Time Machine AND File Sharing: Partitioning possible?

Hi everyone,
I'm thinking about a TC setup where 2 Macs would connect to it and do regular backups using Time Machine. At the same time I'd like to use TC's hard drive for file sharing purposes. I believe that this is possible. What I don't know is:
Is it possible to partition the drive in order to set a limit to what space is available to Time Machine? If not, is there another way (ratio setting) to limit this?
Thanks
Björn

From what I've seen, the answer is no. (1) you'd have to be able to access the disk in such a manner as to partition. it does not show up in Disk Utility. Perhaps Terminal might have options. (2) As far as I've seen, there is no ratio setting. TC just backs up all Macs on the network using Leopard that have Time Machine backups set to the TC.
You can actually do what you want without changing anything. The TC HDD shows up as a network drive. Time Machine backs up until full. Files on the drive would take up space. So, until it's full, you can put shareable files on it. once it's full, you have delete backups or make space through some other method.

Similar Messages

  • Time Machine and file sharing with XP on a Time Capsule

    Am I right in thinking that I can't use a Time Capsule to support Time Machine on OS-X and to support sharing files between OS-X and XP at the same time given Time Machine will not run on FAT32 and I can't partition Time Capsule hard drives without taking them to bits, partitioning and re-assembling?

    Hi Jonathan and welcome to Discussions,
    Drive Genius http://www.prosofteng.com/products/drive_genius.php and iPartition http://www.coriolis-systems.com/iPartition.php claim to be able to repartition without erasing.
    Time Machine indeed works only on Mac OS Extended partitions.
    Regards
    Stefan

  • Using external HDD for Time Machine and files in one single partition ?

    Hello everybody.
    I've been searching for some time now and have encountered some contradictory answers, so I turn to you.
    I would like to know if it's possible (one) and safe (two) to use a single partition for both Time Machine and file storage. I've read that this should be ok, since TM is actually only a single folder, which means the rest can easily be used as a standard Finder drive. Some people say however that this is not good to do so, because TM will run out of space quicker. But if the -let's say- 30Gb used for files where used by TM after a month, that would be the same, wouldn't it ? It would simply erase older backups. But is it safe to do so ? Will Time Machine not makes errors when accessing files or doing an entire system backup ? I don't won't to make a new partition really, that's why I'm asking you here, to let me know some arguments about it.
    Thank you very much for your answers.

    Marekova wrote:
    Yet, overlooking that, you say "safe: mostly", why is that ? where's the "danger" or, what where you thinking when you said that ? Aren't these simple folder's ? Do you mean that, because during a full backup, these "stranger" files could be a problem ? It would be great if that was clarified, since I've found no indication about it elsewhere, has anyone tryed it ?
    Oh, yes folks have tried it. That's why I (and many others) recommended against it.
    Here's a similar thread from just the other day: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1926893 Note the responses from the top 2 "gurus" on this forum.
    I probably should have asked you what you mean by "safe." If you mean, will TM delete other files on it's partition, no, it won't. If you mean, can there be problems, then yes, there can be conflicts and difficulties, as mentioned.
    As to whether TM backups are simple folders, no, they aren't. They look like normal files and folders, but they actually contain what are variously called "hard links," "multi-links," and (my own personal favorite term) "ghost clones." Think of them as very fancy aliases. So they're not to be fooled with directly, by us mere mortals.
    If you want more on this: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2007/10/mac-os-x-10-5.ars/14
    and/or: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/10/12/roadto_mac_os_x_leopard_timemachine.html
    and, if you haven't seen it yet: http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#tutorial=leopardtimemachine
    You should also know that, for some reason, TM stores it's backups differently when it does them wirelessly. In that case, they're in a "SparseBundle," very different from the structure used for directly-attached backups.
    All the more reason to put each Mac's backups in a separate partition, and if you want to store other data there also, a 3rd partition for that.
    I've been using Mac since many years now, but I have no idea about backups, so excuse me if the statements appear a little childish.
    Nope. Even those of us who are "older than dirt" and have used many flavors and varieties of backup systems for decades are in a whole new world with Time Machine.
    And most of the folks on this forum who found themselves in deep trouble got there because they assumed things or didn't ask.

  • My mac 10.8 does no have the file, com.apple.desktop. plist   I wentto lIbrary, preference and look  for it and it is not where in my mac.  I also launch time machine and file is no where on my Mac.  How do I get this file back?

