Time capsule deleted all of my backups

so i clean installed my laptop and was maunally restoring all the files and i had done all that except for my photo library. and for some reasons when my laptop was backing up it deleted all my old backups and i can't restore my photo library!
It essential that i have these photos as not only are they personal memories as well as work and if i don't have them i will lose my job!
please help.

When you erase your internal HD, it's treated as a different drive (unless you use one of the Apple utilities to put your data back).
The backups may still be there, but as if they're from a different drive, even if it has the same name. Try the procedure in #E3 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

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Time capsule deleted all my data and overwrote it with a backup

I found Time Capsule in finder and it let me create a folder and put my stuff in it. I was using it as an auxilliary hard-drive right next to the backups.
I put DVD installation media, old files, student work history, and a lot of stuff on there.
Time Capsule decided to delete all of my data one day to make room for a backup.
People should know this.
Do not put anything on your Time Capsule that you want to keep, unless perhaps it's on another partition (if that works).
I'm not too disappointed about it as it wasn't my critical stuff, but still. It's lost forever now.
And it's supposed to be a Time Capsule for @#($*%& sake.

JKMarshal wrote:
I found Time Capsule in finder and it let me create a folder and put my stuff in it. I was using it as an auxilliary hard-drive right next to the backups.
That's not a good idea. See #Q3 in Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule for details.
Time Capsule decided to delete all of my data one day to make room for a backup.
No, it didn't. Time Machine cannot delete other data to make room for backups.
Under extreme circumstances, when it finds your backups corrrupted beyond repair, it may delete all your Time Machine Backups, but not until you confirm via this prompt:
What most likely happened is, something happened to the Time Capsule or its disk that damaged/corrupted everything -- your backups and other data.
How old is it? They don't last forever; most seem to run well for 3-4 years, but some fail earlier, others live longer.
Do you have power failures? If so, those are murder on electronics. Consider getting a small U.P.S. system for your Time Capsule (and modem, etc., as appropriate).

My 2 TB Time Capsule's memory is full because it will not automatically delete old files as it is supposed to, so it is giving me zero backup of my two computers now. How can this be fixed so my Time Capsule deletes the old data and saves the new?

My 2 TB Time Capsule’s memory is full because it will notautomatically delete old files as it is supposed to, so it is giving me zerobackup of my two computers now. How can this be fixed so my Time Capsule deletes the old data and savesthe new?
Neither my local computer consultant nor I have been ableto change any of the settings in Time Machine to correct this problem. Working with the choices in the TimeMachine, there does not appear that there is any way to change the frequency ofthe backups either, so, after a year has elapsed, the time capsule is full, andmy only choice appears to be to erase all the current data on the Time Capsuleand start over, something that I do not want to at all let alone repeat on anannual basis. My questions are:
What can be done to have my Time Capsule delete old filesas it is supposed to do, so it has memory available to allow my computers toback up?
Is this a software problem that can be fixed online or isdoes this require a mechanical fix of defective hardware?

How much data is being backed-up from each Mac? (see what's shown for Estimated size of full backup under the exclusions box in Time Machine Prefs > Options).
Is there any other data on your Time Capsule, besides the backups?
Most likely, there just isn't room. Time Machine may be trying to do a very large (or full) backup of one or both Macs, and can't. Since it won't ever delete the most recent backup, there has to be enough room for one full backup plus whatever it's trying to back up now, plus 20% (for workspace).
Also see #C4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting for more details.

Time Machine Deleted ALL the backups!

Today, TM was cleaning up the old backups as it does every so often, however it inadvertently deleted ALL of the backups.
1) Can I recover my backups?
2) If so, how can I recover said backups?
3) How can I prevent this from happening again?
Thanks.
What a bummer....

TheChemist wrote:
May 30 15:12:50 francoisimac com.apple.backupd[500]: Starting pre-backup thinning: 423.93 GB requested (including padding), 123.83 GB available
The "padding" is workspace, etc., that TM needs on the backup drive. It's about 20%, so Time Machine estimates it needs to back up about 350 GB. That's the symptom: there isn't enough room for that.
The one question I would love answered is what would trigger a pre-backup thinning?
Not enough room for the new backup. In that case, Time Machine first deletes "expired" backups, then your oldest ones.
Unfortunately, there's no way to tell what that 350 GB was. After a backup finishes successfully, you can see what was backed-up, but not before.
So, you need to start with #D4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). Something you're running is apparently causing a very large, but not full, backup (a full one would need about the 500 GB that's on your internal HD, plus another 100 GB temporarily).
If you still can't figure it out, erase the drive and do a full backup. Then immediately do another. If it's quite large, see #A2 in Troubleshooting to download +Time Tracker+ or BackupLoupe to see what's causing the huge backups.
If it's small, turn Time Machine off. Periodically, run a backup manually. (Select +Back Up Now+ from the TM icon in your menubar, or by right-clicking the TM icon in your Dock). Sooner or later, you should see a very large one, and hopefully it will complete so you can see what caused it, via +Time Tracker+ or BackupLoupe.

