Really confused with Time Machine.

Time Machine was worinking fine and probably still is but I am having difficulty understanding why it's doing what it's doing at the mo.
I have an 500 gig external drive set up for backups but it is saying it is full yet my built in 500 gig drive still has 150 gig spare. There are a couple of Final Cut files in there also but they do not total 1 gig as yet. Also now when I enter Time Machine I only have 2 backups available. What is the point if all it backs up is 2 days worth?
Please someone clever help!
CHEERS!

First some of the simple questions. Did you change your machine in anyway that would have reset Time Machine (replaced logic board, spoofed MAC address, etc)? If not, then try looking on the Time Machine volume. How many backups do you see on the volume? Are there multiple parent folders?
If you see only one parent folder and it contains only two sessions, it might be worth it to simply reformat the volume and start over. As you said, two backups is not enough.
Also if you are doing FinalCut, you will likely want to alter the interval in which Time Machine backs up. Apple's 1 hour interval is too aggressive for workflows with large data files. You simply fill up your drive too fast with files you do not want.
Take a high-res Photoshop file as an example. You may have a 500 MB file that needs retouching. You start the day at 9 and work on the file all day, saving multiple times. That means, in the default behavior, Time Machine will write that file a minimum of 8 times in a 8 hour work day. Once each hour. By the end of the day, that one file is consuming 4 GB of space on your backup drive and you will likely never want versions 2 through 7. Now, multiply that over a collection of high-res files for a project. It is easy to see how TM can chew through disk space very fast.
Change the duration from 1 hour (3600) to something like 4 hours (14400). This can be done using a bunch of third party helper apps or from Terminal using:
sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 14400
sudo chmod 644 /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto.plist
You need to be an admin of your machine. You will be prompted for your password. Then watch the interval after each OS update as Apple has been known to reset the file to defaults.
Hope this helps

Similar Messages

On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture. How can I access the Aperture Library on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup? I can only access the application but not the library..

On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture. How can I access the Aperture Library on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup? I can only access the application but not the library..

Go into Time Machine (the program not the bundle on the extrnal disk) and using Time Machine's browser go to the Folder where the library lives. You could look in the library bundle in Time Machine but that won't really tell you much,
If you want to make sure it truely has backed up your library you will need to restore it and open the restored library with Aperture.
If all this still has you confused you need to read up on Time Machine in order to get a feel for how it works, for what it is doing and for how to restore files from it.

Advice - External HD for use with Time Machine?

Hi,
Just wanted to know what's best for me to buy. Looking into what's available has only made me more confused...
I want a HD that:
- Works well with Time Machine and my Macbook
- Will copy everything from my computer rather than drag-and-drop or manual file choice (although that's more the program I use than the HD itself, right; Time Machine does that as far as I know?)
- Enough space for all of my video files from my video camera (there's quite a lot of them)
I want to start deleting some video files from my computer and my video camera but I don't want to lose them, so that's the major use really. As long as they'll all fit and if I want one back on my computer again it'll be easy enough to find it and put it back on...
Any ideas? Keep in mind that I live in Perth, Western Australia...
(And I apologise for the ignorance/lack of proper techy terms!)

Hi Eleanor,
I'm from Sydney so it's great to see another Aussie on here! Welcome to the forum.
Just a couple of points that I would keep in mind in addition to the correct advice already given:
Apple recommends having a dedicated drive for Time Machine, so ideally you wouldn't use it for anything else. Also, as a guideline, they recommend having a Time Machine drive at least twice as large as the primary drive in your computer so that enough space is always available. The more space, the further back your backups will go before needing to be written over.
You can put other stuff on the drive but ideally it's better (if your budget allows) to get a second external drive for video camera files and the like. Those video files also grow pretty big as you've probably noticed, so they will need room to move as well. External drives are cheaper than ever, so two drives is the best bet.
One final recommendation/option is to go for a Time Capsule as your Time Machine drive. The benefit here is that it works wirelessly so you won't have to plug it into your USB/firewire port at all. It just backs up without any action from you whatsoever, which is what makes it ideal. If you don't yet have a WiFi network, here's your chance to dive in. If you do, it's a natural fit for your network.
So my ultimate recommendation is: 1) Time Capsule 2) USB/firewire drive.
I hope that helps!
Message was edited by: Michael271

New to Mac, Help with Time Machine! Partition External HDD or not?

