Time machine is deleting my old backups

Hey guy,
I have a WD 500GB harddrive which has worked wonders for time machine, but I've noticed and canceled that the past 2 days when I've tried to "back up"
it starts to calculate the files then starts deleting old back ups, Either I've never noticed this before or this is abnormal?
Just thinking that to do time machine you need old back ups so it doesn't appear right to me.
Any suggestions please help!
Thank guys,
Reis.

Time Machine does not delete so aggressively that you cannot back up to your last backup (under an hour ago). But saving everything from the beginning eventually takes a near-infinite amount of space. After outdated duplicate snapshots are removed, oldest copies of files that have been superceded by more recent ones are selectively removed to make the required space. This does reduce your ability to restore to any point in time.
If this is not acceptable, you need to provide a larger drive -- some say 2+1/2 to 3+1/2 times the size of the stuff being backed up is good.

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    Dear All,
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    hi
    thank you for help. really appreciated.
    here is the text from the log. Should I just give up, reformat the tm drive and start again?
    volume Video.
    Dec 25 20:22:50 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[470]: Copied 497 files (1.8 MB) from volume Macintosh HD 2.
    Dec 25 20:23:41 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[470]: Starting post-backup thinning
    Dec 25 20:23:41 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[470]: No post-back up thinning needed: no expired backups exist
    Dec 25 20:23:41 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[470]: Backup completed successfully.
    Dec 25 21:07:13 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Starting standard backup
    Dec 25 21:07:13 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 25 21:07:15 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 329.8 MB requested (including padding), 155.78 GB available
    Dec 25 21:07:34 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Copied 648 files (4.9 MB) from volume Macintosh HD 1.
    Dec 25 21:07:36 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Copied 654 files (4.9 MB) from volume Video.
    Dec 25 21:07:38 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Copied 660 files (4.9 MB) from volume Macintosh HD 2.
    Dec 25 21:07:39 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Starting post-backup thinning
    Dec 25 21:07:45 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-24-203749: 155.78 GB now available
    Dec 25 21:07:45 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Post-back up thinning complete: 1 expired backups removed
    Dec 25 21:07:46 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[583]: Backup completed successfully.
    Dec 26 09:48:06 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Starting standard backup
    Dec 26 09:48:06 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 26 09:48:07 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Node requires deep traversal:/Volumes/Untitled 1 reason:must scan subdirs|
    Dec 26 09:48:07 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 322.5 MB requested (including padding), 155.78 GB available
    Dec 26 09:48:07 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Copied 1 files (0 bytes) from volume Untitled 1.
    Dec 26 09:48:07 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Indexer unavailable (200)
    Dec 26 09:48:09 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Copied 7 files (93 bytes) from volume Macintosh HD 1.
    Dec 26 09:48:09 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Waiting for index to be ready (101)
    Dec 26 09:48:24 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Copied 13 files (93 bytes) from volume Macintosh HD 2.
    Dec 26 09:48:34 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Copied 19 files (93 bytes) from volume Video.
    Dec 26 09:48:40 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Starting post-backup thinning
    Dec 26 09:49:02 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Stopping backupd to allow ejection of backup source disk!
    Dec 26 09:49:03 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Backup deletion was canceled by user
    Dec 26 09:49:03 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[216]: Backup completed successfully.
    Dec 26 10:19:49 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Starting standard backup
    Dec 26 10:19:49 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 26 10:20:13 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 329.7 MB requested (including padding), 155.78 GB available
    Dec 26 10:21:23 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 947 files (5.8 MB) from volume Macintosh HD 1.
    Dec 26 10:21:25 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 953 files (5.8 MB) from volume Macintosh HD 2.
    Dec 26 10:21:28 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 959 files (5.8 MB) from volume Video S3.
    Dec 26 11:19:51 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 4.4 GB of 4.4 GB, 3373 of 3373 items
    Dec 26 12:19:52 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 8.2 GB of 8.2 GB, 3384 of 3384 items
    Dec 26 13:19:52 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 20.5 GB of 20.5 GB, 3409 of 3409 items
    Dec 26 14:19:54 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 34.7 GB of 34.7 GB, 3442 of 3442 items
    Dec 26 15:19:55 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 54.8 GB of 54.8 GB, 3478 of 3478 items
    Dec 26 15:51:26 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Copied 3496 files (67.5 GB) from volume Macintosh HD 4.
    Dec 26 15:54:17 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Starting pre-backup thinning: 718.12 GB requested (including padding), 88.27 GB available
    Dec 26 15:54:17 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Found partially deleted backup - trying again to delete: 2009-11-26-214614
    Dec 26 15:54:39 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-26-214614: 88.36 GB now available
    Dec 26 15:54:39 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Removed all 1 expired backups, more space is needed - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Dec 26 16:08:32 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-08-31-214215: 102.34 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:09:50 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-09-12-204919: 104.33 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:11:08 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-09-20-200117: 105.00 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:11:57 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-10-04-162511: 105.11 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:13:53 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-10-11-095448: 111.18 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:15:17 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-10-18-194956: 112.30 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:16:36 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-10-25-143128: 112.59 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:18:54 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-01-150819: 113.80 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:19:42 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-08-210648: 