Setting up a File Back up system. Is time machine the right option?

Hi
I own a mac pro. I currently have a 2TB drive that uses time machine. If my computer was to break down then how can i take advantage of time machine. Can i simply plug the time machine drive into a different machine and get the files i need?
Or maybe it would be better to simply set up two drives that contain carbon copies of each other. I'm currently looking on the app store for the best option for this unless anyone has a recomendation.
I run my business from my home so it's very important that I keep safe back ups.
Thanks
Jason

How to clone your system:
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone-backup.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone.html
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
http://www.macperformanceguide.com/blog/2012/20120711_2-MacPro-internal-clone-ba ckup.html
Then why aren't you using bootable backups?
In a pinch you can use your OS X DVD to use Restore in Disk Utility, but really having a business and not having multiple system drives - and updating those backups before you applied say 10.6.8, should be "must."
System drive
Data drive (don't keep the data also on the system drive please)
Backup drive (can hold a small boot partition also, for emergency)
Clone of your system drive; another partition with data.
TimeMachine is fine as a 2nd backup, it has improved.
Mirrors are not backups and done right CCC whether daily for data, as needed or weekly for system, but have redundant multiple backup sets/strategies.

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My HD has been replaced and when backing up from my time machine the transferred got interrupted

My HD has been replaced and when backing up from my time machine the transferred got interrupted. When Mac book booted only half the data. So I erased the hard drive to start again although I now can't restore from my time machine as its saying not enough space on HD to restore. Please help coz I'm freaking out!

I seriously doubt that you can do that. I've never heard of anyone doing something like this. I also strongly suspect that that windows software didn't preserve all the resource fork, ownership and hard links correctly.
You are left with manual migration of your data back to your computer. this isn't as hard as you make it sound. You just need to copy you own stuff back. also use the following [post|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6185507] to migrate important parts of you user library, Mail, iphoto etc. You will have to reinstall your applications by hand.

Is there a comparable automatic back-up system to Time Machine for 10.4.11?

My dad has 10.4.11 running on a G4 tower.
I want to get him a back-up system that will save all his work.   I myself have an Intel Mac running 10.6.8, with Time Machine saving all of my work to an external HD.
I know you can't use Time Machine with 10.4.11   Is there a comparable back-up system to TM that does automatic back-ups for 10.4.11?
(One other note--he still maintains Classic OS 9 on his system as well as 10.4.11.   Will the back-up device also back up whatever he has on OS 9 as well as 10.4.11? And does it also back up the actual system software--the OSs 10.4.11 and 9--as well as all the files? So if he needed the backups, he would not need the system discs?)
Thanks for your help!

I'm sure Tr-Backup 5.1.7 will do everything you want, & far more that TM...
http://www.tri-edre.com/download/download/downloadtbu.html
From the PDF...
Basics ............................................................................... ....................................8
Two types of action: Immediate and Programmed ...........................................................8
What can be backed up or synchronized? ......................................................................8
Bootable copy of your startup disk ............................................................................... ..8
Backing up ............................................................................... ..................................8
Backup placement ............................................................................... ........................9
Restoring ............................................................................... .....................................9
Synchronizing ............................................................................... ...............................9
Multiple configurations ............................................................................... ................10
Backup Strategies ............................................................................... .................11
The copy of your hard disk ............................................................................... ...........11
What kind of backup to use? ............................................................................... .......11
Background execution ............................................................................... .................12
Create configurations for every backup .........................................................................12
Backup of several computers over the network .............................................................12
Back up your backup! ............................................................................... .................12
The Different Modes of Backup .............................................................................13
Manual Backup from the Desktop ............................................................................... 13
Using the Synchronization features ..............................................................................1 3
Immediate Backup ............................................................................... .....................13
Programmed Copy ............................................................................... ......................13
Programmed Mirror Backup ............................................................................... .........13
Programmed Evolutive Mirror Backup ...........................................................................14
Programmed Incremental Backup ............................................................................... .14
The Different Modes of Restoration .......................................................................16
Manual Restoration from the Macintosh Desktop ..........................................................16
Using Synchronization to Restore ............................................................................... .16
Using Immediate Copy to restore........................................................................ .........16
http://www.tri-edre.com/pub/files/tribackup5_en.pdf

Restoring System from Time Machine backup - only option is older backup

I have two drives in a Mac Pro - a system drive and a data drive. Yesterday morning the system drive died. The computer hung and when I manually restarted it, I got the circle with a line icon, and then on a subsequent restart, after resetting the PRAM, I got the ? folder icon.
I restarted with the install disk in, and booted into Disk Utility. I attempted to repair the system drive, but it was reported to be corrupted and not repairable.
I installed a new drive, booted back into Disk Utility, formatted the new drive, and initiated a "restore from Time Machine".
My problem is, once the list of "complete" Time Machine backups came up, the most recent one listed was for October of this year, almost 3 months ago. In that time, Time Machine has been on and running without issue. I know there were Time Machine updates made for this computer the morning of my crash, and the day before, etc. But in terms for restoring my system, my most recent restore point is late October.
I went ahead and restored to that most recent Time Machine "complete" backup, and several hours later my system is back up and running, but as it was three months ago, not yesterday morning.
Why, if Time Machine has been performing hourly backups without fail, was I unable to restore to something more recent? If I connect to Time Machine (on a Time Capsule) from the computer in question (after the restore) and browse the backups on it, the most recent folder I see is 2011-01-14-190729 - still not as recent as I would hope (maybe the drive going bad was causing errors with very recent backups) but much more recent than October.
I would really like to be able to get my system back to a much more recent snapshot than it's at now. (I have disabled Time Machine backups on it in the meantime so as not to overwrite the backups I currently have)
Any suggestions?

