Limiting the Time Machine's Time Capsule space
Hi all,
So I've searched through numerous threads and can't seem to find a good answer for this. I'm fairly new to Mac BTW, with a late 2012 MBA running 10.8.3. I want to limit the space on my Time Capsule for the Time Machine to use. I've already tried this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq7mSizqUSI
Got to the end and it says my Time Machine Backup is out of 2TB (which is my Time Capsule size) instead of the 2GB I set the image file to. I also tried this and it wouldn't let me - it says whatever size I set it to is too small:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTaNMkmQUEk
So I guess the question is, is there a way to do this without having to repartition my Time Capsule? I have data on my Time Capsule, and as I understand it, I will lose this data if I partition it now...? Maybe that's not true? If it's not, than can someone tell me how?
Second question:
I recently had to restore from a backup because of an SSD failure (thankfully Apple replaced it under warranty). I restored earlier this week. I moved this old sparsebundle to a new folder on my Time Capsule. Then I backed up using a new sparsebundle using the trick in the first youtube link above (which, like I said, didn't work). My question is - why is this new backup smaller (26GB) than my old backup (29GB). I know for a fact that I haven't deleted 3GB worth of stuff in the last couple days or so, and have actually added files. Strange...?
Thanks for your help!
Hi.
The best Time Machine info outside Apple can be found here.
You cannot partition the Time Capsule's internal drive, but in Mountain Lion you should be able to limit the size of the sparsebundle containing your backups, and it is also possible to create a disk image on the Time Capsule's drive.
Pondini advises TM needs 2 to 3 times the size of the data to be backed up (2GB is definitely too small). But I have found that 1.5 times is enough for more than a year's worth of backup data. However, my strategy is to also maintain an Archive drive to which I move inactive files (like finished projects), and I keep a clone of that Archive drive separately from TM.
Thus, I use TM solely for the ability to restore my startup drive (some or all) if necessary, and "historical archives" are maintained separetly. I have a 500GB Time Capsule as backup for about 260GB of current data (everything on my startup dtive except Downloads folder).
Similar Messages
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Limit Time Machine backup/sparsebundle so one machine doesn't hog all the time capsule space?
Is this possible?
I have a brand new time capsule, my wife and I will be backing up our computers to it using Time Machine. Is it possible to limit the storage size of the sparsebundles so one of us (probably me) wont hog all the space?
My wife doesn't use her's as much, while my computer is on almost everyday, so I'm affraid my computer will limit the amount of states, or versions, that she can back up before her time machine has to start deleting old files.
I'm trying to avoid a situation where my time machine goes back a year while her's only goes back a few months.
Thanks!No. That is not how a Time Capsule and Time Machine work. All backups are adding to existing backups.
About TM "Backup Drive is Full"
Alert TM only deletes older files if they have been deleted from the source and when TM needs space on the backup drive for a new incremental backup. Time Machine "thins" it's backups; hourly backups over 24 hours old, except the first of the day; those "daily" backups over 30 days old, except the first of the week. The weeklies are kept as long as there's room.
So, how long a backup file remains depends on how long it was on your Mac before being deleted, assuming you do at least one backup per day. If it was there for at least 24 hours, it will be kept for at least a month. If it was there for at least a week, it will be kept as long as there's room.
Note, that on a Time Capsule the sparsebundle grows in size as needed, but doesn't shrink. Thus, from the user's view of the TC it appears that no space has been freed, although there may be space in the sparsebundle.
Once TM has found it cannot free up enough space for a new backup it reports the disk is full. You can either erase the backup drive and start your backups anew or replace the drive with a larger drive.
To accomplish what you want would mean using just an external backup drive partitioned with volumes for each of you to use, and the use of a different backup utility that overwrites old files rather than saving them as does Time Machine. -
I purchased a 2TB time capsule yesterday. I set it up as a router and did the backup no problem. I then navigated the backup folder and found that all my photos/video that I am nervous about losing are on there. So far so good.
Taking a step back, the reason I bought the time capsule was 1.) I needed a router 2.) I have a mac and 3.) I am running out of disk space on that mac (I shoot and cut a lot of video and have years of high quality pictures on my mac hard drive)
Can I now delete them from my mac computer to free space? I have used standard external disk drives in the past, but the whole "Back Up" piece of things has me confused. I love the idea of backing up my computer so I want to keep that functionality, but will the drive still function as a static external hard drive? Or do I need to move that material in seperately as a folder outside of the backup folder?
I am nervous that if the backup overwrites information as the disk space becomes limited that in 10 years when I fill this drive up, that I will lose all of my photos that are part of the backups that I am running now.....
Or worse, I am nervous that if I remove things from my mac right now, that the next time that a back up is performed that it will lose this data as it is not currently on the device I am backing up? How does this work?