HT3275 My Time Machine deletes ALL previous backups

Every so often, Time Machine deletes ALL previous backups and starts over from scratch. It has done this several times in the last year. I have not changed any hardware or the name of the computer. Why is this happening? Makes me very concerned that I now have NO backups while it chugs away rebuilding a 210 GB backup.
Just got an error message:
Time Machine couldn’t complete the backup. Time machine could not delete the backup disk image "/Volumes/Joe's iMac.purgeable"
HELP!
iMac 27: 8GB, 2.9 GHz Intel Core I5
OS X Yosemite 10.10.1
Backup volume is Western Digital MyBookLiveDuo with 2TB and 1.8TB available

Hi Joe,
Have you Repaired both drives first, then Repaired Permissions on both?
Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Can't imagine something not being covered there.

Time machine is deleting all my old backups after moving to different iMac

Hi - I had to move my data to a different machine and so I prepared a different iMac (early 2008). This is what I did:
I booted into Snow Leopard from my DVD
erased the HD
installed SL 10.6
booted into SL
ran software update to upgrade to 10.6.8 (to get the App Store)
installed Mountain Lion 10.8.2
used Migration Asistant to restore all my data, apps, and settings from my time machine backup
This all worked fine and at some point time machine asked me whether to inherit the time machine history. I confirmed this and all seemed fine until I noticed that time machine was backing for a long time and a lot of space was being freed on the time machine volume. I found that it was deleting all my old backups. Before I had data going back to 2010 but now I only have backups left from JAN 2012 onwards.
After some searching I found the excellent Pondini time machine site and performed the actions under B6 ("Reconecting" to your backups):
exxi:~ michael$ sudo tmutil inheritbackup /Volumes/tm2/Backups.backupdb/exxi
Password:
exxi:~ michael$ sudo tmutil associatedisk -a / /Volumes/tm2/Backups.backupdb/exxi/2013-02-03-150320/exxi_hd
I restarted the backup after applying the command above but it still is deleting old backups. I tried the same comand by associating it with an older backup but still it keeps deleting my backups.
What can I do to stop it from erasing all my backups?
Cheers
Michael

Just found this info in the Backup dashboard widget:
Starting manual backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/tm2/Backups.backupdb
Inheritance scan required for /, associated with previous UUID: [deleted]
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: exxi_hd
Deep event scan at path:/ reason:must scan subdirs|new event db|
First backup after disk inheritance for / - complete scan required
Finished scan
Found 839161 files (154.88 GB) needing backup
188.83 GB required (including padding), 145.37 GB available
Deleted backup /Volumes/tm2/Backups.backupdb/exxi/2012-03-04-160328 containing 2.25 GB; 147.63 GB now available, 188.83 GB required
Deleted backup /Volumes/tm2/Backups.backupdb/exxi/2013-02-05-181442.inProgress/57E7F008-929C-4 DF8-B062-F034FEE7A606 containing 4 KB; 147.63 GB now available, 188.83 GB required
Deleted backup /Volumes/tm2/Backups.backupdb/exxi/2013-01-07-112745 containing 130.8 MB; 147.76 GB now available, 188.83 GB required
Removed 3 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
Deleted backup /Volumes/tm2/Backups.backupdb/exxi/2012-03-11-191620 containing 2.08 GB; 149.86 GB now available, 188.83 GB required
Removed 4 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
Backup deletion was canceled by user
Deleted 4 backups containing 4.46 GB total; 149.86 GB now available, 188.83 GB required
Backup date range was shortened: oldest backup is now Mar 31, 2012
Backup canceled.

How can I close my Time Machine Sparsebundle so Time Capsule can do a scheduled backup?

"Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Your Time Capsule". The backup disk image “/Volumes/Steven Weinberg's Time Caps-1/Steven Weinberg’s MacBook Pro (4).sparsebundle” is already in use."
I have both a Time Capsule and a 2Tb external drive using Time Machine to back up my laptop.
Is it as simple as when the Time Capsule goes to do a backup and finds that the other drive is in the midst of using Time Machine to do its backup that I get this notice on my desktop?
It's 10:30 AM now. The last Time Capsule backup was almost 12 hours ago.
There have already been 6 Time Machine backups today on the 2nd drive.
Sounds like the Time Capsule really is being blocked from doing its job.
THe 1 Tb Time Capsule backs up to a .sparsebundle document which fills the Time Capsule at 985 Gb. You can't open and peek inside the .sparsebundle backup file.
The other drive backs up to a .backupdb folder within which are subfolders for each backup which appears to be a complete recreation of thebacked-up 500 Gb hard drive on my MacBook Pro laptop. And even though there are 37 separate folders with backups going back to Sept 2013 when I installed the second backup drive, it's only used about 500 Gb of its 2 Tb capacity.
1. How can I solve my primary problem of freeing up the .sparsebundle file for the Time Capsule?
2. Since both drives are using Time Machine to do the backup, why are they producing such diffrent backup file structures?
Steve

