Time Machine backups seem to be being randomly deleted

I was away in May-June and my time capsule was disconnected. When I left I had daily backups for most but not all the days in the previous month (a few days were missing due to absences from home). The first backup since my return was on Saturday 16th April. In the three days since then, backups for the month prior to my departure seem to have been deleted in a random fashion. All that remain are those for 28th April, 5th and 12th May, all Saturdays. Until yesterday I had a backup for Sunday April 15th, as the last one that had been kept prior to the 28th. That was deleted overnight. I now have weeklies going back from Wednesday April 11th: namely April 4th, March 27th etc. But I am getting worried that those too might go. Can anyone explain what is happening?
Just to point out that my time capsule is currently connected via ethernet cable and I am using TimeMachine Scheduler to restrict backups to the wee hours.

Londinense wrote:
I think I can rule out the fact that my MacBook has been connected via ethernet
Yes, that makes no difference.
So could the problem have been caused by TimeMachien Scheduler, which I have only been using since March or thereabouts? What do you think of that app?
I don't think so, but anything's possible. All those apps do is start a backup; all the actual work is done by the normal OSX programming -- there's no way to alter the "thinning" schedule.
I don't recommend altering Time Machine's default schedule of hourly backups. Unless you're making lots of changes to large files, the backups should be fast and unobtrusive. If they do cause performance problems, then something else is wrong. Reducing the schedule is just dealing with the symptoms.
If the backups are too large, considering what you've done since the last backup, see #D4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If the sizes seem reasonable, but the backups are slow and/or affect the performance of your Mac, see #D2 there.

Similar Messages

Time Machine backups seem to stop being active prior to 13th December 2009

Hi,
The earliest date on my TM backup time-line (on the right hand side of the screen) is "July 2009" - when I installed the Lacie 1TB backup drive on my iMac.
The bar icons are "light grey" back to "Sunday 13th December" and then "dark grey" prior to this date. The driver has 400GB+ free space available and I have never had a "need to delete earliest backup" message.
I am sure this must be "dumb question" - but why can't I got back further than last Sunday?
The dates all pop-out of the bar back to July - but it will not scroll back in time to let me see those files?
Thanks in anticipation
Mark

There are a couple of possibilities:
If what you're looking at when you enter Time Machine wasn't available at the time of every backup, that backup will be grayed-out. For example, if it's backing-up an external HD, that isn't always attached, you'll see all the dates in the timelines, but the backups done while the disk wasn't attached will be grayed-out. Similarly, if you made a new folder on 12/13, and start with a Finder window set to that folder, you can't select a backup prior to 12/13.
You'll see similar conditions if you rename your internal HD: TM treats it as an entirely different disk. The same will happen if you rename any folder.
The other possibility is, TM started a new "sequence" of backups for some reason. See #E2 of the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

Time Machine Backup seems to run constantly

My Time Machine backup seems to run constantly. When it happens, performance is also affected. Although a system restart will seems to get everything back to normal, the problem comes back. Any thoughts on what I am doing to cause the problem?

Thanks Mike,
I'm a bit new to Macs really and thought that once backed up, on my NAS system I would be able to view the photos etc. but I presume this isn't the case and I should not back up the photos as part of the Time Machine backup and back these up seperately in order to view them remotely etc?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Time machine backup seems to only have a Sparsebundle folder

I have had my MacBook for a couple of years and have only just got round to backing it up. I set off Time Machine lat night for a 200Gb backup. This morning I checked it and the Time machine backup seems to only have a Sparsebundle folder of 1000s of small files but apparently no iTunes or photos??
Any ideas????

