Local Time Machine Backups

hello,
I would like to save space on my disk and not having local time machine backups.
I would like to use time machine only with my external archive disk.
can anybody help me?
I'm using Lion 10.7.2

Open the Terminal in the Utilities folder and enter or paste the appropriate command line. Press RETURN and enter your admin password when prompted. It will not be echoed.
To turn them ON: sudo tmutil enablelocal
To turn them OFF: sudo tmutil disablelocal
Note that turning them OFF will also delete all existing snapshots.

Similar Messages

Fix file size of local time machine backup

Hi all,
I'm having an issue where after copying over Backups.backupdb from my 1.5 GB external drive to another iMac, it shows that folder as now being 6.27 TB. The local disk on the iMac is 1 TB.
The resson I copied over Backups.backupdb to the iMac is that suddenly one day when connecting the external drive to my MacBook, (This external drive was used with the MacBook as a Time Machine backup) I was promted with a warning that there was a problem with the external drive and that I should copy the files over to another location and reformat the external drive. After copying over the files on the external drive to the iMac I then reformatted it.
So, the issue is that Finder reads that the Backups.backupdb is 6.27 TB and I can't copy it back over to the newly reformatted external drive.
If anyone has any insight, I would really apreciate it if someone could tell me if it's possible to:
modify Backups.backupdb and it's contents sitting on the iMac to show it's actual file size, correct the permissions and extended attributes?
copy over Backups.backupdb to the external dirve in some other way (I tried via Terminal but with no luck)?
Thanks in advanced!
Paul

I had the same problem!
Time machine folder was using around 230GB on a 1Tb disk space.
Had to format the disk because Time Machine was stucked at "preparing backup" or something similar after 6 months without using it.
But after transferring it's main folder to my desktop, it is now showing 1.6Tb size!
I can't move it back to the 1TB disk after format and I as need to do a clean reinstall to my Macbook Pro HDit seems I will have to trash my Time Machine saved folder an loose all it's contents if I can not find a solution.
Is there any fix?
Or I just have to let go this folder?
Even folders inside it, like documents or desktops from previous backups are huge in size!

Accessing user's local Time Machine backup on client Mac?

I'm trying to configure a file server with backup for local Macs.
I've set up file sharing, users and groups in Server.app and it works as intended – after logging to the server, users see their home folders and other shared folders where they store their files.
The idea is to use Time Machine backups on the server Mac. I've enabled it on the server and used a separate hard drive. It works well, and I can enter the Time machine from the server.
Now, is it possible for users on client Macs connected to and working on the server volume to access Time Machine backups of their files?
Thanks!

Yes, I'm using OS X Mavericks Server. There's a shared volume "Design Work" where clients keep their files. It's backed up to a separate volume "Backup" via Time Machine. What I would like to do is to let clients access Time Machine backup of their files (stored on "Design Work" volume on the server) without the need to physically go to the server computer. Is that at all possible?
I've tried to follow this instruction but it doesn't seem to work. I can select the shared TM backup from a client via "browse other backup disks" option but I can't see the files on "Design Work" share, just local files.

Local Time Machine backup then move to Airport?

Can you do a local time machine setup of a new drive, then move it to your Airport?
I heard it does it differently on the Airport so you should just initialize it from the Airport.
Wanted to ask here before I start a long backup

I did an initial local USB local backup then moved it to my AirPort and Time Machine sees it just fine and backs up without any errors.

