Time Machine Backup on MBA...

Hey all,
While I've read about how Time Machine works to wirelessly back up your Mac when Time Capsule is connected wirelessly, I'm unsure how to do this with a wired USB external drive. I've read here to designate the drive as a backup for Time Machine, if the drive isn't plugged in is there a reminder that pops up to remind me to connect and perform a backup? Can the MBA be backed up while asleep with an external HD connected?
Sly

slyguy_28 wrote:
Hey all,
While I've read about how Time Machine works to wirelessly back up your Mac when Time Capsule is connected wirelessly, I'm unsure how to do this with a wired USB external drive. I've read here to designate the drive as a backup for Time Machine, if the drive isn't plugged in is there a reminder that pops up to remind me to connect and perform a backup?
If you turn Time Machine ON, it will back up hourly while your Mac is awake and the destination is available. It will send a message after 10 days (I think) without a backup. Personally, I wish that could be set to a smaller value, but as of now, it can't.
Feel free to request that at: http://www.apple.com/feedback/timemachine.html
You can always see the date of the last backup, by clicking the TM icon in your Menubar, or looking at the +Time Machine Preferences+ window.
Can the MBA be backed up while asleep with an external HD connected?
No. Nothing runs when a Mac is asleep. But TM will do a backup upon wake.

Similar Messages

Time Machine backup on MBA 13" drop connection after a while

Nov 2010 MBA 13", OS X 10.6.7 (latest)
2008 Time Capsule, Firmware 7.5.2 (latest)
Since a while ago, possibly 10.6.7 patch, my MBA has had problems maintaining a wireless connection both to my TC and to an Airport Express that I have, especially when left unattended for 10' or so. My Iphone 4 and a Vista PC on the same network never had a similar problem.
Genius Bar folks ran hardware tests which showed nothing, then suggested a clean install and app migration (without network settings) which I did. For a day or so my MBA then starting to behave well.
Since yesterday, when I reinstalled 10.6.7, my MBA doesn't drop the connection, but has another problem. It won't finish its wireless Time Machine backup (3.6GB). Sometimes it can't find the TC disk, others it can. Then it goes ok for a while, even sometimes 2/3 of the way and then drops the internet connection and the connection to TC, but the Airport binding to the TC still shows as active on the MBA menubar. If I turn the Airport interface off and back on again on the MBA, eventually after a while it might find the wireless network again.
The only other internet-related app running in the background is Skype 5.1.0.914 (latest). Also, TC network channel is not shared with any other wireless close by.
I strongly believe this is a problem with the latest OS X patch (10.6.7) and MBA/TC combination. Even while it backups ok, it seems that the backup speed is low, which points to some conflict.
Do other people have the same or a similar issue? Can Apple Support chime in, since Genius Bar suggestion didn't do much for me?
Thanks in advance.

Update:
Stopping Skype allows backups to run faster and complete normally. In fact Time Machine has never been that fast for me..
Seems the problem is gone, hopefully this might also help others.

Time Machine Backup on External Drive Invalid sibling link

I've used time machine to backup macbook air for several months. From Feb 2011 without any problems until about 2 months ago. I started to get the message that backups could not be started.
I realized that the disk would not mount right away. And after about 10 minutes or more I would get the message that my disk could not be mounted. The error said my data could be backed up and I should do it right away.
Okay, so I try to copy my backup files using finder and get an error saying I don't have permissions to copy data.
My research indicates my hard drive is failing, which is unfortunate, since I bought it within the last year :-(
Okay, so now I am trying to get my months worth of backups off the drive and this is proving to be quite difficult...actually, impossible.
Here are my latest attempts at resolving my issue:
1. Ran Repair Disk - reusts:
          error: Could not repair disk and something about backing up my data and reformating the disk
2. Ran fsck_hfs -f command in terminal
     The system indicated it was executing the command and about 2 or 3 minutes, I think the command prompt appeared. No other message
3. Run repair disk again - My results:
     Checking catalog file.
     INvalid sibling link
     rebuilding catalog B-Tree
     The volume My Passport could not be repaired
     Volume repair complete
     Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required
     Error: Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed up files
4. Created a new partition on another external drive and did a restore in Disk Utility from the broken drive to the new partition on the other drive. Took a few hours. Unfortunately, I just created the same problem on that partition (invalid sibling link)
Any other ideas on how I can rescue my backup data from the My Passport drive? I can see it in finder but I can't copy it do my other drive!
Research on forums and other sites have mentioned cloning the drive using "dd" command. Is this the same as the disk utility restore?
Is there some way I can change the permissions of the disk/partitition/files to enable me to copy the data to the new external drive?
Here is what the system looks like: Mac HD is my mac mini; My book is the WD 1TB external drive usb connected; My Passport is the broken external drive with the time machine backups that I can't get access to.
unknown3c07544bc705:Volumes oshunj$ ls -ale
total 8
drwxrwxrwt@ 5 root    admin   170 Dec 4 09:40 .
0: group:everyone deny add_file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,only_inherit
drwxr-xr-x 29 root    wheel 1054 Dec 3 18:17 ..
lrwxr-xr-x   1 root    admin     1 Dec 3 18:10 Macintosh HD -> /
drwxr-xr-x@ 15 oshunj staff   578 Dec 3 20:46 My Book
drwxr-xr-x@ 14 oshunj staff   544 Oct 16 19:32 My Passport
unknown3c07544bc705:Volumes oshunj$ ls -Orbitlake /Volumes
total 4
     2 drwxr-xr-x@ 14 oshunj staff -       544 Oct 16 19:32 My Passport
335990 lrwxr-xr-x   1 root    admin -         1 Dec 3 18:10 Macintosh HD -> /
     2 drwxr-xr-x 29 root    wheel -      1054 Dec 3 18:17 ..
     2 drwxr-xr-x@ 15 oshunj staff -       578 Dec 3 20:46 My Book
10710 drwxrwxrwt@ 5 root    admin hidden 170 Dec 4 09:40 .
0: group:everyone deny add_file,add_subdirectory,directory_inherit,only_inherit

