Time Machine deletes older backups after restore...

Yesterday I took the plunge to replace a failing 4TB RAID0 on my MacPro running ML 10.8.3. The RAID volume contains two non-admin user accounts for everyday work that together are about 2TB.
I installed the two new HDDs, RAIDed them and gave them the same name as before. Then I ran a restore of the two accounts from my Time Machine backup. This took about 4 hours.
Not everything was fine at the end (particularly some permissions in Documents were wrong), but by and large the accounts worked. Today it was time for Time Machine to backup the new changes, but this failed miserably: TM completely deleted the earlier backups even though 99.99% did not have changed. Later TM complained it did not have enough space even though the earlier backup fit on exactly the same volume and there was definitely enough space.
Conclusion: Don't trust TM to keep older backups after a restore. This extremely stupid behaviour fits my impression of ML being unusable for serious Mac users.

When a startup drive is replaced Time Machine creates a new backup because the new drive has a different UUID than the old one -- it is a different disk.
When this occurs, TM does not delete the older backup sparsebundle, which is still taking up space on the backup drive. This is a safety feature.
You can access the previous backup using Browse Other Time Machine Disks from the TM icon in the Dock.
Lots of good info can be found here.

Similar Messages

  • Time Machine Deleted All Backups After Restore

    Had a very strange thing happen...I had to do a clean reinstall of Mountain Lion and manually add back everything from various backups. After the reinstall (including a completely new computer name), I was able to access all the old Time Machine backups to restore folders from. However, once I restored one folder, TM wrote over the entire old set of backups (over 6 months worth) with a new backup of the current state, deleting everything and renaming the containing folder to the new computer name. Is there any way I can get back what it deleted? How could this have happened?
    No doubt Im done using Time Machine...no matter how anal I am about backing up, I still end up losing tons of irreplacable data (I had much of the TM backup also backed up on another external drive but, go figure that drive would fail literally simultaneously as this incident).
    Any suggestions on how to move forward, if possible at all?
    Thanks!

    Depending on how you restored your data, Time Machine may not recognize your previous backups as belonging to the same machine. It will then delete as many snapshots as necessary to make room for a full backup of all files. Once the snapshots are deleted, they can't be recovered.
    Another time, when you erase the boot volume, restore from Time Machine in Setup Assistant so that your backup history will be preserved.
    As this experience shows, you need more than one backup to be safe. I suggest you start a new backup set on another, larger, external drive.

  • Time Machine Deleting old backups after full restore

    So I'm wondering if anyone else came up with this issue:
    My computer crashed and so I restored my MacBook from Time machine. I've never done this before, but figured it would put everything back to how it was.
    It did on my hard drive, but my Time machine external drive's backups all got wiped! I had about 1.5 years of backups and they are all gone!
    I realize that hopefully the backup that I restored to should have everything I need, but I never thought to backup my backup drive before using it to restore.
    Seems like a really dumb glitch in the software.

    harryhewitt wrote:
    Exactly what happened with me. I was using Snow Leopard, my macbook pro died, I bought a new one and restored from my HD which I had used with TimeMachine to back up to for the past 18 months. it restored brilliantly and I was impressed - passwords etc were all there.
    However, I now see that I have no backups other than the last one before my old mac died. As has been said, that is a serious glitch in the software. At the very least there should be a warning that it is going to do that. And why does it need to do that?
    It's a different Mac. Time Machine backs up each Mac (and each drive) separately (all other full system backup apps I've ever seen do, too); if it didn't, those who back up 2 or more to the same place would have a complete and unreliable mess.
    I'd agree that the "Would you like to reuse the backup" prompt you saw on the first backup of the new Mac could be worded better, but it is explained in #B5 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

  • Time machine deleted applications folder after restoring files

    my macbook 13 inch black would not start up. grey progress bar then would shutdown.
    Used time machine to restore my files. Time machine has deleted my applications folder after restoring files. how do I get them back.

    Depending on how you restored your data, Time Machine may not recognize your previous backups as belonging to the same machine. It will then delete as many snapshots as necessary to make room for a full backup of all files. Once the snapshots are deleted, they can't be recovered.
    Another time, when you erase the boot volume, restore from Time Machine in Setup Assistant so that your backup history will be preserved.
    As this experience shows, you need more than one backup to be safe. I suggest you start a new backup set on another, larger, external drive.

  • Doesn't Time Machine delete old backups when it needs more space?

