Including a Network drive in Time Machine Backup

Hi All,
Today I installed a Mac Mini with an external Hard-drive at my work, which I intended to use as a backup system for one of our file servers. I intended to use Time Machine on the Mac Mini to backup the file server via mounting the server as a network drive and including that volume in the time machine backup.
However, Time machine does not let you include a network volume in the backup process. Big Problem.
How can i get around this? I know (now) that Time Machine does not support backing up network drives to a local HD. Can I overwrite this block?
Tim

Tim Dixon wrote:
Hi All,
Today I installed a Mac Mini with an external Hard-drive at my work, which I intended to use as a backup system for one of our file servers. I intended to use Time Machine on the Mac Mini to backup the file server via mounting the server as a network drive and including that volume in the time machine backup.
However, Time machine does not let you include a network volume in the backup process. Big Problem.
How can i get around this? I know (now) that Time Machine does not support backing up network drives to a local HD. Can I overwrite this block?
no. TM can only back up directly attached drives and there is no way around that. but if you server is an OS X server then you can set TM on the server to back up to the mini. if your server some other kind of server then you can not use TM at all to back it up and need to look for a different backup solution.
Tim

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Can i include external usb drives in Time Machine backups

Can I include external usb drives and sticks in Time Machine backups?
This was the question I searched a week for. My machine is a MBAir with Yosemite. I have a bunch of USB HD and sticks. This is a sharing of what it took to solve. I lost a couple of important document revisions lately because of not having differential backups on them, so wanted to include them in Time Machine.
Yes it can, I found. But it's a wee bit backwards. And apparent inconsistencies drive you crazy. Time Machine is supposed to do this by default, and wants you to tell it what NOT to include. Trouble is, formats create many troubles.
But the USB sticks and HD's you buy are PC formatted. And you'd like to share, as the Apple does with FAT16, FAT32, and exFAT (to overcome the 4G size limit on the others). Even NTFS can be plugged in and be read-only. Turns out you just can't incorporate into TM backups.
Open Time Machine Options, and look at the drives listed in the exclusion window. Drives that you know to be plugged in and registered by Finder, may or not be registered in the exclusion window, and if registered and their icons may be bright or dimmed. Bright will NOT be included. Dimmed are excluded. Normally the operation is to use the or to exclude these drives from your next BU operation. (this instruction is lost the next time in manual mode). So if a drive or stick is shown and is bright it WON'T be backed up. If you it from the window, then it will grey out and WILL be backed up. If it's not there to offer you exclusion, you can browse to such a file or device so you can exclude it. TM's exclusion window will show the PC formats: FAT16, FAT32, and exFAT greyed out (as not included). NTFS is bright looking like it might work, but when doesn't dim, it disappears, and is ignored in the actual BU.
Sources are supposed to be included in the backup if it isn't shown bright in the exclusion window. In this respect I only use TM manually, and not for programmed BU's, so I cannot speak to that.
If everything you have is formatted for the Apple disc system (Mac OS Extended) then there are no contradictions or partial equivalences. The mounted disc or stick will show in TM exclusions window, and if you it, you'll see it in the Time Machine pile of calendared directories, with all the files. And of course it will do the differential backups for it that we use TM for in the first place. Just remember to prepare the BU by not excluding.
BUT NOW THE VARIABLES. It now depends upon the formats. I use the Paragon NTFS program to permit writing NTFS. (Apple can normally read but not write NTFS). Paragon is lovely because for normal computer use, I can read and write both Apple and PC files and disc formats in Finder (for 3 years now). But Time Machine cannot be reached by Paragon so it's NTFS behaviors are outrageous. Paragon reaches Disk Doctor so you can read, write, format and heal both Apple and PC formats. And this really confused things respecting Time Machine. I literally worked through every variable, from stick to disc to prove what did work, and when false appearances of working showed up.
Respecting that very Time Machine display of Finder windows piled backwards through time there's a confusing bug. When first opened, TM shows NOW as the current setup and works just like a Finder window in present time. And the outboard discs and sticks show as in Finder. BUT working back in time, the left window DOES NOT SHOW THE CONDITIONS AT BACKUP but rather in all left windows shows the present setup. So you need to work from the right hand side dates and times to go back and see when you had that stick or HD plugged in. And then, finally, you will see the files you wanted saved. But if there is a stick on the left than TM doesn't like but Finder likes you'll see it left but nothing will be in the files. Clicking on the pretender just jumps to the root.
My Disk Doctor provisions (with Paragon) show, Mac OS Extended (Journaled), Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive Journaled), MS-DOS (FAT), exFAT, Windows NT Filesystem, Windows NT Filesystem (compressed). It's a better utility than in Microsoft and I use it for such maintenance.
Bottom line, I like TM very much. 2 years ago I lost my air and TM was able to reconstruct my machine many times in the course of the troubleshooting - all the way from the start to the last without ever missing a beat or a file. So I accept this limitation and make copies to another HD formatted in NTFS when I work on PCs.
Hope's this sorts out being lost in the desert for a few of you.
Jock
<Personal Information Edited by Host>