***Update to ask question***
I would love to setup my new mini like my MBA. Is there anything wrong with restoring my entire drive, I think it starts at /User/ level, to my mini????
You know you never know when you will need the backups. This makes me angry especially since I can see the files but can't repair the disk.
OTOH, I attempted something I just now read about, option-click on time machine icon. Funny thing, I selected other disk and my passport (original broken drive) popped up with time machine backups on it.
I, quite timidly, selected the disk, opened the time machine and traversed my broken drive with backups from feb.
hmmm. I then, selected some random pdf file to restore and behold, It was restored to my mac mini right before my eyes.
I'm confused. But I think I will go with your suggestion and just put the drive away in a closet somewhere and hope to never really need it. It is quite interesting though that I am unable to repair this disk but I can restore files from it....Odd, I tell you, odd....
Thanks

Time Machine Backup Error

I just bought a new 2gb Time Capsule to replace my 3 year old 1gb model. I have 4 Macs that back up to the Time Capsule (3 laptops wirelessly, 1 iMac wired). It is the exact same setup I had with the old Time Capsule. I set up the new Time Capsule without transferring over prior backups.
On my Retina MacBook Pro, I am receiving the error "The identity of the backup disk “MyName” has changed since the previous backup." Some add'l details:
1) The new and old TCs were named the same and no other external drives are plugged into any computers
2) The other 3 computers are properly using the Time Capsule
3) The issue seems to pop up over night, in other words when I have not been using the MBP for a while, but I am not sure that has any bearing on this, just a data point
4) I have deleted the sparsebundle and plist file for the MBP, essentially trying to clear out all remnants
5) I am on Mavericks with all software up to date
6) I have selected and unselected the backup disk several times in System Preferences/Time Machine/Select Disk
I have looked at /volumes/ on both the MBP and my iMac and watched as I run a Time Machine backup. As the TM backup runs, additional volumes appear and then disappear once the process completes:
On the iMac: Volumes named "MyName Time Capsule" and "Time Machine Backups" appear while the process is running, then both disappear once finished.
On the offending MBP: Volumes named "MyName Time Capsule" and "Time Machine Backups" appear while the process is running, then both disappear once finished. However, there is another volume called "MobileBackups" that does NOT go away once finished. I've tried to manually dismount that volume, and when I re-run the Time Machine process it reappears and does not automatically disappear.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance, John

Well, I am virtually convinced that this is an issue around when the rMBP goes into sleep mode and loses connectivity to my network. I was away from the machine for a couple of hours today, and upon return noticed an exclamation point in the Time Machine icon. The menu indicated "Backup Delayed".
1) When I tried to manually start a backup, after several minutes I received a notice "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "myname". The backup disk is not available. Make sure the backup disk is connected or select a different backup disk."
2) When trying to select the disk in Airport Utility and trying to manually run a backup, after several minutes I received the error "There was a problem connecting to server "myname". Check the server IP address, and then try again. If you continue to have problems, contact your system administrator."
3) I also tried to open the drive via Finder but was unable to connect to the drive.
4) Based on a suggestion from someone, I ran the following Terminal command (see results below):
sudo tail -f /var/log/system.log | grep -i backup
5) Meanwhile, I checked both my iMac as well as my wife's MBA and both had been running Time Machine properly throughout, no errors in the past and no errors today. I manually ran a backup on both the iMac and the MBA and both ran perfectly.
6) I restarted the Time Capsule via the Airport Utility. Upon restart, I was able to successfully manually run a TM backup form my rMBP. I was also able to access the Time Capsule via Finder.
Add'l Notes:
a) I am not losing my network connection in general. I am still able to browse, etc. I am just losing my TC connection apparently.
b) I was using an old Time Capsule with this same laptop for about a month before buying this new Time Capsule. I never once had this issue with the old Time Capsule.
It seems clear to me that upon non-use I am somehow losing connectivity to the Time Capsule. While the issue hasn't happened in over the past 2 nights, it did happen today while I was out running errands. My hypothesis on why it didn't happen the past 2 nights is that there may have been some network activity (ie: receiving an email, receiving an iMessage, etc.) that allowed the rMBP to maintain connectivity.
Any additional ideas with the new info? I will call Apple ASAP, but cannot tonight.
Thanks in advance.
Results of Terminal command while trying to run a TM backup:
Jan 4 16:02:56 Aaa-Bbbs-MacBook-Pro.local com.apple.backupd[3845]: NAConnectToServerSync failed with error: 89 for url: afp://aaa%20bbb;AUTH=SRP@Bbb._afpovertcp._tcp.local/Bbb%20Time%20Capsule
Jan 4 16:02:56 Aaa-DAgostinos-MacBook-Pro.local com.apple.backupd[3845]: Attempting to mount network destination using URL: afp://Aaa%20Bbb;[email protected]/Bbb%20Time%20Capsule
Jan 4 16:05:27 Aaa-DAgostinos-MacBook-Pro.local com.apple.backupd[3845]: NAConnectToServerSync failed with error: 89 for url: afp://Aaa%20Bbb;[email protected]/Bbb%20Time%20Capsule
Jan 4 16:05:27 Aaa-DAgostinos-MacBook-Pro.local com.apple.backupd[3845]: Backup failed with error 19: The backup disk could not be resolved, or there was a problem mounting it.

