Time machine and backing up to a Windows disk

Hi all
Setup as follows : iMac 2.4GHz Core 2 duo 1GB memory and a Windows XP SP2 desktop with a USB HDD attached.
I am new to the world of Macs and am very interested in using Time Machine. My Mac can see the USB HDD when I choose "Connect To Server" and Time Machine allows me to choose this disk as the backup target but when it runs it continually fails. The error is "The backup volume cannot be found".
I have two questions :
1. Can a Mac (Time Machine) use a Windows volume to backup to?
2. If it can, why can my mac see the volume in one application but not in another?
I would appreciate any responses, as my reading of this topic has resulted in what appears to me to be many conflicting answers.
Ian

You are correct that it is a Windows formatted disk. The issue with formatting the disk in HFS+ is that although the disk management component of Windows can see the disk it can't actually do anything with it - not even assign a drive letter. And most definitely Windows Explorer cannot see it so the disk can't be shared.
It seems to me that I am in a no-win situation. I am trying to run the iMac in the cleanest way possible - no wires so I really don't want a harddisk constantly plugged in, but by the same token I would really like to take advantage of Tim Machine. Also I don't believe that Time Capsule is that great as an ADSL modem is still required... I guess I won't win this one.
My last ditch attempt is to try formatting the disk using the Mac in FAT32 and then plug it back into the windows box and see what happens (I Say this because windows refuses to format it as anything other than NTFS). I will update when I have tried this.

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Using Time Machine to back up to a Windows 2003 Server

I am trying to set up my Time Machine to back up to a windows 2003 server share. I have found some hacks on how to do so, however i am not successful.
What I have done so far:
TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1 in terminal, which got TM to see my shared drives, however, when i try to backup to my specific drive it gives me an error of not being able to write disk image. So i did:
hdiutil create -size 100g -fs HFS+J -volname “TimeMachine Hcomp” Hcomp_000045128a91.sparsebundle
using the appropriate mac address, volume name, and OSX computer name. However, when i run that in terminal, it comes back with a message saying it can only create one volume at a time.
I'm not quite sure where to go from here, I feel so close, but im stuck.
Also, on another side note, If I get this working, I would like to find a way where when TM is backing up data, it does not pop up the work bar window, I would prefer if it just worked in the background, and show it's status in the menu. I dont know if this is possible, But any suggestions would be of help
Thanks in advance!

AFreeman wrote:
Thanks for the response,
I understand the requirements for TM to work, and In the steps i've been trying, you'll see that the command 'hdiutil create -size 100g -fs HFS+J -volname “TimeMachine Hcomp” Hcomp_000045128a91.sparsebundle ' creates and HFS drive partition on my server share.
I guess i'm not looking for an answer as to why when i enter this command, I get a response of only one volume can be created at a time. Am I missing something in this command?
Thanks!
Since you are using a hack, and therefore in an unsupported area, I suppose anything possible.
You might browse around the TimeCapsule forum which more closely represents what you are doing than this forum
The TC forum is here:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1253
It's possible that it may be a limitation of the system, hack or no hack.

Difference Time Machine and Back-up

What is the difference between Time Machine and Back-up to .mac or?

Time Machine.. backup software on your Mac computer. (Only 10.5 and after seeing you list 10.4)
Time Capsule.. hardware device which is an Apple Airport Extreme plus a hard disk wrapped into a bit bigger box than the AEBS. Dumb as a board.. it is a router with hard disk hanging off. Entirely unsuitable as external storaage as it has no backup method for itself. It is a target for Time Machine, so Mac Laptops can back up wirelessly.
TownMouse33 wrote:
I want to store pictures on an external hard drive. They told me in the Apple store I could do this on time machine.
I am not sure if the Apple Store folk told you the wrong thing misunderstanding you.. but you cannot use Time Machine as a store. It is backup and files inside it are not usable.
Moving your iPhoto library to the TC is also a really bad idea. If you simply want to store raw photos.. which is a good idea btw.. as iPhoto kind of consumes them, yes, you can put them on the TC.. but use another location, external drive to back them up. In fact do it the other way around.. use the external drive to store them and stick to TC to work as backup since that is what it is designed for.

Time Machine and Back-Up

Sorry for my ignorance. Do I need to use both Time Machine and Back-up? What's your best advice for using these effectively? Thanks for your PATIENCE and time.