Storing normal data files on the Time Capsule is unfortunately not as easy as dropping the folder on the Time Capsule.
Open up Macintosh HD on the Mac
Look for the SHARED heading on the left
Click on the Time Capsule icon and a folder named "Data" will appear (unless you have renamed it)
Double click the "Data" folder to mount the drive on the desktop. You may need to enter the device password for the Time Capsule when you do this the first time
Once the drive icon is on the desktop, you can drag data to the icon and drop it there. Double click the icon to open up the drive and see the files

Configure Time Capsule as a wired network drive for Time Machine Backups

I have a 4th generation Time Capsule, a MBPr on OS X Mountain Lion.
Time Capsule/Time Machine work fine in wireless mode. But, that's not what I prefer!
Rather, I want to connect Time Capsule by ethernet cable to my cable modem (VZ FiOS), and turn off the Time Capsule's wireless, and access the Time Capsule as another newtork hard drive and let Time Machine perform backups with my Asus RT-N66U router.
I have got the Time Capsule set up, but can't get Time Machne set up to perform backups with it. Here are the steps I've taken:
Open Time Machine
Turn Time Machine On
Pop-up shpws Other Time Capsule
Highlight Other Time Capsule and click SetUp
AirPort Utility pops up and can't find the Time Machine, of course, since its wireless is turned off.
On the menu, File-->Enter Address and Password for the Time Capsule
The Time Capsule screen comes up under Base Station. No need to change the name or password.
Back To My Mac is set up with my Apple account
Internet shows 192.168.1.101 as the Time Capsule's address
Wireless: Network Mode is off
Network: Router Mode set to Off-Bridge Mode
Disks shows one Time Capsule partition. File Sharing is enabled, and Secure Shared Disks is set to With Device Password.
I have to change something...then change it back...to get AirPort Utility to try to update settings on the Time Capsule. That's where things fall apart. AirPort Utility just spins away. It never finishes. I end up using Force Kill to close AirPort Utility.
Any suggestions? Is there a way to configure Time Machine without AirPort Utility?

Let me just be clear on the setup..
I want to connect Time Capsule by ethernet cable to my cable modem (VZ FiOS), and turn off the Time Capsule's wireless, and access the Time Capsule as another newtork hard drive and let Time Machine perform backups with my Asus RT-N66U router.
This is the sentence I am having issues with.
There should be one router.. The Asus..
The TC should be plugged into that, not the cable modem. Only the Asus should have a connection to the cable modem. The TC should be in bridge.. which from your other listing it is.
I think this is the actual setup you have..
You should be able in finder to make the TC disk available (alhough I don't use ML yet).. using to server.
And type in AFP://TCIPaddress or AFP://TCName obviously replacing the generic with the actual name.
Does that work?

Using network drive with time machine. IS IT POSSIBLE?