    I've had time machine running for a long time now. It worked flawlessly for quite some time.
    Today it gave me the error that there was not enough free space on the disk to complete the backup (the error message says something like there is 360 GB of data on the Time Machine drive already, 140 GB of free space and it would require more than that to complete my backup). I have a 500 GB Time Machine disk and my Mac has a 500 GB hard drive, so I should technically never run out of space.
    The Time Machine almost acts like this is the first time I've ever backed up, which is not true. Shouldn't Time Machine delete old backups to make space for the new? What's even weirder is that if I open the "Star Wars" window of Time Machine I only see one backup from March 31, 2011, but I have been running Time Machine for well over a year now. I'm totally confused as to what happened. Any advice on how to get my Time Machine back up and running (without buying a new drive) would help!

    You see only one backup in the Time Machine window because Time Machine has deleted the older backups to make space to do the current backup.
    Time machine needs some working space to do its backups, and so backing up a 500GB drive onto a 500GB time machine volume is not ideal.
    However, I do essentially the same thing, and what I do, when I have this problem, is exclude things from the backup.
    First off, figure out what you changed. If you moved things from one partition to another, then that will cause a backup of the size of the thing that was moved. This may be why you have a large backup.
    When I have this problem, I exclude large things that have changed recently from the backup. This makes the backup smaller, and means that there is less working space needed. I do this until I get a successful backup. Then I remove things, one by one, from the exclusion list, and back up after each one.
    So, for instance if you just put 4 new folders on your drive, each of which s 20GB of data and they are named A, B, C and D, add all four to the exclusion list, do a backup, then remove A from the exclusion list (leaving B, C & D on it) and do a backup, and continue like this, adding 20GB of backup data each time until none of the new data is on the exclusion list and you get a completed backup.
    Another possible issue, if you use multiple partitions, is that Time Machine may be keeping an obsolete backup of a partition that you previously reformatted. To see if this is the case, go into time machine (The universe interface) and go back to the most recent backup it shows. Click on your computer and see what partitions show up-- are any of them old ones that have been reformatted and renamed? You may be storing a duplicate backup because Time Machine does not realize that the disk that went away isn't coming back (because it has been reformatted as a different partition)
    You can right-click on these items and remove them from your backup by sleecting "Delete all backups of...." This will free up space as well.

  • Time Machine deleted "expired" backups. Why?

    I want to know why Time Machine deleted some backups although the disk has plenty of free space available.
    02/05/15 09:46:39,191 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Starting automatic backup
    02/05/15 09:46:39,281 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Backing up to /dev/disk2s2: /Volumes/Backup2/Backups.backupdb
    02/05/15 09:46:42,900 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Will copy (429,3 MB) from SSD Boot
    02/05/15 09:46:42,968 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Will copy (1,45 GB) from USERS1
    02/05/15 09:46:42,969 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Found 1675 files (2,19 GB) needing backup
    02/05/15 09:46:42,980 com.apple.backupd[91015]: 8,51 GB required (including padding), 1,49 TB available
    02/05/15 09:47:21,437 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Copied 1665 items (440,8 MB) from volume SSD Boot. Linked 1991.
    02/05/15 09:50:03,429 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Copied 85 items (1,75 GB) from volume USERS1. Linked 2582.
    02/05/15 09:50:11,048 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Created new backup: 2015-05-02-095010
    02/05/15 09:50:11,753 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Starting post-backup thinning
    02/05/15 09:50:20,156 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Deleted /Volumes/Backup2/Backups.backupdb/iMac van Hans/2015-04-30-230300 (855,9 MB)
    02/05/15 09:50:22,363 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Deleted /Volumes/Backup2/Backups.backupdb/iMac van Hans/2015-04-30-215910 (308,4 MB)
    02/05/15 09:50:24,766 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Deleted /Volumes/Backup2/Backups.backupdb/iMac van Hans/2015-04-30-205523 (38,2 MB)
    02/05/15 09:50:25,756 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Deleted /Volumes/Backup2/Backups.backupdb/iMac van Hans/2015-04-30-195405 (36,8 MB)
    02/05/15 09:50:27,671 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Deleted /Volumes/Backup2/Backups.backupdb/iMac van Hans/2015-04-30-185319 (36,6 MB)
    02/05/15 09:50:27,672 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Post-backup thinning complete: 5 expired backups removed
    02/05/15 09:50:27,709 com.apple.backupd[91015]: Backup completed successfully.
    Backups are alright so it is not an important issue but I am wondering if something in my preferences set is wrong.
    Hans

    Time Machine keeps hourly backups for one day, then daily backups for a week, etc. What you are seeing is it deleting the daily backups form more than 24 hours ago. This is what it does, nothing to worry about.
    C.

