Time Machine Backup smaller than the actually used storage on my Mac

Hey there. I just made my first Time Machine Backup on my Time Capsule, but I was surprised to see, that the backup is only 118.73GB big, while my "Macintosh HD" says that I have already used 120.43GB. Fortunately everything works (further backups, entering Time Machine etc.).
Is that possible and normal? If yes: Why?
Best wishes,
Alexander Weis

Hi there,
I have the exact same issue, just on my hard drive, it didn't back up about 6gb of my files.
In the initial window that showed me the progress of the backup it told me that it was
going to back up 64gb of my data, which was correct. It then stopped so that there were
6gb of files that were not backed up.
I'll call AppleCare sometime to let them know, but until I suggest visiting
this site: http://shiftedbits.org/2007/10/31/time-machine-exclusions/
It shows which directories are not backed up by time machine,
so this could add up to your two missing 2 gb.
I hope I could help,
Sebastian

Similar Messages

  • Time Machine backup smaller than hard drive

    Hi,
    My Time Machine external hard drive became full so I dediced to erase it and start from scratch. I set it all up and it was going to take 4 hours to backup 300GB of data, which is the amount of space taken up on my internal HD. When I came back to my Mac a couple of hours later it had finished the backup but it only seems to be 160GB in size?! Is this something to be concerned about, I assumed the Time Machine backup would be the same size as the data currently occupying my internal HD.
    Thanks.

    Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
    tmutil compare | open -f -a TextEdit
    Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
    Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
    The command may take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear.
    A TextEdit window will open with the output of the command. Each line that begins with a plus sign (“+”) represents a file that has been added to the source volume since the last snapshot was taken. These files have not been backed up yet.
    Each line that begins with an exclamation point (“!”) represents a file that has changed on the source volume. These files have been backed up, but not in their present state.
    Each line that begins with a minus sign (“-“) represents a file that has been removed from the source volume.
    Files that you’ve excluded from backup, or that are excluded automatically, are ignored.
    At the end of the output, you’ll get some lines like the following:
    Added:
    Removed:
    Changed:
    These lines show the total amount of data added, removed, or changed on the source(s) since the last snapshot.

  • Time Machine backup smaller than source

    Hi everybody -
    I just did my Time Machine backup, and I've noticed that the content on the backup is about 5 GB smaller than the content on my MBP's source. (And yes, this deficit is taking into account the items I have already excluded from backup.)
    In fact, when I open up Time Machine options, and I see the list of excluded items, the "approximate size of backup" says 240GB, but the actual size of the backup is 235GB. Any idea what's going on here? Assuming that everything is working as it should, I'm not terribly concerned about this discrepancy, but if it's indicative of something not working properly, I want to get it taken care of, should I experience a need to restore to a previous backup at some point.
    Ideas? Thanks!

    Try a new post in the 10.6 Time Machine forum.
    DALE

  • Initial time machine backup larger than the original

    I have been using time machine with a 1 TB time capsule without issue on a older Macbook in the house. I just got a Macbook pro and am attempting to backup on the same time capsule. During setup, Time machine states there is 118GB to back up when looking under options (which is correct). Then when it goes to back up after "processing" it states that it is backing up 330gb (larger than my harddrive of 250GB). I took off about 167 GB of files off the time capsule. I erased the backup file on time capsule and started over. It still says that there is correctly 118GB to back up before it starts but now after processing it says it will be backing up 163 GB. (330GB-167GB=163GB) Of note there is 45GB of other stuff including the backup of the other Mac still on the time capsule. (163GB-45GB=118 GB.) It appears to be calculating to re-back-up what is already stored on the time capsule. How do I deal with this issue?

    Your backup drive has been use to backup both computers. TM may think it should still be backing up both computers. If both computers are on the TC network that would be the normal expectation.
    If that's not the case but you've given the new computer the same Computer Name as the old computer, then TM may be trying to backup files that are non-existent but still located in the backup set. If this is the case, then reformat the TC.

  • The iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library.

