Move Folder to new drive an now Time Machine won't work

I moved my iMovie event folder and my itunes music folder to a new internal drive on my Mac Pro. When I back up my data, time machine says that I don't have enough space on the drive. I want Time machine to recognize the new folder locations with out backing them up as two separate folders. How can I fix this? I don't want to erase time machine and start from scratch.

What kind of external drive do you have and do you have software installed that came with it?
Pete

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Started using my Time Capsule as a base station; now Time Machine won't work

Dear community,
I had been using my Time Capsule just for Time Machine backups, but I recently switched to using it as an internet base station as well. Now I can connect to internet via Wi-Fi, but Time Machine no longer works (it throws a "backup disk cannot be found" error). I assume this is related to the fact that the name of my Wi-Fi network differs from the name that my Time Machine used to have back when it was only my backup disk. Does anyone have any ideas for how to get Time Machine working again, hopefully without losing all my backup history? Thanks for your help.
I am using a Time Capsule (circa 2012) and a late-2011 MacBook Pro with OS X 10.9.3.

This is just typical Mavericks behaviour.
You must find the hard disk for it. Poor Mavericks cannot find its own tail let alone a network device as complex as a hard disk.
Does anyone have any ideas for how to get Time Machine working again, hopefully without losing all my backup history?
Let me say, that killing your backups is harder than simple resets or changing functions. In fact the only way to wreck the backups is erase them deliberately from airport utility, or have TM working over a faulty link and corrupt them.
The issue is simply that the hard disk is lost. And Bo Peep doesn't know where to find it.
Step in and mount the hard disk manually.
In Finder.. use Go, Connect to server.
Type in AFP://TCname.local
Where TCname is the actual network name of the TC. (Hopefully you are now using short names with no spaces and pure alphanumeric.. in which case network name = name. If not then you need to translate the name to the network name.
So Fred Blog's Airport Time Capsule which you name it in the utility comes out.
fred_blogs_airport_time_capsule as network name. Spaces and apostrophe are illegal.
Let me encourage you to go back to the airport utility and rename the TC something sensible like TCgen4 (it is a gen4) and use TCwifi for the wireless name. Then the network name is at least something like the actual name.
So in my case I would type in AFP://TCgen4.local
Local is the default domain and using it can also help.
The caps are irrelevant.
The other and better way of doing it in Mavericks is use IP address of the TC if it is static. ie if the TC is main router it will have IP 10.0.1.1 by default.
Then you type AFP://10.0.1.1
You will be asked for the password.. type that in and keep it in your keychain.
(BTW you can discover the actual names of everything via the netstat scan from network utilities. In Mavericks Network Utilities has gone walkabout, so you will need to search for it in finder). You should see the actual network names of everything listed here. Along with MAC address and other info.
Now you can reset TM and point it at the TC disk which is already open in finder.
See info on TM reset here.
A4 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Please note when TM starts up it will show it is going to do a full backup.. this will not happen. It will discover the existing backup and then simply do incremental. (I hope!!) Nowadays with Mavericks nothing can be certain.
Good Luck.. !
Sorry I have made it over complicated.. Early morning here and not suitably caffeinated yet.
If you run into trouble post back.

Mavericks Clean Install now Time Machine won't work

Was having probs with Mavericks upgrade so decided to do clean install. Did TM backup and wiped main HD and check it then installed Maverics.
Performed migration to get Applications & Data back all seemed fine. TM showd all back up from before install.
TM reported fail on next day backup so I open TM to see what was there. I was shocked to discover all backups gone except one following migration and in progress backup that failed. Never asked if old back ups to be deleted just disappeared.
As all apps & data on main HD I reformatted and Checked TM disk all fine. TM starts backup of HD around 750GB to TM 2TB disk. After many hours it reports an error occured, no details what so ever what error was. Have reformatted again and tried again same. Is this Apple saying my 4yo IMac needs replacing, do they need more money or am I missing something, have read TM support files that dont help.
Any advice would be great. Thank you.

What kind of external drive do you have and do you have software installed that came with it?
Pete

If I completely fill my hard drive 500Gb how time machine will keep working having 1Tb of total space, I mean I have to delete mu hard drive but how I keep my previous information on time machine and keep using to with new information?

If I completely fill my hard drive 500Gb how time machine will keep working having 1Tb of total space [externak hard drive], I mean I have to delete my hard drive but how I keep my previous information on time machine and keep using it with new information?

Time Machine does not provide archival storage.
If you delete a file from your disk it will eventually be deleted from your TM backup without any notice to you.
You need a second external disk to use for archival storage.
You also need a third disk for backups of the second disk.

HT201250 My 10.7.3 Time Machine won't work with external disks. Worked fine with Snow Leopard, and even Lion 10.7.1

My 10.7.3 Time Machine won't work with external disks. Worked fine with Snow Leopard, and even Lion 10.7.1
I have tried everything, even buy new external disk from different manufacture.
If I cant get a fix soon, I am downgrading back to SnowL.