Hey Guys I'm a new mac user
I need help with time machine
I wanted to know how time machine works and what all does it back up?
I have 2 hard drives one is of 1TB and one is of 320gb
In the 1TB hard drive i store all my music videos and work stuff it is windows formatted
The 320gb hard drive is mac formatted and I was thinking of making a partition on it one with 250gb for time machine and the remaining 70 gb for mac softwares and files. The ssd of my mac has a capacity of 256gb. I have read for time machine you need at least 2x the space of your ssd on your external hard drive but i don't understand if my ssd is only 256 and can store files worth 256gb why do i need double the space? Secondly if I choose to use the complete 320 gb for time machine will that be okay or even if i choose to partition it to 250gb for time machine will that be fine too? Or will I need to format my 1TB hard disk out of which currently only 300 gb is empty and partition that to 500 gb for time machine?
I'm really confused every tells me to use time machine but do I need it? And what does it exactly do?
Your input will be really appreciate thanks

The reason that you want a partition (or drive) of 2-3 times the size of your boot drive for Time Machine is so that you can keep backups further back than just the current boot drive state - for that you'd need to make a clone of the drive rather than using Time Machine (see -> http://pondini.org/TM/Clones.html).
For more information for backups in general, see -> Most commonly used backup methods.
Note that you can't use Time Machine to backup a Windows partition.
Good luck,
Clinton
MacBook Pro (15” Late 2011), OS X 10.??, 16GB Crucial RAM, 960GB M500 Crucial SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

Is it possible to configure Time Capsule to work with Time Machine (MBP) and Genie Timeline (PC)

I have an Apple Time Capsule (2TB) and I need to configure it to work with my MBP and Time Machine and also back up my a PC with Genie Timeline Pro 2013 (or any other suggested PC back up software).
Setting it up to work with Time Machine is simple enough but the PC access is proving to be difficult.
http://www.genie9.com/support/KB/KnowledgeArticle.aspx?KBID=198
I followed the above steps but still can't connect to the network drive. I have reformatted the TC and will be walking through the steps again. My concern is that the two different operating systems (Win8 and Mavericks) can't share the same destination drive.
I have created two user accounts with drive sharing activated. One in my name for my MBP and the other in the name of my partner for her Dell laptop.
Should the Time Capsule be partitioned? Can it even be partitioned? When I use Drive Utility it can't see the TC. The only way to connect to it seems to be via Airport Utility.
On a seperate note the TC Router Mode is set to OFF (Bridge Mode). I have connected it to the ADSL modem/router (WiFi Off) via the WAN port. All seems to be well. Am I loosing any useful functionality by doing this?
The internet settings are set Connect Using DHCP. I have no issues but I am not really sure what it means and if I should be using other settings. The ADSL modem/router seems to have all the PPP0E settings.
The WiFi on the TC has been set up with a 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz network as well as a Guest Network. I then plan to introduce 2 Airport Express (MB321LL/A). One will be an access point for AirPlay and the other a wireless extender with AirPlay.
There is also a Canon WiFi printer that accesses the 2.4Ghz network. It has an Ethanet port so I am wondering if I should disable the wifi connection and cable it and if so to the TC or the DSL modem/router.

Lion, 7.6.1 firmware and iCloud offers remote access.
http://www.apple.com/au/support/icloud/back-to-my-mac/
To do it without the iCloud service your issue is static public IP address.. if you have one this is simple to the point of trivial. If not it is very hard, as Apple did not put in a standard dynamic DNS service.. (ensuring you were roped into their cloud accounts). Static IP from your ISP is the best solution.. if it is possible go for it.
Then the actual protocol for access is AFP, so the only device you can do this on is a Mac.
Do you have the TC as the main router?
If you want any other kind of access, or to avoid icloud use vpn.. which teamviewer is a kind of.. but buy a real vpn router, and bridge the TC.. you can then vpn into your network with full security and get windows access via smb..

External Hard Drive with Time Machine, Will it Delete Files that aren't Backups?