Thanks Mike,
I'm a bit new to Macs really and thought that once backed up, on my NAS system I would be able to view the photos etc. but I presume this isn't the case and I should not back up the photos as part of the Time Machine backup and back these up seperately in order to view them remotely etc?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Time machine backups seem to be gone

I have been running time machine flawlessly for a while. However, on April 26, I created a new user account. I dragged a very large file (clone of a different computer and time machine backup of a different computer) to that user desktop. Those files were previously being excluded from backups. Apparently, wehn I moved them to the new user it tried to include them and I got a warning about the External Drive not being large enough for the backups. I sorted out excluding that user completely but now I can not access any backups prior to the new user being created. Are they lost forever? Did it delete the External Drive to try to make room for the backup? I would think that it would have to check the size before it even does any deleting and then if it knew the backup was too big it wouldn't delete and it would just abort the backup. Can anyone help? When I enter into time machine the last backup shown is April 26, when I browse the drive the oldest folder is April 26 and when I look at the time machine menu it says the oldest backup is April 26.
I am using an iMac with Snow Leopard installed.
Also, I tried looking at the logs in the console but I could not seem to go back far enough.

Are you going into Time Machine from the old user? If you enter Time Machine from the new user, you won't see any files created before that user existed.
You can manually go into your Time Machine volume from the Finder, just to verify that your backups are all there. Don't make any changes in the Finder. Even if Time Machine's "starfield" interface isn't functional, you could still restore files manually if you had to. If Time Machine is really confused, best option is usually to just erase the Time Machine drive and start a fresh one.

Time Machine Backup seems to freeze after a few megabytes saying Estimating TIme Remaining

My MBP (mid 2009, osx10.8.5) seems to take forever to Time Machine Backup. I'm backing up to an external (USB) disk that has plenty of memory. THe backup starts (Status window opens), Status says "Backing up 1,314,593 items", climbs to about 310 MB of 325.01 GB and then just sits there with a line that says "Estimating time remaining". I've let this sit for 2 hours so far and no other messages or errors. I haven't done this in a while and a previous , partial, Time Machine Backup was on this USB drive but I deleted everything on it because there wasn't enough space to do the new Time Machine Backup. It will have to do a full backup I'm sure, so I expect it to take a while to back up over 300GB but I don't see anything being copied to the backup disk, except the "Backups.backupdb" folder. It stays at about 265MB.

Try D4/3 in the 1st linked article.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

Time Machine Backup is Full, best way to delete?

Hi,
I'm stuck in this problem. Few days ago my TM told me that it didn't have the required space to make a backup which I though was odd because it has always automatically removed older backups to make room for new ones. But not this time.
Which means I need to manually delete some backups. What is the best way to do it?
I marked some of them and pressed command+backspace to delete them put they ended up in my trash so when I tried to empty my trash it tells me I have 1 306 229 objects to delete and this is probably gonna take weeks.
Can someone help me with this?

Time Machine should normally remove old items from the backup to make room for new. If it is unable to do that, it could be because your backup drive is not large enough for what you're backing up. TM needs a minimum of 2-3 times more space for the backups as what is being backed up. There could also be something wrong with your backup, in which case you could visit the [Time Machine Troubleshooting guide|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2057525].
Unfortunately, since you deleted stuff from your Time Machine backup in the Finder (from the sounds of it), it's too late for any troubleshooting. You have destroyed your backup, and will have to erase the backup drive and start from scratch.

Time Machine Backups Seem to take a long time

I'm running OS X 10.5.8 on a G5 iMac, and I've noticed some strange behavior recently when Time Machine does it's back ups. I back up to a LaCie external drive with a capacity of 465 GB and it currently has 65GB available. When Time Machine does it back ups, it seems to take a very long time, eventhough not much has changed. It might go for 30min to an hour. Sometimes the back up fails. I've tried to stop the back up, but that doesn't stop Time Machine, and also System Preferences becomes unresponsive. I can't quit or force quit System Preferences. I have to turn off the iMac to quit System Preferences by holding in the power button. I'm not sure if this is a Time Machine issue, or an issue with the external HD. I know the iMac is a bit dated, and due to be replaced. The HD is also at least 3-4 years old, and has only been used as my Time Machine back up. Any ideas on how I might fix this? Thanks!!