  • Time Machine does not recognize older backups after restore

    Leopard Server OSX.5.8, Mac Mini Intel
    After a severe failure I had to restore the server (I used a fresh, spare Mini to restore to) from a Time Machine backup.
    Everything went fine so far.
    I tried to continue the backup on the same external harddrive, but the backup history is no more recognized by Time Machine, it want to backup the whole drive from the beginning.
    The disk is full which is normally not a problem, as Time Machine deletes the oldest backups to deallocate space.
    I don't want to lose the old history. What can be done to make Time Machine using this backup set again?

    Hi Pondini,
    I got it fixed today, thank you everyone for your help. The thing that ended up fixing it was deleting the hidden files ".com.apple.timemachine.supported" and ".002332b4a7fc" on the root directory of the time machine disk. Now my months worth of backups are viewable again!
    I didn't find this on your website (maybe I didn't look hard enough). If it's not there, perhaps it would be a good thing to add to your site? Hopefully it will save a few people some frustration! Thanks for making the site - it looks like a great resource.
    --Hayden

  • "Notify after old backups are deleted. Be notified if your backup disk is full and Time Machine deletes old backups to create space for new ones."  I would prefer to be notified BEFORE things are deleted.  Can the deleted items be recovered?

    Time Machine option #2:
    "Notify after old backups are deleted" Wouldn't it be better to get this notification BEFORE things are deleted? I suppose the real question is, is it possible to recover files deleted from time machine?
    The bold phrase above has a checkbox. But if I leave it blank it appears that I will receive no notification at all.
    I am using MacBook Pro, OS X version 10.9.5

    TIme Machine is not an archival tool. And no, you won't be able to recover the files that are deleted.

  • Time Machine deleted all backups

    Just got a TM error message saying my 3TB drive needed 1.68TB and there was only 1.3 TB available. I thought this unlikely as my target drive should only require an incremental backup (1.68TB being a full backup). So I clicked 'back up now' (daft, I know) and Time Machine deleted everything and started a brand new backup which I immediately stopped. The TM drive still says there's only 1.3TB available which means my older backups are still in there somewhere, right?
    While I don't think I've anything on the backup that I need, I'm worried how this could happen - 4 months of backups just vanished instantly.
    Any ideas?
    Cheers,
    SNaP

