"Show changes only" in Time Machine?

in the keynote video of MacWorld in Jan 2008, someone pointed out that Steve's machine has an additional button "show changes only" in TM UI. presumably this option shows you the diff between 2 hard drive snapshots.
it's not in 10.5.2. is there any secret "defaults write" to turn it on?
this could be very handy as a diagnostic tool. i.e., to detect what files a software has altered in the past hour.

I apologize for not fully searching further for similar posts. I now find this is a common enough problem that it is not something I am doing. A number of people are having this same issue. The workaround posted did work for me but it seems just that . . . not how things should normally work.
With TM being one of the crown jewels of this update, I have to wonder how something like this got through testing. Hopefully there will be an update not to far down the road
Dave

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I have a 500 gb hard drive partitioned for files and time machine but when i connect it to my mac only the time machine one shows up

well as the title says i have a 500gb hard drive with 2 partitions one with time machine and one for files it worked perefectly until yesterday only the time machine partition appeared in finder, i checked disk utility and both partitions appeared but the one for files appeared in grey and when i press mount an error comes up.

The repair shop likely replaced a major circuit board on your MacBook Pro, so Time Machine thinks that you have a "new" computer and it wants to make a new complete backup of your Mac.
You are going to have to make a decision to either add another new Time Capsule....or USB drive to your existing Time Capsule....and in effect start over with a new backup of your Mac and then move forward again.
For "most" users, I think this is probably the best plan because you preserve all your old backups in case you need them at some point, and you start over again with a new Time Capsule so you have plenty of room for years of new backups.
Or, as you have mentioned, you have the option of erasing the Time Capsule drive and starting all over again. The upside is that you start over and have plenty of room for new backups. The downside is that you lose years of backups.
Another option....trying to manually delete old backups individually....is tricky business....and very time consuming. To get an idea of what is involved here, study this FAQ by Pondini, our resident Time Capsule and Time Machine expert on the Community Support area. In particular, study the pink box.
http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/12.html
Once you look through this, I think you may agree that this type of surgery is not for the faint of heart. I would suggest that you consider this only if one of the other options just cannot work for you.

Keep old files only on Time Machine, delete off main computer

How can I delete my backed up files which are currently in the "Time Machine" off my computer? I don't need them on the computer, only in Time Machine.
To be clearer, Im worried if I delete them off the computer, Time Machine will also delete them..and I need to keep them.
If this is not possible then I will no longer use Time Machine, but instead manually back up my files.
Thanks in advance!!

mikebikeboy wrote:
How can I delete my backed up files which are currently in the "Time Machine" off my computer? I don't need them on the computer, only in Time Machine.
To be clearer, Im worried if I delete them off the computer, Time Machine will also delete them..and I need to keep them.
That's correct: if you delete a file from your HD, Time Machine will eventually delete it's copy. It is not intended for long-term, archival storage.
If you think about it, it's actually been doing that for as long as you've run TM: it only keeps it's hourly backups for 24 hours, then deletes them, except for the first of the day, which becomes a daily backup. Those are kept for a month, then deleted, except one per week, which is kept as long as there's room.
If this is not possible then I will no longer use Time Machine, but instead manually back up my files.
That's an option, of course, but you'll lose the advantages of TM.
You might separately archive those files, to CDs, DVDs, another partition on your TM drive, or a separate drive, or via MobileMe's Backup app to iDisk, or something like Mozy to their server.
You could use one of the "clone" apps, such as CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to archive them to another disk or partition automatically. They're mostly used for bootable clones (identical copies of your HD), but can also be used to backup selected folders, with an option to archive changed or deleted versions. CCC is donationware, SD has a free version, but I think to do the archives you need the paid version at about $30. There are others, as well.

HT4859 How do I back up my documents from my Macbook on iCloud? or can I only use time machine or external HD?

How do I back up my documents from my Macbook on iCloud? or can I only use time machine or external HD?
I think I have missed something in trying to read all of the pages on apple site about icloud.

Welcome to the Apple Community.
You can't back up a computer to iCloud.
You can use any back up software, you should always back up to a different drive.