ELFritzen wrote:
I had problems verifiying and repairing the LaCie HD. At first the the computer would hang on "verifying" the HD. I finally got the HD verified by switching the on/off/auto switch on the HD from auto to on. At this point verification went quickly.
That doesn't sound good.
Try different port(s), cables, and combinations of the two (a plug that works fine in one port may not make good contact in another).
Do you have (or can you borrow) another HD you can try?
Or another Mac you can try with that drive?
As an extra measure, I tried to repair the HD, but again the program hung up and I had to reboot.
Just for future reference, there's no point to verifying an external HD -- just run Repair. They both do all the same checks. Starting with Verify on your startup drive makes sense, since, if there's a problem, you have to start from another source to repair it.

Why does time machine backup seems to freeze iMac

Have just attached external hard drive to my new iMac - backup appears to have worked (although no confirmation). However, when clicking on icon in desktop, time machine is entered then freezes. Only way to get out is by disconnecting the hard drive from the USB port. Additionally, even if I'm not in Time Machine, but with the hard disk connected, I appear to be unable to turn the iMac off.
What am I doing wrong - have I not left things long enough to backup?

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Sounds to me your hard drive doesn't have the appropriate firmware to be compatible with your version of Mac OS X. See my FAQ*:
http://www.macmaps.com/firewirebug2.html
Fortunately you can take the hard drive out and put it inside another case that does work. You can purchase these cases from http://www.macsales.com/ even in the UK.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

Can I reconnect Time Machine backup after drive swap on OS X 10.6?

Hi,
I swapped my MacMini's HD few days ago (previous one was dying, had hardware issues). I used CCC and replaced with a hybrid drive. So far, so good. However, when I plugged back the external USB drive were I keep my Time Machine backups, it is not being recognized, TM wants to run a new full set.
I did some research and discovered that TM may use the HD or machine's UUID and that's why it's triggering the new FULL.
I also found this article by Pondini (which seems to be a guru on the topic, lol ):
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20090213071015789
But attrb is not working, I guess such command it's not available on 10.6.8 ? ...
How can I reconnect Time Machine backups to the new HD? Or ... I simply cannot and I will have to delete and run a FULL set? I would prefer to keep my old backups, if possible, but it seems that with my OSX version that's not possible without workarounds.
Thanks in advance,

** EDIT **
The trick did not work :-(
I entered into TM and while I can see the old backups , I can't select them or do anything with them. Clearly, they have not been identified as previous backups, hence the reason for Today's FULL.
Ohh boy ... I'm about to give up ...