Time machine backup failed to restore

HHaving had major issues with Mail I decided to restore from a Time Machine backup. With hindsight I wish I hadn't! Having foolishly agreed to the 'this will erase everything' warning I waited 8 hours (twice) to get the message that my backup failed to restore. No more detail than that. Does anyone have any ideas / suggestions? I have a MBA with latest upgrade of Yosemite (last upgrade probably caused my Mail issue). Everything is backed up using Time Machine to a Netgear NAS. When going through the restore process I have no is

TThanks Eric. At present I can't connect the NAS directly. I dont seem to have a usb to usb cable. It is connecting via a network cable. My MBA can see the NAS and I've successfully entered my login details and chosen the backup I want to restore.
On C's recommendation I tried reinstalling OSX and planned to then try importing all my files on,y to find that there was not enough disk space. I've now erased everything as it occurred to me that starting with most of my 250G drive free might help. I'm having one more go at restoring directly from the TM backup as this would be my preferred solution (indeed what I had assumed Time Machine was meant for). On,y another 7 hours 26 minutes to wait. If that fails I will have another go at a fresh OS X install and reimport from TM (on the assumption that an empty hard disk will allow that this time).
ANd do all this because MaIl stopped working with my old POP account and I screwed up the switch to IMAP (by dragging my old Pop account contents across to the new IMAP account is created - will need to do that more carefully if I ever get back to where I started!).

Transferring Time Machine backup from old to new Time Capsule

After transferring my old Time Machine backup from a 5 year old Time Capsule to a new Airport Time Capsule, my MacBook Air wants to start a new full Time Machine backup to the new TC. I was under the impression that the Time Machine backups would pick up where they left off. Was I mistaken? Is the backup supposed to begin anew even if you've transferred an old backup?
Also, if it must begin from scratch, how would I access the old TM backups if I needed to restore a file from the old backup?
Thanks for any help you can provide.

pmpknetr21 wrote:
After transferring my old Time Machine backup from a 5 year old Time Capsule to a new Airport Time Capsule, my MacBook Air wants to start a new full Time Machine backup to the new TC.
How far did you go? By that I mean did you allow the MBA to actually start the backup.
It can be very simple thing.. I have done it lots of times in my repairs to Time Capsules.. if I move a sparsebundle to another location, TM will not even check for the old sparsebundle until it start running.
So the operation is as follows..
Move the sparsebundle.
There is an Apple document as well as what Pondini produced.
Transfer TM backups..
Apple doco. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5097
Pondini doco http://pondini.org/TM/18.html
As long as you are talking network backups it doesn't much matter. The same rules apply to moving the sparsebundle.
When you reset TM to the new location of the backup.. it will always tell you it will begin a new backup..
As long as you did not change the computer name.. or install a new OS or upgrade.. only when the backup actually starts will it look for existing sparsebundles.. find it.. and begin from where it left off.
So you simply have to start. Wait for TM to figure out there is an existing sparsebundle with the correct name.. and start what will often be a deep scan of the existing sparsebundle. So it can take a long time.. and we do still recommend doing this first one by ethernet.. albeit on an Air that does mean buying the thunderbolt to ethernet dongle.
As a general principle I generally recommend people do start a new backup. Archive the old one.. it is easy to access old backups.. Again see pondini FAQ.. 14-17 on all the neato things you can do.

Help! Macbook Air lost association with USB Airport hosted Time Machine Backup

Okay, so my wife's Macbook Air was doing Time Machine backup to USB drive attached to previous generation Airport Extreme...
We bought a brand new Airport router a couple of weeks ago, I plugged it in and everything went smoothly. Plugged in USN drive that attached to older APE router, and it's still visible on the network. However, ever since we got the new router, the existing backups are not associated with the Macbook Air anymore.
Yes, I can start over with a new backup file, but I was hoping to use the existing backup (it takes a while to backup wirelessly, and we lose the whole history if we wanted to recover previous versions of files that were backed up—I can't think of anything we'd need right now, but Murphy's Law will probably apply if I go ahead and erase the old and start new).
I was hoping all I would have to do was drag the old backup file onto the Time Machine icon to re-associate it with this computer, but I can't see any way to tell Time Machine, "hey, here's the backup file you are looking for... it's right here on the same USB drive attached to the new router."
(Also, before anyone says to make sure I have a backup of the backup, I do. The computer is backed up offsite with Backblaze, too.)
Perhaps it will be best to just start from scratch with a new Time Machine backup, that just seems like overkill, since there was nothing wrong or corrupt with the existing Time Machine file, I just switched what router it was attached to. Thanks for any advice/enlightenment.

