NEW to TIME MACHINE - if files deleted, will it be missing in the hard disk

i probably know that this is a silly question but here goes:
i've backup my hard drive into my external hard disk using a time machine.
if, i deleted the files in my mac. will it be missing in the hard disk too?
because, i am already low on space and would really want to delete my important files that already backed-up.
thanks!

fsug2 wrote:
i've backup my hard drive into my external hard disk using a time machine.
if, i deleted the files in my mac. will it be missing in the hard disk too?
YES! Not immediately, but sooner or later, Time Machine will delete it's copies of things that are no longer on your system. See #20 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
Depending on the circumstances, the copies may be deleted in as little as 24 hours.
because, i am already low on space and would really want to delete my important files that already backed-up.
Backups, especially Time Machine backups, and extra space are two very different things.
Your best bet is to get a larger HD for your Mac, so you can keep all the originals there.
Second best is a another external HD; copy some things to it and delete them from your Mac, and let Time Machine back up both your internal and the new external.

Similar Messages

  • I have bought a time capsule to use as time machine device. Until now I have used a external hard disk. How can I transfer the the old time machine datas to the time capsule?

    I have bought a time capsule to use as time machine device. Until now I have used a external hard disk. How can I transfer the the old time machine datas to the time capsule?

    This is really difficult to the point of not really worth it.
    Keep the old TM backups in archive.. and start afresh on the TC.
    Time Machine has a different way of backing up on Network drives cf Local drives.
    Pondini does have a method to do it... but I would not recommend it.
    http://pondini.org/TM/18.html

  • Windows XP (sp2) will not update after replacing the hard disk of my Presario V4435NR with a new one

    Hi,
    I had to replace my Presario V4435NR hard disk (80 GB) with a new 160 GB hard disk from Samsung. The original hard disk did not crash but was churning all the time and did not have enough space for all I wanted to put on it. I installed the new 160 GB hard disk (which of course did not have the recovery partition that my old one had on it) and ran recovery from the recovery DVD I made when I first bought the laptop. Everything worked fine until I tried to update my xp through windows update website. This is the error # I get from windows updates (0x80072EE2).
    How can I get my xp to run updates sealessly as it used to before?
    THank you
    Abdul

    I installed it already and things were fine (updates installed with no problems) for a while but the same problem resurfaced after I installed MS Office. Xp gave me the same error code when I tried to update. Woke up in the morning and tried windows update again and windows found lots of updates and installed them smoothly.
    What is causing this inconsistency?
    * Now, I'm unable to get any updates (windows updates website gives me the same error code)

  • Time machine non fa più i backup perchè non vede più hard disk esterno

    ciao a tutti,
    il mio mac ha smesso di vedere l'hard disk esterno per time machine e non riesco a fare i backup.

    Try re-selecting the disk via Time Machine Preferences.
    If that doesn't help, try #A4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    If still no help, try #A5 there.

  • HT201250 After Time Machine has backed up my files, can I delete my originals from my Mac and do something in Time Machine to ensure it will never automatically delete them from the backup in the future?

    I'm new to using Time Machine - I'm making my first backup right now - and I have a few concerns.
    So let's say my precious photos are taking up most of my Mac's hard drive space. I back them up with Time Machine on an external hard drive. After that, I want to delete my photos from my Mac because I want more space and my photos are now stored in the external hard drive. I have a few questions about that.
    First, does Time Machine's backup system follow the same concept as having extra storage (so would this be a reasonable decision to make)?
    Second, if it does, then could I access/open these photos from Time Machine's backup anytime I want?
    Third, would I need to use the restore backup function of Time Machine every time I want to open my photos are there alternative ways of accessing my photos, like through opening directory paths to the photos?
    Lastly, when the external hard drive becomes full and Time Machine wants to delete my oldest backup files, what can I do to ensure that these photos will never get deleted unless I manually do it? Like, is there a way to lock and secure these files? Or, is it like if these photos are the only copies saved in the backup, I can rest assure that Time Machine will never delete them?
    Thanks