    My mac 10.8 does no have the file, com.apple.desktop. plist   I wentto lIbrary, preference and look  for it and it is not where in my mac.  I also launch time machine and file is no where on my Mac.  How do I get this file back?
    thanks

    System files are hidden by default in Finder now, search for what you want then click the little + button on the top right of the bar that appears when you do a search. A new bar comes up and click the first box (that says "Kind"), change it to "System Files". Then change the box that says "aren't included" to "are included" and your file should show up.
    http://osxdaily.com/2009/02/25/show-hidden-files-in-os-x/

  • What to do if you simultaneously run Time Machine and File Vault

    Never do what is mentioned in the subject line; even if you decrypt your drive, it does not spread to Time Machine, and so if you ever need to do a system restore, File Vault will forget your password and lock you out of your own system.
    Thankfully, I ended up having recourse. The solution is to log in as root and create a disk image from the last Time Machine backup, "latest," and then duplicate that disk image. Having done that, paste the files into the user folder of your choice, recreating the account you have lost.

    Realistically, your only option is to upgrade to an Intel-based Mac.
    There is no way to use iCloud on a Mac running anything lower than OS X 10.7.2 - not even Snow Leopard.
    You can access iCloud.com through a web browser on your current computer, but you'd need a Mac running 10.7.2 to move to iCloud and it wouldn't sync anyway...

  • Time Capsule both: Time machine and file server

    Hi!
    We have 3 macs that has access to a Time Capsule we use just as a file server.
    Now, I'll like to do backups of all the data, and I was thinking about using Time Machine in all the computers to backup in Time Capsule.
    My question is, can I use Time Capsule as both? With Time Machine and also as a file server?
    Thanks,
    Júlia

    Time Machine can be used to backup your Macs to the Time Capsule. You set this up on each Mac by opening System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock and then opening Time Machine to select the Time Capsule as the destination for backups.
    Time Machine will keep separate files for each Mac on the Time Capsule and your regular files on the TC will be left alone. Ideally, Time Machine needs about twice as much space for each Mac to allow for a good history of future backups.
    Backup each Mac one at a time since the first backup will copy everything from the Mac over.
    Things will go 3-5 times faster if you connect the Mac to the Time Capsule using an Ethernet cable for this procedure.
    Once the "master" backup is completed for each, you can switch back to wireless to backup incremental changes since these will only take a few minutes on average.
    As you know, Time Machine cannot be used to backup the regular files that you already have on the Time Capsule disk. If you need to backup these files, post back for a few suggestions on applications that can handle this task.

  • Server Time Machine vs File Sharing TM

    For a couple of years I have used file sharing on my Mac Mini to provide Time Machine backup space for the Mac Books in my collection. This has worked well, with multiple hard drives and partitions providing redundant backup space (every Mac has at least two concurrent Time Machine backups, each in different hard drives attached to the MM). I have been examining OS X Server, and am wondering what benefit Server Time Machine service offers over my current arrangement. I can see no functional difference. Is there any?

    Functionally, I don't believe so. If you're able to back up and restore your Macs over your LAN using File Sharing then the Time Machine Service in OS X Server won't do you any good.
    I use OS X Server and the Time Machine Service for back ups/restore. I know I can restore any Mac client as long as the server (Mac Mini) is up and running. I simply select the network back up while in the Recovery HD of the client, log into it and select the date I want to restore. I don't know how File Sharing works if you have to restore one of your Macs from the Recovery HD.