I guess I have a few comments.
Apple has an opt out.. they do not support Time Machine backups on older Airport Extreme. Apple have always stated it is unreliable and so refused to support it.. only with Gen6 of the AE have they changed to supporting TM backups.
From your point of view it should have worked.. it may indeed still work. But the change of network is significant and it will take some work on your part.
1. I need to know what OS is the MBA running??
2. Moving a disk from one network location to another, I would strongly recommend a full reset of Time Machine on the computer.
See A4 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
3. Pondini in the same reference has some info about inheriting old backups .. slightly different context but it also could help.
see B5 and B6
4. It is also possible to move old backups into a new backup.. but this is then going too far.
I would simply buy a new USB drive.. and keep the old backup drive for a few months until your new one builds up sufficient history to be sure you will not need the old ones.. at that point you can use the old backup drive again after a reformat.
5. To do the new backup, since wireless is indeed a long and burdensome chore to make that crucial first backup, buy a thunderbolt to ethernet adapter.. assuming your MBA is recent enough. Ethernet is so worthwhile having it is required not optional extra. The cost at $35 is one of the cheapest adapters for a very expensive interface..

Clone vs time machine backup

I am hoping someone can clarify this for me. It has to do with the variations of clone vs time machine back up vs migration assistance. I currently have a mid 2009 13" MBP that I am thinking of giving to my sister and getting myself a brand new MBA 13" due to weight factor. The current MBP is working well. I have a Time Machine backup and a clone of the hard drive.
My understanding is that due to the difference in hardware you would not be able to use a clone from a MBP to move over to a MBA. Same for a Time Machine backup. Migration assistant will move over your documents and settings but not install any of your programs. So on the new MBA I would need to install my programs one by one.
Is there anyway to take some sort of 'clone" of the MBP and move it to the MBA so that all my programs, settings, preferences will just appear? Or am I dreaming here?
Thanks for any help

Scottadel wrote:
...Is there anyway to take some sort of 'clone" of the MBP and move it to the MBA so that all my programs, settings, preferences will just appear? Or am I dreaming here?...
There is a way to bring over things that even Setup Assistant won't.
Clone your old system to an external drive, preferably USB 3.0, because of the speed and the fact that the new USB 3.0 equipped Macs can boot from them.
Connect the external drive with the clone to the new MBA and make sure that it mounts. Then reboot and immediately go into Recovery mode (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718). You will be offered an option to install Mountain Lion. Choose that and pick the clone to install ML on. Since the clone is connected to the MBA, the installer will make the ML install compatible with your new computer. Try booting from the external long enough to satisfy yourself that everything is working properly, then clone that to the internal drive on the MBA.
Bonus: you'll already have a bootable backup as well as an external for Time Machine backups.

Macbook Air Freezes when Time Machine backup starts

My Macbook Air (OS 10.5.5) has started freezing up whenever a Time Machine backup begins. I get the dark shade screen telling me that it has crashed and to hard power off. Everything was working well before, including the Time Machine backups, and the only changes I have made are the Apple updates. At first I thought it was random crashes, but I soon discovered that turning off Time Machine stops the problem (though obviously does not fix it). I've tried restarting and turning Time Machine back on, but it still makes the computer crash within a minute of the start of the backup process. The backup goes to a Time Capsule. I have not seen this problem on any of my other macs on the same network including a Macbook Pro that backs up to the same Time Capsule. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be and how to fix it?

To be honest,no I don't know why you are having this problem.
It looks like a specific problem with your MBA which could be a hardware problem (RAM most likely here) or a bad sector problem on the hard disk. If you own a copy of TechTool or something similar, run a full hardware systems check. If you don't own TechTool, run the Apple Hardware check from the MBA System install disk.
And, it could be a software problem. I don't know if this sequence will help, but do it anyway because it seems to solve problems on other Leopard systems.
1.) Disable Time Machine back ups
2.) Open Disk Utility and Run Repair Permissions
3.) Run Verify Disk. If it passes go to step 4.
4.) Download the 10.5.5. Combo Updater from http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_5_ComboUpdate
5.) Run the Combo Updater and restart
6.) Run Disk Utility Repair Permissions again
Then enable Time Machine and keep your fingers crossed.
Let me know if any of that helps.

Can i launch _Daily_ Time Machine backup?

Hi there,
before upgrading from Mavericks to Yosemite, i want to create the latest backup of my MBP13.
Can i selectively launch a backup choosing the Daily Backup, instead of having to wait through the backup of my entire drive?
From Time Machine preference screen, i see this process is pretty much automatic.
So basically, i wonder if there is a way to control the backup process, or is it fully automatic?

If you can consider starting all over again with both the MBP and MBA, the simplest thing to do by far is erase the Time Capsule disk and then start over again with backups from both Macs and move forward.
Few of us ever need all the backups from months, weeks or even days ago, but I do understand that it is difficult to erase them.
Trying to reduce the size of the current backup set on the Time Capsule would take forever and the results are not guaranteed. There is simply no way to do this other than start to manually delete individual backups from Time Machine. After 3-4 hours of work....and very little gain in disk space.....you may likely conclude that this is not for you.
It would certainly be possible to connect a USB drive to the Time Capsule and "point" the backups for the MBA there, so that is an idea. Not sure what you are referring to about Lion in this regard. You may be confused with Time Machine backups to a USB drive at the AirPort Extreme....which is not supported by Apple.
If you elect to backup the MBA to the "new" USB drive, you still will soon be faced with a decision on what to do with the existing backups on the Time Capsule. In theory, Time Machine deletes older backups automatically to make room for new backups. In practice, this does not always work. Then, you have to decide how to proceed at that point.
Bottom line....starting over fresh with both Macs is by far the simplest thing to do. Given the complexities of network issues, the simplest thing is also often the best thing to do.

