Multiple independent backups

Hi everyone,
With the latest updates to the Airport Extreme that allow it to effectively become a Time Capsule, I decided that I would plug in a hard drive I have lying around to set up a backup system for my home.
However, I use my Macbook Pro at work as well and have an external (FW800) drive that I use for Time Machine there as well. Is there a way to have Leopard seamlessly backup to both drives? I'm only connected to one at a time (either at home, or at work). I want Leopard to treat them as independent backups.
In the Time Machine options of System Preferences, I can see the "change disk," but I'd rather not have to hold its hand whenever I change locations. Can that be automatic? Thanks for your help!

Since there is no comprehensive system of management of all your system settings and preferences based on location, yet, you could just use two systems.
Continue to use Time Machine at home and use SuperDuper at work.
You can set the paid version of SuperDuper to schedule bootable backups to a specific drive on a specific day/time of the week and always have a fallback at work that will get you back to work immediately. All of the files from the previous week are still available to you at work until the backup runs.
At home, you will have all your history files for deep recovery.

Similar Messages

Multiple Target (Backup) Drives

I have an external 1-TB drive I used for more than a year until the power supply died. At the time I needed an immediate backup before extended travel. I used a spare 250 meg external drive and started a new backup series. It has been 3 months and I have finally gotten the Power Supply replaced. (I needed to pull a file from early this year.) I was able to choose the 1-TB drive and retrieved the file. I decided to continue current backups with the original TB drive, but Time Machine does not recognize the drive. Does anyone have a clear understanding of how drives are identified? I can select the old 1-TB drive, but I'm afraid it will wipe the previous backups.
At this point I am tempted to buy a 2 TB drive, clone the recent Backup drive (250 meg) and continue with that drive... (Put the old TB drive in the safe) Anyone have a better plan?
Thanks, Sam

samtc wrote:
I can select the old 1-TB drive, but I'm afraid it will wipe the previous backups.
You're on the right track.
Just select the new drive via TM Preferences > Select Disk. Time Machine will not erase the drive. I would strongly recommend, however, that you use different names for the two drives, so you're sure which one is which. (Time Machine keeps track by the UUID so it doesn't really care about the name).
To rename a drive, right-click it in a Finder Sidebar.
Time Machine figures out what to do based on what's on your system, and what it finds on the backup disk you point it to. (That's how you can have separate, independent backups on two different TM drives.)
Normally, it will just do a usual incremental backup of everything that's changed since the last backup +*to that drive.+* If it's been a few days, it may have to do a "deep traversal" to figure out what's changed, which just takes a bit longer in the +Calculating changes+ phase (and if you're on 10.6.3, you'll see "Scanning nnn files" on the TM Preferences panel.)
After 3 months, however, it might do a new, full backup, which means it might have to delete a number of old backups to make enough room.
At this point I am tempted to buy a 2 TB drive, clone the recent Backup drive (250 meg) and continue with that drive... (Put the old TB drive in the safe) Anyone have a better plan?
That will work, too. The one thing you cannot do, is merge the two sets of backups.

Multiple TM backups in a mac pro (if not CCC as TM)?

apologies for the multiple posts today. i am trying to finalize a new setup here and i just realized i may be thinking about this incorrectly.
i have a drive in bay 1 that is my OS drive with data and i have a drive in bay 3 that has my large-ish databases.
can i do a TIME MACHINE backup of the drive in bay 1 to the drive in bay 2 and also do a TIME MACHINE backup of the drive in bay 3 to the drive in bay 4 or do i only get one TM per machine?
if so, is there a /name/ for the kind of clone i would use on the database drive using Carbon Copy Cloner so that there was effectively a Time Machine type of backup on the destination drive? i mean, is there something close that would work or perhaps i run out of space very fast if i use this kind of setup and this is the great benefit of time machine?
i mean, if i had to pick one i would use TM for my boot OS and my data and do an identity clone of the database drive but if something went wrong with the database drive it would be a problem.
so maybe i can bump up the size of my OS drive and just store my databases on this same drive??