  • Time Machine and File Permissions

    'Twere I to rate this question's technicality on a scale of 1 through 10, it would rate 8. Just warning you. Unix people will be especially useful for this.
    Okay, so, before the problems started, my hard drive had three partitions. One for OS X, one for file storage for Ubuntu Linux, and one called the "Swap" partition, which somehow relates to Ubuntu (the Ubuntu installer put it there, I've no idea what it's for). Here's a makeshift diagram of what my partition map used to be:
    I ran out of space in my OS X partition. You see, I've recently had the fortune to obtain some rather fantastic software. The downside is that the software (and it's files) take up roughly 53GB. I won't trouble with you what it actually is (though it should have dawned on some people by now). Between OS X and Ubuntu Linux, OS X prevailed. As far as I'm concerned, Linux will have to wait 'till I have a larger hard drive.
    So, I fired up Disk Utility, and tried to remove the two Linux partitions. It told me it was "Preparing to erase [insert Linux partition name]". It told me that for an hour. After one hour, I said screw it, I'll do this the "hard" way.
    My initial plan was to back up my data, and completely reformat my drive, reinstall Leopard, and have it restore from my Time Machine backup. Now, my external drive is not big enough to hold a complete system-wide backup. I had to leave some stuff out. Here's the list of exclusions, taken directly from the back up logs:
    Excluding System files: 16.3 GB (242143 items)
    Excluding /Developer: 0 bytes (1 items)
    Excluding /Users/Audacitor/Downloads: 7.9 GB (18 items)
    Excluding /Applications/Creative Suite 3: 3.2 GB (13214 items)
    Excluding /Applications/Disk Images/Macromedia: 240.5 MB (4 items)
    Excluding /Applications/Utilities: 484.2 MB (111 items)
    Excluding /Users/Audacitor/.Trash: 97.3 MB (2142 items)
    Excluding /System: 108.2 MB (5874 items)
    Excluding /Users/Audacitor/Library/Calendars/Calendar Cache: 144 KB (1 items)
    Excluding /Users/Audacitor/Library/Safari/WebpageIcons.db: 52 KB (1 items)
    Excluding /Users/Audacitor/Library/Mail/Envelope Index: 680 KB (1 items)
    Excluding /Users/Audacitor/Library/Icons/WebpageIcons.db: 20 KB (1 items)
    I am uncertain as to why it excluded those last four entries. I didn't ask them to be excluded, so I assumed that was something Time Machine does automatically.
    The backup worked normally, or so it seemed. After about a half hour, it told me it was done. I hastily (read; stupidly) unplugged the drive and prepared to reformat my drive. So excited was I to reach my new software, that I made the utter and completely foolish move of not double checking that everything I needed was backed up. If I had, I might never have this problem, and even if this problem were destined to happen, I could have at least saved my Pictures folder (fortunately, most of it's contents are safely residing on my iPod).
    So, I wiped my drive. Specifically, I booted into my Leopard Install DVD, and went for the Erase and Install option. The install commenced and finished without a hitch. I brought my "new" computer up, enjoyed the theatrics of the intro movie and started running through the setup. I came to the step where it asks if I want to transfer files from another Mac, from another volume on my Mac, from a Time Machine backup, or not at all. I of course clicked for a Time Machine back up. The first sign of trouble was that my backup didn't show up (despite having my external plugged in). I felt a pang of fear, but it didn't worry me too much, and I thought to myself that I'd just use Migration Assistant later on (the Leopard setup sequence specifically stated I could do this if I so wished).
    So I went straight to my desktop and fired up Migration Assistant, and went through the steps till it asked me to select a Time Machine backup. But there were none to select from. I waited a full minute, my fear growing steadily to terror. Finally, I realized that my data was gone, and flipped out. My inner geek, which was screaming at me to calm down and look inside my external, was shackled and thrown into a tiny corner of my now completely panicked mind. This lasted for roughly two minutes. After regaining myself, and opened my external. It contained one folder named Backups.backupdb. I opened it, and inside I found Neomiranda (Neomiranda is the name I gave my computer). So far so good. Inside the folder of Neomiranda, I found 2008-02-20-060526.inProgress. Another 30 seconds of flipping out over the idea of .inProgress. After awhile, I had the sense to right click on it, and hit the "Show Package Contents" option.
    Inside were three folders, with three corresponding log files. I quickly realized that each one was a backup. The first two were empty, which I anticipated. Those were my two attempts while figuring out what to exclude, so I could get a backup to fit on my external. The third contained another Neomiranda folder, which contained all my data. Everything except my Pictures folder was there.
    So, I went back and forth, manually restoring my data. When I'd finished, I started up a few apps to check that everything worked. Not everything worked. Mail wouldn't even get a bounce from the dock, Firefox told me there was a copy of itself already running, and iTunes complained that I had either a locked disk or insufficient permissions. Acting on iTunes' advice, I set out comparing the permissions of various folders I'd copied to the permissions of their equivalents on another, fully functional, system. Everything checked out. Nothing was locked, and everything had the correct permissions. I fired up Disk Utility and had it a run a permissions repair. It spat out a great deal of stuff that it apparently found wrong, and apparently fixed, but ultimately, it had no effect.
    I cannot find anything wrong with any permissions, but I've got a feeling that's where the problem is. Why? Because any time I want to do anything to a folder I've copied, or anything inside a folder I've copied, it wants my admin password. Despite no apparent differences in permissions between folders I don't need a password for and between folders I do need a password for, I need a password for folders I have copied from my backup.
    I've not looked into file ownership, as I couldn't find a way to even find out who a file belongs to, much less actually change ownership to anything. If I end having to use chown at a bash, fine with me, but I'm not a Unix man. I'll still need help with it (though I do know how to use the man command).

    Same problem and for months now. I haven't been able to find a solution, but I suspect that's because I don't know exactly what's wrong.

  • Can I use the same external hd for time machine and storage without partitioning it?