David Bean wrote:
So copying from a one-week-old TM volume was failing
Have you run Repair Disk on it?
I now realize that the folder in which the problem file(s) are stored on the backup,.DocumentRevisions-V100, is the folder in which OS X stores its versioning data for all users. I am now trying to work out whether I can safely delete these files from the backup
That does get damaged on occasion. I haven't seen it in quite a while, so it's pretty rare.
You can delete it from the backups, via the TM interface, but you must be able to show invisible items).
First, open the Terminal app (in your Applications/Utilities folder). Be very careful with this app. It's a direct link into UNIX, the underpinnings of OSX, but without the protections of OSX.
In Terminal, the prompt looks like this: <Computer Name>:~ <your name>$
(where <your name> is your short user name). It's followed by a non-blinking block cursor.
Copy, do not type, the following after the prompt:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1
and press Return.
You should just see the prompt again.
Then see Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #12 to delete all the backups of it.
and from the live system filestore so they don't get copied out to a backup again.
Yes. You will, of course, lose all previous versions, but since the file is corrupted, you may have lost some, most, or all of them already.
When done, run the same command to hide the invisible items, but replace the "1" with a zero.

Time Machine deleted all the back up files on my TimeCapsule

My computer required an erase and install. I was using 10.5.8. I reinstalled the OS but I did not do a restore from my Time Machine when I first booted it up. However, I wanted to continue to use my time machine back up (basically continue to add files to the existing backup), but it would not allow me to point to the existing Time Machine back up.
As a result, Time Machine tried to create a new backup folder. I thought this would be fine, and that I would worry about why I could not use the current back up file on my Time Capsule later on. Well, Time Machine has deleted my old Time Capsule and all the information that was inside it and now I have only a back up of one day.
What happened? How could Time Machine over write a backup that I had previously?

I updated to 10.5.8 and then I got a blue screen. I tried to do an erase and install and then I could not get beyond the grey screen. I took it in to the genius bar and had to get them to start things working again. They used their external drive to boot me up from 10.5.8.
I did not use my time machine backups to put my information back on my computer. I used the files for documents movies and photos which I had dragged and dropped on to a USB external HD (A Western Digital Passport).
I did not want to lose all the incremental past back ups on my Time Capsule (the white 1 TB box with the apple logo - definitely a time capsule). I wanted to keep using the old time machine back ups in case I ever needed to restore an odd file here and there.
Well, that day has come and I can not restore from my Time Capsule. I actually deleted this entry (albeit too late) and I have realized I do have 700 GB backed up.
You were right, if I do #17 I can access the old "sequence" of back ups, I suppose that TM thinks that I have a new computer after my erase and install.
So when I click and hold on TM in the dock I can browse other time machine disks. However, whenever I try do do a restore, computer hangs and I can't actually use the back up.
How can I get my MBP to go back to the old sequence TM files? If I go to system preferences, it says that my oldest back up is January 8, 2009. That would make me think TM machine knows those files are there. BUT! When I click on TM in the dock and I start TM, when I get to the Star Wars style screen where you can see the windows go back in time, it only has backups as far as yesterday.
So ultimately, my question is, how do I permanently get back to that old sequence of back ups and why does it always hang on the restore?
Thanks so much for your help - my lost files depend on it!

Unable to sync or backup my iPad2 with the new iTunes. I keep getting the error ""iTunes could not back up the iPad because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPad.". I've deleted all the old backups but still get this.

I'm totally frustrated by iTunes and don't know how to solve my problem. Like a lot of people on here I'm not able to sync or back up my iPad2 with my iTunes (version 10.4.1.10). I'm running Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit. My iTunes worked just fine until the 10.4.xx updates came out and since June I've not been able to back up or sync the iPad2.
When I connect and try to sync I get the error message, “iTunes could not back up the iPad because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPad.”
I've deleted all the old backups so there are none on my system. I've deleted iTunes and re-installed the 64bit version several times but it has not made any difference. I've read and followed several suggestions on these boards about how to remove and reinstall everything but none have worked yet. I'm stumped here.

I had the exact same thing with my shuffle - same error message saying that it was corrupt so I restored it (wiping everything in the process) and the same message came up as soon as it reloaded. Thank god I didn't try it with my iPod or iPhone first. So many issues with this new version of iTunes!!!!!!!!