    I recently tried to look up my pictures on my time machine back up on an external hard drive. As soon as I try to open it I get the following message.
    "The iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library."
    I have tried holding down the option key but still couldn't few the photos.
    I want to know if there is anyway I can actually view these photos. I have over 85gbs of photos on the hard drive.  I have tried googling and looking at pervious forums with the same problem but nothing is working.
    Please help!

    Select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu. Search for "Restore items backed up with Time Machine."

  • HT201250 I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive.  The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc).  Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

    I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive.  The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc).  Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

    Yes you can make multiple backups on one hard drive, for example if you’ve 1TB hard drive installed in your PC and you’ve two Mac Machines with 500GB drive each then you just make two backup images with size of 500GB each.
    http://www.halfspot.com/use-your-pc-hard-drive-for-time-machine-backup/

  • I am getting error "The disk is used for Time Machine Backup" when installing the new OSX Mountain Lion upgrade"

    I am keep getting this error "The disk is used for Time Machine Backup" when installing the new OSX Mountain Lion" when doing the upgrade to newly OS.

    The folder would be at the root of your hard drive. Double-click Macintosh HD and look there.
    If it isn’t there, I’m not sure what it is seeing.

  • Restored system from Time Machine backup disk but the system could not start-up

    On MacBook Pro early 2008, restored the entire system from Time Machine backup disk to the entire disk.
    The previous system on the backup disk had FileVault turned on.
    The restore completed successfully and I was prompted to restart the system via the new restored system disk.
    I heard the normal start-up sound, then the Apple logo, but it stuck at the logo screen. And the cooling fan run at almost full speed?
    I have been waiting for a few hours, guessing it might FileVault the disk.
    Finally I have to shutdown the machine as it stuck at the logo screen forever.
    Anyone has the same issue? Any ideas?

    BTW, I also tried Repair the system disk, Fix permissions via Disk Utility.
    I guess I must lose some files either during the backup or the restore.

  • Initial time machine backup larger than actual computer harddrive

    I've got an iMac with a 1TB harddrive and am trying to use a time machine set up to back up my harddrive. The external harddrive I'm using for my back up is also 1TB. I currently have about 135GB of free space on my iMac's harddrive and my external drive is completely empty. When I try to back up using time machine it tells me that the back up is 1.2TB and cannot fit on my 1TB external harddrive. What would cause the initial back up to be larger than the actual computers harddrive? Is there anything I can do to rectify this issue without me needing to purchase a larger external harddrive for back up?

    Ikue wrote:
    The external harddrive I'm using for my back up is also 1TB. I currently have about 135GB of free space on my iMac's harddrive and my external drive is completely empty.
    That means you're trying to back up about 865 GB to a 1 TB drive; and that's not large enough for Time Machine.
    Time Machine not only keeps copies of everything currently on your Mac, but also previous copies of things you've changed or deleted, so it needs a lot more space than the data it's backing-up. 
    What's causing your immediate problem is, TM adds about 20% to the estimated size of the backup, for workspace on the TM drive and in case the estimate is too small.  So 865 GB + 173 GB = over 1 TB.
    Long-term, you need a much larger drive for Time Machine, at least 1.5 TB, probably 2 TB.
    Short-term, you can squeeze your backups onto the 1 TB drive by excluding some big stuff per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #10 and running a backup.
    Then remove the exclusion, and run another backup.  Since the second backup will be much smaller, the additional 20% won't be so large as to exceed the size of the TM drive.
    But TM won't be able to keep backups very long, and if it needs to do a large backup, there may not be room.

  • HT4718 I have an external hard drive that I used as Time Machine Backup. I have not used it for a while and now, when I plug it in computer says:  This disc is not readable. I want to recover the backups and not erase and reformat the disc.  Thank you in

    I have an external hard drive that I have used as Time Machine backup, but not for a while. Now when I plug it in, computer says this disc is not readable.
    I want to keep the backups on it and not erase and start over.
    Thank you in advance.
    Gregor

    It sounds like something went wrong with the drive.  Did you drop it?  How long has it been sitting around unused?

  • In migration assistant, using a time machine backup, what is the extra data that appears after I deselect all the checkmarks under the user?