Hello reader,
My concern right now that I need help with is backing up with Time Machine. I went down to an Apple Store and they formated my External Drive 1TB to work with Time Machine then I backed up my MacBook Pro and all is well. However, now I want to do this again, BUT now I have added files onto the external drive that are newer but I didn't want to do a complete backup for. Like new pictures or iMovie events. So instead of redoing a complete backup after adding like 3 big files and nothing else, I just tossed them on the Extrernal Drive no problem. Now I feel like it's been a while and I should do a full backup for all the littler files I have now. But there is now 1 "Backup" File on the external drive that "Can't be modified" or I would have just dragged the 3 quick large files into the backup that I made and been happy. But I couldn't do that so I put it in some blank space on the external drive.
But my question for you, reader, is if I backup again, will the files that ARE NOT in the backup folder that was created from an ACTUAL backup from Time Machine be deleted?
Backup Files from First Backup These 2 are things I added that I didn't feel I had to waste another 100GB on unchanged things with another complete backup.

TimeMachine is designed to perform one full backup when it is first connected to your computer and from then on back up only the files you add or edit. Opening the TimeMachine drive's backup folder from the Finder is basically a no-no. Access TimeMachine via the TimeMachine application.
Assuming you frequently plug the TimeMachine drive in and let it backup and assuming the newer files are on the computer - they are being backed up and TimeMachine will be able to restore the entire drive if/when it is needed.
Just keep these things in mind. TimeMachine runs every hour (when it is connected to your computer - so be sure to connect it at least once a day and let it do a backup) and backs up new and edited files. It is guaranteed to keep any file that is currently on your computer. If you delete a file from your computer TimeMachine may delete it if extra space is needed. The drive you use for TimeMachine really shouldn't be used for any other purpose.

HT201250 Can I back up with time machine AND store additional files on the same external drive?

I just bought an external drive to move and archive some files off my iMac to free up some space. I'm being asked if I want to use the drive to back up files with Time Machine. Can I use this drive to do both? (Back up with TM AND store other files?
Your input is appreciated.

Technically you can but it is not a very good idea at all. The reason it is a flawed idea is if the HD fails (not really if but when) you will have defeated the whole idea of backup. A failure means you will lose the data files you stored on it and it's backup! A good backup plan has at least 2 forms of backup because backups can fail too. I would strongly recommend getting at least one additional external HD and use it for storing the data files you wanted off the internal HD and use the second for a Time Machine backup drive.
Personally I have 3 external HD's attached to my computer. Disk 1 is my Time Machine backup, Disk 2 is a Bootable Clone of my internal HD and Disk 3 stores my music, photography and movie libraries.
Please read these articles, they will discuss different backup strategies and I think you will see that each suggest redundant backups.
Backup Plan I
Backup Plan II
Backup Plan III

Perfect Hard Drive To Use With Time Machine?

Hi,
Has anyone found out what's the perfect External Hard Drive to use with Time Machine?
I have experience with a few of WD's My Book models (Essential, Pro and Studio). The problem with all of them is that they automatically keep switching themselves off (spin down) and on (spin up) throughout the day, in an effort to save power. But it's actually quite annoying. The My Book drive will automatically turn itself off, and then turn back on again within the space of one minute. Also, going to use Spotlight (even if you've excluded Time Machine Backups from being indexed) will automatically prompt the My Book drive to turn back on, which introduces a small delay to using Spotlight.
Does anyone make an External Hard Drive, with a Firewire 400 or 800 connection, that stays on ALL the time and doesn't automatically make decisions about when it should spin down or spin up?

I'am using a 500Gb Freecom Pro Hard Drive connected on USB via my Cinema Display. I so forget about it that I often forget to disconnect it from my laptop before leaving the office... Never complained about it
Btw, it does not implements the energy saver Auto turn off/on feature which I don't need cause the time it could mostly be really useful is by night. As it stops when I disconnect the USB and start again when I connect it back.. this is perfect to me.
I must say I'm quite happy with every Freecom product I bought and this one certainly don't break the rule

External hard drive to use with Time Machine? Thoughts? Mac newbie.

Hello. Switched to an imac and have loved the experience. Was just about to buy an external hard drive when apple announced the time capsule. I've been holding off thinking I would purchase one but now I'm re-thinking it.
Between music, videos and pictures, I currently have about 400gb of stuff (and it will grow). My main concern is backing up (archiving) a copy of these files. Backing up other system files is a second concern after that.
I'm thinking of buying a 1TB external hard drive, firewire capable, partitioning part of it to be an archive drive, and the other part to use with time machine. Skip the time capsule.
Will that work? Other recommendations?
If so, any recommendations on a quiet, reasonably sized (i.e. doesn't take up the entire corner of the desk), 1tb external hard drive?
Thanks.