Will Henderson wrote:
I would really like to be able to get my system back to a much more recent snapshot than it's at now
See #14 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).
On the list of backups (point g there), click the "pop-up" menu; there may be two entries there. If so select the other one -- it may have the backups you want.

Questions about "Restore System From Time Machine"

Looking to fix an apparent system corruption problem on my work machine, I discovered the "Utilities > Restore System From Time Machine" option of the Leopard installation disc. I have some questions that are not answered in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1177:
1. Does this option erase the hard drive and install a fresh system from DVD, or do I need to do that in a separate step?
2. What about software updates - when are they applied?
3. Will third-party system extensions be reinstalled OK?
4. I tried launching the process on my home machine, just to see how it works. At work I have a dedicated disk for Time Machine, but at home I have a Time Capsule, serving two Macs via Ethernet. I've also configured the TC to give us a shared volume; so in normal operation I have two network volumes, <Username>, containing Time Machine's sparsebundle file for that user's Mac, and "Shared". When I boot from the installation DVD and run "Utilities > Restore System From Time Machine", the backup volume list only shows the "Shared" volume. If I select it, I'm prompted for my TC username and password; I enter it, TC spins up, and then nothing. I cannot continue the restoration process, and reselecting the "Shared" volume does nothing. ???
Thanks in advance for your help.
-- Phil

For the record, here's what I've found out so far:
1. The "Restore System From Time Machine" option seems to want to restore everything, including the system, from the Time Machine backup. I wanted a clean system install, so I did an "Erase & install" followed by a "Restore from Time Machine" in the Migration Assistant. That got me most, but not all, of my settings back; exceptions include the printer configurations, the desktop picture, and the Dock settings.
2. Software updates can be applied after the new system is rebooted.
3. Most 3rd party extensions seem to have been restored OK, but some (like MacFuse) were not.
4. I'd still be grateful for any hints concerning how to get "Restore from Time Machine" to work with a Time Capsule.
-- Phil

Move System Preferences Help file back into System Preferences folder?

How do I move System Preferences Help file back into System Preferences folder. I unintentionally moved it. My Mac blocks putting it back. Suggestions? Thanks!

Somehow I managed to delete my System Preferences shortly after upgrading, and was able to use the 10.4 one for a while until I applied the patch. Luckily, I already had Pacifist, and with your directions I was able to get close enough so that I could find the Applications folder within the ContentsofEssentialsSystemSoftwareGroup > ContentsofEssentials.pkg > Applications > SystemPreferences.app.
For that, I owe you the deepest gratitude and a gigantic THANK YOU. My System Preferences is now fully reinstalled and working wonderfully.
Pacifist might actually be worth purchasing.

Had hard drive renewed due to product recall (iMac) backed up complete system on time machine . Had the drive done got mac back tried to reinstall from time machine .The new drive tells me that the space has been taken up but can't find where the file hav

Had hard drive renewed due to product recall (iMac) backed up complete system on time machine . Had the drive done got mac back tried to reinstall from time machine .The new drive tells me that the space has been taken up but can't find where the file have gone. Need to free up the space that the ghost file take up so I can drag drop from ex drive onto harddrive

Here's the scoop, new friend.....
When you boot into Time Machine you'll get the same OS X Utilities screen as you would if you booted into the Recovery HD. So, from there go into Disk Utilities to erase/format your internal drive. After that's done, back out to the OS X Utilities screen and select the restore option. Just follow the prompts to select the TM back up date you want to restore from and where to restore it to. Pretty straight forward.

After Full System Restore, Time Machine Won't Complete Back Up

I successfully did a full system restore using Time Machine. The Restore worked but Time Machine has not worked since I completed the Restore.
It says "Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume.." Please help. I don't know what to do. The TM Widget Activity Log is posted below:
Starting standard backup
BStarting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
No pre-backup thinning needed: 529.6 MB requested (including padding), 30.58 GB available
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to (null)
Copied 5546 files (34.6 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 526.8 MB requested (including padding), 30.54 GB available
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Akili Nickson’s iMac/2011-03-17-080109.inProgress/25E02D47-EB07-4E59-B2D8-0A9CF26A0042/Macintos h HD/private/var/CheckUpAgent
Stopping backup.
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Akili Nickson’s iMac/2011-03-17-080109.inProgress/25E02D47-EB07-4E59-B2D8-0A9CF26A0042/Macintos h HD/private/var/CheckUpAgent
Copied 57 files (23.1 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11

Akili wrote:
Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history
There seems to be a problem with that file. See the blue box in #C3 of [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
Note that the /private folder is normally hidden, so you'll need to click the +Show inisible items+ box.