Time Machine backups failing (error 22) on Time Capsule

Hi
I've been happily using my Time Capsule as a Time Machine backup for the last year or so. Two MacBooks have worked just fine on there, along with a network drive to store some of the wife's files which won't all fit on her Air.
Last night the firmware was updated on the TC and now whenever I try to do a backup on either my MacBook Pro or the MacBook Air I get the following error:
The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data-2/Adrian’s MacBook Pro.sparsebundle” could not be created (error 22).
The backups have always gone into a folder "Data" on the TM previously, and whenever a TM backup began I got a dark green TM disk icon on the desktop. Now this doesn't happen and the above error shows after the TM tries to prepare the disk.
I've tried deleting the .com.apple.timemachine.plist file from the Library Preferences to recreate that, no good. I've tried rebooting both TC and MBP. I've tried moving my old backup to a different folder to start afresh. Nothing has helped.
I also cannot access the old backups - I get this error:
An unexpected error occurred (error code -6584).
I have 1TB space remaining on my 2TB TC, so that shouldn't be an issue. I've tried rolling back the firmware using the Airport Utility as well, but this hasn't helped either.
I'm running OS X Lion 10.7.3 on moth MBP and MBA.
And with that I'm stumped as to why something that was so reliable should now suddenly stop working. The last backup was showing as yesterday at 21:22, which would have been just before I did the update. The only other thing I may have done last night was to map a network drive on the MBA so the wife can connect to her folder on the TC more easily.
Any ideas/solutions gratefully received! Thanks in advance!

Sounds like the backups may be damaged. Try to Repair them, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting

Using Remote Disc to transfer Office to Macbook Air and Time Machine backup

Hello,
I just bought the new version of Macbook Air. At the store they said that transferring programs such as Office for Mac was as easy as just opening the sharing folderin preferences on my Imac and new Air and it would be a breeze. Do I have to install anything from the DVD that came with the Macbook Air to enable anything, or will I just, by wifi, start the two machines communicating?
Also, is there any easy way to just backup my last Time Machine backup from my Imac to the new Air, or does this take some doing? Can I backup the Time Machine info while still keeping all of the info on it for my usual work with the Imac?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

First, the instruction book that comes with your MBA will walk you step by step through how to use remote disc. Its not just an open and play thing -- you do have to futz with your other machine, copy over security codes to allow communication, etc -- but it will walk you right through it, so the manual is the place to start.
You can use your Time Machine backup by using the Migration Assistant -- that starts right off the bat when you first initialize your MBA right out of the box, or you can go to Applications>Utilities>Migration Assistant anytime you want.
One thing you should be aware -- you don't really have too many options for the migration -- it will copy over everything from your TIme machine so you better have enough room on your MBA to do that. You can select if you don't want files copied (i.e. music) but that is about it. I did just that wiht my MBP backup on TIme machine -- it was about 100 GB and my new MBA is 120 GB. No problems there, worked perfectly.
Don't do your migration wirelessly -- about 100GB wirelessly on the MBA with a fast cable broadband connection would take 16 - 20 HOURS to do a migration. Connect your MBA via the optional ethernet dongle to an ethernet cable, and hardwire that to an open ethernet port on your router -- 100GB will then take about 2 - 3 hours instead.
ANother thing you should be aware of -- while Apple really touts the Remote Disc and wireless capabilities of the MBA, they are for the birds. Invest the 99.00 in a superdrive. It will be the happiest purchase you make for your MBA. If you install your MS Office via remote disc, for example, your installation will take about an hour. It takes 3 minutes with the superdrive. That is the same for anything you try to do via remote disc. Yeah, it works. It just takes hours and hours of your time. I don't know about you, but I have no interest in waiting an hour for a program to install.
As to your final question -- your Time Machine backup will ALWAYS remain associated with your iMac. After the migration assistant completes, you do not have a connection to that backup on your MBA anymore. You will have to do a fresh backup of your MBA if you want to back it up to your TIme machine. The Time machine makes a specific backup for each computer that you own. You can copy from the backup, but you can't reaccess it later. It will remain accessable to your iMac.

PowerNap Time Machine backup? USB Data shuts off in sleep mode!

So how is PowerNap supposed to do a Time Machine backup when USB is turned off in sleep mode? Everything else seems to work, but when I wake my computer back up, I am greeted with a message that the external hard drive was removed improperly, and no backups were completed overnight.
I'm using a MacBook Air Mid-2012 and a 2TB WD External HDD that uses it's own power supply.

A USB drive should be fine.
Right before going to bed, I duplicated a bunch of large files and then went to sleep with my USB hard drive plugged in. When I woke up I realized that Time Machine did back up about one hour after the computer was asleep.
Using a mid-2011 MBA.

