I having trouble using time machine

I having trouble using time machine on my mac. When I click it, it wants me to set it up. When I click on that it says  to select backup disk but there is nothing on the page, it's blank.  What do I do next?

Have you connected the Hard Drive you want to storage your backup? If the answer of this question is yes, you need to format it in "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" It can be a NTFS drive and you are probably using macfuse to have permission to read and write it time machine can't write on NTFS (As far as I know) Hope it helped

Similar Messages

  • Having trouble getting Time Machine to back up my external hard drive.  Any suggestions?

    I'm running Mountain Lion on my iMac and I've been using Time Machine to back it up to my Time Capsule.  Recently, the iMac's hard drive filled up, so I moved my iTunes library to a new Airport Time Capsule.  But I can't seem to get Time Machine to include the new Airport Time Capsule in its back up. 
    The only suggestion I can find is to make sure it's not excluded in the Time Machine options, and I can see that nothing is excluded.  However, when I go into Time Machine, the Airport Time Capsule is greyed out in the Finder window.
    Anyone have any ideas?  Thanks in advance, I'm a little nervous about having my iTunes library hanging out there without a back up...

    Linc Davis wrote:
    You can't back up the internal drive of the Time Capsule with Time Machine. It will only back up locally attached storage devices, not network devices. There's no way around it. You may be able to back up the TC with third-party software such as "Carbon Copy Cloner," but it will be very slow. The internal drive of the TC is only suitable for use as a backup device. It's not suited for storing original data.
    yeah well you can use the external hard drive as a data extension to the time capsule internal hard drive. like a RAID in effect...

  • Trouble using "Time Machine"

    I really should say......Im a Mac NewB and havent fully figured out how to best use Time Machine. Here's the real issue:
    I have an HP EX495 MedaSmart Server that I would like to use for my Mac Backups. The first problem with this is that HP has discontinued the product, and the second problem is that the Connector software that came with the unit apparently no longer works as of the release of Lion (Which I have on my brand new MacBook Pro).  I can see the server out on the network as a "Share" via finder and can successfully get into any folder I want to, but when I open up Time Machine, it doesnt see it.
    I just figured that there was some way that I could make it work, but havent figured it out yet.
    I do notice that the drives that Time Machine see's on my system that are available (USB External Drives) appear as  an orange drive on my desktop, and that the folder shares from the MedaSmart server that Time Machine cannot see are blue in color. (As I said.....Mac NewB)
    Any Ideas ????
    Bill

    The orange drives are directly connected to your Mac; the blue drives are network drives.
    Officially, Time Machine backups are only supported to: 1) directly connected drives; 2) Time Capsules, or 3) network drives on another Mac.  Some people have reported success at getting Time Machine to work with other network drives, but doing so is complicated and is not guaranteed to be reliable, so if you are a newbie I would strongly recommend against trying to use an unsupported network drive with Time Machine.
    There are other backup solutions out there such as Carbon Copy Cloner, which can use your existing media server to at least some extent.

  • Having Trouble Transferring Time-Machine files on Case Sensitive External to another External

    Techies and Hard Drive Nerds: I have old Time Machine Backups formatted MAC OS Extended (Case Sensitive, Journaled). I want to take those items and move them to another hard-drive formatted MAC OS Extended (Journaled). I'm getting error message "The volume has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup."
    How do I transfer these files?

    Although the documentation says you can copy Time Machine backups in the Finder, it's very slow and sometimes doesn't work at all.
    This technique will only work if the volume you're copying to is the same size, or larger than, the one you're copying from.
    First, open the Time Machine preference pane and click the Select Disk... button. You may have to unlock the settings first by clicking the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window. Authenticate as an administrator.
    Delete the volume you're going to copy from the list of backup destinations. Then turn Time Machine OFF.
    Launch Disk Utility, open the built-in help, and search for the term "Duplicate." Follow the instructions. All existing data on the destination volume will be erased. That shouldn't be a problem, because you don't want to mix backup and non-backup data on the same drive anyway.
    If the volume you're copying was encrypted by Time Machine, you may have to unlock it first. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar of the Disk Utility window.
    Turn Time Machine back ON and select the new volume as a backup destination. You can also continue to use the old volume, if you wish. The two will be alternated when both are available.
    CAUTION: If the volume you're copying is corrupt, as shown by Repair Disk or Verify Disk in Disk Utility, then that corruption will be copied to the new drive. Don't copy data from a corrupt volume on a malfunctioning drive. Put the drive aside and don't use it until you're sure you'll no longer need the data. Then securely erase it and take it to a recycling center. Do the same if the Restore operation fails with "disk errors."