114.44 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:25:48 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-15-084242: 125.84 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:28:19 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-23-124658: 125.93 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:29:20 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-27-075219: 125.94 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:31:08 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-28-000354: 125.97 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:32:41 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-29-101726: 126.17 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:33:13 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-11-30-212802: 126.17 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:34:12 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-02-205548: 126.18 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:36:42 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-04-180748: 126.69 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:37:58 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-06-164628: 126.70 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:40:57 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-07-203807: 126.95 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:42:15 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-12-103818: 127.03 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:43:08 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-14-194223: 127.05 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:43:36 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-15-213301: 127.05 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:46:56 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-17-203032: 128.20 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:48:15 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-18-203635: 128.21 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:49:06 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-21-173338: 128.22 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:49:57 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-24-194134: 128.23 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:50:17 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-25-150955: 128.23 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:50:58 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-25-164942: 129.26 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:51:18 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-25-173957: 129.26 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:51:45 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-25-183843: 129.26 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:52:23 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-25-202250: 129.27 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:52:25 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Simon Jordan’s Mac Pro/2009-12-25-210738: 129.27 GB now available
    Dec 26 16:52:25 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Error: backup disk is full - all 33 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Dec 26 16:52:25 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Backup Failed: unable to free 718.12 GB needed space
    Dec 26 16:52:31 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    Dec 26 17:18:45 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Starting standard backup
    Dec 26 17:18:46 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 26 17:19:33 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Starting pre-backup thinning: 878.33 GB requested (including padding), 129.27 GB available
    Dec 26 17:19:33 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Dec 26 17:19:33 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Dec 26 17:19:33 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Backup Failed: unable to free 878.33 GB needed space
    Dec 26 17:19:38 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[233]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    Dec 26 18:04:50 simon-jordans-mac-pro [0x0-0x45045].backupd-helper[853]: Not starting Time Machine backup after wake - failed to resolve alias to backup volume
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    Dec 26 18:07:03 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 26 18:07:24 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Node requires deep traversal:/Volumes/Q reason:must scan subdirs|
    Dec 26 18:10:05 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Node requires deep traversal:/Volumes/N2 reason:must scan subdirs|
    Dec 26 18:10:08 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Starting pre-backup thinning: 1.48 TB requested (including padding), 129.27 GB available
    Dec 26 18:10:08 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Dec 26 18:10:08 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Dec 26 18:10:08 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Backup Failed: unable to free 1.48 TB needed space
    Dec 26 18:10:14 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    Dec 26 18:13:18 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Starting standard backup
    Dec 26 18:13:19 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 26 18:13:38 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Node requires deep traversal:/Volumes/Q reason:must scan subdirs|
    Dec 26 18:15:52 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Node requires deep traversal:/Volumes/N2 reason:must scan subdirs|
    Dec 26 18:15:59 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Starting pre-backup thinning: 1.05 TB requested (including padding), 129.27 GB available
    Dec 26 18:15:59 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Dec 26 18:15:59 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Dec 26 18:15:59 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Backup Failed: unable to free 1.05 TB needed space
    Dec 26 18:16:05 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[893]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    Dec 26 18:51:41 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Starting standard backup
    Dec 26 18:51:41 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 26 18:52:10 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Starting pre-backup thinning: 877.95 GB requested (including padding), 129.27 GB available
    Dec 26 18:52:10 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Dec 26 18:52:10 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Dec 26 18:52:10 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Backup Failed: unable to free 877.95 GB needed space
    Dec 26 18:52:15 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    Dec 26 18:53:22 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Starting standard backup
    Dec 26 18:53:22 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
    Dec 26 18:53:36 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Starting pre-backup thinning: 877.95 GB requested (including padding), 129.27 GB available
    Dec 26 18:53:36 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Dec 26 18:53:36 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Dec 26 18:53:36 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Backup Failed: unable to free 877.95 GB needed space
    Dec 26 18:53:41 simon-jordans-mac-pro com.apple.backupd[274]: Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.