Copying Time Machine backups

If you find you need more space for Time Machine backups, or want to change locations (local to network, or vice-versa), your best bet is to simply start a new set of backups in the new location. Keep the old ones "on the shelf" until you're sure you don't need them. (If you're backing-up to a locally-connected disk, it's best to give it a different name.)
You can always browse and restore from the old backups, via the +*Browse Other Time Machine Disks+* option (hold down the Option key while selecting the TM icon in your menubar, or right-click the TM icon in your Dock).
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But if you want, in many cases you can copy your Time Machine backups to a new location. It's not quick, and sometimes not easy. And there are some restrictions:
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If your backups were made to an internal or directly-connected USB or FireWire disk or partition, you must copy all the backups for all the Macs that were backed-up to the same disk/partition that way.
You can only copy a complete set of backups, not just some individual backups.
You cannot merge two or more sets of backups, even for the same Mac.
On Leopard, you cannot change from local to network, or vice-versa.
You cannot convert case-sensitive backups to case-ignorant, or vice-versa.
You cannot copy anything from corrupted backups.
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Because of the last two items, be sure your backups are ok by Repairing them, per #A5 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip.*
While you're using Disk Utility, determine whether the backups are case-sensitive; you'll need to know that below.
When you select a volume in Disk Utility's sidebar, the Format is shown towards the lower left. If your backups are in a +sparse bundle,+ double-click the sparse bundle to mount it, then select the +Time Machine Backups+ (or +Backup of <computer name>)+ partition that will appear, indented, below the sparse bundle.
The Format is either +Mac OS Extended (Journaled),+ meaning case-ignorant, or +Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, journaled).+
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The method of copying is different depending on how the backups were made; whether you're changing from local to network, or vice-versa; and, in some cases, for Leopard vs. Snow Leopard
Part of the complexity below is because Time Machine stores it's backups differently depending on how they were made:
+*Local backups+* (made to an internal disk or a USB or FireWire disk connected directly to a Mac) are stored in a folder named "Backups.backupdb", at the top level of the drive/partition.
+*Network backups+* (made over a network, whether via WIFI or Ethernet) are also stored in a folder named "Backups.backupdb," but it's on a partition inside a special container called a +sparse bundle+ at the top level of the drive/partition.
You cannot just switch from one method to the other.
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Note that below, a "volume" is either an entire disk drive or a partition on a disk drive.
Before starting to copy, turn Time Machine off, via TM Preferences. When done, select the new destination.
Copying backups will take a long time under the best of circumstances; even a small set of backups will contain +several hundred thousand+ files; a large one may number in the millions.
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*_C O N T E N T S_*
*1. To copy LOCAL backups from one volume to another LOCAL VOLUME*
*2. To copy NETWORK backups to another NETWORK location*
*3. To copy LOCAL BACKUPS to be used on a NETWORK*
*4. To copy NETWORK backups to be used LOCALLY*
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_*1. To copy LOCAL BACKUPS from one volume to another LOCAL VOLUME_*
*_Using SNOW LEOPARD:*_
a. Format the new drive/partition, with either the GUID or APM *Partition Map Scheme,* and the exact same Format as the old backups. See item #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* if you need detailed instructions.
b. Connect both drives to your Mac, via separate ports if possible.
c. Right-click the new volume on your desktop or Finder sidebar and select +Get Info.+ If the +Ignore ownership on this volume+ box is checked, click the padlock at the lower right and enter your Admin password at the prompt. Then remove the check mark from the box and close the window.
d. Drag the Backups.backupdb folder from the old volume to the top level of the new one. Enter your Admin password when prompted.
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*_Using LEOPARD:_*
You cannot copy local backups properly from one volume to another via the Leopard Finder. But you can duplicate the backups to a different volume via the +Disk Utility+ app (in your Applications/Utilities folder).
Note that you must duplicate an *entire volume* to another *entire volume* -- if you have other items on the old volume, they will be copied, too (this is a bad idea: see item #3 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip).* Also, any data already on the new volume will be erased.
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a. Format the new drive/partition, with either the GUID or APM *Partition Map Scheme,* and the exact same Format as the old backups. See item #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* if you need detailed instructions.
b. Connect both drives to your Mac, via separate ports if possible, then open a Finder window. Make sure both volumes are shown in the sidebar (if not, from the Menubar select +Preferences > Sidebar,+ and check the box to show +External disks+ in the sidebar). Leave the Finder window open.
c. Start Disk Utility, select either volume (indented under the main drive line), and click the Restore tab.
d. Drag the old volume to the Source box, and the new volume to the Destination box.
e. Check the +Erase destination+ box, then the Restore button. This will take a long time.
f. When the duplication is complete, note that Disk Utility has *+changed the name+* of the destination volume to be the same as the source. You do not want to leave it that way, so immediately rename one of them. In the sidebar of the Finder window opened above, right-click the one you want to rename. When done, look back at the Disk Utility display to be sure you renamed the right one, then quit Disk Utility.
+Go to Top+
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_*2. To copy NETWORK BACKUPS to another NETWORK location_*
*SNOW LEOPARD or LEOPARD*
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If you're copying to a Time Capsule, configure your Time Capsule for your network. (See the documentation that came with your Time Capsule for information about setting it up on your network.)