There are lots of discussion on using network drives with time machine. I have not been able to make them work. Could somebody tell me if this is possible

Time Machine does not back up to network drives, except Time Capsules or USB drives connected to an Airport Extreme, or a drive on a Mac running Leopard.
Here's the official word: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1733
You may find some "hacks" that might make it work, in some cases, to a degree. But use them at your own risk.
First, since this is *unsupported by Apple,* there's nowhere to go when there's trouble.
Second, you're risking a future update preventing it from working, and perhaps rendering your backups useless.
If you still think this is a good idea, do yourself a favor before you bet your backups on it: be sure it really works, at least for now:
1. Get a copy of CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! or the like, and make a full bootable clone of your internal HD, on an external disk. Test it by booting from it. Then reboot from your internal HD.
2. Let TM do it's first, full, initial backup.
3. Attempt a full system restore (like you'll need when, not if, your internal HD fails), via the instructions in item 14 of the of the Frequently Asked Questions post at the top of this forum.
Again, even if it works today, tomorrow is another day . . .

Is it possible to include an Airdisk in a Time Machine backup?

I currently have a large itunes library on a HD hooked up to my AEBS that is shared between my iMac and my wife's Macbook. I picked up a 1TB HD and a USB hub to use as a time machine drive for both computers and hooked it all up to the AEBS and started time machine. It seems to be doing the initial backup ok, the only problem is I can't figure out how to get it to also backup the contents of the HD with all my music on it. Is there a way to include an airdisk in a time machine backup?
(sorry about double posting...put this in the wrong forum originally)

Unfortunately, Time Machine will not backup a NAS (e.g. AirDisk). AirDisk can be used as a TM backup drive as you have already discovered. The only way to backup the iTunes library on your HDD is to connected directly to your Mac. TM will be able to back up to your 1TB HDD connected to your Extreme. If you are dead set with keeping your iTunes connected to your Extreme, I believe CarbonCopyCloner (donateware) or SuperDuper! (purchase) may support backup of a NAS to a NAS.
P.S. I've notified the moderator to remove your second post.

Is it possible to use more than one external hard drive for Time Machine backups?

I want to use two hard drives for Time Machine backups.
Bigger one keep at home and be sure it is safe.
Second one (very small pocket size) keep with me for travels.
I want to backup to both drives to be sure I can restore everywhere and to be sure if something bad happened with my small travel disk I can restore from home backup.
Is there any problem with listed schema? Is it normal for Time Machine to handle backups for different drivers and keep everything consistent and smooth?

I really need some help! I have been using an Iomega NAS 1TB HD for the past year. And I received an error message. I believe I have ran out of memory on this drive.
Then recently in the last couple of months I got a ReadyNAS Duo 2TB with 2TB RAID. Should I switch my back ups to this one and delete the other back up file or keep the old back up image file on the Iomega?
Can I transfer the old image back up to this new ReadyNAS? How do I do this?
I appreciate any help.

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

I am using an external drive in the exact way that you described. You just keep it plugged in to the computer when you want to access the movies and files. In order to put files on it, just go to finder open up the drive under devices and drag and drop files onto the drive. It is just like using a usb drive with a terabyte of space.

HT201250 new external hard drive for Time Machine backup suggestions?

Ok, I have 3 external hard drives; unfortunately I've used them on my PC and they are read only on my iMac. So, I need to buy a new external hard drive for Time Machine backup. I'm a little confused; can I buy any EHD and them format it so Mac can use it or are there special EHD's I need to purchase?
Anyone have a particular EHD that is working well for you? Thanks, Blue

Bluehowler wrote:
Ok, I have 3 external hard drives; unfortunately I've used them on my PC and they are read only on my iMac. So, I need to buy a new external hard drive for Time Machine backup. I'm a little confused; can I buy any EHD and them format it so Mac can use it or are there special EHD's I need to purchase?
Anyone have a particular EHD that is working well for you? Thanks, Blue
Unless you need all three external drives for your PC, you can reformat in one of them in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for use with Time Machine. However, since Time Machine backs up hourly, you'd need the external drive to be running constantly. That means ventilation of the drive becomes an issue since some, such as Seagate, can get very hot in their sealed enclosures. Some drive manufacturers try to get around this by spinning down the drive when not in use, but I've read complaints that that doesn't play well with a Mac. So whether you reuse one of your current externals or get a new one, it's a good idea to keep the drive's ventilation in mind.

Unable to select two drives for time machine backup?