  • Anyone having trouble with Time Machine?

    Mine will NOT finish any backup so it's constantly running the HD. THe onscreen panel will say
    "Backing up 132,386 items" and "492.2 MB of 492.2 MB" and it just keeps thrashing the drive.
    For hours, I mean.
    I told it to "Stop Backing Up" (on right click popup menu) and then I went into "Time Machine Preferences" and turned it off with the switch and clicked the padlock to lock it in the OFF position, and it's STILL RUNNING.
    The only way I can stop it is reboot, cold.

    Restart your machine if need be and turn it off. If you don't have any data on the TM disk other than TM, then reformat it (with case sensitivity OFF). If you have data on there, then just trash teh TM backup folder. DOnt' forget to empty trash. Turn TM back on and let it do it's thing. Don't browse the drive to see what it's doing; don't start modifying file sto test it out - just leave it be till it's done.

  • Having trouble with Time Machine

    I recently had to reinstall my system software. Now I am trying to restore things like my iPhoto Library, Address Book, Safari Bookmarks and settings etc
    But my Time Machine Back up won't seem to let me go any further back than yesterday ! What have I done wrong and how can I get to my old back ups ?
    HELP !
    Tom

    Restart your machine if need be and turn it off. If you don't have any data on the TM disk other than TM, then reformat it (with case sensitivity OFF). If you have data on there, then just trash teh TM backup folder. DOnt' forget to empty trash. Turn TM back on and let it do it's thing. Don't browse the drive to see what it's doing; don't start modifying file sto test it out - just leave it be till it's done.

  • Trouble with time machine

    I am having trouble with Time Machine. I keep getting several messages:  1.  Mac OS X can't repair the disk "Mona's I MAC"   2.  You haven't selected a location for Time Machine Backups.    
    When I try to select a location there is nothing there to select and the time machine will not stay on.  I have an external back up "my passport" by WD.  Could this be full? 
    Need help.

    I was running backup instead of time machine until I saw snow leopard had time machine improvements. I'm very happy with the performance so far w/ snow leopard (OS X 10.6) time machine performance.

  • I am having sporadic issues after new hard drive install and recovery using Time Machine. The same sluggish response, start up screen pixelating...If I reinstall Lion will it wipe out other applications? My HD was formatted and partitioned correctly, I ha

    I am having sporadic issues after new hard drive install and recovery using Time Machine. The same sluggish response, start up screen pixelating...If I reinstall Lion will it wipe out other applications? My HD was formatted and partitioned correctly, I have a late 2009 iMac.

    Use the trackpad to scroll, thats what it was designed for. The scroll bars automatically disappear when not being used and will appear if you scroll up or down using the trackpad.
    This is a user-to-user forum and most people will post on here if they have problems. You very rarely get people posting to say there update went smooth. The fact is the vast majority of Mountain Lion users will not be experiencing any major problems with the OS, or maybe with apps which are not compatible, but thats hardly Apple's fault if developers don't update their apps.

  • Time machine only copies User Info and Users (Applications, Library, and System are missing) from my quad core Mac Pro.  45 Gb of 162 Gb are missing.  Any one having success with time machine copying all folders using Mavericks?   What do I need to do dif

    Time machine only copies User Info and Users (Applications, Library, and System are missing) from my quad core Mac Pro.  45 Gb of 162 Gb are missing.  Any one having success with time machine copying all folders using Mavericks?
    What do I need to do differently?

    The late, great Pondini was investigating that issue before he passed away.
    See here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5125969
    I think there might be information there on how to reset Time Machine to do a full backup. I think you basically have to reset it and start over.