If you're copying from one Time Capsule to another Time Capsule, give the new one a different name. Then use one Ethernet cable to connect your Mac to the Ethernet port on the existing Time Capsule, and use another Ethernet cable to connect from the existing Time Capsule to the new one if at all possible. If not, leave your Mac in the same room as the Time Capsules.
If you're copying to a USB drive to be connected to a Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, or another Mac on your network, connect it directly to your Mac and format it with either the GUID or APM *Partition Map Scheme,* and either +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ or +Mac OS Extended Case-sensitive, journaled)+ Format. See item #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* if you need detailed instructions.
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a. Configure Time Machine to back up to the new network location, but don't start a backup.
b. If possible, connect the old and/or new drive(s) directly to your Mac (or a Time Capsule via Ethernet).
c. Open a Finder window for each network location by double-clicking on each. Note the amount of free space on the new one.
d. Drag the +sparse bundle+ from the old network location to the new one.
Note that the copied sparse bundle will have the same +*maximum size*+ as the old one. (Just to be contrary, though, +Time Machine Preferences+ will incorrectly show the new volume size.)
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*SNOW LEOPARD: 10.6.3 and above:*
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That's not a problem; Time Machine will increase it automatically on the next backup. You're done!
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*SNOW LEOPARD: 10.6.0 through 10.6.2:*
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1. Drag the sparse bundle to Disk Utility's sidebar and select it, but don't mount the +Time Machine Backups+ or +Backup of <computer name>+ partition.
2. Click +Resize Image+ in the toolbar (or +Images > Resize+ from the menubar).
3. Enter the size desired (that you noted in step c above) and click Resize.
4. Double-click the sparse bundle to mount the +Time Machine Backups+ or +Backup of <computer name>+ partition.
5. With the sparse bundle still selected, click the Partition tab towards the top of the window.
6. In the diagram that appears, drag the lower right corner of the partition all the way to the bottom, and click Apply.
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LEOPARD:
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1. Drag the sparse bundle to Disk Utility's sidebar and select it, but don't mount the +Backup of <computer name>+ partition.
2. Click +Resize Image+ in the toolbar (or +Images > Resize+ from the menubar).
3. Click the disclosure triangle below the slider, and select +Resize Partition and Image.+
4. Move the slider to the desired size and click Resize.
5. Double-click the sparse bundle to mount the +Backup of <computer name>+ partition.
6. With the sparse bundle still selected, click the Partition tab towards the top of the window.
7. In the diagram that appears, drag the lower right corner of the partition all the way to the bottom, and click Apply.
+Go to Top+
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_*3. To copy LOCAL BACKUPS to be used on a NETWORK_*
*SNOW LEOPARD only; you cannot convert Local Backups to Network on Leopard.*
|
If you're copying to a Time Capsule, configure your Time Capsule for your network. (See the documentation that came with your Time Capsule for information about setting it up on your network.)
If you're copying to a USB drive to be connected to a Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, or other Mac, connect it directly to your Mac and format it with either the GUID or APM *Partition Map Scheme,* and either +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ or +Mac OS Extended Case-sensitive, journaled)+ Format. See item #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* if you need detailed instructions.
a. Configure Time Machine to back up to the network location, and start a backup.
b. As soon as the +sparse bundle+ is created, cancel the backup (that may take a few moments).
c. If possible, connect the new drive directly to your Mac (or a Time Capsule via Ethernet).
d. Use the Finder to mount the new sparse bundle.
e. Double-click it to mount the +Time Machine Backups+ partition inside it.
f. Click the +Time Machine Backups+ partition to open it, and delete the Backups.backupdb folder inside it.
g. If the old backups are case-ignorant (per the yellow box above), you must change the new sparse bundle to be case-ignorant, too:
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1. Select the +Time Machine Backups+ partition in Disk Utility's sidebar and click Erase.
2. Select the +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ Format, and click the Erase button. That may take a few moments (to unmount, erase, and mount the partition again).
3. Via the Finder, do a +Get Info+ on the +Time Machine Backups+ partition.
4. Click the padlock at the lower right and enter your Admin password at the prompt.
5. Remove the check from the +Ignore ownership on this volume+ box and close the window.
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h. Via the Finder, drag the Backups.backupdb folder from the old volume to the new +Time Machine Backups+ partition. Enter your Admin password when prompted. After a few moments, you may also get a prompt saying that you'll need to enter it again later: click Continue.
+Go to Top+
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_*4. To copy NETWORK BACKUPS to be used LOCALLY_*
*SNOW LEOPARD only; you cannot convert Network Backups to Local on Leopard.*
|
a. Format the new drive/partition, with either the GUID or APM *Partition Map Scheme,* and the exact same Format as the old backups. See item #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* if you need detailed instructions.
b. Right-click the new volume on your desktop or Finder sidebar and select +Get Info.+ If the +Ignore ownership on this volume+ box is checked, click the padlock at the lower right and enter your Admin password at the prompt. Then remove the check mark from the box and close the window.
c. Connect the old drive directly to your Mac if possible.
d. Use the Finder to mount the old sparse bundle.
e. Double-click it to mount the +Time Machine Backups+ or +Backup of <computer name>+ partition inside it.
f. Click the partition to open it, and drag the Backups.backupdb folder from the disk image to the top level of the new volume. Enter your Admin password when prompted. After a few moments, you may also get a prompt saying that you'll need to enter it again later: click Continue.
+Go to Top+