I've never had a .Mac account so I can't comment specifically about Backup but it's always better to have two backups. Using both Time Machine and Backup would probably be useful. This article covers some of the basics about the differences between Time Machine and Backup.
Mac OS X 10.5: When to use Time Machine or .Mac Backup to back up data
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307050

Time machine fails backing up with a "backup disk not found" error after upgrade to Lion 10.7.2

Time machine fails backing up with a "backup disk not found" error after upgrade to Lion 10.7.2. I've erased and reformatted the drive; reconnected Time Machine(it saw it) and began a new backup. The backup starts again but fails before completing with backup drive not found error. I used the 10.7.2 combo update. Any help on how to fix this problem would be appreciated.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
After waiting since October for a fix, I have now upgraded the firmware on the Time Capsule and installed the new Airport Utility, released yesterday, and the situation is even worse.
Up until now, the Airport Utility had an option to disconnect all drives manually and the Time Capsule would then work until the next reboot – a temporary (?) work-around.
Now that option does not exist in the new-look Airport Utility. And the Airport Utility installation can’t be rolled back and the old utility won’t restore.
The sparesbundle is still not accessible. Anyone worked out a work-around in the new environment yet?
I have another Time Machine backup working fine to a trusty old Lacie Drive so erased the one on my Time Capsule to see if that works. I have renamed the Capsule and the Time Capsule Drive. But to build another full backup will take at least two days and I shall be away from tomorrow and am reluctant to leave the Capsule and computer up and running for a week. And I’ll bet the sparsbundle will still be nowhere to be found.
How can Apple screw up so badly when they are to become the richest company in the entire world and – soon – will have more cash in the bank than the entire United States? Can’t they afford someone who really can sort this out? Especially when a Firewire connected hard drive – my trusty and simple LaCie – works fine.
Words, almost, fail me.

Time Machine and Back To My Mac (BTMM)

I was showing a recent Mac convert how Time Machine works.
Since my backup drive is connected to my Mac at home and I was
at my workplace, I used "Back to my Mac" (BTMM) to connect to my
home Mac. BTMM worked fine until I entered Time Machine.
Time Machine started and displayed a window showing the contents
of my desktop, but control of the remote Mac was lost.
I can still disconnect and reconnect using BTMM, but the Time Machine
screen is still there and I can't exit from it.
The cursor appears to move (that may be local), but there is no response
to keyboard commands (Esc) or mouse clicks.
Is this happening to anyone else?
Does Time Machine interrupt BTMM?
Is there a work-around or should Time Machine be off-limits when using BTMM?
Thanks all!
- Phil

Disregard... Looks like it was a fluke.
Eventually, I made contact with someone else at the house.
Seems the problem was at the remote Mac.
The mouse button had no effect there either. Nor did the Esc key. (Is that normal?)
I asked for a Cmd-Opt-Esc at the other end and I watched from here and saw my desktop reappear.
When I went back into Time Machine again (via BTMM) it worked fine.
(Complete with rotating galaxy this time.)
Hmm... Is there a way to send a Cmd-Opt-Esc to a remote Mac?

Time Machine and backing up external hard drives

Time machine will not back external hard drives I have connected to my Mac Pro. It works fine with the 3 hard drives mounted in the computer. Is this the way Time Machine is intended to work or am I doing something wrong? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

According to Disk Utility, GUID and AFP are both ok for a non-bootable drive with either CPU. The difference is when you want to make a volume bootable.
Since TM volumes are not bootable, it shouldn't matter UNLESS you have some other bootable system installed on the drive.
Right now, the drive on my Intel iMac is partitioned AFP and the one on the PPC powerbook is GUID. They both appear to be behaving themselves. The iMac has had one instance (since the last partition job) of a massive backup which occurred right after I changed the exclude list and the PPC has had no massive backups (other than the initial one). On that one, I built the exclude list BEFORE the initial backup.
- gws

Time machine and backing up

Okay I know this question has come up before, but I have a Lacie 160GB External drive, bought yesterday and I am unable to backup because of a error along the lines of "...Problem creating backup directory". I am a new apple user, can someone tell me what I need to do to get this to work, in simple terms?
Thanks

Reformat the drive.
Search for Time Machine GUID.
Apple has "Troubleshooting Problems in Time Machine" (now if only there was a common easy to go to Mac 101 Help on Apple site, from Help menus. There IS "Help" and search field in Disk Utility.
Having used Macs, and recently Windows, sadly, guess who has the best online Help?
All you generally have to do is type into a search field.
Next to Support.
Google.
Search Discussions.
I typed "Time Machine" in the search field next to SUPPORT above.
http://www.apple.com/support/leopard/timemachine/
Takes you to a number of articles on formatting and preparing drives.

When I restore my Mac with Time Machine and then want to partition my disk, Disk Utility always says incorrect number of extended attributes

When I need to restore my Mac from a time machine backup and then partition my hard disk (the disk inside the computer not the time machine disk), Disk Utility always says "Incorrect Number of Extended Attributes". I then boot into Recovery HD and run disk repair. The result? "The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK". So then I reboot into normal OS and try the partition again, still Incorrect number of extended attributes. I have even tried /sbin/fsck -fy in single-user mode but it still says the volume is ok. I have tried partition my disk in the recovery HD and it still fails.
Can anyone please help me solve this problem?

Try something stronger, such as DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro.
iMac refurb (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4), SL & ML, G4 450 MP w/Leopard, 9.2.2

I would like to use time Machine to back up to a network SMB drive. I can see the drive on my desktop but it will not show in the time machine window to be able to select it

I currently have a mini server (OSX10.8.5, server 2.2.2) that I am using Time Machine to back up 4 external drives that are connected to the server via firewire 800. I would like to use Time Machine to back up to a windows network SMB drive. I can see the drive on my desktop but it will not show in the time machine window to be able to select it for use.
Can this be done
Thanks for any and all help

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.