    NeuroBrain wrote:
    Since my new external hard drive is have a lot of space, I'm thinking of splitting it for Time Machine and external storage.
    This is a common mistake and I highly advise against it.
    1: TimeMachine saves states of changes and thus requires more room on the TM drive than the boot drive it's backing up.
    2: Something happens to the TM drive, loss, theft, dropped, power surge, etc., you lose both backups.
    3: The storage drive might become a portable need, with it being on the TM drive, now your increasing the risk to the TM backup that something could happen to it along with the storage drive, due to increased movement.
    Seriously, have a read,
    Most commonly used backup methods
    it's ASC User Tip that saves us regulars all the trouble of having to repeat ourselves over and over again in the posts, because we tend to forget things too, or not here sometimes etc.
    "Plan for the worst and the good will take care of itself" - Donald Trump

  • When using Time Machine, if I delete items from my computer, will they still be backed up to access later on my external hard drive? In other words, when time machine backs up again, will it delete the files from the back up?

    When using Time Machine, if I delete items from my computer, will they still be backed up to access later on my external hard drive? 
    In other words, when time machine backs up again, will it delete the files from the back up that I have deleted from my computer?

    No, I do not believe so. Time Machine would keep all those now-deleted files in previous backups, and as time goes by those backups might be deleted if you needed room, but it would still keep one backup from each day in last month, as well as one from each week forever, as long as you don't start running out of room, then just the oldest would be deleted to make room if needed.
    I use a backup drive about double the size of my drive to be backed up, so I would guess it will never get to the point where deleted files being replaced by new ones being backed fill up that drive to the point where backups actually have to get deleted.

  • Can I Use Time Machine Restore Files to a New Computer?

    I use Time Machine to backup my data to an external drive. Let's say that my computer crashes and I buy a new computer with Leopard installed.
    Two Questions:
    If I plug my Time Machine drive into the new computer, will I be able to recreate the old files and settings? Or does Time Machine only work to restore information on a specific computer?
    If Time Machine WILL restore the documents onto a new computer, what happens if the first computer is Power PC and the new one is Intel?
    Thanks!
    Message was edited by: Dan D\'Errico

    Dan D'Errico wrote:
    I use Time Machine to backup my data to an external drive. Let's say that my computer crashes and I buy a new computer with Leopard installed.
    Two Questions:
    If I plug my Time Machine drive into the new computer, will I be able to recreate the old files and settings?
    Yes - see my comments below regarding "Migrating User Data From One Mac to Another".
    Or does Time Machine only work to restore information on a specific computer?
    No
    If Time Machine WILL restore the documents onto a new computer, what happens if the first computer is Power PC and the new one is Intel?
    Then you should choose to Migrate your personal data over but NOT Applications. They may likely not be compatible with the new system.
    *_Migrating User Data From One Mac to Another_*
    *Firewire Disk Mode*
    If you have a FireWire cable, you can connect one Mac to the other via FireWire Disk Mode. Then use Migration Assistant to transfer all of your files and applications over from the older Mac. It should result in a virtually identical setup as your previous Mac. Follow the instructions in this KB article:
    “How to use FireWire target disk mode”
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
    *Using Time Machine Before Initial Launch of New Mac*
    Before starting the new Mac for the first time, attach the hard disk that contains the Time Machine backups from the old Mac.
    Start the new Mac and begin the setup process. At some point it will ask you if you would like to Migrate/Import user data from another computer or a Time Machine backup disk. Follow the prompts and select the date of the backup you would like to restore your user data from. Once the migration is complete use Disk Utility to repair any permissions issues.
    *Using Time Machine After Initial Launch of New Mac*
    If you have already created a User Account on the new Mac using a DIFFERENT Username and Password from the old Mac, then do the following:
    Attach the hard disk containing the previous Macs' Time Machine backups to the new computer.
    Go to Applications --> Utilities --> and launch Migration Assistant.
    At the welcome dialogue click "Continue." You may be required to enter your Admin password.
    For Migration Method chose "From a Time Machine backup or other disk".
    Select the hard disk containing the previous Time Machine backups. (Give Migration Assistant some time as it scans the disk for eligible data to migrate.)
    Now select which User Accounts you would like to migrate over.
    However, if you have already created a User Account on the new Mac using the SAME Username and Password as the old Mac, then you will need to do this:
    Create a new User Admin Account on the new Mac with a completely unique name.
    Now, delete the first User Account you created on the new Mac - The one that is identical to the old Mac. (Of course, backup any important files that were created using the new User Account before deleting it.)
    Finally, use Migration Assistant as described above to move the old User Account data over from the Time Machine backups.
    *Full Backup After Restore*
    Bear in mind that in all cases Time Machine will perform a full backup after a full restore. This is normal. Time Machine will resume incremental backups after the full backup has completed. To view previous backups, Control-click or right-click the Time Machine icon in your Dock or Option-click the Time Machine menu extra and Choose "Browse Other Time Machine Disks," then select your previous backup volume. You will enter Time Machine and be able to browse your previous back ups and restore files. (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1338)
    Let us know if this was helpful.
    Cheers!