Bob Timmons wrote:
Ton of work...great job!
+You can always browse and restore from the old backups, via the Browse Other Time Machine Disks option (hold down the Option key while selecting the TM icon in your menubar, or right-click the TM icon in your Dock).+
Odd that on my MacBook Pro and iMac (both 2008, both running Snow Leopard 10.6.3), that I need to hold down the Control key to do this.
What do you show in +System Preferences > Keyboard > Modifier Keys+ for the Control and Option keys? I think I saw something in another forum about some keyboards having them reversed, perhaps some European versions?
I hate to put even more alternatives in these things, but perhaps I should add that one?
Great stuff and should be very useful as a number of users are buying new Time Capsules to replace their earlier generation models. Most seem to want to try to hold onto their old backups and transfer to a new TC when they get one.
Yeah, I really don't understand why some folks get so nutzo about keeping backups for years, but I guess it beats the opposite.
Was curious if you found a way to compact the sparsebundle after users delete a number of backups, but the sparsebundle file still indicates the same amount of data is being used. I know you can compact using Terminal commands, but Terminal scares me. I understand the basic nuts and bolts, but programming is a language that I don't speak.
Yes, in #12 of the FAQ tip I show how to do it via Terminal, but I hate sending a novice to Terminal. (I avoid it myself as much as possible.)
Now that you mention it, I'm going to use the Feedback site to request adding "Compact" to Disk Utility's options for sparse bundles. Maybe if a few of us chime in, they'll do it?
I still have my "first generation 1TB TC, now about 22 months old (holding my breath on the power supply capacitors),but the device has been flawless otherwise. Not too worried, as I also keep bootable SuperDuper clones of both computers on an attached drive on both computers along with another set of Time Machine backups that I manually handle about once a week. Redundant, but I would rather be safe than sorry.
I couldn't agree more! I backup via TM to an AEBS, so am even more paranoid! But I have a CCC clone updated daily; other things to CDs/DVDs in my safe deposit box; and some small stuff goes to iDisk via Backup daily.
Thanks very much for your help.