  • I am having trouble using my time capsule to back up. I tried repairing through "first aid" Disk 4s2 failed and I have been directed to erase. What is in this disk? Should I erase it??

    I am having trouble using my time capsule to back up. I tried repairing through "first aid" Disk 4s2 failed and I have been directed to erase. What is in this disk? Should I erase it??

    Only you know what is on the disk.. if you have been running TM to the TC then it will have your backups.. are they important?? Otherwise it will be what you..or others in the house have copied to it.. is that important?
    If the first aid has failed the disk then it could be a good idea to erase it.
    Does the disk mount in finder so you can see the main directory?

  • ICloud notes deleted; trouble restoring using Time Machine.

    All of my notes got deleted via iCloud on both my Mac and iPhone. I tried using Time Machine in the Mail app but for each note it says "Message not cached" and when I try to restore them my Notes folder remains blank. Any suggestions?

    Time Machine backs up the file 'as it is'. Its just like copying and pasting the file to an External HD and then dragging it back, would keep the file exactly the same.
    The best way to find out, is to try it! This is what I did. Even though there was no need. Get a random photo from the Internet, add it to iPhoto - make sure TM has backed up. (Does it every hour), then delete it and go to TM and restore.
    I tried it with a whole album, and restored it. It just came back. Fantastic.
    So in answer to your question - Yes TM will bring it back as it was.
    The only problem is TM only backs up every hour. You cant do it yourself. (I dont think). So if you were to change a file, save it and then undo or delete it - All within an hour. TM wouldn't have backed up the changes.
    Hope this helps.

  • How can I replace just the corrupt page(s) in the domain file of iWeb using Time Machine?

    I back up with Time Machine and have an extensive elaborate website I created in iWeb '09 over a couple months and publish to a local folder and then upload to my server, but in the last few days I notice certain pages (that I haven't even worked on or touched) somehow become corrupted or "cross-contaminated" with elements and images from other pages.  Once I see they are corrupt I make sure not to publish them (if the current published versions are the correct, non-corrupt versions) or if they did get published I can use Time Machine to retrieve the .html file and page files folder for that specific page and replace it in my published folder/server so it shows correctly on the Web.  However, that does not replace the corrupted page(s) you see and work with when you launch iWeb and try to edit or continue working on that page.
    I am confused as to how I go to the package contents of the domain file and replace just that page with a previous version from time machine.  I don't want to replace the entire domain file because I have new changes I made to other pages even in the past hours.  How can I keep the good pages and just get earlier, non-corrupted versions of the corrupt page(s)? I know it's not as easy as with the published site folder where you can just replace the page's .html file and folder, but I don't want to have to re-create the corrupted page(s) from scratch or have to replace it with the last non-corrupted domain file and then have to redo all my recent changes to new pages I made before discovering the corrupt page(s).  Thanks for your help as now I can't make changes to the page(s) within iWeb itself.

    Thanks for the response, Wyodor.  I don't know what that is, but I'll have a look.  Is it an alternative to iWeb or a way to transfer pre-existing iWeb sites?  When you say merge domain files, is that like so multiple copies of the same site show up then you can pick and choose the non-corrupted pages and group them then delete the corrupted ones?  I am on Snow Leopard with no plans or need to upgrade anytime soon.
    And yes, I will read your links but just wanted to ask those questions.  Maybe they'll answer my questions, maybe not.
    I was able to discern that within the domain file is a domain folder with all the site folders, each with their own page ".gz" files which expand into ".xml" files.  I was trying to figure out if you could simply drag the corrupt pages out that way and replace them with backup copies that are still good.  I am having trouble discerning which pages are which as they all have random names like site-page-30F175E3-AE33-4F10-A490-1A096D9B185B.xml and although I expanded and opened each in Text Wrangler, I still couldn't discern which were which for sure, and trial and error proved cumbersome.  Also, I did notice some of the later corrupted domain files had one or two more pages than the site itself has, so not sure how they got added or duplicated or what.
    Again, I'll look at your links, but do you know about swapping out individual page .xml files this way within the domain file?