Clayton, if you're only backing up one Mac, then you can purchase any good, reputable 750 GB or 1 TB external drive.
Considerations:
1) Reliability is key here. You want a drive that works. Various people have complained about Western Digital (me included), so take that into consideration.
2) Quiet is important. You have a quiet computer -- why louse up the working environment with a noisy drive?
3) FW (Firewire) 800 is faster than FW400, which is faster than USB. But once you get the initial backup done, it really doesn't matter how fast the drive is, because it works in the background and doesn't hamper your work. And if you DO need to restore your entire computer via Time Machine (I've done it), speed is less important than reliability. Even if it takes 3 hours, you'll be grateful. So while some may counsel you to get a 'fast' drive, reliability is more important.
4) On FW versus USB, you'll hear many claims. Again the key is reliability versus speed. A good USB drive is fine for what you are doing; FW is faster. Some folks have had problems with one or the other, so hear what they have to say.
5) Every drive dies. That's true for any electromechanical device. Don't think you've solved your backup problems by plugging in a drive and walking away. Your most critical files need a second backup, be it to a DVD, CD, thumb drive, network drive -- something. The more critical it is, the more backups you need. If you're writing your Ph.D. thesis, by definition you can't have too many backups
6) Convenience matters. You can 'roll your own' drive if you have experience -- buy a case, buy a drive, assemble, etc. But it's many times easier, particularly for a Time Machine backup drive, to just buy a reliable (there's that word again) external HD off the shelf.
7) Finally, follow directions. Apple tells you how to set up a TM drive. Do it their way. That means, format the brand new drive and make it a 'GUID' partition. Use the Apple Disk Utility. Follow directions.
Good luck,
Steve

Back-up fcpx with time machine on external disk?

Hey there,
I just started with editing in FCPX on a Mac Book Pro, and I'm trying to make a back-up on an external hard disk with Time Machine and I work from my internal hard disk. So every time I'm done editing in FCPX I let Time Machine make a back-up on my external hard disk.
So that seemed a good idea, but when I'm trying to open a project from my Time Machine-back-up, FCPX gives the error: 'The document “CurrentVersion.fcpproject” could not be opened."
Is any one familiar with this problem? I just want to be sure that this way of backing-up my projects is doable. It would be a great help!
Grtz,
Chloe

Opps! The program is Event Manager X. Sorry for the mistake. Google it to get to web site.
When you use "Duplicate Project" from within FCP X it will create an exact copy of your project. Options are included for events used in the project. I select the option to also copy all events actually used in the project. You have to select the hard drive where you want the duplicates stored. I put the duplicate on my backup hard drive. Now I have both the original project and the duplicate project showing in the Project Library. I also have a new event showing in the Event Library called "Clips for .... Project".
Now I want to "hide" my backup (duplicated) projects and events from FCP X so neither of us gets confused and inadvertently messes up the backup project. That's when I use Event Manager X. It will show you a list of all your projects and events on all your hard drives. You simply uncheck the project and events you want to hide. When FCP X opens back up those projects and events will not show up in your libraries.
To restore a backup project you simply repeat the process except check the projects and events you want to return to active status.
This, in my opinion, is a not only a good backup procedure, it's also an easy way to reduce clutter and mess in your workspace by "hiding" projects and events that you aren't using. There's also some evidence that having large numbers of projects and events showing in your library adversely affects FCP X performance.
You can schedule Time Machine to backup at certain time intervals; however, I'm thinking that it's pretty much backing up stuff as you work, so you need to turn it off manually. Not sure about this. Anyone else know how Machine Works?
Good luck,

Working in adobe illustrator - computer crashed - will not soft boot or reset PRAM - should i reinstall from CD snow leopard 10.6.3? I have an extra hard drive in my MAC with time machine on it set to do auto back ups. How do i recover ?

working in adobe illustrator - computer crashed - will not soft boot or reset PRAM - should i reinstall from CD snow leopard 10.6.3? I have an extra hard drive in my MAC with time machine on it set to do auto back ups. How do i recover ?