Does os x server create inconsistent local backups of files created as a result of a client's time machine backup?

some definitions for clarity:
"TM Server" means the Network Service by which clients back up their files to the server.
"TM Client" means the local Time Machine backup process that saves the server's files to a USB drive
If I have a Server "A", and clients, "B" and "C".
"A" offers itself as a TM Server backup destination, saving to
/Volumes/Backup1/
/Volumes/Backup2/
"B" and "C" clients rotate between Backup1 and Backup2 as their backup destination, over the network, so
/Volumes/Backup1/b.sparsebundle and c.sparsebundle exist (as well as in Backup2)
"A" backs itself up through its TM Client to a USB3-attached drive at
/Volumes/USB1
Which has the usual .backupdb files.
A's backups include the data on the "Backup1" and "Backup2", which have the sparsebundles.
The question is:
1. Is A's TM Client aware of the TM Server, so only saves the .sparsebundle bands to the .backupdb once the TM Server has finished accepting a client backup
OR
2. does the TM Client run concurrently with the TM Server such that it writes the .sparsebundle bands to the .backupdb in an inconsistent state:
Ex:
Server and Client have copies of a file. Server has a previous content with 'AA' and begins a backup.
Halfway through the server's backup, the client starts writing to the server with new content, 'BB'
Scenario 1: TM Server waits until local backup is complete:
Client:|-------------------BB[===Backup===]BB-|
Server:|-AA[===Backup===]AA-------------------|
Scenario 2: TM Server is allowed to write while backup happens
Client:|-----------BB[===Backup===]BB-|
Server:|------AA[===Backup===]AB------|
Scenario 2 obviously leaves the local backup in an inconsistent state.
DOES OS X SERVER CREATE INCONSISTENT LOCAL BACKUPS OF FILES CREATED AS A RESULT OF A CLIENT'S TIME MACHINE BACKUP?

See if anything in C 12 helps. Airport Utlity 5.6 will not run in Mavericks.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

Restoring OS X Server from a Time Machine backup

On this below article on Apple support says:
Important: When restoring, restore from a local Time Machine backup. If you try to restore from a network-based Time Machine backup, not all settings will be restored correctly
Is it means that if i were using Time Capsule it will not be restored correctly??
'All settings' mentioned above is it settings for the OS X or settings in Server App?
Full article here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5139
Please enlight me

Is it means that if i were using Time Capsule it will not be restored correctly?
Yes, that's what it means. In my experience, Setup Assistant doesn't properly restore all server data even from a local backup, though perhaps it works for some. You should have at least one mirror (clone) backup of the server as well as Time Machine backups.

How much HD space for Local Time Machine?

Hi and thanks for reading..
I am noticing that since i have instlled Lion, if I cancel a file (even big) and empty the trash, the free space in my HD does not decrease.
May be it is due to the local time machine backup?
I have tried to connect the external time machine backup but after the time machine backup I have no improvement in the internal HD...
Any suggestion?
I am also wondering how much HD space is dedicated to the local Time Machine Backups.
Thanks, bye

I believe this will answer your questions.
http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/30.html

Does Time Machine backup system files (/usr/local/*)?

Does Time Machine backup system files (/usr/local/*)?
If so how do you locate them in the Time Machine interface?
If I go into Time Machine mode and type say "/usr/local" in the Time Machine search bar I get nothing although I can open a terminal application and cd to /usr/local and see bin, lib, include, etc.
Of course I can never see /usr/local in Finder either ... only at the command line.
Thanks.

John, another tech pro ("baltwo") suggests:
Run this in the Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1
OPTION-click and hold on Finder's Dock icon->Relaunch which reveals all hidden files. Then, look for that file and delete it. To hide all of those, use the same command, substituiting zero for the one, and relaunch the Finder.

Does time machine backup locally mirrored idisk?

I was wondering if anyone knew if time machine backed up a locally mirrored idisk? The main advantage of this being that you could go back and see files that were on the locally mirroed idisk a month ago rather than just what is there today.
Thanks,
David

David-
I have been wrestling with this issue also. I put my working files on iDisk so that I can access them from my laptop, other office, etc. Works great--but--as I recently learned the Time Machine doesn't back up those files.
And the sparsebundle (or whatever it's called) has to be excluded from the Time Machine backup (or else it'll fill up your TM in about 2 weeks)
I THINK that I may have found a solution (at least for me). I have a program that backups the iDisk to my DOCUMENTS directory on my hard drive. So--every day at 9PM it backups/mirrors my iDisk to my hard drive and then TM makes a copy of the hard disk DOCUMENTS directory into TM.
So far it APPEARS to be working as I'd like. I can go into TM and pull out a single file. The only drawback is that I have the program automated to copy the files over every night at 9PM so my TM backup is only that single snapshot but it's better then discovering that the files that I thought were being backed up to TM were not.
Would this work? Do you see any holes in this?