    Hello,
    I have been using an external hard drive for my Time Machine that was only used for this purpose.
    I downloaded some files in it that I want to use, and I haven't backed up using Time Machine since.
    Can I download the files on my MacBook from the HD without running into any problems, or is there anything else I should do?
    I prefer not to partition the hd, since I will be deleting these files, or transferring them to a different HD, and using this HD only for Time Machine back ups, as I did previously.
    ** I am not sure if this changes anything, but I just updated from Snow Leopard to Lion.
    Thank you so much

    carolsm wrote:
    Thanks Kappy, I will do that.
    I just really needed these files and had no other hard drive to store them.
    Do you think that it will be okay just this one time if I download the files on my MacBook without compromising my backups?
    I will transfer them to a new hard drive, and erase them from my Time Machine external  hard drive.
    For the time being it will be fine. There is always a chance of a disc crashing and therefore not advisable practice. Some here run seperate drives with Time Machine, Cloned backup and file backup. I have a portable drive I keep Time Machine backups and file backups on. I am running that at my own risk, but no problems over the last couple of years. Just make sure I get it to my normal TM Backup disk as soon as I get home. Backing up those other files will not compromise your Time Machine backups as you asked.
    Cheers
    Pete

  • Time Machine and file system errors?

    Hardware:
    - 15" MBP 2GHz (mid 2006) 10.5
    - WD MyBook Premium 320gb
    Problem:
    Time Machine backs up to a partition on the MyBook (drive is GUID partition table, partition is Mac OS Extended). Immediately after a TM backup to a reformatted partition, Disk Utility may or may not detect invalid sibling links, invalid key lengths, or other errors. If it does not detect them after the initial backup, subsequent backups of recently changed files will cause said errors. This is consistent; its occurrence is not a "maybe".
    Disk Utility cannot fix these errors. fsck_hfs has had success in fixing these errors once. As I type fsck_hfs is running a second time, so we'll see the results from that. The first run produced the following:
    fsck_hfs -ypr /dev/disk1s2
    *Invalid node structure*
    (4, 44282)
    *Invalid volume file count*
    (It should be 832071 instead of 802858)
    *Invalid volume directory count*
    (It should be 181916 instead of 177095)
    *Invalid volume free block count*
    (It should be 13931374 instead of 14042565)
    *Volume Header needs minor repair*
    (2, 0)
    Questions:
    - Of what is this behavior indicative?
    - Is the MyBook necessarily bad?
    - Is TM somehow the cause?
    - Could bad sectors on the MyBook be the cause?
    - Is the drive within the MBP the source of these problems (Disk Utility has not previously found any errors...)?
    I'm really at a loss...

    Boot from the OS X installer disc that came with the computer. After the chime press and hold down the "D" key until the diagnostic screen appears.
    Booting From An OS X Installer Disc
    1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
    2. Restart the computer.
    3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
    4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
    5. Wait for installer to finish loading.

  • Time Machine and File Vault problems

    Hi,
    Since I converted to Mac more than a year ago, I turned my file vault on (although I learned in the meantime that it is not actually necessary....)
    I now recently bought the time Capsule and found out that the Time Machine doesn't go well with the File Vault turned on. It does back up the home folder only when logged out and I don't get the hourly backups for single files either.
    I then tried to turn File Vault off, but get the error message that I haven't got enough space on my hard disk (which I have). This message led me to this article here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1974
    I am really not an expert and not too confident to play around with accounts, backups and so on, so I really don't want to go down the described route.
    For me, it looks like a bug in OS X, I should be able to turn File Vault off with the click of a button. Also, why is the File Vault / Time Machine conflict nowhere mentioned ? I was playing round with TM to recover a single file, but this wasn't possible, that's why I went to explore the issue further...
    I now just want to turn off File Vault and finally want to use my TC normally.
    Who can help ?
    Message was edited by: Mike201071

    ....so, it seems to work now.
    I did eventually go through the routine of backing up my home folder manually on the TC, then I created a new account, copied everything back, deleted the old account, and so on, as described in the link above.
    I did not turn on the File Vault, activated TM and backed the whole lot up via Ethernet, switched back to wireless and TM seems to do the trick now.
    I have now access to single folders and files when I go back in time in TM, instead of the whole backup only.
    This seems to be the only way TM & TC are working properly, why is this conflict between File Vault and TM nowhere mentioned ?