Time Machine: backups failing because "connection failed"

I have a 500GB external HD connected to my Airport Extreme base station base station via USB, and I use it for wireless Time Machine backups for my iMac and my MBA.
(Yes, I know this setup isn't officially supported. But, it's been working well for a couple years now.)
But over the last few months, backups keep failing because the HD keeps getting disconnected. If I go to find the drive in the finder, it appears, but when I click it, it says "connection failed".
I've found that if I reset the AEX (via airport utility) that allows it to connect, but, never long enough for a full backup to happen.
And, several times recently I've gotten some message about how the backup needs to be verified or something like that- the bottom line is always that the old backups are lost and I need to start all over with the initial backup that takes days. But of course I can never finish it, because it always drops the connection.
At first I thought the problem was only with the iMac backups, which would lead me to believe the drive/router/etc isn't the problem and that it's something on the iMac, but then I had the problem with the MBA too, so I'm guessing it has to be something with the AEX base station (firmware maybe?), or the HD itself...
Is my HD dying? I've run disk utility on it and it checks out OK. Not sure how else to troubleshoot that.
I used to have tons of problems with my internet dropping out when backups were running, but an airport firmware update eventually solved that, and things had been running fine...
I'm running Lion and all the latest software/firmware updates.
Ive found tons of threads about this problem, but they're all at least a year old, and none had a solution...
Does anyone have any thoughts??
Thanks!!

Alexroet wrote:
And, several times recently I've gotten some message about how the backup needs to be verified or something like that- the bottom line is always that the old backups are lost and I need to start all over with the initial backup that takes days.
That's not one of Apple's clearest messages -- it means the backups are corrupted beyond OSX's ability to repair them. See #C13 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
Is my HD dying?
Possibly.
But more likely is the usual cause -- network or power problems that the Airport can't deal with well enough to prevent corruption.
Part of the reason you're seeing problems now may be more networks, cordless phones, microwaves, etc., in your area causing more network problems. Another part may be that it's only in the last 18 months or so that Time Machine started running the periodic checks to find the problem. You may have had trouble earlier but didn't know it.
Bottom line, you need to find a reliable way to back up.
In your case, it's actually easy: Delete the sparse bundle containing the iMac's backups, and start backing-up to it directly. Then back the MBA up to the same drive (preferably to a separate partition) via your network. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #22 for setup instructions. Also see #33 there.

I want a new and more powerful (non-Apple) wireless router but I still want to use my existing Time Capsule to continue with my Time Machine backups and I still need the Time Capsule's Network Attached Storage (NAS) features and capabilities