Multiple graphics cards will make the displays act as one large desktop, but when an application is set to full screen mode, it usually will just use one display. If the application is run in window mode, you should be able to move and enlarge (by dragging the lower-right corner) the window to use all displays, but there will be a window border (and menu bar on one display). You could zoom the display slightly to move the border off-screen. There is a setting in Zoom Options of "Universal Access" system preference to stop the zoomed image from moving unless the pointer reaches an edge.

Multiple iPhone backups in Time Machine

I have my wife's iPhone and she was charging it on our Mac via cable. Our iTunes is instructed not to sync automatically. We have two phones in iTunes. Child comes along and somehow resets or wipes phone: not sure which one.
My question is, if I were to enter into Time Machine is it possible to discern which backup is for which phone? The phone is not synced often and I'm guessing the last one was in September, if she even synced at all during that month .
I'm on os x10.8 which was a recent upgrade. Our previous version residing on Time Machine is SL. I have been told to be careful on the restore just in case we need to resort to other (cough) measures in order to (cough) the data.
Thanx

pcp0827 wrote:
Is there a way to delete multiple backups in TIme Machine and not have to delete old files one by one by slow one by one?
Yes, sort of. You can delete indiividual backups, or all backups of selected items,via Time Machine. See #12 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. You can only select one backup at a time, but they're deleted in a separate process, so you can select another before the first one completes. When you exit from Time Machine, you may see one or more progress bars for the individual deletions. (As noted there, never delete anything from your backups via the Finder.)
But you really shouldn't have to do that. Time Machine will delete your oldest backups automatically, when it needs room for new ones.

Track setup for multiple independent projects

Hi,
We have to develop two separate projects in NWDI. Both projects are Web Dynpro based, independent of each other and developed by different development teams. We need the ability to maintain and deploy the projects independently. What is the recommended way on creating the track(s) for this scenario?
Should we create separate tracks for each project? OR should we create one single track and two SCs with in the track (one for each project)? If we go with 2nd option, can we grant authorization to developers at SC level (as different development teams will be working on these projects)? What is the recommended way of creating track(s) when working on multiple projects?
Thanks
Kumar

Hi Kumar,
it's not so bad. After initial setup of those tracks, there is not a lot of maintenance to do. We are running a NWDI here with 21 tracks...
There are some ways to consolidate thinks. If there are several projects with the same runtime systems, you can for example setup one delivery track for your production system and transport track connections to this track from all development tracks. In this way you can have a easy overview in system state of this tracks, on what was trasnported to your production system. And you can secure your production system from developer access this way; if your are going for SOA conform setup of your projects.
Kind regards
Jan

Upgraded: New Mac, Setting up iPhoto Library From Multiple Old Backups

Over the years (Jaguar to Snow Leopard), I've had multiple Macs in different locations (work, home) to which I've loaded photos from cameras into multiple iPhoto libraries. As these Macs have died (G4s, G5s), or I've been forced to upgrade, I've made a backup on CDs and DVDs of the iPhoto libraries (different versions of iPhoto over the years).
Now I've got a brand new Macbook Pro and I want to put all these photos into one library on one disk. I don't care much about preserving photos edited in iPhoto (I use Photoshop for serious editing), nor do I have particular album or roll data from these old libraries that matters. I just want to get all the original photos into one library so I can search and access them all in one place.
I have always found the way iPhoto organizes the photos on disk a bit confusing, especailly when it comes to backing up and accessing the files at the Finder level. And now it seems things have gotten even more dumbed away from the user in "package" w/ the latest iPhoto.
I would like to just have my photos in a folder, not a "package," but I would like to be able to search and organize photos and load them to my iPod Touch. (Maybe isn't the best application for me?) I'd also like my iPhoto folder to be on an external HD.
This is one of those grueling tasks I've been putting off for years. So many disks, so many libraries, how to get them all into one. I want to get it right once and for all, so I'll have all my photos on in one place and hopefully in a Finder-level folder that will be easy to back up and easy to port to my next Mac down the road in the future.
Can anyone offer any advice on the best way to proceed? Anyone else been through something like this?
Thanks in advance,
Babz