I want to know about time machine if i can use the hard drive that i use for time machine back up as a normal hard drive too or if it's only for time machine

I want to know about time machine if i can use the hard drive that i use for time machine back up as a normal hard drive too or if it's only for time machine
and if it yes i want to know if i have 1TB hard disk to use the 500gb for time machine and the other 500gb for normal use

thank you very much because i am considering to buy the porsche design hard disk 1TB and i want to have it for normal use and for time machine is a pitty to give 1TB for back up only again thanks and i know seperate the back and the working jobs are better but the i have to have 2 hardisks and i want only 1

Why doesnt my external drive show up in the time machine window when im trying to set it up wirelessly

my external hardrive doesnt show up in the time machine window for disk selection . i connected it to a usb hub it shows up when i do the manual setup but it still doesnt show up in the disk window . any help am i missing something ?

The supported targets for Time Machine backups are local (direct-connected) disks, and network targets include Time Capsule, a disk hanging off the current-generation AirPort (though not earlier AirPort devices), and OS X Server systems.
The Time Machine storage is based on the HFS+ file system, so I would not expect TM to work with SMB file services.
While there are hacks to allow Time Machine to access network drives, I would not consider those to be reliable. Skim the forum and the 'net for related details, and for previous discussions of setting this up and the related issues that can arise.
Remember to test the recovery with whatever you decide to use; whole point of backups is the ability to restore the data, after all.
If you want to learn more about Time Machine, Pondini is an excellent resource.

Can´t upgrade to mountain Lion because says that my HD is only for Time Machine use

Can´t upgrade to mountain Lion because says that my HD is only for Time Machine use, what can I do?

The installer is probably finding a file called backups.backupdb
That is where Time Machine stores it backups so it figures it can't install there
The Time Machine backup should never be done to the system drive but another drive instead
Allan

How to show invisible items in Time Machine Backups?

Dear All,
How can I show invisble items on //Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb ?
I've backed //Lion/Users/User/Library , but when i checked the backed folder, i could not find it.
Any help!!!
Regards,
Abdelaal,

Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app) and paste this command
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE; killall Finder
To turn invisible files off again, use
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE; killall Finder

Graphic Glitch/Bugginess Only Using Time Machine

I'm on a PowerPC G5 Quad, with the 6600 video card.
When I use Time Machine, I get sporadic line/glitch/wierdness.
Nothing else does this.
Am I alone?

Jon, you hit the nail right on the head.
I'm on a PowerPC Mac (Dual 867mhz G4 MDD) and on a DVI 23" Apple Cinema Display HD using 1920 x 1200 resolution.
As soon as i trigger Time Machine, it shows the graphics properly for a second or two, then i lose the background, arrows and bottom RESTORE and CANCEL options. In other words, i'm in the "dark". So my only option is to exit Time Machine by hitting the ESC key.
The problem goes away when i lower the screen resolution to 1600x1200. I can then use Time Machine with no problem.
I know my video card is not the greatest....it's the stock NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 32MB of VRAM. I don't expect eye-candy miracles with a future update. I'd just like Time Machine graphics to work. I don't need the animation or anything. I just need it to be visible and functional.
Thanks for catching that. Good Eye!
Jon Green wrote:
I have it too, using a Dell 2407 monitor, whether over VGA or DVI, on a Mac Mini G4 (the original one, faster CPU option, with memory expanded to 1GB, otherwise standard).
HOWEVER, if I step down from 1920x1200 to 1600x1200, the problem goes away, so it would appear to be directly related to screen resolution.
A bit more information: the window containing the content to be "machined" is completely unaffected. All other screen elements are: the background image; the time bar to the right; the operations bar at the bottom.
So, thus far the common elements are:
* PowerPC Mac
* 1920x1200 monitor
* Time Machine only.
It looks to me like something's going wrong with blting from the portion of the RAM holding the background to the VRAM: some kind of addressing issue. The glitching is widespread and unmissable.
Sometimes there's a second's worth of clear vision; the rest of the time, the background breaks up into misaddressed rectangles of video data that are clearly related to the correct screen content on the same raster line. There are 30 rectangles across the width of the screen (not 32?), and the rectangles appear (visual impression, not measured) to be around 8x1 proportional WxH.
It makes Time Machine unusable without a change of resolution. Given that TM is the backup medium, upon which livelihoods can depend, anything that discourages users from using it could have disastrous consequences for them. Apple, please prioritise this.
If anyone from Apple needs to see the problem in action, contact me and I'll be glad to video the results for you.