  • I am trying to update my time machine backup on time capsule, but time machine keeps trying to create an entirely new backup (evidenced by the 200GB backup size). How can I get time machine to modify my old backup rather than create a new one?

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  • I have a new Macbook Pro. All data from prior Mac was migrated to new Mac. If I run Time Machine and "inherit" the old backups will TM take up where I left off, or delete and overwrite the current data?

    I have a new Macbook Pro. All data from prior Mac was migrated to the new Mac. I want to continue Time Machine on the new Mac and retain the history. An option is to "inherit" the old Time Machine. I want to make sure this does not errase the current data, but creates a current backup.

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

  • I want to delete a time machine folder from an old backup I´m not ussing anymore

    I´ve read a lot of time machines threads before posting but none of them solve my issue.
    I have an external HD with a time machine backup from a computer I don´t have anymore.
    I want to clean that backup, deleting folders I don´t need. How can I do it? I cannot enter on time machine mode because de backup is not from the computer I have now. I´ve tried from the finder, but it doesn´t allow me to move folders to the trash.
    Thanks folks
    H.

    See if you can inherit the backup.
    Inherit a Backup
    Inherit a Backup (2)
    Time Machine Troubleshooting

  • Had to reset TC, Time Machine won't recognize old backups

    Two problems really. Firmware "update" was a disaster, forcing several resets of TC and creation, eventually, of a new name. First problem is that when I start up Time Machine, it won't recognize the backups that were already made of the drive on the TC. Second problem is that it says I only have about 1/2 of the capacity left in the TC drive. It seems that it is treating the old backup files as a large unrecognizable file that it will not delete. Optimum solution would be for TM to continue backing up my hard drive on the backups already created by TM on my newly named TC. If that can't be done, can I at least erase those old backups so that the TC has the maximum capacity to start backing up again from this point forward. Thanks for any help.

    To Reformat the TC Hard Disk:
    Go to Airport Utility --> Manual Setup --> Disks --> Highlight "Time Capsule Disk" on the left --> Select "Erase" on the right.

  • Time Machine does not erase old backups

    Hi,
    I have a problem using Time Machine on my MacBook Air. I use a LaCie 500GB Rugged All-Terrain Hard Drive for backup. The external drive has 3 partitions, one of which is dedicated to time machine and measures 128 Gb. It happens very often that I receive an error message saying that Time Machine cannot complete backup as there is not enough space and that I should manually remove old backups. Time Machine is supposed to do that automatically. The backup partition is of the same size as the internal flash drive which is not even full so I don't see why there should be a problem.
    I also have a MacMini with an external Iomega drive and same setup (3 partitions on the external drive and the Time Machine dedicated one of the same size as the internal drive) and I never had an issue with the Time Machine not erasing old backups to make room for the new ones.
    How can I fix the problem on the MacBook Air?
    Many thanks in advance,
    Igor

    How much space is currently in use on the volume TM is backing up from? If it needs to do a large backup for some reason, there may not be space to do so without deleting so much that you are left with less than a full backup. TM needs the backup drive to be a minimum of 2-3 times larger than what is being backed up.