Can Time Machine Backup Local Backups?

Hi and tnxs for reading.
I have noticed that time machine is backupping only one backup per time, i.e. at the time of the execution of the backup.
Is there a way to backup on an external HD also all the local backup aswell?
For example, if I do a Time machine backup per week, I only have one backup per week on my time machine hd backup; however it would be interesting to let time machine saving all the local backup aswell on hte hd, so as to have more time continuity without having to connect more often the external hd.
Is this possible?
tnxs, cheers

Thomas A Reed wrote:
Time Machine won't back up those local snapshots. However, if you were to maintain a secondary set of backups using something like Carbon Copy Cloner, it should copy the local snapshots.
This makes sense because according to this article the content of the local snapshots is supplemental, and when you re-connect your TM backup drive all interim changes are included in the TM backup and the local snapshots become superfluous.
If the local snapshots don't seem to be enough, you could do something like what I do when I'm away: I use Back to My Mac to clone my MacBook Pro Documents folder to my home Mac (as Docs are really the only things which change while I'm away). Another "away" option would be to back up Documents folder to some free online storage, as Documents-only would not require as much space as a full backup.

Switch hard drive from local to Airport Extreeme for Time Machine Backup

I have an external drive I am using for time machine backups for my iMac. I have an Airport Extreme and would like to use it to backup my iMac and my Macbook Pro (wireless). I have a PC that would be nice to backup a few things also, but not mandatory.
If I move the hard drive from the 400 FireWire port to the Airport, will it need to be reconfigured to allow for backups on teh network? Will it erase (or will I need to erase) the drive's current backup data of my iMac? Do I need to partition it to allow for multiple machine backups?
Thanks.
Matt

If I move the hard drive from the 400 FireWire port to the Airport, will it need to be reconfigured to allow for backups on teh network?
No, as long as the external hard drive is formatted in either HFS+ or FAT32 it will be recognized by the AirPort.
Will it erase (or will I need to erase) the drive's current backup data of my iMac?
Potentially, yes. Time Machine backups are stored differently on local attached drives versus those that are network-based. There is a procedure to "copy" an existing TM backup from an external drive to a Time Capsule that may work for an AirPort Disk (external drive connected to either a TC or AirPort Extreme). However, I would strongly recommend not going this route as Apple does not currently support Time Machine backups to AirPort Disks.
Do I need to partition it to allow for multiple machine backups?
For Time Machine this would not be necessary as it will create a unique "file" for each Mac. However, you may have other requirements that partitioning the drive would make sense. Note: You would have to partition the drive prior to connecting it to the AirPort, as the AirPort Utility itself does not support partition management.

Backup an airdisk with local Time Machine

Is there a way to include an airdisk (Airport Exteme USB disk) in my Mac's Local Time Machine?
THis drive would be used as a common data hard drive in a workgroup. But I would want one of the computers Time Machine backup it locally.

Is there a way to include an airdisk (Airport Exteme USB disk) in my Mac's Local Time Machine?
Sorry, but no. Time Machine will only backup your Macs internal hard disk or any external hard disks physically attached to the Mac. Time Machine can not backup one remote device to another remote device.

I'm having a hard time setting up my external hard from with my AirPort Extreme and Time Machine Backups.

I have been using a Mac Mini with an external hard and Time Machine. I bought an Airport Extreme and have had problem setting up the hard drive using the USB port on the Airport Extreme. I also just recently bought a Mac Book Air and hope to have both computers back up to the external hard drive using Time Machine and Airport Extreme. I have been using the optical drive from the Mac mini to load programs into the Mac Book Air. I think I'm just getting confused in Finder. I am just not seeing the hard drive. I ended up plugging the hard drive back into the Mac Mini and that is work fine again. How do I setting the external hard drive up to the AirPort Extreme and use for both computers? Or at least to start with the Mac mini.