    Thanks for the reply, Linc,
    First thing is there's no 'Starting standard backup' string, but I'm assuming the 'starting automatic backup' is our boy. I've deleted most of the texts where it says its 'deleting expired backups' (about 35 in all), and I've deleted other repetetive lines but I'm reluctant to delete more as I might be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The string finished with my creating a new Time Machine backup on a separate drive ('Storage 3'). The original Time Machine backup was named 'Mac Companion'. The two drives being backed up were 'SSD' and '2TB HD'.
    Log text:
    03/09/2012 11:34:29.581 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Starting automatic backup
    03/09/2012 11:34:30.103 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb
    03/09/2012 11:34:35.484 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to communicate with qtkitserver: Connection invalid
    03/09/2012 11:34:35.484 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to initializeServer(), returned 5
    03/09/2012 11:34:35.678 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Using file event preflight for SSD
    03/09/2012 11:34:37.364 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Will copy (644.7 MB) from SSD
    03/09/2012 11:34:37.374 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Using file event preflight for 2Tb HD
    03/09/2012 11:34:48.819 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to communicate with qtkitserver: Connection invalid
    03/09/2012 11:34:48.820 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to initializeServer(), returned 5
    03/09/2012 11:35:01.533 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:35:02.281 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to communicate with qtkitserver: Connection invalid
    03/09/2012 11:35:02.281 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to initializeServer(), returned 5
    03/09/2012 11:35:18.766 sandboxd[1413]: ([1412]) mdworker(1412) deny file-read-data /Users/snapmac/Dropbox/MDK/Adobe Photoshop CS65832565636961/..namedfork/rsrc (pre-ls-info fstype:hfs fsflag:480D000 flags:240000005E diag:0 uti:public.jpeg plugin:/Library/Spotlight/Image.mdimporter - find suspect file using: sudo mdutil -t 1127969)
    03/09/2012 11:35:18.000 kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1413) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd
    03/09/2012 11:35:34.790 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to communicate with qtkitserver: Connection invalid
    03/09/2012 11:35:34.790 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to initializeServer(), returned 5
    03/09/2012 11:35:45.111 sandboxd[1418]: ([1412]) mdworker(1412) deny file-read-data /Users/snapmac/Dropbox/MDK/Adobe Photoshop CS65832565702527/..namedfork/rsrc (pre-ls-info fstype:hfs fsflag:480D000 flags:240000005E diag:0 uti:public.jpeg plugin:/Library/Spotlight/Image.mdimporter - find suspect file using: sudo mdutil -t 1128024)
    03/09/2012 11:35:45.000 kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1418) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd
    03/09/2012 11:35:49.627 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to communicate with qtkitserver: Connection invalid
    03/09/2012 11:35:49.628 com.apple.quicklook.satellite[863]: Failed to initializeServer(), returned 5
    03/09/2012 11:35:57.957 sandboxd[1418]: ([1412]) mdworker(1412) deny file-read-data /Users/snapmac/Dropbox/MDK/Adobe Photoshop CS65832565768075/..namedfork/rsrc (pre-ls-info fstype:hfs fsflag:480D000 flags:240000005E diag:0 uti:public.jpeg plugin:/Library/Spotlight/Image.mdimporter - find suspect file using: sudo mdutil -t 1128070)
    03/09/2012 11:35:58.103 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Will copy (102.4 MB) from 2Tb HD
    03/09/2012 11:35:58.103 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Found 458385 files (1.57 TB) needing backup
    03/09/2012 11:35:58.114 com.apple.backupd[1401]: 1.88 TB required (including padding), 1.15 TB available
    03/09/2012 11:36:01.837 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-09-02-104622 containing 2.2 MB; 1.15 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:36:01.838 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 1 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:36:02.535 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:36:09.872 mdworker[1311]: CFPropertyListCreateFromXMLData(): Old-style plist parser: missing semicolon in dictionary on line 1. Parsing will be abandoned. Break on _CFPropertyListMissingSemicolon to debug.
    03/09/2012 11:36:11.574 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-08-21-002126 containing 613.1 MB; 1.15 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:36:11.574 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 2 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:36:14.818 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-08-22-000409 containing 5.8 MB; 1.15 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:36:26.606 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 7 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:36:49.689 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendAttachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending attach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _GetAddrInfoReplyReceivedCallback matched.
    03/09/2012 11:36:49.885 usbmuxd[431]: _AMDeviceConnectByAddressAndPort (thread 0x102e81000): IPv4
    03/09/2012 11:37:03.537 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:37:03.855 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-08-27-003829 containing 952.1 MB; 1.15 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:37:10.282 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 9 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:37:25.228 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendDetachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending detach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _BrowseReplyReceivedCallback got bonjour removal.
    03/09/2012 11:38:04.539 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:38:07.334 com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.coremedia.videodecoder[866]) Exit timeout elapsed (20 seconds). Killing
    03/09/2012 11:38:14.150 Adobe Bridge CS6[1424]: CFPropertyListCreateFromXMLData(): Old-style plist parser: missing semicolon in dictionary on line 1. Parsing will be abandoned. Break on _CFPropertyListMissingSemicolon to debug.