  • Time Machine doesn't recognize old backup after logic board replacement

    I recently had my logic board on my MacBook Pro replaced and when I tried to backup, Time Machine did not recognize the old backup on the drive and tries to create a new one. The drive is mounted fine.
    Is there a way to continue using my old backup, or do I need to delete it and create a new one?

    lissy-loo wrote:
    Hi there I've just had this problem on my computer too but is there a possibly easier way to explain what is on this site...
    http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080128003716101
    I read through but got lost about half way down when it says:
    "The last bit of information needed is the old MAC address. Open Terminal and change directory to the root of the Time Machine backup database, then get the old MAC address:...."
    I was in terminal but couldn't work it out. Is this not a good idea to stumble around in if i have no idea what I'm doing? Seems difficult but I really wanna work it out because my Time Machine hard drive is full so I can't just get to back up everything from scratch and don't wanna delete what is already on there. Any help would be much appreciated!!
    Hi, and welcome to the forums.
    If you're not comfortable with the procedure, I'd advise against it. Mucking about with Terminal can cause all manner of problems.
    But you can find your Mac's Ethernet Address via the *System Profiler* app. Click the Apple logo in your menubar, then +About This Mac,+ then +More Info+ to start it.
    Select Network in the sidebar, then Ethernet in the upper panel. Near the bottom of the lower panel, under Ethernet, you should see *Mac Address.* It's 6 hex numbers (12 characters), separated by colons. Omit the colons when you type it into Terminal.
    As noted in the Troubleshooting Tip, it's easy to do this wrong, get no error message, and have it not work (been there, done that!).
    If it doesn't work, your only choices are to erase the drive and start over, or get a larger one and transfer your backups to it (see item #18 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum).
    How big is your TM drive, vs. how much it's backing up? TM usually needs 2-3 times the space of what it's backing-up (see item #1 of the FAQ Tip).
    Are you so concerned about not losing your backups because you've been deleting things from your internal HD, relying on TM to keep it's copies? If so, post back -- that's a terrible idea.

  • Time Machine Won't Continue Old Backup

    My computer was being repaired at Apple for a few weeks and I just got it back. No hard drive data was modified during the repair; the optical drive needed work. Anyway, I plugged in my external hard drive a few moments ago and it's backing up the whole system and won't let me return to the previous backups that I already have. I'm trying to recall a few files and Time Machine won't let me find them even though they're on the external drive. I did, however, accidentally rename the external hard drive when I was using it without Time Machine a few days ago.
    Is there a way for me to continue where I left off with my old Time Machine backups? I'd hate to lose them all and I don't want to re-install the entire system from a previous one from a month or so ago; I just need to look at a few old files. Thanks for any help!
    Greg

    So, here's what happened.
    Time Machine uses the xattr system to assign specific folders hidden attributes. Time Machine sets each folder up in its hierarchy with a xattr tag for the Ethernet MAC address of the machine it is backing up. This is all done invisibly. So, when I got a logic board, and a new MAC address, it wouldn't treat the old archive as concomitant with the new machine. So, here's how you fix this:
    - remove the ACLs from the Time Machine DB
    - use the xattr command at Terminal to put your new MAC address on the folder.
    Full details are available here:
    http://www.tombridge.com/rta/2008/01/after-the-apple.html