THE SHORTER STORY
My goal is to successfully use my existing Time Capsule (TC) with a new and more powerful wireless router. I need a new and more powerful wireless router in order to reach a distant Denon a/v receiver that is physically located in a master bedroom some 50 feet away from my modem. I need to provide this Denon a/v receiver with an Internet connection so that it can obtain its firmware updates and I need to connect this Denon a/v receiver to my network in order to use its AirPlay feature. I believe l still need the TC's Network Attached Storage (NAS) features because I am not sure if the new wireless router will provide me with the NAS like features / capabilities I need to share files between my two Apple laptops with OS X 10.8.2. And I know that I absolutely need my TC's seamless integration with Apple's Time Machine (TM) application in order to continue to make effortless backups of my two Apple laptops. To my knowledge nothing works with TM like Apple's TC. I also need the hard disk storage space built into the TC.
I cannot use a long wired Ethernet cable connection in this apartment and I cannot use power-line adapters. I have read that wireless range extenders and repeaters are difficult to successfully set-up and that they will reduce data speeds, especially so when incorrectly set-up. I cannot relocate my modem and/or primary base station wireless router.
In short, I want to use my TC with my new and more powerful wireless router. I need to stop using the TC to connect to the modem. However, I still need the TC for seamless TM backups. I also need to use the TC's built in hard drive for storage. And I may still need the TC's NAS capabilities to share files wirelessly between laptops because I am assuming the new wireless router will not provide NAS capabilities for OS X 10.8.2 (products like this/non-Apple products rarely seem to work with OS X 10.8.2/Macs to provide NAS features and capabilities). Finally, I want to continue to use my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also want to continue to use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Can someone please advise on how to set-up my new Asus wireless router with my existing TC in such a way to accomplish all of this?
What is the best configuration or set-up to accomplish my above goals?
Thank you in advance for your assistance!!!
THE FULL STORY
I live in an apartment building where my existing Time Capsule (TC) is located in my living room and serves many purposes. Specially, my TC is at least all of the following:
(1) Wi-Fi router connected to Comcast Internet service via Motorola SB6121 cable modem - currently the TC is the Wi-Fi base station that connects to the modem and has the gateway address to the Internet. The TC now provides the DHCP service for the Wi-Fi network.
(2) Wireless router providing Internet and Wi-Fi network access to several Wi-Fi clients - two Apple laptop computers, an iPod touch, an iPad and an iPhone all connect wirelessly to the Internet via the TC.
(3) Wired Ethernet router providing Internet and Wi-Fi network access to three different devices - a Panasonic TV, LG Blu-Ray player and an Apple TV each use one of the three LAN ports on the back of the TC to gain access to the Internet.
(4) Primary base station in my attempt to extend my wireless network to a distant (located far away) Denon a/v receiver requiring a wired Ethernet connection - In addition to the TC, which is my primary base station, I am also using a second extended Wi-Fi base station (a Netgear branded product) to wirelessly extend my WiFi network to a Denon receiver located in the master bedroom and requiring a wired Ethernet connection. I cannot use a wired Ethernet connection to continuously travel from the living room to the master bedroom. The distance is too great as I cannot effectively hide the Ethernet cable in this apartment.
(5) Time Machine (TM) backup facilitator - I use my TC to wirelessly back-up two Apple laptops using Apple's Time Machine (TM) application. However, I ran out of storage space on my TC and therefore added external storage to it. Specifically, I added an external hard drive to my TC via the USB port on the back of the TC. I now use this added external hard drive connected to the TC via USB as the destination storage drive for my TM back-ups. I have partitioned the added external hard drive, and each of the several partitions all have enough storage space (e.g., each of the two partitions used by TM are sized at three times the hard drive space of each laptop, etc.). Everything works flawlessly.
(6) Network Attached Storage (NAS) - In addition to using the TC's Network Attached Storage (NAS) capabilities to wirelessly back-up two Apple laptops via TM, I also store other additional files on both (A) the hard drive built into the TC and (B) the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB (there are additional separate partitions on this drive for these other additional and non-TM backup files).
I use the TC's NAS feature with my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Again, everything works wirelessly and flawlessly. (Note: the Apple TV is connected to the network via Ethernet and a LAN port on the back of the TC).
The issue I am having is when I try to listen to music via Apple's AirPlay in the master bedroom. This master bedroom is located at a distance of two rooms away from the TC's current location in the living room, which is a distance of about 50 feet. This apartment has a long rectangular floor plan where each room is connected to the next in a straight line. In order to use AirPlay in the master bedroom I am using a second extended Wi-Fi base station (a Netgear branded product) to wirelessly extend my WiFi network to a Denon receiver located in the master bedroom and requiring a wired Ethernet connection. This additional base station connects wirelessly to the WiFi network provided by my TC and then gives my Denon receiver the wired Ethernet connection it needs to use AirPlay. I have tried moving my iTunes music directly onto my laptop's hard drive, and then I used AirPlay on this same laptop to connect to the Denon receiver. I always get a successful connection and the song plays, but the problem is that the connection inevitably drops.
I live in an apartment building and all of the many wireless routers in this building create a great deal of WiFi interference on both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands. I have tried connecting the Netgear product to each the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, but neither band can successfully maintain a wireless connection between the TC and the Netgear product. I also attempted to maintain a wireless connection to an iPod touch using the 2.4 GHz band and AirPlay on this iPod touch to play music on the Denon receiver. Again, I was able to establish a connection and successfully play music, but after a few minutes the connection dropped and the music stopped playing. I therefore have concluded that I have a poor wireless connection in the master bedroom. I can establish a connection, but it is intermittent with frequent drops. I have verified this with both laptops by working in the master bedroom for an entire day on both laptops. The Internet connection in this master bedroom proved to drop out frequently - about once an hour with the laptops. The wireless connection and the frequency of its dropout are far worse with the iPod touch and an iPhone.
I cannot relocate the TC. Also, this is an apartment and I therefore cannot extend the range of my network with Ethernet cable (I cannot drill through walls/ceilings, etc.). It is an old building with antiquated wiring and power-line adapters are not likely to function properly, nor can I spare the direct power outlet required with a power-line adapter. I simply need every outlet I can get and cannot afford to block any direct outlet.
My solution is to use a more powerful wireless router. I found the ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router which will likely provide a better connection to my wireless Internet in the master bedroom than the TC. The 802.11ac band of this Asus wireless router is totally useless to me, but based on what I have read I believe this router will provide a stronger connection at greater distances then my TC. And I will be ready for 802.11ac when it becomes more widely available.
However, I still need to maintain the TC's ability to work seamlessly with TM to backup my two laptops. Also, I doubt the new Asus router will provide OS X 10.8.2 with NAS like features and capabilities. Therefore, I still would like to use the TC's NAS capabilities to share files on my network wirelessly assuming the Asus wireless router fails to provide this feature. I need a new and more powerful wireless router, but I need to maintain the TC's NAS features and seamless integration with TM. Finally, I want to continue to use my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also want to continue to use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Can someone advise on how to set-up my existing TC with this new Asus wireless router in such a way to accomplish all of this?
Modem
Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem
Existing Wireless Router and Primary Wi-Fi Base Station - Apple Time Capsule
Apple Time Capsule MC343LL/A 1TB Sim DualBand (purchased June 2010, likely the Winter 2009 Model)
Desired New Wireless Router and Primary Wi-Fi Base Station - Non-Apple Asus
ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router
Extended Wi-Fi Base Station - Provides an Ethernet Connection to a Denon A/V Receiver Two Rooms Away from the Modem
Netgear Universal Dual Band Wireless Internet Adapter for TV & Blu-Ray (WNCE3001)
Addition External Hard Drive Attached to the Existing Apple Time Capsule via USB
WD My Book Studio 4TB Mac External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0
Existing Laptops on the Wireless Network Requiring Time Machine Backups
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012) OS X 10.8.2
MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2010) OS X 10.8.2
Other Existing Apple Products (Clients) on the Wireless Network
iPod Touch (second generation) is model A1288.
iPad (1st generation)
Apple TV (3rd generation) - Quantity two (2)