  • I used time machine to restore on a formatted MAC. Now the HDD space has reduced by 100GB but I cannot see any of the files. How do I find and delete those 100GB data from the HDD?

    I used time machine to restore on a formatted MAC. Now the HDD space has reduced by 100GB but I cannot see any of the files. How do I find and delete those 100GB data from the HDD?

    dglenn9000 wrote:
    I created a new user account just to see if it was my user Library or if there was something wrong with my system. And the new user account is doing most of the same things so I will need to do a full restore anyway.
    Not necessarily. I'd suggest downloading and installing the "combo" update. That's a combination (thus the clever name) of all the updates to Leopard since it was first released, so installing it should fix anything that's gone wrong since then, such as with one of the normal "point" updates. Info and download available at: http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_8_ComboUpdate Be sure to do a +Repair Permissions+ via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) afterwards.

  • MAC OS 10.7 Trying to Delete from TRASH Time Machine FOLDER (file)

    Trying to delete time machine Folder(files) from TRASH. even used secure option, goes through ok. but will not delete from TRASH. files delete from
    Time Machine Drive ok, deletion gives you more space on TM DRIVE Time Machine runs ok, How to Delete the Folder (Files) From TRASH?

    Hello Mtaff,
    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
    For more information, take a look at:
    You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1526
    press Shift-Option or Option key combination while emptying the Trash
    Have a nice day,
    Mario

  • I just received my new Mac Mini and want to migrate files from my Time Machine. I assume the old OS is on Time machine and I don't want it to supersede the new Yosemite OS. Do I have to Do anything special?

    I just received my new Mac Mini and want to migrate files from my Time Machine. I assume the old OS is on Time machine and I don't want it to supersede the new Yosemite OS. Do I have to Do anything special?

    Using Migrations Assistant will only move the data and other things over, it will not bring over a previous version of the Os since the 2014 model can run anything earlier than Yosemite.

  • OS is Mountain Lion, upgraded no problems, used an external Hard drive for my time machine, now my iPhoto will not show any of my photo's or ay new ones I import! Help please!!

    OS is Mountain Lion, upgraded no problems, used an external Hard drive for my time machine, now my iPhoto will not show any of my photo's or ay new ones I import! Help please!!

    Do you get this window when you hold down the Command+Option keys and launch iPhoto?
    If not then you're not holding down both keys long enough.
    OT

  • I accidentally deleted my media files from iTunes and Trash when I was trying to move the files to an external hard drive. Is there a way to restore the media files from a Time Machine backup or from iTunes Match? What are the steps to do this?