Well first you have to figure out what is wrong with the machine and solve that problem first.
Your post is very vague on what occured, and there are many types of "crashes" it really depends upon what see on the screen and what the hardware does, we can't see it to tell you, so you have to tell us.
I suggest you run through these user tips and provide more information about your hardware.
Disconnect the TimeMachine drive for now
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Help us to help you on these forums
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
If this is going way over your head, there are local PC/Mac techs that will assist you for a fee, Apple only does hardware repairs and is advised to use them if you discover it is, especially if under warranty/AppleCare.
Hard drive and RAM upgrades can be handled yourself or by a outside tech in many older models of Mac, but don't expect Apple to cover the new parts.
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's

I just fix my macbook air because it was kernel panic. They changed the hard drive. I could not back up with Time Machine, because it did not work and I had over Adobe creative suite 5 design premium student. But I finished my studies last year and I'd li

I just fix my macbook air because it was kernel panic. They changed the hard drive. I could not back up with Time Machine, because it did not work and I had over Adobe creative suite 5 design premium student. But I finished my studies last year and I'd like to know how to get the serial number for me to reinstall Adobe creative suite 5 design premium when I am no longer study because I would still like the used? It is not fair if I do anymore because I really need.

You can download Creative Suite 5 here:
Other downloads
To deal with the issue of the serial number and using it again, you'll have to use Web Chat. Here's a link:
Adobe ID, sign in, and account help
See the bottom of the page for a link

Using network drive with time machine. IS IT POSSIBLE?

There are lots of discussion on using network drives with time machine. I have not been able to make them work. Could somebody tell me if this is possible

Time Machine does not back up to network drives, except Time Capsules or USB drives connected to an Airport Extreme, or a drive on a Mac running Leopard.
Here's the official word: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1733
You may find some "hacks" that might make it work, in some cases, to a degree. But use them at your own risk.
First, since this is *unsupported by Apple,* there's nowhere to go when there's trouble.
Second, you're risking a future update preventing it from working, and perhaps rendering your backups useless.
If you still think this is a good idea, do yourself a favor before you bet your backups on it: be sure it really works, at least for now:
1. Get a copy of CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! or the like, and make a full bootable clone of your internal HD, on an external disk. Test it by booting from it. Then reboot from your internal HD.
2. Let TM do it's first, full, initial backup.
3. Attempt a full system restore (like you'll need when, not if, your internal HD fails), via the instructions in item 14 of the of the Frequently Asked Questions post at the top of this forum.
Again, even if it works today, tomorrow is another day . . .

-6584 error with time machine

I just re-installed OSX Lion from scratch. As instructed by a person from the Genius bar, I made sure to back everything up with time machine before doing this. I didn't automatically rebuild from time machine as I was having problems with the computer that I didn't want to import. There are things in time machine that I need, however, and I do want to import them from time machine.
When I try to "enter" time machine I get a -6584 error. I have searched Mac support for this error code and get no results. The sparse bundle is intact, as I can open it from another machine. When I try to open it from the machine I have installed Lion on, I get the message "Resource temporarily unavailable."
The Time Capsule I am accessing is a brand new Time Capsule.
Can someone help me solve this problem???
Thanks,
--Kenoli

stevenfromsa wrote:
Im having exactly the same issues.
Really? You're getting a -6584 error?
If so, try Repairing your backups, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting
Ive also had problems with the Time Machine filling up unreasonably quickly. It seems to be backing up the same files over and over again!
See #D4 in the same article.

Do not boot with time machine

Using Mac OS 10.8.5 on a MacBook.
After a full restore from Time Machine it does not boot unless it starts with Time Machine disconnected.
To be noted also tha restored files and applications were not the latest but quite old back-ups.
Majority of Time Machine history does not show-up despite it can be read using the Finder.
I had to copy most important files by copy and paste using the Finder.
Any help?

Well first you have to figure out what is wrong with the machine and solve that problem first.
Your post is very vague on what occured, and there are many types of "crashes" it really depends upon what see on the screen and what the hardware does, we can't see it to tell you, so you have to tell us.
I suggest you run through these user tips and provide more information about your hardware.
Disconnect the TimeMachine drive for now
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Help us to help you on these forums
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
If this is going way over your head, there are local PC/Mac techs that will assist you for a fee, Apple only does hardware repairs and is advised to use them if you discover it is, especially if under warranty/AppleCare.
Hard drive and RAM upgrades can be handled yourself or by a outside tech in many older models of Mac, but don't expect Apple to cover the new parts.
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's

Really confused with Time Machine.

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