    03/09/2012 11:38:31.740 mdworker[1311]: CFPropertyListCreateFromXMLData(): Old-style plist parser: missing semicolon in dictionary on line 1. Parsing will be abandoned. Break on _CFPropertyListMissingSemicolon to debug.
    03/09/2012 11:39:05.541 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:39:17.723 WindowServer[128]: CGXSetWindowBackgroundBlurRadius: Invalid window 0xffffffff
    03/09/2012 11:40:06.543 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:40:40.603 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendAttachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending attach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _GetAddrInfoReplyReceivedCallback matched.
    03/09/2012 11:40:40.802 usbmuxd[431]: _AMDeviceConnectByAddressAndPort (thread 0x102e81000): IPv4
    03/09/2012 11:40:52.993 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendDetachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending detach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _BrowseReplyReceivedCallback got bonjour removal.
    03/09/2012 11:41:07.545 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:44:02.751 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendAttachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending attach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _GetAddrInfoReplyReceivedCallback matched.
    03/09/2012 11:44:02.967 usbmuxd[431]: _AMDeviceConnectByAddressAndPort (thread 0x102e81000): IPv4
    03/09/2012 11:44:10.551 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:44:16.032 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendDetachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending detach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _BrowseReplyReceivedCallback got bonjour removal.
    03/09/2012 11:45:09.730 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendAttachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending attach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _GetAddrInfoReplyReceivedCallback matched.
    03/09/2012 11:45:09.919 usbmuxd[431]: _AMDeviceConnectByAddressAndPort (thread 0x102e81000): IPv4
    03/09/2012 11:45:11.553 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:45:27.662 WebProcess[1473]: Failed to communicate with qtkitserver: Connection invalid
    03/09/2012 11:45:27.663 WebProcess[1473]: Failed to initializeServer(), returned 5
    03/09/2012 11:45:50.812 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendDetachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending detach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _BrowseReplyReceivedCallback got bonjour removal.
    03/09/2012 11:46:12.555 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:47:13.556 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:47:40.539 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendAttachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending attach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _GetAddrInfoReplyReceivedCallback matched.
    03/09/2012 11:47:40.766 usbmuxd[431]: _AMDeviceConnectByAddressAndPort (thread 0x102e81000): IPv4
    03/09/2012 11:48:12.322 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-08-29-003613 containing 114.46 GB; 1.27 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:48:12.323 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 10 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:48:14.559 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:48:32.980 Safari[1471]: CGContextClipToRect: invalid context 0x0
    03/09/2012 11:48:48.131 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendDetachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending detach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _BrowseReplyReceivedCallback got bonjour removal.
    03/09/2012 11:49:15.561 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:50:16.562 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:50:52.172 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-09-01-004618 containing 22.05 GB; 1.3 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:50:52.172 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 12 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:50:57.965 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-09-02-004621 containing 2.4 MB; 1.3 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:51:39.148 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 35 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:51:39.148 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted 35 backups containing 152.08 GB total; 1.3 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:51:39.148 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backup date range was shortened: oldest backup is now Sep 3, 2012
    03/09/2012 11:51:49.910 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    03/09/2012 11:51:51.535 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendAttachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending attach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _GetAddrInfoReplyReceivedCallback matched.
    03/09/2012 11:51:51.707 usbmuxd[431]: _AMDeviceConnectByAddressAndPort (thread 0x102f04000): IPv4
    03/09/2012 11:52:18.080 System Preferences[1547]: Cannot setMachineString without first being authenticated
    03/09/2012 11:52:18.140 System Preferences[1547]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:operation:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:52:18.142 System Preferences[1547]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:fromRect:operation:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:52:18.145 System Preferences[1547]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:operation:fraction:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:52:18.147 System Preferences[1547]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:52:18.567 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:52:37.450 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: _SendDetachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending detach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _BrowseReplyReceivedCallback got bonjour removal.
    03/09/2012 11:52:49.571 System Preferences[1547]: Could not connect the action warnCullingPressed: to target of class TMOptionsSheetController
    03/09/2012 11:52:49.572 System Preferences[1547]: Could not connect the action backUpOnBatteryPowerPressed: to target of class TMOptionsSheetController
    03/09/2012 11:53:18.715 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Starting manual backup