I had a notification from Time Machine saying "This backup is too large for the disk..." and that I needed to omit items or select another drive. I've read online that it's possible to select multiple drives for Time Machine backups (so it switches between the available drives). When I go into Time Machine preferences and click "Select Disk" the drive I want to use in addition to my current Time Machine is there, but when I choose the additional drive I do not get the option to replace or "Use Both" (like pictured). Instead the additional drive is selected as the sole Time Machine and the current Time Machine drive is replaced.
In short, Time Machine is not giving me the option to "Use Both" - why would this be and how do I remedy this?
Thanks.

The reason is that that feature is Only offered in "Mountain Lion" OS X 10.8; and you are using "Lion" 10.7.
Hope this helps

AEBS Ethernet NAS Hard Drive + USB Time Machine Backup

Hello,
I currently have an Airport Extreme Base Station, which I utilize the USB port for Wireless Time Machine Backups. However, I would like to know if it is possible to connect a NAS drive to the AEBS via Ethernet and still use the USB port for wireless backups for multiple Mac laptops simultaneously. The backups must also include whatever is on the NAS drive. Is this functionality possible?
Thanks!!

infamousirshad, Welcome to the discussion area!
...I would like to know if it is possible to connect a NAS drive to the AEBS via Ethernet and still use the USB port for wireless backups for multiple Mac laptops simultaneously.
Yes
The backups must also include whatever is on the NAS drive. Is this functionality possible?
No. Time Machine does not backup data FROM any network drive.

Can you use the same external hard drive for Time Machine backups and as an additional storage drive?

I have an external HD that I've been using exclusively for Time Machine backups. I need to clear space on my hard drive, so I was thinking to move music & photos to an external drive. Wondering if I can use the same one I have (which I'll aslo keep using for Time Machine) or if I need to get another drive.

Hi Jossydtaylor,
Time Machine can use either an entire external disk or a partition of that disk:
OS X Mountain Lion: Disks you can use with Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11171
You can use Time Machine with a Time Capsule, and with USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt disks. The backup disk can be directly connected to your computer or be on a network. If the backup disk has been divided into partitions, you can use one of the partitions.
If the disk is partitioned using the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition type, some partitions may not be available for use with Time Machine. The GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition type is recommended.
For more info on partitioning, see this article:
Disk Utility 12.x: Partition a disk
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845
Cheers!
- Ari

Can no longer connect to shared drive for Time Machine backups

I have a Firewire drive connected to my iMac and sharing enabled. 2 MacBook Airs then connect wirelessly to the same network and backup to the drive.
It has worked perfectly for the last couple of years with Lion and Mountain Lion.
Yesterday I upgraded to Mavericks and now neither laptop can see the shared drive in Time Machine, although the drive displays quite happily in Finder.
I have disabled and re-enabled sharing. Booted and re-plugged the drive in and still when I go to Time Machine preferences and select drive, nothing is listed.
Any ideas?

After hours and hours of constant searching and testing I still can't get it to work?
Any ideas?
I think sharing has changed in Mavericks.

Using LaCie 1Tb Network drive and Time MAchine

I have read a number of thread here about issues with LaCie and Time Machine but cannot find the help I am looking for. I have a the Lacie device connected to my network and I have access through the Browser Administration utility to the drive, I believe I have set up the users and the shares correctly, and can connect to the share, but when i try to set up Time Machine it fails to recognize that the NAS drive is available, I am doing something wrong and it's probably very simple.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
John

Here's Apple's public statement at http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/timemachine.html for what devices work with TM.
[You can designate just about any HFS+ formatted FireWire or USB drive connected to a Mac as a Time Machine backup drive. Time Machine can also back up to another Mac running Leopard with Personal File Sharing, Leopard Server, or Xsan storage devices.]