I apologize, the back up is a very new concept to me and I want to make sure I do not goof anything up.applefool wrote:
Taking a step back, the reason I bought the time capsule was . . . 3.) I am running out of disk space on that mac
That's an entirely different thing from backups. A backup is an extra copy, in case the original is lost or damaged. Additional space is just that -- more space for originals.
While it's possible to use the same disk (such as the TC's internal HD) for both things, it's dangerous -- when (not if) something happens to the TC, you risk losing the originals that are on it. To be safe, you need (at least) two copies of everything important, in (at least) two different places.
Many (including me) recommend at least three copies (originals plus 2 backups). While it's not common for the Mac's hard drive to fail about the same time as the backup drive, it does happen. There are several threads here where it did, and very expensive data recovery was needed, but in some cases everything was lost.
So as the others recommend, getting an external HD for the stuff there isn't room for on your Mac is one solution for not having enough space. But you might explore getting a larger internal HD. If possible, that might be bettter.
Then, also get another external, for "secondary" backups, so you're doubly protected. If you get a portable model, you can take it offsite for even better protection. See #27 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions for details and some suggestions.
Can I now delete them from my mac computer to free space? I have used standard external disk drives in the past, but the whole "Back Up" piece of things has me confused.
You're not the first or only one.
There are different types of backup apps, so there are different answers for the different types.
As the others have posted, Time Machine will, sooner or later, delete it's backup copies of things that are no longer on your system. Depending on how long the original was there and when backups were run, that can be in as little as 24 hours, or as long as there's room. So no, don't take the chance with data that's important!
Is there helpful information on how to add an external drive to your backup set up?
See the green box in #2 of the FAQ article. All you have to do is format it for a Mac and remove it from the exclusion list.
Once I set it up, will I need to leave the hard drive plugged into my mac in order for the data to be backed up?
It can only be backed-up while it's connected.
If I do, and a back up is performed without the hard drive attached to my computer, will it remove the backup of what was on the hard drive
No (unless you leave it disconnected until Time Machine starts deleting old backups).
It will back up the external when it's connected, and not complain if it isn't. -
180 GB of my 639-GB Macintosh hard drive is used. 320 GB of my 498-GB Tie Capsule is used. Only one backup ("now") exists for the Time Capsule, which can no longer backup because of "insufficient space". How come? What is wrong?"
Thank you William for your most helpful response. I shall deal first with your three comments:
Not being tech savvy, I would not have been able to make that call myself but it sure makes sense.
I have updated my profiles as you suggest. Excellent tip.
This guidance is good. Being new to Apple Support Communities, I did not find the field a labeling and guidance to be clear, a point you make. Now I know, I shall do as you say and will use the small slim box as a header to the full message/question, which will place in the larger box below.
Secondly, I come to your question: Did anything change on your Mac recently, such as replacing the disk or main logic board?
The answer is “yes”. Two events have happened both of which concerned the Time Capsule:
The telephone company, with which I have access to the Internet and I have my email account, installed a new modum. After the technician left I had to try and get the Time Capsule and WiFi working again which ended with my having to call Apple for technical assistance. The Apple technician walked me through a number of procedural steps which effectively re-set up the Time Capsule.
Access to the Internet failed and the telephone company reset the modum. I had to call Apple again. This time the technician did not reset the Time Capsule but walked me through a number of steps tha included renaming the “site” (not the Time Capsule).
Another piece of information that may be relevant is that the MacBook Pro uses the Time Capsule for backup. Everything appears to be in order. When I enter the Time Capsule for this laptop I have backups going back for a long time.
Also, I do a weekly backup of the two computers onto another external hard drive using the Time Machine software. So I have another backup of both computers. -
Can I connect an external HD on the time capsule and use it as storage space ?
Hello,
I am thinking about purchasing a time capsule for backing up my data, but I also need storage space for photos and videos, can I connect an external hard drive to the time capsule and use it as storage ? If so, is there any risk of the time machine use the external hd space for backup as well and eat up all the storage ?can I connect an external hard drive to the time capsule and use it as storage ?
Yes....for storage, as in backup files. But, not recommended for "working" image or media libraries.
If so, is there any risk of the time machine use the external hd space for backup as well and eat up all the storage ?
No, unless you intend to also use the same drive for Time Machine backups. -
There are 4 Mac's in my house and I'd like to back up all of them to a time capsule, i know it is possible to do this. however i would also like to be able to dump files like; music, pictures, and documents onto the time capsule so that the others mac will be able to access these files when they want to. This will stop the need for me leaving my mac on whilst other macs access my hard drive, or passing USB sticks around the house.
With an ordinary disk you can partition it with Disk Utility to reserve space for various things. With the Time Capsule you cannot partition it because Disk Utility doesn't work on networked drives and AirPort Utility can only format an entire Time Capsule, not paritition it.
