, because TM is part of OS X you will find the forum in the Snow Leopard forum. Click Apple Support Communities and in the search field type Snow Leopard. Once you are in the correct forum you can narrow your search by clicking Refine this list.
Roger

Having trouble setting up time machine.

I'm trying to set up time machine and I go to the program, click it on, and then I click "choose backup disk", but there is nothing there. Is there anything I am supposed to do beforehand to give Time Machine a backup disk to save in?
My next question isn't about time machine but it might be related. I have to reinstall windows on my mac. I had it before and somehow it caught a virus, so I had to erase and it went to ****....long story short, It broke, I fixed it. Now i have to repartition my drive though. I assume that I have to split it three ways, one for Mac, Windows, and Time Machine. My question is....I want to leave Mac with the most space of all 3, obviously....whats the minimum I can split it to to install Windows xp and get Time Machine working (unless I'm way off and time machine setup is a different way)?

So one can't back up to a partition on the main disk with Time Machine?
The iMac comes from the factory with a single partition. If you want TM to backup to a second partition on the iMac internal drive, you will need to Partition the drive using OSX disk that came with the iMac (this erases every thing on the hard drive) and reinstall the OS from the DVD.
But, I do not recommend that approach. Backups are generally needed if your hard disk crashes. If you are backing up to a partition on the internal disk, you will lose your backup if/when the drive crashes.
The only reason to use TM on a partition on the internal drive is if you are doing a LOT of version sensitive work (meaning you made need to look at yesterday's work on the same project). But most applications can be set to do incremental change backups of individual projects making TM a ppor choice anyway.
Buy an external drive for the TM backup.
(jk)

How do I set up "Time Machine"

I am on http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427, but the information given on how to set up "Time Machine" doesn't match with the prompts my Mac mini is giving me.
The support site says I will be asked,
But I don't get this ^ prompt. The prompt I get says "Choose a backup disc." And when I click on "CHOOSE BACKUP DISC" (my only choice) it brings down another drop down menu and my only two choices (prompts) are "set up time capsule" and "cancel." When I click "set up time capsule" my computer searches for an "air port utility" It then tells me I don't have one and then I am stumped. I don't want to install "Time Machine" with an "air port utility." (I don't even know what an air port utility is.) I want to use an external hard drive I bought so that I'd have more space as my backup disc.
Any suggestions on how I can install Time Machine? My Mac Mini is 2 and a half years old, but I just recently started to use it as my "default" computer.

Okay. I was able to change it to my external hard drive. Now, do I need to keep that drive connected all the time or will it update if I eject it and then (days later) reconnect it? And it said that it might take a long time to back it up. Will I get some kind of notification when it's done? (Sorry. I am technoloically inept. I know.)

How can I set my time capsule to back-up only once a day?

How can I set my time capsule to only back-up once a day. It appears to be backing up several times a day. Not sure there is a set schedule for the back-ups and they take a great deal of time; over an hour each.

tdenny2 wrote:
Not sure there is a set schedule for the back-ups and they take a great deal of time; over an hour each.
Then something is wrong. Changing the schedule will only deal with the symptom (and give up one of the better features of Time Machine's usually quick and unobtrusive hourly backups).
See if the size of the backups makes sense, considering what you've changed since the previous one. If it seems much too large, that may be the problem. See #D4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting for some common culprits and ways to see just what's going on.
If the sizes seem reasonable, see #D2 in the same link for things that can cause extra-slow backups.

How do I set up Time Machine to backup to an external hard drive on my wireless router?

I have just set up an external hard drive to my wireless router and am now wanting to set up Time Machine to back up to the hard drive. I can see the hard drive in Finder and can even send files to it manually. I just don't see in setting up Time Machine any option to backup to that hard drive. Is it even possible?

Well, I figured out a way around it that works for me but may not be suitable for everyone. Instead of connecting the external hard drive to the router I tried connecting it directly to my computer. I then right-clicked the hard drive's folder on my desktop, clicked "Get Info" and checked the box that says "Shared Folder". I then went to the bottom of that window and under "Sharing & Permissions" and next to "Everyone" checked that they could all "Read and Write".
The hard drive is now shared over my network, so when I got on one of my other Mac's that I was wanting to set up Time Machine with, the Time Machine Application had no problem finding the hard drive and backing up to it.
I have all computer's setup for file sharing too, so that may need to be checked as well.
This was a simple enough fix but the reason I said that it may not be suitable for everyone is that the other computer's backing up to this hard drive via Time Machine is now reliant on my computer being turned on. I'm okay with that though.

I can't set up time machine

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