    I accidentally deleted my media files from iTunes and Trash when I was trying to move the files to an external hard drive. Is there a way to restore the media files from a Time Machine backup or from iTunes Match? What are the steps to do this?

    If you have been backing up on Timemachine.
    All you need to do is enter time machine... Then the rest is obvious.
    Find the iTunes folder and hit 'Restor'.
    If not the only way to get all your iTunes music back is to enter iTunes Store.
    On the right hand side you should see 'Purchased'.
    Click 'purchased' and there you have it.

  • Backing up to a thumb drive - time machine doesn't delete older backups when it's full. I will have to erase and re-do the drive. Why?

    Backing up to a thumb drive - time machine doesn't delete older backups when it's full. I will have to erase and re-do the drive. Why?

    You are both right.
    Time Machine can backup FROM:
    It cannot back up a USB thumb drive.
    Time  Machine can backup TO:
    •A USB thumb drive (but most aren't large enough, and are very, very slow)

  • HT3275 Why I'm losing space on my internal HD, after i started to use the Time Machine, and after deleting all my files i still dont have any space on my internal HD!

    Why I'm losing space on my internal HD, after i started to use the Time Machine, and after deleting all my files i still dont have any space on my internal HD?

    Why I'm losing space on my internal HD, after i started to use the Time Machine, and after deleting all my files i still dont have any space on my internal HD?

  • Using external HDD for Time Machine and files in one single partition ?

    Hello everybody.
    I've been searching for some time now and have encountered some contradictory answers, so I turn to you.
    I would like to know if it's possible (one) and safe (two) to use a single partition for both Time Machine and file storage. I've read that this should be ok, since TM is actually only a single folder, which means the rest can easily be used as a standard Finder drive. Some people say however that this is not good to do so, because TM will run out of space quicker. But if the -let's say- 30Gb used for files where used by TM after a month, that would be the same, wouldn't it ? It would simply erase older backups. But is it safe to do so ? Will Time Machine not makes errors when accessing files or doing an entire system backup ? I don't won't to make a new partition really, that's why I'm asking you here, to let me know some arguments about it.
    Thank you very much for your answers.

    Marekova wrote:
    Yet, overlooking that, you say "safe: mostly", why is that ? where's the "danger" or, what where you thinking when you said that ? Aren't these simple folder's ? Do you mean that, because during a full backup, these "stranger" files could be a problem ? It would be great if that was clarified, since I've found no indication about it elsewhere, has anyone tryed it ?
    Oh, yes folks have tried it. That's why I (and many others) recommended against it.
    Here's a similar thread from just the other day: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1926893 Note the responses from the top 2 "gurus" on this forum.
    I probably should have asked you what you mean by "safe." If you mean, will TM delete other files on it's partition, no, it won't. If you mean, can there be problems, then yes, there can be conflicts and difficulties, as mentioned.
    As to whether TM backups are simple folders, no, they aren't. They look like normal files and folders, but they actually contain what are variously called "hard links," "multi-links," and (my own personal favorite term) "ghost clones." Think of them as very fancy aliases. So they're not to be fooled with directly, by us mere mortals.
    If you want more on this: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2007/10/mac-os-x-10-5.ars/14
    and/or: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/10/12/roadto_mac_os_x_leopard_timemachine.html
    and, if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#tutorial=leopardtimemachine
    You should also know that, for some reason, TM stores it's backups differently when it does them wirelessly. In that case, they're in a "SparseBundle," very different from the structure used for directly-attached backups.
    All the more reason to put each Mac's backups in a separate partition, and if you want to store other data there also, a 3rd partition for that.
    I've been using Mac since many years now, but I have no idea about backups, so excuse me if the statements appear a little childish.
    Nope. Even those of us who are "older than dirt" and have used many flavors and varieties of backup systems for decades are in a whole new world with Time Machine.
    And most of the folks on this forum who found themselves in deep trouble got there because they assumed things or didn't ask.

Maybe you are looking for