Still no luck. I tried all the tricks, reconfiguring TM (remove selected disk option, and re-setting it, and trying different disks). Tried new combo updater, and the newer TM update after that. Tired two different disks too (one is my older firewire WD MyBook 1TB, and my brand new 3tb Seagate GoFlex USB... either one plugged into back of computer - no intermediary devices). I did get the TM buddy wiget and it produced the following log, from the last attempt, where I setup lots of exclusions so that backup quantity was small (under 10gb). Still it failed to complete. Here is that log, for what it is worth:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/TM-Disk/Backups.backupdb
9.56 GB required (including padding), 911.15 GB available
Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Copied 0 files (0 bytes) from volume Mac HD.
Backup canceled.
To prove a point, I will take these disks are run them on my other Tiger and Snow Leopard laptops to prove TM works fine on those with these disks. But I fear the only options are to either have my tech re-install LION... or just have him reinstall SL instead. Im at wits end.

Hi there. just bought a TC, installation was succesfull, but time machine won't work. can't select Backup disk. get transferred to TC install again. Called Apple, 25 min. later no succes, have to call on monday again!!!! Can anyone help me? Thanks a lot.

Hi there. just bought a TC, installation was succesfull, but time machine won't work. can't select Backup disk. get transferred to TC install again. Called Apple, 25 min. later no succes, have to call on monday again!!!! Can anyone help me? Thanks a lot.

See #Q1 in Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule.
If you have a problem, please tell us exactly what, and on which step there.

Time Machine Won't Work - Using a BOOT DISK and separate DATA DISK Drives

Ok, so I'm up and running the my new MacPro.
I did a boot drive and then I did a 3 drive "Data Volume" RAID for increased performance and am getting about 235mb speeds on the "data" drive.
Everything is great... except... TIME MACHINE doesn't work. I'm a backup fanatic, so I have TIME MACHINE to save "versions" of my files, plus I use SUPER DUPER, DROBO's etc.
So, I've tried deleting the network preferences file in the library folder and restarting, but to no avail.
Basically, if I open TIME MACHINE PREFS, it says backup failed and I cannot "change" the drive. It's like the MAC doesn't see if through the TIME MACHINE PREFERENCES, but the Time Capsule Disk is "mounted" in the finder and I can copy files directly.
Anyone have any advice?
Thanks!

Open Airport Utility and check that you have the TC properly configured with the drive shared and file sharing enabled. The TC drive must mount on the Desktop. It should also be partitioned using GUID partition map and formatted Mac OS Extended, Journaled. You might consider using Airport Utility to erase the TC disk.
I believe the TC user manual should provide information on how to set up the TC to use with TM.

I tried to clear my hard drive and now my computer won't work

I cleared my hard drive and now my computer won't work

Well, good to meet you. I hope that didn't offend you somehow. I just recognized the name and wondered if you were another fan of the book.
Bob

Move external HD to a new drive, but have Time Machine think it's the same?

I have two external drives, one for data and one for Time Machine backups. Time Machine backs up both my internal HD and my external HD. My external HD is dying, so I bought a new one and plan to migrate the data over.
Is it possible to somehow move the data to the new HD and still have Time Machine think that the new HD is the old one, since the data is the same? I usually just use Finder to move files from the old HD to new one (and then remove the old HD and rename the new one to use the same name), but from what I understand that wouldn't copy over the Time Machine data, however.

In most of the cases, that Disk Utility message means that the hard drive is damaged.
However, you can try to erase the disk and restore the Time Machine backup to see if it works. Follow these steps:
1. Insert the Snow Leopard DVD and press the C key while your Mac is starting.
2. Go to Utilities menu > Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD on the sidebar, go to Erase tab and erase the disk. If there's an error during this step, take the Mac to an Apple Store to get a new hard drive.
3. Close Disk Utility, go to Utilities menu, choose the option to restore a Time Machine backup and follow the steps.
If the computer is slow after doing this, take the Mac to an Apple Store as soon as you can

New TC but now Time Machine can't find network backup drives

I had a 2 GB TC replaced under warranty (many thanks to LaPastenague who suggested I may be able to get a replacement under warranty). Configured the TC using Airport Utility, and after a bit of messing around (had to delete and re-find the USB printer) everything seemed to be working fine. However ....
I have a MyBookWorld network drive as an alternate Time Machine backup disk, and my MacBook found both the TC and MBW and backed up to them alternately just fine.
However on another MacBook I removed the MBW drive as a backup disk in TM preferences, and now I can't add it back to that Macbook's list of backup drives. I get the "can't find that server" error dialogue. Which is crazy because the other shares on the MBW drive are visible - it's just the backup partition (WD_Backup) that isn't found. I figure it's trying to connect to the IP address of the previous TC, which probably changed when I replaced the TC, or something.
Help please !
TIA ... John.