This is actually more simple than it seems as you
just want to get all the original photos into one library so I can search and access them all in one place.
So, create a Library: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library' and import the contents of the originals from the other Libraries: (File -> Import, Drag to the iPhoto Window, Drag to the iPhoto icon on the Dock)
That's all your originals in a single Library.
I have always found the way iPhoto organizes the photos on disk a bit confusing, especailly when it comes to backing up and accessing the files at the Finder level.
It's actually quite straightforward, but the key is +you don't access the files at a Finder level+.
And now it seems things have gotten even more dumbed away from the user in "package" w/ the latest iPhoto.
Remember: iPhoto is a Database. Like any database, you need to manipulate the data via the db and not a back door.
Since iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Package File. This is simply a folder that looks like a file in the Finder. The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves. That's why +you don't access the files at a Finder level+.
Want to see inside: Go to your Pictures Folder and find the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.
Standard Warning: Don't change anything in the iPhoto Library Folder via the Finder or any other application. iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
How the library is organised: There are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three core folders
Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner.
(ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
(iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
But none of that matters, as you never access the files via the Finder.
*To back up an iPhoto Library* make a copy of the Library on another disk. You can automate this process with Time Machine or many other back up apps like Chronosync or DejaVu. There are many, many other options. Search on MacUpdate.
I would like to just have my photos in a folder, not a "package,"
*How to do it:*
Simply go to iPhoto Menu -> Preferences -> Advanced and uncheck 'Copy Files to the iPhoto Library on Import'.
*What Happens:*
Now iPhoto will not copy the files, but rather simply reference them on your HD. To do this it will create an alias in the Originals Folder that points to your file. It will still create a thumbnail and, if you modify the pics, a Modified version within the iPhoto Library Folder.
*Some things to consider:*
1. Importing and deleting pics are more complex procedures. You have to to put the files where they will be stored before importing them. When you delete them you'll need to remove the files from the HD yourself.
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
4. Because iPhoto has no tools for managing Referenced Files, if, for some reason, the path to the photos changes then you could find yourself resolving aliases for +each photo in the Library+ one by one.
My own opinion:
I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organiser
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
*For Users of 10.5 and later*
You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
*For users of 10.4 and later* ...
Many internet sites such as Flickr and SmugMug have plug-ins for accessing the iPhoto Library. If the site you want to use doesn’t then some, one or any of these will also work:
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. However, if you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
*If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running*:
For users of 10.6 and later:
You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu. Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and later:
Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
*To use iPhoto with Photoshop*
You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
Note that iPhoto sends a copy+ of the file to Photoshop, so when you save be sure to use the Save command, not Save As... If you use Save As then you're creating a new file and iPhoto has no way of knowing about this new file. iPhoto is preserving your original anyway.
There's a lot of material there. By all means come back for clarification if you need it. But I strongly urge you to think very carefully before running a Referenced Library.
Regards
TD

Manage multiple users backups

Hi, I try to explain my situation and all my troubles with Time Capsules.
Here @ work we have around 20 apple computers all running latest OSX 10.8.2 and I use 3 different 2TB Time Capsule to store and balance users backups.
During last 3 years some user is gone, some new arrived so Time Capsules are still storing unused and unuseful backups.
Moreover we changed computer and users would like to start brand new backup.
Is there a way to manage different users backup? I really need to delete some old Backups.backupdb folder.
If I try to access the time machine from my MBP I just can see of course my folder.
Is there out there some administrative tool to manage what stored in my Time Capsules?
I expected from Apple to have more controls on "Utility AirPort" application, but the only thing I can do on my TC disk in to initialize it... we cannot just initialize a disc every time we need to mange it.
Any solution?