My external hard drive is 'seen' by my iMac and I can go into the Finder and open files and folders. I am using the hard drive for Time Machine back up. However Time Machine says it can't find the drive. Same thing has happened with Final Cut Express.

My new LaCie external hard drive is 'seen' by my iMac and I can go into the Finder and open files and folders. I am using the hard drive for Time Machine back up. However Time Machine says it can't find the drive.
The same thing happened recently between Final Cut Express and my other LaCie external hard drive used as the Scratch disk. It fixed itself.
I've run out of ideas. Help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

have you done some searches on FCPx and time machine? Is there a known issue with using a TM drive with FCPx? dunno but ...wait...I'll take 60 sec for you cause I'm just that kind of guy.... google...." fcpx time machine problem" Frist page link
http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/fcpx-bug-best-practices-for-using-external-hard- drives-and-final-cut-pro-x/
You cannot have time machine backups on your hard drive if you intend to use it in FCPX.
booya!

How do I know if time machine is backing up my apple mail? I need to have copies of all of my emails, so there I have a lot of mail files. I was told that if I change computers, that the mail files will all be on time machine. Is this true? Thanks, Dave

Is there a way to verify if time machine is backing up my apple mail? I was told that if I change computers, that the mail files will all be on time machine and can be easily be put on a new computer using my time machine backups. Is this true? Thanks, Dave

Having deleted some Mail messages by mistake, I have had to recover them from TM. I can tell you that the recovery of mail messages will be done at the mailbox level. In my case it was half of the messages in a mailbox. So I recovered the complete mailbox from TM. Then I copied the messages from the recovered mailbox back into the mailbox I use in Mail. I hope that helps.
Please be aware that TM is a backup application and not an archival application. What that means is that if your TM drive gets full, it will get rid of older files which could be mail messages to make space for newer backups. You might want to consider archiving your mail instead of using TM if you need to maintain your mail messages for extended periods of time.
Allan

HT4527 My old mac book was backed up to a Time Machine drive. That Macbook is dead. I have a new Mac Mini. How do I get the iTunes library (not just the music files but all other data...playlists, ratings, etc) on the new Mac from my Time Machine?

My old Mac died. I had it backed up to a Time Machine external drive (fortunately). I have a new Mac. I want to get my entire iTunes library from the Time Machine drive to the new Mac. I want not only the music files but all the "library" metadata, playlists, song rankings, unique genre designations. How do I do this?

No backup is a huge mistake.
You can redownload some itunes purchases in some countries:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store ... - Apple - Support

When I tried to back up my computer, Time Machine says 'an error occurred while creating the backup folder.' When I check the side of the partition where I manually saved old files, the folders are there, but NONE of the files are.

I haven't backed up my computer in over a year. When I tried to back it up today, Time Machine says 'an error occurred while creating the backup folder.' When I check the side of the partition where I manually saved old photos and documents (including all the pictures from the year I studied abroad/traveled a bunch), the folders are there, but NONE of the files are.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be, or how I could fix it? I really don't want to lose all those photos

So you were doing a time machine backup to another partition on the same hard drive? Just trying to gather some information so i can provide a helpful response.

Even via time machine the new osx lion has deleted all my latest files in iPhoto and will only revert back to an old 2009 backup?

even via time machine the new osx lion has deleted all my latest files in iPhoto and will only revert back to an old 2009 backup?... Help?!

Have you verified that the original files are missing from the Originals/Masters folder? There are time when the library might appear empty due to a damaged database file but still has the files. If you can open the library package via the Finder to see if the files are really missing or just can't be seen by iPhoto there are fixes you can try.
If the files are there make a temporary, backup copy of the library and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Keep getting this message when trying to back up iMac to time Machine: Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume.

Keep getting this message when trying to back up iMac to time Machine: Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume. tried everything.

Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with TM problems. Also you can select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for "time machine" to locate articles on how to use TM. See also Mac 101- Time Machine.
Time Machine- Troubleshooting backup issues

Set up and migration assistant can't see time machine back ups

Hi. Trying to cut this short.
I Tried installing osx 10.8. Halfway through the installation it told me I didn't have enough free space. Helpful.
i tried to restore from time machine, the back ups were viewable, but it said i couldn't as the disk was in use or couldn't be un mounted.
Ive now deleted the hard drive and reinstalled 10.7.5.
Set up couldn't restore from time machine back ups as it couldn't find them.
Ive started osx and tried to use migration assistant. It can't see the time machine back ups.
However, if I open the time machine app it can see the back ups.
I've rebooted in recovery and

Seems my text has vanished. This site is terrible on my iphone. Would expect better.
I've rebooted in recovery and tried to restore from time machine but again it won't find the back ups.

Setting up a File Back up system. Is time machine the right option?

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