Time machine latest backup

I have a problem with time machine. I have just got a new computer and installed a backup, which was done some weeks ago. This backup was older than some backups on the hard drive. I did not want to backup the latest backup. The problem is there is not enough disk space to do a new latest backup. I thought that when there is not enough disk space it starts going over the oldest backups. But it is not doing this, is there away to tell it to erase the oldest backup. I can not see anything in the preferences that might tell it to do this.
Please could some one help.

John,
*_Full Backup After Hardware Change / Mac OS Reinstall_*
Actually, this is normal. Anytime your hardware has been repaired, replaced, Time Machine will perform a new full backup and you will not be able to resume backing up with the same history as the previous backups. Time Machine will resume incremental backups after the full backup has completed.
To view previous backups, Control-click or right-click the Time Machine icon in your Dock or Option-click the Time Machine menu and choose "Browse Other Time Machine Disks," then select your previous backup volume. You will enter Time Machine and be able to browse your previous back ups and restore files.
While there may be ways to fool/hack Time Machine into recognizing previous backups without performing another full backup, they are rather elaborate, and for the average user are simply not worth it. Ultimately, in a couple of months, all the effort to preserve old backups may seem pointless. After all, Time Machine will eventually purge away that data anyways as it replaces it with new files.
It may simply be easier to begin a fresh series of backups while saving the previous backups until your satisfied that you have enough history built up. Then delete the old backups.
*Why Can’t I Resume Backups?*
You see, Time Machine was designed to restore your Macs’ immediate environment in case of system crashes or accidental deletion of user files. As a result, reinstalling your Mac OS system software or changing your hardware requires a fresh set of backups since older backups would not accurately represent the current state of your Mac.
Additionally, if a user has had to reinstall the system software, then resuming backups to the same set could later reintroduce the very issues that lead to the reinstall in the first place. Furthermore, maintaining backups that were started with an older Mac, introduces the possibility of restoring system files that were never intended for the new Mac.
Finally, if backups were NOT linked to a specific Mac, imagine the confusion for Time Machine in households with multiple Macs backing up to the same Time Machine device. Backups from one Mac could unintentionally be added to the backup set of another Mac. In that event, any attempt at ‘restoring’ files/folders specific to that Mac would be impossible. As a result, each backup set must be unique for each Mac.
Fortunately, it appears that new full backups are not required after a user performs an “Archive and Install”, a “Restore System From Backup...”, or an “Erase and Install” with their Mac OS Leopard install DVD. At least this appears to be the case since the Mac OS 10.5.5 update.
If you require long-term archival storage of files, then you need another backup strategy.
Hope this clarifies some things.
Cheers!
Message was edited by: Glenn Carter
Message was edited by: Glenn Carter

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Time machine latest backup unknown

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http://pondini.org/TM/17.html

Time Machine: Latest Backup: Failed (Unable to complete backup)

Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume.
some messages from the console log:
6/22/08 6:15:23 kernel disk3s2: 0x23 (UNDEFINED).
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robrobrobrob wrote:
Aug 14 18:33:28 iMac mds[44]: (Error) DiskStore: Unable to create/find index location
While you got the same type of message as while(fork()) it's not clear to me that they represent the same underlying problem.
In your case the Time Capsule and the actual Backup seem to mount OK as seen here:
Aug 14 18:33:20 Robert-Schattners-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[301]: Network volume mounted at: /Volumes/Time Capsule
Aug 14 18:33:25 iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[301]: Disk image /Volumes/Time Capsule/ iMac_001ff3543f94.sparsebundle mounted at: /Volumes/Backup of iMac
Aug 14 18:33:25 iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[301]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Backup of iMac/Backups.backupdb
What follows indicates to me that the backup proceeded. Once it decides to do a deep traversal,it take s Loooonng time.
Aug 14 18:33:31 iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[301]: Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|kFSEDBEventFlagReasonEventDBUntrustable|
What happened after this?

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Appreciate your help Csound1.
Regards
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Folders You Can Move to Your new Mac
From the Home folder copy the contents of Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites.
In your /Home/Library/ folder:
/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Preferences/ (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
If you want cookies:
/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
/Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data
Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft
For FireFox:
/Home/Library/Applications Support/FireFox
/Home/Library/Preferences/org.mozilla.firefox.plist
Credit goes to another forum user for this information.

Can I set Time Machine to backup both my hard drive and an external hard drive?

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7string48 wrote:
Thanks so much Pondini!! You just quickly answered a question that none of the Mac people in 3 stores or Apple Care have been able to answer.If you can format it HFS+ (any variation of Mac OS Extended), it will work. If not, it won't.
I'm not too surprised about the Apple Stores, as they don't get much training on Time Machine. But AppleCare sure ought to know.
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Can I use time machine to backup on my server HD?

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- Don't have Time Capsule, and cannot afford it.
Yet I was wondering if it was somehow possible to use Time Machine, to backup directly to my server (online) for example.

-(.)^(.)- wrote:
Time Machine backups are NOT supported for NAS devices except Time Capsule or a USB HDD connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station. All other options are hacks.
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Can I use a 2tb external drive with Time Machine to backup what I have on my Mac Mini?
My Mac Mini has one 256 SSD and one 2tb HDD. I want to use Time Machine to do a backup of everything.
Would an external 2tb My Passport Drive by Western Digital work for the backup?
It seems like it would not work because the total storage on the Mac Mini is 2304 gigabytes (SSD + HDD).
And the external Western Digital drive is only 2048 in gigabytes versus 2304 gigabytes the Mac Mini has.

No. A Time Machine backup drive should have at least twice the capacity of the drive it backs up. You would need at least a 4 TB backup drive for Time Machine.
Might I suggest as an alternative that you not use Time Machine but a third-party backup utility that simply overwrites older files with new ones such that the backup drive can be the same capacity as the drive backed up.
Suggested Backup Software
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Others may be found at MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

Time machine latest backup

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