  • Using Time Machine for an external startup drive

    I've never used Time Machine; I just kept on using my older backup startup drive software when starting with Leopard three years ago.
    My husband is getting a new iMac with an external drive for backup because I convinced him that Time Machine is so easy to use. Yes, I have a lot of faith that Apple knows what it is doing.
    However, I don't know how Time Machine works for making an external drive bootable. If it's not super easy for that purpose, I'm thinking that it might be easier to partition his external in setting things up for him, and putting SuperDuper! on one of the partitions.
    What do you think? Would Time Machine all by itself be super easy if he needed to startup from the external drive? Do you have to do anything other than to hold down the option key during startup to boot from an external drive backed up by Time Machine?
    He's getting an iMac with a 1T drive and an external Iomega 2TB eGo Desktop Hard Drive.
    I'm assuming that his new iMac will be coming with Snow Leopard, but it hasn't arrived yet and I don't know for sure about that. But I think if it doesn't come with Snow Leopard, I'd upgrade it for him before installing anything else.
    Thanks for any help!
    Mary

    Thanks so much to you for taking the trouble to help me learn something about Time Machine. I think I've learned enough now to get it set up for my husband without doing anything particularly stupid.
    Dave, there's no chance my husband would swing for a second external drive. I had to talk him into having one at all. He's not into managing a computer and doesn't want to think about stuff like backups. Once in awhile I'm in synch with that kind of orientation too, but then I recall the times I've been overjoyed to have good backups for myself... and my backup software is extremely reliable and easy to use.
    Pondidni and Thomas, thanks so much for all the links. I've spent enough time reading them that I think I've made up my mind to go with a SuperDuper! partition for the expected way to boot from the external drive. It's also a great reassurance that it would be possible to use a Time Machine backup partition for restoration via an install CD if SuperDuper! should fail, though. SuperDuper! did fail for me once, but fortunately I had another partition with a SuperDuper! backup.
    If the single backup drive fails, of course, that would be a nasty inconvenience. On the other hand, at this point I doubt that the actual losses in that unlikely event would impact my husband so horribly as it might for many who have work or school-related necessities stored on their computer. This is mainly a fun computer that he has at home, and if there ever are particularly important documents that he can't afford to lose, extra backups of those files could go onto a CD, DVD, or keychain drive. The chances of needing that are pretty slim.
    I know that eventually the backup drive will fail if it's used over a long enough period of time, but he seems ready to follow my advice to only even connect and turn on the external drive once a week and leave it connected only during the time it's actually actively making backups. (Unless some very important work is going on, in which case he knows to keep it connected during that period of time.) An external drive will likely last a good while longer than average under that kind of very limited use.
    Thomas, I do also believe in having extra backup external drives and hope to get one for my own computer in the near future. I noticed in shopping for my husband how much less expensively you can get a large external drive now than just a few years back.
    Thanks again so much to all for helping me to think through how I can help him get started with his own backups.
    Best wishes,
    Mary

  • How do I back up Wireless Hard Drive using Time Machine

    I have a MacBook Pro and I'm running OSX Lion.
    I'm having trouble setting up time machine to back up two USB external hard drives (named Portable iTunes and Portable iPhoto) connected to my Airport Extreme Base Station. I have a time capsule with a 3TB USB WD MyBook external hard drive that I'm using as the Time Machine Hard Drive.
    Portable iTunes, Portable, iPhoto and MyBook are wirelessly mounted to my desktop.
    Will someone please explain how I can set up MyBook to wirelessly back up the two portable drives using Time Machine?
    Thanks in advance.
    Wyatt.

    Will someone please explain how I can set up MyBook to wirelessly back up the two portable drives using Time Machine?
    Sorry, but Time Machine can only backup a hard drive that is connected directly to your Mac using USB or Firewire.

  • Recovery using time machine impossible. No permission !

    I'd like to recover one application from the hard disk where I save regularly my files / applications using time machine.
    Result is : you do not have the permission. Recovery is impossible.
    What to do ?
    Help - Thanks
    Marc

    Do you have more than one user account?
    If so, try doing the restore from a different one.  
    If not, there are some items even an Admin user doesn't have permission to.  They're mostly system files, but it's possible some applications are protected, too.
    What apps or files are you having trouble with?

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