HT1178 Time Capsule used as External Hardrive Backup

If I want to use a Time Capsule as an external hardrive backup for my MacBook Pro, how do I do it?
What cords do I need and can I get it to back up wirelessly? I don't want my own wireless from it,
because we already have it in the house - I just want my own storage unit and I have one, but no
cords to go with it. Need to get cords - which ones?

This is out of my area of expertise, but I believe you can set the Time Capsule up so it doesn't generate a network, but is on the existing network.
Then you can back up to it wirelessly.
You should still do the first backup via an Ethernet cable if at all possible, as it will be 2-3 times faster than WIFI, but then backups can be done without having to connect the cable.

Is it ok to leave Time Capsule on all the time?

Hi
Is it ok in terms of the life of the hard drive to leave Time Capsule on all the time? I know it has to be on to run the wireless back ups and for the Wi-Fi to work but i have heard quite alot of people saying that you should turn it off for a couple of hours occasionally.
Is this true and will that increase the TC life?
Thanks

drummer_91 wrote:
Yeah it definatly spins down but it does get super hot?
I thought that about no on/off switch.
Thanks for the advice.
Ouch super hot.. that is not good.. the only one in my experience that did get super hot was gen1 with 1TB hitachi disk.. because it was just a very poor combination and the disk is extremely hot running.
The latest gen3 and gen4 should be warm.. maybe hot during a backup but certainly not what you would call super hot. In later ones, that is a sign all is not well with the power supply and it will fail. Even fixing the cooling at this stage the damage may already be done.
What gen is yours and how old? If it is outside of warranty I would take steps to keep it cooler. Not shutting down overnight... actually actively cooling it.
The most effective way is to force the fan on.
https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modem s/apple-time-capsule-repair/apple-time-capsule-fan-mod
Placing fans outside the TC is useless unless you can seal it to the device and force air through it. blowing on the case will do nothing.
A better solution is to use an external power supply.
https://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modem s/apple-time-capsule-repair/cisco-adp-30rb-4pin-molex
That removes a lot of the waste heat load.

My Time Machine / Time capsule gets the error: The backup disk image could not be mounted

My time machine / time capsule gets the error: The backup disk image could not be mounted.

Reboot the TC.
If you normally have multiple computers backing up, under Lion there seems to be some issues.. you need to force other users off the system. You can do that through the Airport utility, manual setup, disks, disconnect all users. Note carefully if you use Lion you probably need to download the real airport utility.. 5.6 to accomplish anything useful.

Time Capsule message:Unable to complete backup. time Capsule already in use. If I try to ess Time Macine, it says: that the sparse image is temporarily unavailable.acc

Normally, my Time Capsule backups without issue. however, recently, it failed and I was unable to either complete a backup (done automatically) or enter Time Machine. I received a message that:" Unable to complete backup. Time Capsule already in use" when backup is attempted. When trying to access Time Machine when this occcurs, The message is" sparse image temporarily unavailable". Why does this happen? How can fix it without erasing the who;e image and starting all over?
I have Mac OS Mountain Lion.

You might need to if the bundle is damaged.
You can verify the bundle.
Read A5 here http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Also try C12 and C17
Just a reboot of the TC might get it working again.

Total Time Capsule Crash - All iTunes Lost?

I've tried all the resetting methods and everything. The Time Capsule had ALL of my iTunes music and TV Shows and movies on it, and when I reset it, it only stays connected for about 4 minutes, hardly enough time to move 110 gigs of music and video back to the computer.
I can't return it to BestBuy because I know they'll just swap it out. Can Apple Support possibly exchange/repair it without deleting ALL of my files? This is 4 years worth of stuff I'm looking at losing here.

Is the drive 3 TB or less?
Is the external hard drive formatted correctly in Mac OS Exended (Journaled) or FAT32?
(Your Mac can read other formats, but the Time Capsule USB port will only read and write to the Mac format and FAT32).
If yes to both questions above, have you tried using a powered USB hub with the drive?

HT1178 i am setting u a new time capsule. i already have a wifi setup in my office. now i want to use this time capsule just as a wireless backup machine. do i still need to attached a DSL cable, or it can connect to my existing wifi and start working ?

i am setting u a new time capsule. i already have a wifi setup in my office. now i want to use this time capsule just as a wireless backup machine. do i still need to attached a DSL cable, or it can connect to my existing wifi and start working ?

You probably can, but this type of configuration is not recommended or supported by Apple.
Two cautions if you want to try this:
1) The Time Capsule has to be configured to "Join" your existing wireless network in this type of setup...and to do that, you must know the exact type of wireless security that your network is using.
2) Backups are likely going to take twice as long. The wireless signal must travel from your computer to the wireless router and then from the wireless router back to the Time Capsule. Two "hops"......even if the computer is located close to the Time Capsule.
If you want to try this, we can tell you how....but with no guarantees on your results....since this is not officially supported.

Time capsule deleted all of my backups

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