Time machine backup, now all applications are gone and cant reinstall anything

My computer froze earlier today and I rebooted and I kept getting the grey loading circle. Nothing seemed to work so I loaded in safe mode and reinstalled from an earlier version of a backup i had on time machine. When the computer booted back up, all the applications on the computer were gone, replaced by little grey question marks. I had no access to the internet and none of my other time machine backups seem to have applications either.
I have tired command R to reinstall, and that doesnt work either. I have a copy of 10.6.3 Snow Leopard on disc but that doesnt work either because when I try to launch it, i get a message saying the application needed to launch snow leopard is not available.
I am at a loss as to what to do. I cant install any applications that i know of to let me install snow leopard so I am left with a brick.
I was running Lion at the time, but i have no backup copy of that, and no way to put it on here. I would like to do a clean install with snow leopard, any tips you could give me to help would be great.

What happens when you try to start holding Command and R keys?
From what I see, it looks like you restored a Snow Leopard backup onto Lion, which damages OS X.
Now, what I recommend you to do is to insert the Snow Leopard DVD you have and hold the C key while your computer is starting. Then, choose your language, go to Utilities menu (on the menu bar), choose the option to restore a backup and follow the steps.
After restoring the backup, open  > Software Update, and install the latest version. Finally, upgrade to OS X Lion by downloading it from the Mac App Store

Can a Server install alter a Time Machine backup's permissions?

I'm trying to change a server from Advanced to Simple, so I'd planned to:
1) Run a final Time Machine backup
2) Shut the server down
3) Reinstall Leopard Server from scratch
4) Reinstall any/all needed apps or files using Time Machine.
The first snag I ran into was that after step 3) all files in the Time Machine backup seemed to have had their permissions altered so that I could not access the folders and could not make changes to the files.
Based on help from someone else I was able to find out that an ACL is in effect on these files.
I also had some files stored on the Time Machine Backups drive as regular files....these do not appear to have the ACL applied.
When I couldn't figure out how to deal with that I went ahead and did a Full Restore using the Leopard Server Install DVD. This went without a hitch and the Time Machine backup files no longer appeared to have the ACL applied.
So can installing Leopard Server using all defaults where possible (excl. server name and such) and using the Simple server options alter the existing backups on a Time Machine Backups disk like this? Is there something I can/should be doing differently to get this to work "correctly"? Reinstalling from scratch again is still an option if there's something different to try.
Thanks in advance!
-Matt
P.S. I was expecting to have to do some manual reconstruction on the mail server that runs on this box, but didn't expect issues like this so any help is appreciated!

Hi, if I understand correctly yes, but may I ask the purpose of doing so?

HT201250 Hi, I hope this question won't seem too basic but if I want to use a new larger external drive for my time machine backups, will it do a new full backup the first time I plug it in and if so, do I really need all the old backups on my smaller ext

Hi, I hope this question won't seem too basic but if I want to use a new larger external drive for my time machine backups, will it do a new full backup the first time I plug it in and if so, do I really need all the old backups on my smaller external drive?

50maz wrote:
Hi, I hope this question won't seem too basic but if I want to use a new larger external drive for my time machine backups, will it do a new full backup the first time I plug it in
Yes, it will do a full backup.
and if so, do I really need all the old backups on my smaller external drive?
Only if you want to be able to go back in time to those previous Time Machine backups. When you plug in the new larger external drive, you will only be able to go back as far as the first day you plugged it in and ran the first Time Machine backup on it.

I am trying to do a full Time Machine Backup to a new external disk. The backup starts, and it says "Time remaining about 4 days." That seems like a very long time, but the real problem is that the computer "logs off" after a few hours, and the b.u. stops

I am trying to do a full Time Machine Backup to a new external disk. The backup starts, and it says "Time remaining about 4 days." That seems like a very long time, but the real problem is that the computer "logs off" after a few hours, and the backup stops. The system preferences are set to "Never" for Computer sleep and Display sleep. The computer does not ordinarily log off automatically, but it has done this twice since I started the Time Machine backup.

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console 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 Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message. Clear the text field and scroll back in the log to that time. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
If all you see are messages that contain the word "Starting," you didn't clear the search box.
If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

Time Machine backups seem to be being randomly deleted

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