Time Machine no longer deletes older files to make room for new ones.

I happened to notice today, that Time Machine is failing when attempting to do updates. I also notice that the HDD is just about full. Time machine should delete the oldest backups to make room for the new ones, but for some reason this isn't happening. I also tried deleting some of the older folders manually. It says it deletes them, the folder icon disappears, but the available space never increases. If I reboot, the folders I deleted are still there. Time Machine has no problem reading the files, but apparently can't delete them. Anyone have an idea as to what might be happening? It used to work, but now something is 'broken' and I have no idea where to start looking. I am running OSX 10.5.3.

don't delete old backups from finder. delete them from TM interface. start TM and navigate to the backup you want to delete. click on the "gears" action button in finder's toolbar and select "delete backup". You'll have to enter your admin password. you might have to do this for several backups to clear up enough space. the deletion process can take a while so be patient. This is not guaranteed to make TM start deleting old backups by itself but it might.

Similar Messages

Simple question, does TM delete oldest files to make room for the newest?

"Time machine could not complete the backup. This backup is too large for the backup disk." (requires 12.37 Gb, only 7.34 available)
On the 500Gb TC, why can't it delete 12.37 and continue?
It was working fine, using TM for three systems, 2 MBAir, 1 MMini.
Nothing was changed.
Does TM delete oldest files to make room for the newest?
If the backup were bigger than the TC, that seems to be the only thing TM/TC can't handle. True?

I'm taking this Q down because I know the answer is true, so I've stated the wrong Q.

I can't delete photo files to make room for iOS 8.

I can't delete photo files to make room for iOS 8.

Ive had this and solved it an entirely different way very quickly.
Connect the ipad to the imac (i assume its an imac);
Fire up itunes;
while thats happening create a new folder called EMPTY in your Pictures folder on the imac;
go back to itunes;
select the ipad;
go to photos on the ipad;
select SYNC FROM SELECTED FOLDER;
select your EMPTY folder;
then hit SYNC and the photos / videos in photo albums / the albums will all instantly disappear.
We had 7.98 Gb of syncd fotos and videos on the ipad and tried all the more lengthy [and unsuccessful] ways suggested elsewhere.
There was so little space we couldnt u/d the IOS !
OK, so we werent bothered about keeping the fotos that were on the ipad (they'd all been filed in iphot on the imac so not 'lost').
Nice to find a solution for yourself when you're a silver surfer in your mid '60's
pjfs

Software Update Server - Deleting old updates to make space for new ones

On Page 77 of the SystemImage_and_SW_Updatev10.4.pdf Apple recommends "deleting old updates to make space for new ones". I've looked and searched and yet to find a way to do this. The Server Admin interface and the command line options I've looked into don't appear to provide this option.
So I actually tried stopping the server, moving the updates from /usr/share/swupd/html to another location, starting the server, the server wouldn't start, moving the files back again, the server still won't start.
1. Does anyone know how you're supposed to "Delete old updates to make space for new ones"
2. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get Software Update service running again?
Power Mac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Does this article contain anything useful?
(16738)

If i sync my phone to the computer can i then delete my old photo to make room for new ones

if i sync my phone to the computer can i then delete old photos to make room for new ones

You mean import, not sync.
iOS: Importing personal photos and videos from iOS devices to your computer
Once you are sure the photos are on your computer you can delete them from the phone.

My external Time Machine disk is almost full. I know TM is supposed to erase the oldest back-ups to makew room for newer ones but is it safe for me to just erase the back-ups from 2 or so years ago to make room for TM as well as anything I might want to

My external Time Machine disk is almost full. I know TM is supposed to erase the oldest back-ups to make room for newer ones but is it safe for me to just erase the back-ups from 2 or so years ago to make room for TM as well as anything else I might want to add to this external drive?

Time Machine makes room for backups as necessary in a complex and sophisticated fashion, and it's not something to mess with lightly. However there are instructions at the bottom of this link which tell you how you can. Those instructions are part of the ultimate resource for all things Time Machine, put together by an Apple Support Communities member who is greatly missed.

Backing up to a thumb drive - time machine doesn't delete older backups when it's full. I will have to erase and re-do the drive. Why?

Backing up to a thumb drive - time machine doesn't delete older backups when it's full. I will have to erase and re-do the drive. Why?

You are both right.
Time Machine can backup FROM:
It cannot back up a USB thumb drive.
Time Machine can backup TO:
•A USB thumb drive (but most aren't large enough, and are very, very slow)

I am receiving a notification that says that I am running out of storage space. I backed up time mating to an external hard drive. Can I delete some files to make room?

I am receiving notifications that I am running out of storage space. I backed up my mac book using an external and time machine. Can I delete some files to make room?
If so,
When I want to restore from my time machine, can I pick and choose, say certain songs, photos or documents?

About TM "Backup Drive is Full"
Alert TM only deletes older files if they have been deleted from the source and when TM needs space on the backup drive for a new incremental backup. Time Machine "thins" it's backups; hourly backups over 24 hours old, except the first of the day; those "daily" backups over 30 days old, except the first of the week. The weeklies are kept as long as there's room.
So, how long a backup file remains depends on how long it was on your Mac before being deleted, assuming you do at least one backup per day. If it was there for at least 24 hours, it will be kept for at least a month. If it was there for at least a week, it will be kept as long as there's room.
Note, that on a Time Capsule the sparsebundle grows in size as needed, but doesn't shrink. Thus, from the user's view of the TC it appears that no space has been freed, although there may be space in the sparsebundle.
Once TM has found it cannot free up enough space for a new backup it reports the disk is full. You can either erase the backup drive and start your backups anew or replace the drive with a larger drive. You can also use the Time Machine application to selectively remove files, but that may be ineffective if you have to free up GBs of space.