    03/09/2012 11:53:18.718 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb
    03/09/2012 11:53:19.569 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:53:29.481 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Using file event preflight for SSD
    03/09/2012 11:53:33.864 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Will copy (823.1 MB) from SSD
    03/09/2012 11:53:33.879 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Using file event preflight for 2Tb HD
    03/09/2012 11:53:59.470 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backup canceled.
    03/09/2012 11:54:02.534 sandboxd[1563]: ([549]) Mail(549) deny file-read-data /Users
    03/09/2012 11:54:02.000 kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1563) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd
    03/09/2012 11:54:02.541 sandboxd[1563]: ([549]) Mail(549) deny file-read-data /Users
    03/09/2012 11:54:02.963 WindowServer[128]: Display 0x1849b840 captured by conn 0x1396b
    03/09/2012 11:54:12.496 Mail[549]: CGSSetWindowLevel: Invalid window 0x0
    03/09/2012 11:54:13.140 sandboxd[1563]: ([549]) Mail(549) deny file-read-xattr /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-09-03-103801/SSD
    03/09/2012 11:54:14.654 Mail[549]: find_shared_window: WID 996
    03/09/2012 11:54:14.654 Mail[549]: CGSMoveWindow: Invalid window 0x3e4
    03/09/2012 11:54:14.918 WindowServer[128]: Display 0x1849b840 released by conn 0x1396b
    03/09/2012 11:54:20.570 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:54:40.796 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Starting manual backup
    03/09/2012 11:54:40.799 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb
    03/09/2012 11:54:45.549 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Using file event preflight for SSD
    03/09/2012 11:54:49.568 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Will copy (835.6 MB) from SSD
    03/09/2012 11:54:49.583 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Using file event preflight for 2Tb HD
    03/09/2012 11:55:21.572 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.773 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Will copy (102.4 MB) from 2Tb HD
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.774 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Found 458580 files (1.57 TB) needing backup
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.803 com.apple.backupd[1401]: 1.88 TB required (including padding), 1.3 TB available
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.814 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-09-03-113431.inProgress/D5E33B8C-90FD -408E-939E-C8D559EBAC56 containing 8 KB; 1.3 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.815 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Mac Companion/Backups.backupdb/Macintosh/2012-09-03-113431.inProgress/D93A9AE4-E50A -422A-BC05-A540DB00F417 containing 8 KB; 1.3 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.815 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Removed 2 expired backups so far, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.816 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Deleted 2 backups containing 16 KB total; 1.3 TB now available, 1.88 TB required
    03/09/2012 11:56:15.816 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backup date range was shortened: oldest backup is now Sep 3, 2012
    03/09/2012 11:56:17.477 com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.coremedia.videodecoder[1514]) Exit timeout elapsed (20 seconds). Killing
    03/09/2012 11:56:22.575 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:56:26.544 com.apple.backupd[1401]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    03/09/2012 11:56:27.481 com.apple.usbmuxd[431]: stopping.
    03/09/2012 11:56:27.521 com.apple.usbmuxd[1586]: usbmuxd-268.5 on Apr 5 2012 at 15:33:48, running 64 bit
    03/09/2012 11:57:17.937 System Preferences[1592]: Cannot setMachineString without first being authenticated
    03/09/2012 11:57:17.980 System Preferences[1592]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:operation:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:57:17.983 System Preferences[1592]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:fromRect:operation:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:57:17.985 System Preferences[1592]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:operation:fraction:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:57:17.987 System Preferences[1592]: *** WARNING: -[NSImage compositeToPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] is deprecated in MacOSX 10.8 and later. Please use -[NSImage drawAtPoint:fromRect:operation:fraction:] instead.
    03/09/2012 11:57:23.576 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:57:39.677 System Preferences[1592]: Could not connect the action warnCullingPressed: to target of class TMOptionsSheetController
    03/09/2012 11:57:39.677 System Preferences[1592]: Could not connect the action backUpOnBatteryPowerPressed: to target of class TMOptionsSheetController
    03/09/2012 11:58:24.579 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 11:59:25.581 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 12:00:11.658 com.apple.usbmuxd[1586]: _SendAttachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending attach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _GetAddrInfoReplyReceivedCallback matched.
    03/09/2012 12:00:11.866 usbmuxd[1586]: _AMDeviceConnectByAddressAndPort (thread 0x102e81000): IPv4
    03/09/2012 12:00:26.583 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 12:00:52.742 com.apple.usbmuxd[1586]: _SendDetachNotification (thread 0x100dc2180): sending detach for device cc:08:e0:3c:19:ef@fe80::ce08:e0ff:fe3c:19ef._apple-mobdev._tcp.local.: _BrowseReplyReceivedCallback got bonjour removal.
    03/09/2012 12:01:27.584 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 12:02:28.587 NetBarrier[127]: [NB5ForbiddenAdsManager checkForUpdate] The file "/Library/StartupItems/NetBarrierKPI/NetBarrier Daemon X5.app/Contents/Resources/CommonPatterns.plist" is corrupted.
    03/09/2012 12:02:53.089 com.apple.backupd[1626]: Starting manual backup
    03/09/2012 12:02:53.114 com.apple.backupd[1626]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Storage 3/Backups.backupdb
    03/09/2012 12:02:54.518 com.apple.backupd[1626]: Forcing deep traversal on source: "SSD" (mount: '/' fsUUID: 54176992-49A5-3BCC-BA6F-0E62A70536F3 eventDBUUID: 33324136-426B-40D2-9B6A-55DE25B037E5)