There are plenty of third party software..
CCC, superduper and chronosync.. being the most often quoted.. I use TM to a non apple NAS and occaionally free superduper to make a disk image.
Apple made the TC very difficult to use as you seem to want to use it.. in that, you cannot properly partition it. You can create disk images.. see
http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
Q3 he goes through setting up disk images.
If you create a disk image for each Mac, then it makes it fairly easy to delete and recreate an image when you need to. Although you are now going to use the space somewhat less efficiently in that disk images will be of fixed size. I think this is not really as big an issue as it might seem as TM handles multiple computers connecting to the TC very poorly.
I am rather more a hands on person.. I would pull the hard disk out of the TC and parition it properly on a Mac.. and put it back in the TC.. this voids the warranty of course. Which is what makes the TC so useless.. it is a sealed device.. there is no other NAS which seals you out of the hard drive to fix, format, replace, repair.
You can hang multiple hard disks onto a TC via USB.. that will work for wireless but is extremely slow for ethernet.. and certainly USB disks are not without issues.. and latest Mac OS has been making a mess of reliable connection to them..
Otherwise a Synology or QNAP NAS.. Setup different user login for each user.. then use TM or one of the alternatives.

Multiple catalog backups

When I open LR, a dialog box pops up saying that I have requested catalog backups each time LR is run. As a result, when I go to the HD where I have the backup directory, it shows multiple LR catalogs in folders on the dates I opened up LR. Are these all the same? Can I throw out all previous folders, other than the most recent? One instructor I had said that I should only have one ".lrcat", not multiple ones. I am using LR 1.4.1 with Mac OS 10.4.11. Thanks.

Requesting a catalog backup every time Lr starts is likely excessive. It depends on how much activity you perform. Once a day or once a week might be fine for many.
However, whatever backup frequency you choose, you definitely want to keep several generations of backups. I also backup the "backups" to external drives.
For me any catalog backup older than 3 months can be deleted.
(And in this age of "information overload" the best instructor is often the one staring back at you when looking in the mirror.)

Multiple Mac Backup

I've just bought an iMac with a 500Gb SSD. That's not much storage, so I need to archive stuff and remove it from the internal drive on a regular basis. I also still have my macbook pro which I'll use when I need to be portable and my wife will use as her main computer. Can anyone suggest to me an elegant backup solution for backing up both machines and also ensuring security against HD failure. I was wondering whether I could network the machines and have a common backup and backup backup if you see what I mean.
I think also that the backup needs to be separate from the Archive thing. I do music projects and when a project is finished I'll want to remove it to the archive. Obviously the Archive needs a backup solution too.
I didn't get a fusion drive, because I was told that this could create problems with audio processing.

You are correct that the backup and archive must be on separate drives.
You are also correct that the archive should be backed up.
Rather then doing a backup of a backup, what I choice to do instead is to do multiple backups using different software for each.
Allan

I want to keep multiple iphone backups of a single iphone

Hello,
Is there away to keep multiple backups of my iphone using itunes, not have overwrtie the last backup. Can you give your backup a name and date for example?
Itunes for win 7 and iphone 5
Thanks
Jeff

iTunes normally supports a single rolling backup.
When a back is restored it becomes archived with the date and time of the restore and a new rolling backup is created.
Mac users are able to duplicate an existing backup and rename it, Windows users are not.
tt2

Multiple Phone Backups

I've spent some time on google and browsing through these forums.
I have over 30 Iphone 5's currently attached to our exchange through active sync.
We don't allow our users to use iCloud due to FOI act & living in Canada.
My question is; Is there no program, or application that will allow me to backup multiple phones to a PC?
If a user's iphone dies, I'd love to take that phone, plug it into my PC, back it up, and send it out for repair.
When I get the phone back, upgrade it, and then restore it.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

Hi there,
It sounds like your best option may be to use iTunes to back up your devices. This offers several advantages, the main one for you (from the sound of it), being encrypted backups that are stored locally. I would recommend taking a look at the article below for more information about iTunes Backups.
iTunes: About iOS backups
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946
-Griff W.