  • Time Machine can see my old backups, but not open them

    I have been using Time Machine with a Time Capsule (1TB) since last June (on this machine) - quite a few backups in there.
    Last night when I went to backup, first time in a few days, it said the machine had never been backed up and started the preparing the disk thing - I couldn't find a problem, everything looked fine on my time capsule - couldn't do anything else, so I let it run. This AM it had finished the backup (in fact several) and when I open Time Machine it shows me as having backups all the way to June '08 -- however, it cannot seem to open anything earlier than last nights -- if I try to scroll to them it greys out. If I try to directly click on one, I get an empty finder window that never seems to update (at least not for 5-10 min) and then I cannot get any response from anything, have to restart to get out.
    There are two things that I can think of that could have caused this -- I updated to 10.5.6 since my last backup, and I backed up a second Mac to the same time capsule in the interim (that backup went fine and seems to be working, but very slow)
    My console is not reporting any errors (for backup or for anything else). It would be nice to get back to my old files, it certainly seems to know they are there. Any thoughts?
    thanks
    Jim Hendler
    RPI

    I'm having this same issue and would like to know what I might be able to do.
    I started using TimeMachine so that I could wipe my internal HD and be able to restore the settings. Now that I've wiped the HD TimeMachine doesn't seem to be doing what I expected it to do or I don't know how to restore the files.
    Any help would be wonderful!

  • Time Machine won't show old backups after reformat

    Hi there -
    So I have a time machine backup that I made about 1 year ago. I have let it do its thing, backing up files automatically every hour. I decided to reformat my computer to start fresh before downloading Lion, so I unhooked my external drive and went to work. The install went fine, but now my old time machine backups are gone!
    For example, I will go into my Pictures folder, then enter time machine, I can only go back to July 18th, 2011. Previous to me reformatting my computer, I had no problem going as far back as I wanted. Now all of a sudden, I can't do that any more!
    I have NO idea what's going on, and NO idea how to fix this. I've exhausted myself reading through the communities trying to get support, but to no avail.
    Hopefully someone can help!

    Many, many weeks ago there were articles (MacWorld and others) that described how to check and see if you had any PowerPC apps.  It was stated that these apps would not work with Lion because Rosetta, which they require, will no longer be supported.  Here is how you check.  Hold down Option and click the Apple in the upper left.   While holding Option click System Profiler.  Under Software, click Applications and wait for the list to load.  Toward the right side of the window click the column header called "Kind" to sort the column.  Scroll the column to see if you have any Power PC apps.  If  you do, they won't work in Lion.
    Regarding  your Office 2004...... I do know that the new version of Office will work.
    Hope this is helpful.

  • Time Machine does not recover old backups

    Dear All,
    I have a Time Machine disk for a long time (from the Leopard days) and have been using it without any trouble even after updating to Snow Leopard (iMac- intel).
    However, a few days back I upgraded my system with the latest Snow Leopard release (over software update) to install the Apple Store application.
    Now, today, when I put my Time Machine disk in, it correctly shows all the backup dates correctly (on the right hand side Time Machine index pane), but I could recover only files from my Snow Leopard backups. The Leopard backups, though shown correctly do not reveal anything when I click on the date.
    I am feeling desperate as some of my important files are in Leopard backups. Any help would be welcome!

    Madhurjya wrote:
    Now, today, when I put my Time Machine disk in, it correctly shows all the backup dates correctly (on the right hand side Time Machine index pane), but I could recover only files from my Snow Leopard backups. The Leopard backups, though shown correctly do not reveal anything when I click on the date.
    What you see in the "Star Wars" display depends on how you get there. If you're starting from a Finder Window, then entering Time Machine, be sure the Finder window shows something that was backed-up on Leopard.
    Or, try the procedure in #E3 of [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
    If nothing helps, try Repairing your backups, per #A5 there.
    I am feeling desperate as some of my important files are in Leopard backups.
    Do you mean you've been deleting things from your system, counting on Time Machine to keep the backups indefinitely? If so, that's NOT a good idea. See #20 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

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