  • Time Machine deletes oldest backups?!

    So I'm starting to use Time Machine, now that my tape drive went south. I decided to rotate drives and use Time Machine.
    I'm reading threads about rotating drives and it seems straight forward. Swap drive, tell Time Machine to use the drive that you swapped in.
    Two questions:
    1. Does Time Machine know that the 2nd and subsequent backups are incremental?
    2. Is there a way to set Time Machine to ask *BEFORE* it starts deleting files?
    Time Machine is cool. No doubt. What's not cool is how we have to jump through hoops to get decent backups, with very little "best practice" guidance from Apple.
    I want to swap drives and hot have to poke through System Preferences > Time Machine each time I do.
    I don't want to worry about being told *AFTER* the fact that Time Machine "deleted files to make space" which is absurd.
    System Preferences > Time Machine > Options > [x] Notify after old backups are deleted
    It's unacceptable that Time Machine does not warn *BEFORE* deleting oldest backups. That's a decision only the user should make.
    Don

    don montalvo wrote:
    If you swap drives, Time Machine SHOULD be intelligent enough to know where to begin (based on what's on the drive). But it's not.
    Yes, it is.  A new drive will, of course, get a new full backup.  Thereafter, if you swap drives, Time Machine will back up the changes made since the last backup to that particular drive, independent of any others.
    If you swap, say, once a week, the first backup after the swap will be relatively long, of course, as there's a lot to "catch up."  Time Machine might even have to do a "deep traversal," comparing everything on your system to the backups, which takes a while, too, but it will catch up.
    So the issue of data being deleted automatically (where users are only told AFTER data is deleted) is still unresolved.
    And it will remain the way it is; Apple clearly changed it because the downside to having backups fail was much larger than the after-the-fact notification.  There were many, many threads in the Leopard forums where folks didn't understand or didn't heed the messages, and ended up with outdated backups when their HDs failed or were hopelessly corrupted. 
    And the issue of swapping drives being quite tedious is STILL an issue.
    Yes, and there's no indication that will be changed, either.  Apple seems to want to keep things as simple as possible.  There are some workarounds, none entirely successful.  Here's one: http://www.gearz.de/howto/OSX5/changeTMvol-sh-X6
    can't wait for Lion to be released so we can see if things got any better.
    There's no indication of anything like the things you're looking for in any of the published documents or even the rumor sites.  That's all I can say. 
    While Time Machine has some elements of a traditional "Archive" type backup app, it just basically isn't one.  Never has been, never will be.  The main audience is the novice to casual user, or even the power user, who either won't, or doesn't want to, manage backups.  
    If you really want an traditional archive type system, get one.  You can't make Time Machine into one.
    See Kappy's post on Basic Backup for links to a number of various types.

  • Time Machine deleting recent backups

    I looked at Console today, just for something to do, and noticed entries for Time Machine deletions. My TM partition on an external has 459 of 750 GB still available, so I don’t know why TM is deleting anything at all. It’s leaving the earliest backup from recent days, deleting subsequent backups from those days, but leaving backups from 2009. According to Console, these deletions began Nov.12. I now have one backup per day back to Oct. 21, then one per week back to 2009, with an entire block between Apr. 2010 to Jan. 2011 gone. I have no idea what I may have done on Nov. 12 to cause this. I had updated to Mavericks the day after it was released, so I don’t think it’s a Mavericks problem. I’m not too concerned with what’s gone - my main reason for using TM is to backup hourly while working so I won’t loose more than an hour’s work (TM is still retaining all backups for today) - but I would prefer to have the most recent backups rather than ones from four years ago.

    Bill, you might want to glean some insights into the nature of time machine from the last few pages of this recent thread:
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/23824079#23824079
    For vital data you "dont dare lose" consider bare formatted HD for data archives,
    Time machine is in premise and idealized as an entry-level or 'newbie' backup method, it has some flaws, and is best considered as a SYSTEM BACKUP  (OS files, settings, APPS and recent active data ON your computer)
    Time machine is not best thought of as an important storage nexus for vital data, and in ANY regard, "2 copies of important data is 1, and one is none"
    Consider a HD clone if you dont have much data, or importantly bare formatted HD(s) to store your important data.
    Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection

  • Time Machine deleted old backups as disk filled up. Now I'm confused

    Hi guys,
         My backup disk was full, and hence Time Machine deleted my old backup. The most important data on my Mac (for me) is my iPhoto library. As I know it, Time Machine deletes backups for files which are used less frequently. In my iPhoto library, there are some photos which I haven't opened for years. So has Time Machine deleted them?
    Thank you

    As I know it, Time Machine deletes backups for files which are used less frequently. In my iPhoto library, there are some photos which I haven't opened for years. So has Time Machine deleted them?
    Time Machine won't delete files that are still on your Mac, regardless of how long since you view them.
    What it trashes are files that have been removed from your Mac. So, it's not an archive app. For instance, if you backed up with TM and then deleted the pics from iPhoto on your Mac (to save space or whatever) then eventually they will be deleted from TM.
    Regards
    TD

  • Time machine will not backup after maverick

    This is a major problem, not addressed in the installation instrucitons. The disk runs eternally "preparing backup", I mean all night.
    This happened to two machines on entirely separate backup disks. And if we are sacraficing the old data in reformating the drive, I would like to know about that before choosing to upgrade.