You can simply store the files you want to share on the Time Capsule and turn on file sharing, and it will do what you want. The only downside is that because you can't reserve space, eventually the Time Machine backup(s) on it will reduce the amount of available space to zero. This would eventually happen anyway whether you store your files on there or not, and then Time Machine starts deleting the oldest backups, but if you store your files on there and space goes to zero people won't be able to add files.
I'm not sure about the "not powered" part. For many months I stored an iTunes library and music on a USB hard drive that was powered off the Time Capsule USB port. Of course, I did this so that the music would be accessible anywhere in the home. I swear that the external drive never used its own power cable. It was a portable bus-powered USB enclosure with a laptop-sized drive in it, though, so it normally does not require a power cable. If the files you need to share aren't too large, you might think about plugging in a USB stick drive which would be very compact, needs little power, inexpensive, and has no moving parts to break or heat up. -
Can the time capsule be used as both a time machine backup and NAS storage
Can the time capsule be used as both a time machine backup and NAS storage? I want to use the drive as external, wireless storage for all of my files so all my PCs, MACs and iOS devices can access the files. Plus, I want to use the drive for backing up my iMac via time machine. Can the time capsule device be used for both these purposes simultaneously? If not, are the other suggestions on how I can do this?
Can the time capsule device be used for both these purposes simultaneously?
It can, but is really not recommended. Sooner or later there will be a fight for space on the drive between Time Machine and the other files.
If you have plenty of free space on the drive, you can do this......but.....have you thought about how you will back up the "other" files that are stored on the Time Capsule? -
I have a time machine backup file on a USB hard drive. I bought a time capsule / airport extreme, flat 3TB. I wish to transfer the backup file from the usb hard drive to the time capsule hard drive. 10.6.8
Unfortunately, Time Machine backups that are stored on a drive that has been connected directly to a Mac are completely different than Time Machine backups that are stored on a Time Capsule.
Frankly, it is not worth the effort and trouble to try to transfer the old backups to the new Time Capsule.....my opinion....having done this in the past.
It is possible though, but I would not recommend it due to the complexity and downsides involved with this. To give you an idea of how to do this, check out this support article.
http://pondini.org/TM/18.html
Even if you transfer the "old" backups over to the Time Capsule successfully, Time Machine will not simply "add on" to the old backups.
Time Machine will make a new complete backup of your Mac and then add incremental backups from that point.
My advice.....start a new backup on the Time Capsule and move forward. Keep the USB hard drive around for a month, maybe 2 or 3 in case you need to go back to an old backup for some reason. At that time, you will not likely need the old backups at all since you will have a current 2-3 month history of new backups. At that point, you can erase the USB drive and use it for another purpose. -
I want to set up the Time Machine and I would love to use the Time
Capsule but since I already have a wireless router I need suggestions on
what other
external disks Apple could recommend to use with the Time Machine and
how to configure that disk.
A complication that I need to resolve is the fact that I am using Vmware
Fusion to be able to use Windows on my Mac. Now it seems that Time
Machine is not backing up my files
on that virtual Windows without additional configuration and my question
is whether you can advise me here or whether this is only a matter for
the Fusion virtual machine.If you want to use Time Capsule you can.. you simply bridge it and plug it into the existing router.. wireless can be either turned off or used to reinforce the existing wireless.. eg use 5ghz in the TC which is much faster than your 2.4ghz.
You can also use a NAS.. many brands available but the top brands are synology, qnap and netgear readynas series. These will all do Time Machine backups although how well always depends on Apple sticking to a standard. There are cheaper ones.. I bought a single disk zyxel which was rebadged and sold through my local supermarket. It actually works very well for TM at least on Snow Leopard. Major changes were made in Lion and again ML so do not instantly think it will work on later versions. I haven't tried it yet with those versions.
Any external drive can be plugged into the mac. Use the one with the fastest connection or cheapest price according to your budget. USB2 drives are cheap and plentiful. But no where near as fast as USB3 or FW800. So just pick whichever suits the ports on your Mac. Interesting Apple finally moved to USB3 on their latest computers.
TM should exclude the VM partition file.. it is useless backing it up from Mac OS side.. and will slow TM as it needs to backup that partition everyday for no purpose.. TM cannot see the files inside it to backup just the changes.
You need to backup windows from windows. Use MSbackup to external drive.. if you have pro or ultimate versions you can backup to network drive. But MSbackup is a dog.. at least until the latest version it cannot restore the partition without first loading windows. There are about a zillion backup software versions for windows.. look up reviews and buy one which works for you. I use a free one Macrium Reflect which does full disk backups and is easy to restore.. to do incremental backups though you have to pay for it. -
Trying to restore after getting a new hard drive. I can see the backup on the Time Capsule and on the correct date but it is Greyed out. That is it wont let me open it and restore the machine. Have tried also Migration Assistant, no luck.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5210788?tstart=0
At startup hold down the Command+Option/Alt+r keys until you see a globe on the screen. Then use disk utility to partition and format the drive HSF+ and then select Reinstall Mac OS X. whatever version of OS X that originally came on your system will be installed and then you can upgrade back to Mavericks. -
Will I loose existing data on the Time Capsule if I use it now for Time Machine also?