What am I doing wrong in Time Machine and Mail?

Hello,
I've been trying to switch my Mail from POP to IMAP. I've almost got it finished, but I lost a few messages in my inbox when I deleted them from the server (thought they would stay in Mail, guess I need to get used to IMAP). I went to Time Machine, found the messages from a few hours before, highlighted them, and clicked the Restore button. Time Machine scrolls back to the latest window, then Time Machine closes and I'm returned to Mail, no mailbox selected. When I check the Inbox, the restored messages aren't there. I check the Recovered Messages mailbox in On My Mac, I even check the Deleted Messages box On My Mac. I can't find the restored messages anywhere. I can't seem to figure it out, I must not be thinking clearly, and I need someone's help to point me in the right direction. The messages are safely in Time Machine, and I can't get them to come back.
Thanks for helping me out with this,
Jess

Quit Mail. Force quit if necessary.
Back up all data before proceeding.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select
          Go ▹ Go to Folder
from the menu bar. Paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V, then press return.
A folder window will open. Inside it there should be files with names as follows:
          Envelope Index
          ExternalUpdates.storedata
Move those files to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Other files in the folder may have longer names that begin as above. Move those files, if any, to the Trash.
Relaunch Mail. It should prompt you to re-import your messages. You may get a warning that the index is damaged and that Mail has to quit. Click OK. Typically, the process takes a few minutes, but it may take hours if you have gigantic mailboxes. In that case, you may be able to speed things up by temporarily adding your home folder to the Privacy list in the Spotlight preference pane. Remove it when Mail has finished importing.
Test. If Mail now works as expected, you can delete the files you moved to the Desktop. Otherwise, post your results.

Can time capsule be partitioned so as to back up osx with time machine and bootcamped windows drive with win 7 ulyimate

have imac 27 inch. I plan to bootcamp the drive and install win 7 ultimate to run AutoCAD. I want to backup the imac using time machine and the boot camped drive to one device. Can time capsule be partitioned to use time machine for osx and win 7 backup for bootcamp drive.

You cannot backup a Windows partition or system using Time Machine. Nor can you partition a TC as far as I know although Airport Utility may allow that now. See:
A whole lot about Time Machine 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.
Of course you should carefully read the documentation that came with your TC to find out what options are available.

I have been storing my Aperture and IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive that recently died. Fortunately I've been using Time Machine to back up to a 2nd external drive. How do I restore my libraries to a new external hard drive?

I have been storing my Aperture and IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive that recently died. Fortunately I've been using Time Machine to back up to a 2nd external drive. How do I restore my libraries to a new external hard drive?

This is a tricky one.
Open up Time Machine and go back to a date using the timeline on the right side of the window when you know the drive was working and was backing up as part of Time Machine backups.
Click on the name of your Mac under the Devices heading on the left side of the window in Time Machine, and if things are working correctly you will see Macintosh HD (or whatever you have named it) and the name of the external hard drive that was backing up in the past.
Right-Click on the name of the external hard drive and then click on "Restore (name of drive) to....." You may be asked for your adminstrator password at this point.
It might be easier to restore the drive contents to your desktop if you have room on your Mac, and then copy things over to the new external drive where you want to store the Aperture and iMovie Libraries.
Once the libraries have been moved over the new external hard drive, you will likely need to "point" Aperture and iMovie to the location of the libraries on the new external hard drive.

My iPhoto app was digressed back to 9.5, not sure how I did it. I then went to time machine and restored it. Now when i try to open it, I get a message that iPhoto is on a disk and locked tells me that I don't have permisson to unlock it. Help ?

My iPhoto app was digressed back to 9.5, not sure how I did it. I went to time machine and restored. Now it wont accept my password. tells me it is locked. Can anyone help me?

Run Repair Permissions in Disk Utility and see if that helps.
If not, you can select the iPhoto Library in your Pictures folder, go File > Get Info (or Command-i), go to the bottom of the info window and set your permissions to Read & Write. On the Action menu at the bottom (the one with the gear) choose Apply to enclosed items...

I deleted a contact from my phone and it synced with all my other devices including my Mac. However, I have setup time machine and have many previous backups. Can I open or use a file in back ups to get my contact back? Where and which one? Thanks!

Its all in the question.
I have backups from months ago.
And ICLOUD deleted my contact from others devices.

Bring the Contacts window forward, then enter Time Machine and scroll back to a snapshot that includes the contacts you want to restore. Select the contacts and click the Restore button in the lower right corner of the screen.
If you don't have a Time Machine backup, but your contacts are all on iCloud and haven't been overwritten, then you can recover them by following the instructions on this page. Double-click the downloaded file to import it into Contacts. This procedure will not work if you've synced an empty Contacts database to iCloud.

Time machine and backing up to a Windows disk

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