Restore specific iPhoto ALBUMS (only) from time machine

hi people,
I was wondering if there is a way to restore only specific albums from time machine. i did a fresh install in my laptop recently and dont want to dump 40gb of pics back on to it, but there are just a few albums i would like to restore. i googled for a while and kept winding up at the "restore library" result, or "restore individual pics" but not just the album. i would imagine iphoto would make a specific fold for said albums, but i cant seem to find it.
please help / thanks in advance!

LarryHN wrote:
Sorry but albums can not be restored - and you can not select them in the show package contents display - albums are simply entries in the iPhoto database and have no physical presence
Additionally showing package contents and entering the iPhoto library is extremely dangerous and a tiny user error can destroy the library and cause dataloss -- it is strongly recommended to never go into the inside of the iPhoto library and there never is a reason t do so
What you are doing is restoring the originals from an event losing any modifications and any metadata editing
And you are breaking a cardinal rule by making changes to the content of the iPhoto library using something other than iPhoto which will not work - photos muct be imported into iPhoto, not saved into its database
But the biggest problem with the OP's plan is that Time Machine is NOT an archival system but a backup system and eventually it will remove the oldest files so sooner or later the OP would lose their photos that had not been restored
LN
Agreed to a large extent, but I don't have anything in the Modified folder to try.
My albums appear in originals as folders. But as you say, they are the raw imports.
As to the wisdom of the procedure; it worked, and I was slightly surprised it did from within a package, but i accept your overall premise.

How To Change password of Time Machine

Today I went in and changed the password of my time machine back up drive through Airport Utility. It stopped backing up. I tried deleting numerous passwords showing up in Keychain but didnt work so I changed it back to the old password. I looked in Apple Tech support file but nothing indicated how to change the password. Does anyone know the proper way to change my password in my time capsule? I use it as my internet router as well.

There are several passwords, and they are not necessarily identical:
Your Time Capsule
Your wireless network
Your Time Capsule's disk
It's not clear which of them you want to change, but any of them can be changed using AirPort Utility.
If Time Machine stopped backing up, open Time Machine's Preferences and turn off Time Machine. Choose "Add or Remove Backup Disks", choose the disk, then Remove Disk. Confirm with the Stop Using This Disk button. Add it again. You will be prompted for the disk's password (not the Time Capsule's). Time Machine will turn itself back on, a backup will then commence, and your existing backups will not be affected.
The iPad is a separate issue, but it has a similar fix: go to Settings > Wi-Fi, select your network then "Forget this Network". Select the network again, provide its password, and verify you can connect.

Changing Options For Time Machine

I am wondering if I can change the settings for TM so it does not back up my system every hour. I have a Mac Book Pro and I only want to back up my system when I connect my external HD. Any way of doing this? I have went thru the preferences for TM and I did not find an option to change it.

BillyJack wrote:
I have a Mac Book Pro and I only want to back up my system when I connect my external HD. Any way of doing this?
Time Machine won't try to backup to a drive that isn't connected so that much requires no preference setting. You can manually force a backup when the drive is connected with the "Back Up Now" option available from the popup menu on TM's dock icon.
BTW, unless you change a lot of files between backups, each new backup should take very little time & use very little additional drive space, so you need not worry about leaving the drive connected for a few hours after forcing a backup.
TM actually works best if you just let it do its thing whenever it discovers that the designated backup drive is connected.