Till now I only save photos, music and movies on my AirPort Time Capsule 2 TB. From now on I also want to use it for Time Machine Backups also. But I am not sure if it my data and the backup will exist in parallel.
You can drag and drop files to the Time Capsule using the Finder.
Open Macintosh HD or the Finder and look for the Time Capsule icon under the SHARED heading on the left side of window.
Click on the Time Capsule icon and a folder representing the drive will appear in the window to the right.
Double click the folder to mount the drive on the desktop. -
My Mac is out of space. Can I use the time capsule to files?
My Mac is out of space. Can we remove files from the MAc and store them on the time capsule?
Only if you are happy if they all get lost.. The TC is a backup device.. ie the target for backups,, it is not a NAS.. it has no way to back itself up automatically.. there is a manual full backup.
Plug an external drive into the Mac and use that.. or buy a real NAS. -
How do I connect to Time Capsule from a Windows 8.1 machine which is on a Windows domain. I have been able to connect from a Windows 7 machine on a Windows domain to a Time Capsule. Airport utility is not displaying the Time Capsule Win8.1 machine.
I have checked that the firmware has been updated to 7.6.4 . Similalrly the Win8.1 machine has been loaded with the update specified in another discussion.Firstly how are you connecting to the TC.. wireless or ethernet?
Please open a command window and ping it.. ping by name and by IP address.
If ping succeeds at least by IP it should work.
In windows explorer type
\\10.0.1.1 (or whatever the TC ip is.. that is the default).
Having the airport utility for windows loaded can help the process. As it loads bonjour for windows.
7.6.4 firmware on the TC is useless. It works better on 7.6.1
If the ping does not succeed by either name or IP address yet you have internet through the TC, then your network is setup wrongly. You are have firewalls blocking local IP. Take down all the firewalls. -
i did follow "From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences. Choose View > Time Machine. Set Time Machine to On if it is off "
. .....but i couldn't find the time capsule from airport utility..... why?Are you using a new 802.11ac Time Capsule - the "tall" one - and are you still using Mac OS X 10.6.8?
You need OS X 10.7.5 "Lion" or later, or an iOS device, to configure an 802.11ac Time Capsule:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1645/en_US/airport_time_capsule_802 11ac_setup.pdf
See page 12. -
Time Machine keeps asking for password to connect to the Time Capsule server
I just got my MPB back from having the logic board replaced.
Nothing was changed on my Mac OS 10.6.8, except that when my MPB went kaput I used a Windows OS PC and loaded the Air port Utility and did do a firmware upgrade to 7.6.1 for the Time Capsule(TC)
Now that I am trying to do a backup of my MPB I keep getting a message asking me to enter the password for the (TC) server so that Time Machine(TM) can connect to it. I typed in the disk password and the weird thing is that the disk icon flashed quickly showing the TM clock icon and the immediately went to the 3 people holding hands icon. When I waited or forced the backup it would come up with an error stating that my user name and password are incorrect. The other weird thing is when I put in a wrong password it starts "connecting..." but then hangs causing Sys Prefs to stop responding. I either have to cancel the connection or force quit Sys Prefs.
Steps already taken:
- Deleted all the Keychain passwords for the TC
- Reset the TC both by using the menu option and push button power cycle
- I have tried using the "Time Capsule password" option for file sharing
It does the same thing with other external drives connected via the USB on the TC. However, that same external drive connected directly to the computer USB port works just fine and the icon stayed as the TM clock icon.
It just does not want to the connect to the TC drives!
I have read about the firmware being the problem, but how do I revert to the previous FW version for the TC?
This is going to be stupid not being able to use the TC drive to do the backups, but for the meantime I am using the external drive connected via USB 2.slow!
Thanks in advance!Ok. I got it to work, sort of....
As I mentioned before I tried the "disk password" and the "Time capsule Password" options to see if I can start the back up again or start a new backup. Neither worked. So I tried the firmware down grade, but like you said that did not work. I then decided to try the "Account password" option and I have never used this option before becasue it states that if there is data on the drive it would not be acessable after creating an account. Since I wiped out the disk that was nno problem. When I created the new account and choose the drive it asked for the user name and password. I entered the info for the new account I just created(FYI this has nothing to do with your login username and password), bingo! It worked!
Now I have two partitions on the TC disk. The old one and now the new account. I am guessing this is to be used if I have multiple computers, which I don't.
I any case, I am going to wipe out everything again and try again to do a backup the way I had it before.
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