It's critical to understand that Time Machine (TM) stores backups differently between local and network drives. That would mean the TM backup on your locally attached USB hard drive will not be directly useable when it is connected to the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS). There is a way to copy a local version to a network version, but it is not fool-proof. When you do connect this drive and point TM to it, TM will start a brand new backup, leaving your existing backup as is.
If your current backup is critical to you, you may want to consider getting a second USB drive to attach to the Extreme and use your existing one as a backup ... or use TM's multi-backup process to backup to more than one destination drive alternatively.
So, at this point, you may want to make a decision on how you want to go forward to help provide a solution for you.
To directly answer your question, when you go to select a destination for a Time Machine backup, the drive(s) that show up under "Backup Disks" are those that TM already recognizes and has backed up to. Those listed under "Available Disks" are drives (either local or on the network) that TM can back up to.

Initial Time Machine Backup Stuck on "Indexing Backup"

I have Mac Mini running 10.7.2. I just got an external hard drive and am trying to run an initial back up using Time Machine. I am running my computer in Safe Mode as it won't start in regular mode. I formatted the HD and began to run Time Machine back up. HD is connected via USB 2.0 wire.
It has now been 12 hours and is still on Indexing Backup... Is this normal for initial back up? I know it takes a long time for initial but this doesn't seem right.What do I do to correct if it isn't correct? Should I stop and try again?

Thank you very much. With your info I gave up on the back up and ran Disk and Permission Repair for the 3rd or 4th time and crossed my fingers and restarted my machine and it WORKED! I ran time Machine back up and when I woke up this morning it was all done! Yeahhhh!
I wasn't sure what was causing it not to start in regular mode and as I'm not too much of a techie I was scared that I was teetetering on the brink of losing everything. The machine would run so I didn't think it was a hard drive issue, but not knowing for sure I was concerned and after losing everythign once before years ago, I was worried. I have it backed up on line but wanted a 2nd (local) version that wouldn't entail tying up bandwidth for days. In the end it worked out!
But the short answer is, Time Machine Backup does NOT work in Safe Mode...

Can't access library folder on Time Machine Backup

I'll try to explain this as clearly as possible...
1) I have wiped my hard drive and completed a clean install of Mavericks. I did this due to persistant problems with disc permissions that I could not eliminate.
2) I did not want to take a chance on introducing problems with migrating a profile from my Time Machine backup so instead of using Migration Assistant, I used Finder to browse the Time Machine backup I made prior to reformatting my drive to simply copy all my necessary data files back onto the drive in my newly created profile.
3) I've reinstalled the majority of programs I use and everything is looking good (no disk permission problems when I've checked using Disk Utility).
4) Mail is working just find with all my accounts having been restored using my Apple ID.
Here's the problem....
I forgot that some of my mail had been stored on my local hard drive. I beleive this mail should be in my user/library/mail folder of my time machine backup. However, I cannot access my User/Library folder in Time Machine. I've tried opening my current (new) User/Library folder in Finder and then selecting "Browse Other Backup Discs" from the Time Machine icon and, although this opens the Time Machine backups, I cannot do any time travel...in other words, although there are many stacks of folders shown in the backup, I cannot move into the past from the present.
Any suggestions on how I can get this Mail folder out of the Time Machine user/library? I know there is some stuff there that I'm going to have to get to.
Thanks!

It woked to get me into my current User/Library of my "new" profile but I cannot move back in time into the actual backups despite the timeline increments on the right side of the screen in Time Machine showing they're are backups for the past several months. I'm stuck on this moment so to speak.
Got to hit the sack...head is swimming. Thanks for the suggestions Barney. Let me know if you think of any others.

Local Time Machine Backups

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for