Auto mount/eject external drive for time machine backup/restore

I have an Iomega ultramax drive connected via firewire 800 for my Time machine backups.
This drive will automatically spin down after a period of non-use. I like this as it means lower power usage and lower risk of data loss (head crashes etc..).
My problem is, when the drive spins down like this, some file open operations pause until the drive spins up again. I cannot remember exactly which applications I have had the problem with, but I assumed that this was part of the OS. This delay can be up to 5 seconds or so and is really annoying.
Assuming this is not just a specific third party application thing. My suggestion to Apple is to do one or both of the following:
1) Multi thread the file open dialog (process?) so that is comes up instantly, and then adds the drive when it has spun up.
2) Modify time machine so that it can automatically mount/eject the external drive just when doing backups and restores.
Currently I have a bit of a messy work around to this problem where I have a loadd scheduled shell script that runs every hour that mounts the drive, runs time machine to backup and the ejects the drive. It works, but is not perhaps as nice a solution as it could be.
Does anybody else suffer from this problem?

Yes that is correct, the drive spins down and remains mounted.
To be perhaps clearer. The problem is not essentially a time machine problem, it is to do with whatever implements the file open capability that other apps use. In the above sitation, there is always a delay for the drive to spin up when I go to open a file (perhaps five seconds) in other applications. I assume this delay is caused by the file open process waiting until some data is retrieved from the external drive before giving me the option of choosing a file. This delay is annoying, as I do not ever want to open a file from my external drive (this is dedicated to time machine backups) when I am using pages, or any other application other than a time machine restore.
This particular issue is similar (but I suspect nowhere near as bad) as one of my pet hates about windows XP. In windows it appears that the explorer will wait for a response on all its connected drives (hard disks, mounted cds, network drives), so any sort of network connectivity or hardware delay will cause explorer to freeze. As explorer seems to be embedded in most things you do with the OS, this can cause anything or everything to freeze (web browsing, you name it).
In my setup, as I have the external drive totally dedicated to time machine backups, another thing that would fix the problem for me is the suggestion number 2 I suggested where time machine auto mounts for the backup and then ejects after the backup. With the feature, then the external drrive will only ever be mounted for short periods of time (the above problem does not ocurr if the external drive is not mounted), and when it is mounted it will be spinning, so I will never have my file open delay. I would however have a short delay when doing a time machine restore for the mount of the drive, but this is a much rarer event the using file open in all my other apps.
Thanks for the info on the feedback link, I will post this to that.

Can I use my 2TB Time Capsule ONLY as an external hard drive for Time Machine backups?

Hi...wondering if somebody could help me out there.
I currently have an older Apple 2TB Time Capsule (previous generation) which I'm using as both my WiFi access point, as well as my Time Machine backup location for both my iMac and my MacBook Pro.
We've been having slow WiFi issues in our home, and seeing as how this Time Capsule is a number of years old, were thinking of upgrading to the faster WiFi routers with 802.11ac capability. I'll be honest when I say we were considering other options, beyond the newest Time Capsule.
My question is, can we somehow use the 2TB of storage on our current Time Capsule for the purpose of backing up our computers with Time Machine, but NOT use the WiFi functionality of the Time Capsule itself?
I'm assuming if I manually plugged either my iMac or MacBook Pro (wired ethernet) into the Time Capsule, I could likely get that computer to recognize and use it for Time Machine purposes, but I'd like to use it to backup both computers, ideally wirelessly on the MacBook Pro.
Any help would be great.
Right now I'm running a DSL line into a DSL modem, which then runs ethernet into my Time Capsule. From there, I have a 4 port switch connected for wired devices (we wired our home with ethernet jacks in almost every room). We also have an Airport Express to extend the range of the network.
Thanks,
Jason

You can bridge the TC and plug it into whatever wireless router you buy.
There is no need to turn off the wireless in the TC.. but you can set it up as a secondary wireless network. That is totally up to you. I find the Gen4 TC very fast on 5ghz.. but you need it to be close to the computers.. in your case that should be dead easy.. simply plug it in by ethernet in the same room as the iMac say.. and set it up with bridge and the imac plugged into it by ethernet.. one computer then can access the internet and backup via ethernet with huge speed improvements.. the laptop can then use whatever your new router wireless network.. or the TC one if it is close enough..
So there are plenty of variations and your setup is easy to handle with the large amount of ethernet you have.
Just post again if you need specifics.. but I need specifics to give them!!

Including a Network drive in Time Machine Backup

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