    Update: Finally...
    At least for the Promise Pegasus R4... but I noticed on other threads that WD drives are also acting up too so this might work with them too.
    I turned off Time Machine, and deleted that pesky .plist file, again. I unplugged the R4, power and thunderbolt, then played whack the gopher with the drives swapping them around randomly.  I reintalled Mavericks from a fresh download, yet again, then set Time Machine to backup on a fast USB 3TB drive (which it did in 6 hours or so).  Then I turned off Time Machine, deleleted that .plist file again, rebooted the iMac, plugged in the R4, reformatted it again with Disk Utility, then hooked it to Time Machine, said a few slightly heretic prayers to whatever demons came with Maverick, and 2 minutes later Time Machine started to backup and report 1 hour to complete... the hour isn't up yet, but I'm crossing everything I have 2 of...
    I've noticed a few other 'didn't copy over or mesh well' things with Maverick, but that's a different thread and 2 updates from now once we all suffer through this extended beta-test by Apple.
    John Galt posted this on another thread... to find and delete that pesky .plist file:
    or "error ... while creating the backup folder."
    and follow that to:
    http://pondini.org/TM/A4.html

  • Exposé hot keys disabled after Time Machine "Delete all backups of file"

    I have been having the same problem that was initially mentioned in this topic:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5850265#5850265
    Namely, sometimes after I restart all of my Exposé and Dashboard hot keys have been turned off (but not the Spaces hotkey, just F9-F12). My hot corners for turning off or on the screensaver work just fine, but I have to manually go in and turn back on my Exposé hot keys. Some people said it was associate with WoW, but I am not running World of Warcraft. This last time it happened (this morning), I had removed all backups of a few files in Time Machine (what's the point of having a backup of a rented movie after the 24 hour viewing period has expired?). I have been looking for a way to report this to Apple, but have been unable thus far.
    I just tested it to see if you have to restart, and you do not. About thirty minutes ago I turned all the Exposé hot keys on, and just a minute ago I deleted a backup of a file on my Desktop in Time Machine (by selecting, "Delete all backups of file ______") and the hot keys had been disabled again.
    Does anyone know if there is a way to fix this?

    Mechanist wrote:
    At some point I told Time Machine to get rid of backups of a particular file using the "Delete all backups of ..." option. Time Machine duly deleted the backups of the file and stopped making new ones.
    Not exactly.  It did delete the existing backups, but didn't make any new ones because the file hasn't changed since then.
    The easiest way to get it to back it up is to make a minor change to it (the name or something in the contents), then change it back.  Time Machine should back it up on the next backup.
    Alternatively, you need to force a "deep scan," where Time Machine compares everything on your system to the backups.  Usually, just starting up from your Recovery HD will do that, although sometimes you have to start from it and Repair your internal HD to trigger it. 
    If you're not sure how to do that, see Using the Recovery HD and/or #6 in Using Disk Utility.

  • After reinstalling 10.6 Time Machine deleting ALL backups - Help!

    I recently reinstalled Snow Leopard. I then re-enabled Time Machine and let it run for a while. Then I discovered to my dismay that it had deleted several months of backups, and it looked like it was going to delete them all. So I turned it off.
    Does anyone know why it is doing this? I have done reinstalls before and TM has picked up seamlessly from where it left off. But not this time.
    A thought: I deleted the entire Caches folder from my Library - could that made TM think it needs to start from scratch with a brand new backup?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    SECollins7 wrote:
    Does anyone know why it is doing this? I have done reinstalls before and TM has picked up seamlessly from where it left off. But not this time.
    It may depend on exactly what you did.  If you just installed a fresh version of OSX "over" the old one, Time Machine should only back up the new version of OSX.
    If you erased the HD first, then installed OSX and used Setup Assistant to transfer everything else from your backups, it shouldn't have done a full backup.  Sometimes, however, it does anyway.
    If you erased, installed OSX, and used any other method to put your data back, yes, Time Machine will do a new, full backup.  You can't prevent it on Snow Leopard.   (There is a way on Lion).
    If you really need the old backups, your only option is to let Time Machine start fresh on a different drive.  You can always see and restore from the old one via the Browse... option, per #17 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
    A thought: I deleted the entire Caches folder from my Library - could that made TM think it needs to start from scratch with a brand new backup?
    No.  That folder is automatically excluded from backups.

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