User not showing after restoring from time machine backup

I was having issues with my 2009 Macbook pro. took it to the Genius Bar. Diagnosistics all showed ok. (I had done troubleshooting before I had the appointment). They suggested wipe and reinstalll from my time machine backup. I agreed.
Returned home to do the reinstall. When I went to log in found that one of my user accounts did not show in the log in - only my main and "guest" accounts. On checking the "users" folder the user is present. It also does not show in the system preferences user screen but when I try to recreate it says it exists. Note I have done this wipe and reinstall with Mavericks
Help! Most of the content I have on my main BUT there are several things that are not.
Thank you for your attention.

Issue solved with visit to Genius Bar.
As I understand it here are the steps the Genius did. Attempt to create the account (system preferences->users) with the same information. It will say it already exists. Very carefully read the options. One will say use the existing account. BE CAREFUL because one option will wipe your data.
If you need to do this it might be worth the trip to the Genius Bar as you could wipe your data. One precaution I took was to bring a full copy of that user account onto my desktop (from the backup immediately before the wipe) in addition to the one in the user folder. Once we verified that the account was working I moved the desktop copy to the trash and again verified the account (just to be safe).
Hope this helps someone else.

Can i change frequency of time machine backups

I haven't used TM since my Time Capsule died last winter, i was waiting for new wifi AC TC. since then i purchased a new imac. now i'm deciding between the TC and the Airport Exteme. TC seem slike no brainer due to cheaper memories. the problem is tha tmy new imac is obviously only WiFi N. my last N mac took FOREVER to update my TC...it slowed my computer and seemed to eat my wifi. So ideally i'd love to get the AX unit and then a thunderbolt extermal drive. Altough i now realize the cost of the thurderbolt option on these drives...sweet lord! (Is the tech really that expense? apple controlling distribution to keep sales of TC?) . i probably could have avoided this if i had the patience to wait for an AC imac...but i don't have that much control!
So i figure the way around this would be to limit the backup. i really don't need hourly backups, not a work computer. Is there anyway to change the frequency of backups? daily or even weakly would be sweet for me. Thanks for any help in advance.

To change the frequency of Time Machine's backups, you would have to use a tool like Time Machine Editor; however, Time Machine only keeps hourly backups for the past day, and then daily backups for the past week, followed by weekly backups indefinitely. This means that it does exactly what you already want, with the added feature of hourly backups that are cycled through. As was mentioned above, in most cases these wont take much space at all, so adjusting Time Machine's behavior for the sake of saving space will not do much in the grand scheme of things.

Can I select certain drives only for Time Machine backup?

I have several internal drives and several external drives connected to my MacPro desktop computer. If I backup everything in all of the drives using Time Machine, the capacity on my designated external drive for Time Machine backup will soon be filled. Is there any way to selectively backup via Time Machine from only designated drives, not all drives connected (internally or externally) to my computer? Is so, how can that be done? I assume that Time Machine will start deleting data when its capacity is exceeded. If that is so, and I remove the designated Time Machine drive at that point and replace it with a new drive, will the removed drive thereafter be able to be reinserted and the prior material read and transferred as needed? Is there any way to utilized Time Machine after I insert the replacement drive to only archive new material saved after the switch of drives?

Yes, mount the drive by opening a new Finder window and clicking on your base station's name in the left column that says 'Shared'. Then double click on the drive name to mount it on your desktop. From there, open Time Machine prefs and select that mounted drive as your backup disk. Time machine will then back up to it. Theoretically.
If you want that disk to automatically mount every time you login to your computer, go to Sys Prefs Panel and select 'Accounts'. Then click 'Startup Items'. From there, drag the mounted drive's icon from the desktop in to that startup items list. It will then auto-mount from there forward.
I have had many problems backing up this way with Time Machine. It will, 9 times out of 10, fail over a wireless backup with an Airport Extreme Gigabit base station and a 1TB Western Digital My Book. Nothing seems to fix, so I have given up. When TM is finally fixed - I will use it. Until then, it's junk software as far as I'm concerned.
But - best of luck. The instructions above are how it's 'supposed' to work..

"Show changes only" in Time Machine?

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