    When restoring a time machine backup using Migration Assistant, I'm given a choice of what to restore. If I click on a user, and I deselect everything(Desktop, Music, Movies, Documents, etc.) there is still 40 Gygabites of stuff. What is in the 40 Gygabites?!

    Is the HDD in the 2009 15" MBP dead?  (The original source of your data)  If not, you might want ot take it out and put it in an enclosure.
    You might try spotlight on know files to see if that gives you any clues where your data is located.
    You might down load from the Internet OmniDiskSweeper (free) and open it.  It should show you all of the files you have on your MBP and enable to locate them.
    Ciao.

  • In the installation process lion will not install as message  reads MAC HD 904 gb available this disk is used for time machine backups .What is the next step

    After downloading ,completing the lic agreement phase, the next step is where to install and automatically' MAC HD with 904 gb available this disk is used for time machine backups' is shown and installation is blocked .
    Any body got any idea what to do next ?

    Time machine needs its own partition to operate. So you are not going install a OSx Lion on that volume.
    If there is enough room you may be able to partition the drive on the fly with DiskUtility
    Are you saying you clean installed Lion and you are trying to move your user Data over with TM via the migration Assistant?  Please explain.

  • IPhoto won't open.  Says CAUTIONThe iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Reopen iPhoto with the Option key held down to choose another library.

    I tries to verify that my photos were being backed up on Time Machine to an external harddrive, because I would like to delete my Camera Roll on my iPhone.  I was not able to view any photos in my backed up photo library, after entering Time machine.  Now, I can't even open iPhoto on my iMac with the pop up box warning me that the library is a Time machine backup....which it shouldn't be, because I'm openning iPhoto on my Mac...NOT the external HD.
    What happened, and how do I access my photos?

    It sounds like you went into the Time Machine hard drive, found a library and "dragged" it to your Pictures folder or wherever on your hard drive.  That's not the way to do it.
    Go to your Pictures folder and enter Time Machine via the TM menu in the menu bar:
    Then follow the instructions in this screenshot:
    OT

  • Does Time Machine backup items on the time machine disk?

    If I designate disk B as my Time Machine disk, are items on disk B, that aren't part of what Time Machine puts there, backed up?  In other words, can I use a disk for both storage and Time Machine backups and have those stored items backed up too?

    If you intend to use disk B as both a Time Machine Backup Disk and a Data disk to hold your files, the only way to do that would be to partion the Disk B volume.
    How do I partition an external hard drive ?
    When an external is connected to a mac, the computer sees that Hard Drive as a Volume. Paritioning the volume is the ability to "Split" the volume in more parts that are limited by size. Time Machine will use the entire partition of a volume if the whole volume is used as a single partition. If you use the right tools and "Split" the external hard drive in smaller logical volumes then you can comfortably use the external hard drive for both your Time Machine Backups and your Data that you want to carry on an external drive.
    The easiest way to partition a volume in more the one partition or logical volumes is to use the Disk Utility application that comes with every mac. Use the Finder to go to your Utilities folder and open Disk Utility, or search for it in Spotlight.  Whit Disk Utility you can select your external Hard Drive and either change the partition to add a second one or erase all data on the existing external hard drive and create 2 Partitions that you can adjust in size. Remember Make sure you understand that if you choose to erase the existing external drive to make room for a new partition , that all data present on the external drive will be deleted.
    Now that you have your two new partitions you can assign one to Time Machine and use the second one for Data. And with Time Machine Options you will be able to exclude or include your new external data partition to backup to your new Time Machine Backup Partition !

  • Error message when trying to install mavericks. It won't let me select a disk to install Mavericks on. Message says "This disk is used to Time Machine backups."  It is NOT used for back ups. help

    When trying to chose a disk on which to install mavericks I get a message that says "this disk is used for Time Machine backups" and cannot be used.  Help!

    I don't know what will help at this point. You should never update a system that has problems, unless you're absolutely sure that the problems are caused by a bug that is fixed in the update. With your backups in an uncertain state, you should not update or do anything else except start a new backup.

Maybe you are looking for