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?

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?

It must have found the old backup corrupt.. so you will more than likely have little choice. You can archive off the old backup if it is still useful.
You can also verify it. See A5 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
He also has some info on this problem. eg C13.

My iphone storage is full due to my large photo library. As I want to go on taking more photos, if I back up my phone to icloud, can I then delete all my photos from my iphone to make room for new photos?

My iphone storage is full due to my large photo library. As I want to go on taking more photos, if I back up my phone to icloud, can I then delete all my photos from my iphone to make room for new photos? Or will the next time I back up lose all those previously backed up as it is a 'new' set of data?
I just want to find the easiest and safest way of not losing all my photos while being able to take more than my iPhones storage worth as it is already full - can someone help me please? I thought icloud was the solution to not uploading my photos to the mac but I'm not sure if the way it's going is working and don't want to delete photos or lose my phone and then find out what I'm doing isn't actually storing my photos permanently. Thanks

Hey EmilyEliza,
As you are clearly aware, it is important for you to have backups of your important data, including all of these photos you are currently keeping on your iPhone. While it is possible to use iTunes or iCloud to do backups of your iPhone, the problem becomes how to access those backups if you have deleted the photos from your iPhone. Once you have done the backup and then removed the photos from the iPhone, the only way to access the photos is by restoring the backups to the phone. See this article for information about backups made from the iPhone -
Back up and restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iCloud or iTunes - Apple Support
If you want to easily access the photos once they are off of the iPhone, another approach to this would be to import your photos from the iPhone into an application on your Mac, such as iPhoto. To learn how to do this, use the steps in this article -
Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or Windows PC - Apple Support
Once those photos are on your computer, it is still important to back up those photos to somewhere else, so you can be sure of their safety before removing them from the iPhone. Your Mac’s Time Machine application is one method of doing this -
Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac - Apple Support
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Happy computing,
Brett L

If I delete purchased movies from my ipad to make room for new movies, will they be permanently lost or stored somewhere?

Problem: I don't have enough storage to download new movies. If I delete purchased movies from my ipad to make room for new content, will they be lost or stored somewhere?

It depends upon what country that you are in (it's not possible to re-download films in all countries), the film studio (some don't allow re-downloading), and whether they remain in the store (studios occasionally remove them from the store) - what you can currently re-download will show in the Purchased tab in the iTunes store app on your iPad.
But you are better off first copying them to your computer's iTunes via File > Devices > Transfer Purchases so that you can take you own backup copy of them before deleting them, rather than relying on being able to redownload them in the future (and the same applies to other downloaded content)

Deleted items from Ipod Nano to make room for new. Emptied trash. Still getting error message when I try to copy items from ITunes to Ipod. What should I do now?

Deleted items from Ipod Nano to make room for new. Emptied trash. Still getting error message when I try to copy items from ITunes to Ipod. What should I do now?

If you delete songs (and other items) from the main iTunes library, yes, you need to empty the Trash because iTunes puts the song files into the Trash. When deleting items from an iPod, the items are not being deleted from the main iTunes library, so nothing should end up in the Trash.
Hopefully, you are not deleting items from your main iTunes library, just to sync those deletions from the iPod. If you are, there is a better way. You can post back if you want more info...

I purchased tv episodes on apple tv and had to delete the episodes to make room for me to be able to download other stuff. Now I want to watch those episodes I already paid for again. How do I re-download those episodes without being charged again?

I purchased tv episodes on apple tv and had to delete the episodes to make room for me to be able to download other stuff. Now I want to watch those episodes I already paid for again. How do I re-download those episodes to my apple tv without being charged again?

Welcome to the Apple community.
Assuming you are in a location that supports re-downloading of TV shows, you can download any purchased TV shows from the purchased option in the quick links section in the top right-hand corner of iTunes on your computer.

Time Machine no longer recognizes backup file

Hi:
My Time Capsule was malfunctioning, and I lost my internet connection. I rebooted the Time Capsule, and had to reset the internet connection via the Time Capsule software that's part of System Preferences. When I got my internet connection back up and running, Time Machine can no longer connect to Time Capsule. When it tries to back up, I get this error message...
"The backup disk image “/Volumes/Aquaria-2/JHitch’s Computer_0017f2ce01da.sparsebundle” is already in use.
It's like Time Machine thinks that my backup file on my Time Capsule belongs to somebody else. How can I get Time Machine to go back to using my old backup file on my Time Machine?

I have had this exact problem occur when I logged off while Mail was in TM restore state. I guess the backup is locked somehow because it was cut off while in use. I wish I could help, but I am in the same boat and I will watch this post for help.

Time machine how to delete all files?

time machine: how to empty and delete all files?

Please check to let us know what version of AirPort Utility that you have so we can provide the correct instructions to erase the Time Capule disk.
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
Click the AirPort Utility menu just to the right of the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen
Choose About AirPort Utility
What version of AirPort Utility do you have?

Time Machine no longer deletes older files to make room for new ones.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for