Manually mount the directory in finder.
This is so much more important on Mavericks than it used to be due to its default to SMB networking.
I guess I also do not know if you should mount this via AFP or SMB but try both.
So in Finder.. Go.. connect to server.
Type in the actual name or IP of the device.
AFP://MBW.local/WD_Backup (where MBW is the network name of the device. local is the domain (assuming it is connected to the TC))
No luck try AFP://MBWIPaddress where you simply type in the IP.
You might find it is easier to pick up the directory from the other Mac where it is working.
Click on Get Info and look at the directory URL info.
If no luck use SMB://MBW.local etc.
Come back to us if it still does not show up.

I moved files off my computer to an external hard drive now time machine won't back up like it used to. It says there is not enough room.

My hard drive was completely full (mostly with pictures) so I moved several years worth of photos from the hard drive to an external hard drive I regularly use with the laptop. (Basically my master copies of all my photos back to 1997) I have always had Time Machine set up to back up both the laptop AND that external drive. It's always worked seamlessly until I moved those files. Time Machine has been full for a while now and regularly gives me a message that the oldest files will be deleted. That's fine.
I don't understand why moving files from the laptop to the external hd would now cause the following message (not an exact quote): Time Capsule cannot complete backup. You need 233 gb to backup and time capsule only has 107 gb available. If time capsule was already set to backup up both the laptop and the external hd, why would moving those photos from one hd to the other cause a space issue? It should equal out. And now when I look at the files on the time capsule, it only shows me a recent backup and a partial incomplete backup. None of the older backups are visible anymore. I have not deleted anything directly from the time capsule so I'm thinking somehow the index got damaged. How can I fix this? The error message says to change the settings but I really don't know what settings to change. Help!!

It does not immediately delete the files that are missing.. it merely tries to backup the new files it has discovered on the external drive. Since you moved the files there, the backup at least for a while will contain both copies.. and that is why it doesn't have enough space to backup.
Fixing the problem.. hmm pondini is the expert.. you should be able to delete the backup of the photos in existing backup.. there are instructions to do it.. but it is a very poor way to do things.
Much better. .archive off the existing backup.. this is long and slow but worth it. you need a usb drive of the same size as the TC drive. Then erase the TC and start a fresh set of backups.
The alternative is to use the USB drive as a new target.. but it is much slower than the TC internal drive.
http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

I upgraded to Mavericks and now Time Machine won't back up to my external hard drive.

I upgraded to OS 10.9 on my iMac and now I get messages that Time Machine will not back up to my G-Force external hard drive. What do I do to restore back up capability?

Check the More Like This section at the right particularly i upgraded my imac hard drive to a 2tb drive. how do i use time machine to get my computer back to normal?

I replaced my MacBook Pro hard drive and now Time Machine is very slow.

I replaced my 160G Hard Drive with a 750G. I have a 3 TB external hard drive for Time Machine. I back up using firewire 800.
I am running the latest OS. When I start the first backup using Time Machine it goes fine for about the first 30G. Then slows way down. Now I am only seeing updates of 10M ever few minutes. What is wrong?

Nothing is wrong. I had the same issue after swapping HD but using the same TM backup. Give it a few hours to do the first backup. Subsequent backups will be alot faster.... trust me.

I changed user account and now Time Machine won't back up.

A few months ago I had a problem with my user account. I can't remember the details but i think it would no longer accept my password. After doing some hunting around for answers i made a new user account with administrative priviledges and transferred all the files over to that account. I also changed the permissions on those files to allow me to access them as a new user identity. For the most part that seems to have worked for me, although possibly i have not done the right thing.
Anyway, i have just realised recently that although the little circular arrow that indicated that Time machine is backing up my files, it hasn't actually made a backup since the end of august, which was possibly when i did this funny thing with my user account.
I am assuming that Time Machine has just got very confused about the disappearance of my files from the previous user account and change of permissions etc.
What can i do? I read on 'pondini.org' that i could reset my time machine by deleting the preferences file from my system library and then rehooking up my external hard drive as the desired backup volume. It would then, i assume make a full backup to begin with?
Any advice gratefully received. I am a graphic designer and i do need to have my files backed up!
thanks
Lesley
ps i had some extra RAM installed a little while before the user account problem and only mentioning it here in case that is an issue with Time Machine as well.

Hi Lesely, sadly the great pondini has passed away.
Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Can't imagine something not being covered there.

I just updated to Mountain Lion and now time machine won't recognize my backups from before the update.

I updated from Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.8 to Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.2 on my MacBook Pro
I used disk utility to restore my external hardrive because I read somewhere that that would fix the problem.
It did fix the problem but only temporarily. I was able to view my backups from Snow Leopard, but as soon as I tried to backup again, time machine was stuck
"preparing to backup" for 5 hours and when I quit the prepare I could no longer access my previous backups.

So what happens if you go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General? Are you able to go there at all? If you are able to go there, can you unlock the preferences using the lock in the lower left and your login name and password?
If you are able to do this, can you change the "Allow applications downloaded from:" to Anywhere?
Best of luck.

Move Folder to new drive an now Time Machine won't work

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