Thanks Bob Timmons.
In regards to a Plan B, I hear ya brother. I am already on what feels like Plan Z. Getting WiFi to a far off room in an apartment building crowded with WiFi routers is a major pain.
I am basing my thoughts on the potential of a new and more powerful router reaching the far off master bedroom based on positive reviews on cnet.com, pcmag.com and pcworld.com. All 3 of these web sites have reviewed the Asus RT-AC66U 802.11AC wireless router as well as its virtual twin cousin 802.11n router. What impressed me is that all 3 sites rated this router #1 overall in terms of both range and speed (in both the 802.11n and 802.11AC flavors). They tested the router in real world scenarios where the router needed to compete with a lot of other wireless routers. One of the sites even buried this Asus router in a media room with thick walls and inside a media cabinet. This Asus router should be able to serve my 2.4 GHz band wireless clients (iPod Touch and iPhone 4) with a 2.4GHz Wireless-N band offering some 50 feet of dependable range and a 60 Mbps throughput at that range. I am hoping that works, but it's borderline for my master bedroom. My 5 GHz wireless clients (laptops) will enjoy a 5GHz Wireless-N band offering 150 feet of range and a 200 Mbps throughput at that range. I have no idea what most of that stuff means, but I did also read that Asus could reach 300 feet and I got really excited. My mileage may vary of course and I'm sure I'm making some mistakes in my interpretation of their data. However, my Winter 2009 Time Capsule was rated by cnet.com to deliver real world performance of less than that, and 802.11AC may or may not be useful to me someday. But when this Asus arrives and provides anything other than an excellent and consistent wireless signal without drops in the master bedroom it's going right back!
Your solution sounds great, but I have some questions. I'm using OS X 10.8.2 and Airport Utility (version 6.1 610.31) and on its third tab labeled "Wireless" the top option enables you to set "Network Mode" to either:
Create a wireless network
Extend a wireless network
Off
Given your advice to "Turn off the wireless on the TC," should I set Network Mode to Off? Sorry, I'm clueless in regards to how to turn off the wireless on the TC any other way. Can you provide specific steps on how to turn off the wireless on the TC? If what I wrote is correct then what should the rest of this Wireless tab look like, or perhaps it is irrelevant when wireless is off?
Next, what do you mean by "Configure the TC in Bridge Mode?" Under Airports Utility's fourth tab labeled "Network" the top option "Router Mode" allows for either:
DHCP and Nat
DHCP Only
Off (Bridge Mode)
Is your advice to Configure the TC in Bridge Mode as simple as setting Router Mode to Off (Bridge Mode)? If yes, then what should the rest of this "Network" tab look like? Anything else involved in configuring the TC in Bridge Mode or is it really as simple as setting the Router Mode to "Off (Bridge Mode)"?
How about the other tabs in Airport Utility, can they all stay as is assuming I use the same network name and password for the new Asus wireless router? Or do I need to make any other changes to the TC via Airport Utility?
Finally, in regards to your Plan B suggestion. I agree. But do you have a Plan B for me? I would greatly appreciate any alternative you could provide. Specifically, if you needed a TC's Internet connection to reach a far off corner of your home how would you do it? In the master bedroom I need both a wired Ethernet connection for the Denon a/v receiver and wireless Internet connection for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Power-Line Adapters - High Cost, Blocks at Least One Wall Outlet and Does Not Solve the Wireless Need
I actually like exactly one power-line adapter, which is the D-Link DHP-540 PowerLine AV 500 4-Port Gigabit Switch. This D-Link power-line adapter plugs into your wall outlet with a normal sized plug (regular standard power cord much like any other electronic device) instead of all of the other recommended power-line adapters that not only use at least one wall outlet but also often block the second outlet. You cannot use a power strip with a power-line adapter which is very impractical for me. And everything about my home is strange and upside down. The wiring here is a disaster and I don't have faith in its ability to carry Internet access from the living room to the master bedroom. And this D-Link power-line adapter costs $90 each and I need at least two to make the connection to the Denon A/V receiver. So, $180 on this solution and I still don't have a dependable drop free wireless connection in the master bedroom. The Denon might get its Ethernet Internet connection from the power-line adapter, but if I want to use an iPhone 4 or iPod Touch to stream AirPlay music to the Denon wirelessly (Pandora/iTunes, etc.) from the master bedroom the wireless connection will not be stable in there and I've already spent $190 on just the two power-line adapters needed.
Extenders / Repeaters / Wirelessly Extending the Wireless Network
I have also read great things about the Amped Wireless High Power Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Dual Band Range Extender (Repeater) SR20000G and the My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender. The former is very powerful and the latter is easier to install. Both cost about $150 ish so similar to a new Asus router. However, everything I read about Range Extenders points to them not being very effective for a far off corner of your house wherein it's apparently hard to place the range extender in the sweet spot where it both gets a strong enough signal to actually effectively extend the wireless signal and otherwise does not reduce network throughput speeds to unacceptable speeds.
Creating a Roaming Network By Hard Wiring with Ethernet Cable - Wife Would Say, "**** No!"
Even Apple seems to warn against wirelessly extending your network (see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145#) and otherwise strongly recommends a roaming network where Ethernet cable is used to connect two wireless base stations. However, I am in an apartment where stringing together two wireless base stations with Ethernet cable would have an extremely low wife acceptance factor (WAF). I cannot (both contractually and from a skill prospective) hide Ethernet wire in the walls or ceiling. And having visible Ethernet cable running from room-to-room would be unacceptable, especially to the wife.
So what is left? Do you have a Plan B for me? Thanks in advance for your help!

Time Machine Backup on MBA...

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