  • Time Machine needs file sharing mode

    I have a Time Capsule (1rst Gen 2008, 500 Go) 56GB left, connected through Ethernet.
    I just rebuilt the index but i still find odd it needs 4 mn to backup 10MB every hour
    I have strange errors
    mds[78]: ERROR: _MDSChannelInitForAFP: AFPSendSpotLightRPC failed -1
    and
    mds[78]: (Error) Volume: Could not find requested backup type:2 for volume
    also,
    1) i need to enable file-sharing (with airport utiliy), or Time Machine won't start
    2) the name of the disk is incorrectly spelled in Time Machine preferences (with a "-1" at the end, as if there were two disks with the same name. There are not)
    3) Time Machine seems to be using afp for the backup
    com.apple.backupd[3242]: Attempting to mount network destination URL: afp://MyDisk
    i wonder if there is a problem in the way Time Machine is configured
    Any ideas ?

    Please visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.

  • Time machine and files on external drive

    When I first got my MacBook Pro, I left some old files on the external drive that I had been using for files. But then when I set TM up, I used that external drive, not realizing that I can no longer retrieve files except through TM. Now, that TM has filled up, I need to reset some things and do it right this time. I figure I will need to erase the entire drive and start over with partitions.
    Am I out of luck to retrieve those files that were not associated with TM? If not, let me know how to find those files.
    thanks

    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

  • Time Capsule and File Sharing on Server

    I am in the process of setting up Server at home. I've run into a snag with using a Time Capsule as my router and backup drive and also enabling file sharing through Server. When adding File Sharing as a service in the Server application, a warning comes up to disable disk sharing at the router before forwarding the ports. The problem is that if I disable disk sharing on the Time Capsule, I can no longer access my Time Capsule drive (for obvious reasons). I was reading another post that discussed enabling disk share from the router and then adding a port for file sharing manually, but that did not seem to work as I cannot remotely access my files.
    I am running Server on an iMac which is running Mavericks. The Time Capsule says it's "version 7.6.4". It's a 2TB drive. The iMac is a 2012 system with 1TB drive. I also have a Drobo and a few external drives connected.
    I appreciate any advice! Thanks!

    If I turn on disk sharing (even without the LAN option) I can select the disk to back up, but then I cannot share files using my server due to the port conflict.
    I find this hard to follow.. there is no port conflict on a local lan with sharing.. that is not even possible.
    If you have several Macs for instance and set each to share.. they are all able to share.. there is no port conflicts.. You do not need all the devices on different ports because they have different names.
    You only get into port conflicts when you have external access turned on.. and are having to port forward. Because the network is identified by a single public IP.. in that case you can port translate but you don't do that in a LAN.
    There has to be something screwy in the server version of Mavericks for this to happen.
    I am trying to think of way around it.. but I will do a bit of google work first on if others are having issues with latest server version.
    What about giving me a few screenshots of the setup...
    Network on the server.. and network on the TC ..
    And run netstat scan on the server to see the local IP addresses of everything.

  • Time Machine and Disk Shared via Airport Extreme

    Is it possible to use Time Machine on a disk shared via Airport Extreme?

    No, they pulled it, even though Steve promised the wireless backup feature in his latest keynote. One hour into it to be exact.
    http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/d7625zs/event/
    Now, I am very much against releasing a product before its ready, so I respect them for that. However Steve VERY clearly states that it was already working and would release with Leopard. He usually makes a very very clear distinction between things they "can/might" do and things that are working. He even goes into detail about how all the house macs can wirelessly use the same backup through the Airport Express. THEY EVEN HAVE A PICTURE of it!
    So they need more time, okay. But I feel lied to. The least they could do is make a press release with an ETA! The hush hush, makes it seem like they are going to scrap it and pretend it never happened.

Maybe you are looking for

  • I am frustrated i just downloaded itunes to my laptop and the purchased songs and they arent loading to my ipod?

    I am frustrated i just downloaded itunes to my laptop and purchased songs they arent downloading to my ipod. I have done many times in the past on my desk why is it working working?

  • Problem using runclient with j2ee

    Dear all, please help as i am banging my head against the monitor trying to figure all these little things out. Currently, I am working through the j2ee tutorial. This uses the deploytool to package and deploy all files. however, when i try to run ru

  • How to import csv data into Oracle using c#

    Hello, How to import csv data into Oracle using c #. Where data to be imported 3GB in size and number of rows 7512263. I've managed to import csv data into Oracle, but the time it takes about 1 hour. How to speed up the time it takes to import csv da

  • Could some body write me a small program?

    Im after a program that will simulate a simple fruit machine It must have a minimum of Three lables which will display the fruit machine symbols - orange-banana-pear-cherry-bar-seven-java (all jpegs) Two buttons one with the text "SPIN" and the other

  • Updater wont work(petrib help!!!!!)

    have new pc suite which includes the software updater tried updating my phone n93 to which i received prompt that there is update available....i didnt even get the promt to reinstall firmware can anyone tell me why this is happening? anyone with the