Multiple TimeMachine backups on Time Capsule

It is not obvious to me but - is it possible to have two time machine backups on a single time capsule (e.g. my iMac and my wife's MacBook?

Welcome to the discussions!
Yes, backups from multiple computers are possible as long as the operating system on each computer has Time Machine installed. You will need to setup Time Machine on each computer to backup to the Time Capsule.
The Time Capsule disk will automatically create separate backup files for each computer.

Multiple drive backups

Hi - I have a multiple hard drive array (system drive, audio drive, sample library drive) and wish to have autmoated backups over 3 mirrored drives... can Time Machine do this? In other words I want one backup drive to each primary drive. Thanks

I'll reflect what I think might be your setup and you can correct me. You have one system drive and two external drives with live data on them. You have three empty external disks you plan to use for backups. I’ll give a Time Machine solution and a cloning solution.
Time Machine:
Time Machine can back up all three drives, with a caveat. If you use Time Machine they must be backed up onto a single backup drive. Thus the sum of the storage across your three live disks would need to fit on one large Time Machine backup drive, leaving some room to grow and for Time Machine’s scratch space.
When you plug in an external drive, Time Machine will automatically exclude it from the backup. To include it, have it plugged in and then go to System Preferences > Time Machine > Options and remove it from the exclusion list.
Cloning:
If you want one backup drive for each live drive then you can use cloning backup software, such as Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) or Super Duper! Cloning does not keep backups going back in time; it only clones the current state of the live drive. That has several advantages. (A) It is simpler software that is less prone to software and disk errors that happen with Time Machine occasionally. (B) If your live drive breaks there is no restore needed. You simply start using the clone as your live drive and purchase another external disk as the clone-backup drive. (C) The system disk clone will be a bootable system drive so should your internal system drive fail you can boot from the external clone and be up and running in minutes.
Replication:
It is a good idea to maintain multiple backups. I use a combination of Time Machine and CCC. That meets the needs of going back in time and also avoiding the issues of Time Machine’s complexity. If any of my backup drives should fail, I always have another backup to fall back on. You could use a large fourth drive for the Time Machine backup.
For more about backups:
Time Machine Basics: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427
Most commonly used backup methods:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6031

Multiple iPhone Backups?

iTunes seems only to keep a single backup of my iPhone. Is there a way to keep multiple backups? I'm having some problems with the iPhone and would like to be able to make a backup at least once per day, and if necessary restore to a backup from several days ago. But there's only one backup available in iTunes regardless of how many times I preform a backup.
Can I make iTunes keep more than just the most recent backup?
Thanks!

iTunes only keeps one backup created during the sync process for each device. If you restore the iPhone or iPod touch and choose to set up as a new device from the Set Up your iPhone (or iPod touch) screen, iTunes will automatically sync and create a new, empty backup that will replace your previous backup. If you change your mind and want to restore to your previous state, you will have to retrieve your previous device backup from Time Machine (on your Mac), or other backup solution you regularly use. If you have Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later and use Time Machine, you may use Time Machine to find a previous backup."
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

Multiples instaces Backup

Hello DBAs,
A single question a have a huge server with multiples databases running but only one ASM for all the databases, what is best separated backups by RMAN on each database or can I ( if possible) run a single backup inside ASM, if someone has the answer I will be glad to have the metalink note .
Thanks.
Marcelo Silva
Oracle 10.2.0.3
Server : AIX 5.3
Env. RAC 3 Nodes ( each node 8 databases + 1 ASM)
Size all databases - 3 Terabytes - EBS DATABASE has 2 TB.

Hi,
One ASM for all the database is quite normal.
ASM is taking care of the diskgroup/disk management (rebalancing...) and the datafiles inside of it (DATA, redo, controlfile, FRA)... The asm database itself is not containing the other database data so a backup of the ASM is just a backup of the ASM data.
There's no possibility to backup the database in ASM together !
You have to backup each database one by one (with their own hours, backup type, and so).

Multiple independent backups

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