Time machine on temporary loaner computer

My macbook is away for repairs, and in the time being I'm using a loaned macbook. Using migration assistant I was able to create an account with all my settings (preferences, mail, ical, etc), but no applications or libraries. Are there special settings I should use to have time machine back up what I do on this loaned computer until I get mine back from apple? Should I just tell time machine to ignore everything that's not in my User directory? I expect that I will have to restore from time machine when I get my mac back from apple, so I'd like to have all my old apps, but also my recent work.

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Time Machine will back up the loaner separately. The first backup will be a full backup of everything you don't exclude.
I'd be inclined to use a different disk for the backups, if you can; or a separate partition, if you can make one, on the same drive (see #6 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum).
Either way, exclude your system folders and apps via TM Preferences > Options, and anything else you don't want backed-up. See #10 in the FAQ Tip.
Also check the box at the bottom to show hidden folders, and exclude the Private folder. There are other hidden ones, but that's the only one that contains much actual data.
Note that to see your Mac's backups from the loaner, you'll need the +*Browse ...+* option, per #17 in the FAQ Tip.
Ditto when you get your Mac back, to see the loaner's backups from it.

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I upgraded my imac hard drive to a 2tb drive. how do i use time machine to get my computer back to normal?

i upgraded my imac hard drive to a 2tb drive. how do i use time machine to get my computer back to normal?

Thank you. I followed the faq#14 (using setup wizard from the osx install disk). Everything went just as planned until I woke up this morning and noticed there was no progress on the "transferring documents" meter. It stopped about 1/4 of the way. I can hear the computer working and the bar is somewhat animated like it is advancing but it's not.
Should I cancel and restart or should I wait it out? It already been about 13 hours since I started the process. Do you think it is my time machine or my iMac? Maybe the time machine file is corrupt or something.
Anyway, any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Searching time machine backup on different computer

I have 3 computers backed up by time machine onto one hard drive. How do I search time machine for a backup of a computer I am not currently using? I did use the control key and was prompted for which disk to search,and clicked on that, but then it just switches me back and only shows the backups of the same computer I am using at the moment. I want to search a time machine backup of a computer that is no longer functional.

This was actually solved in the 10.7.1 or 10.7.2 update.

Time Machine stops due to computer going into Sleep/Hibernation Mode

Time Machine stops due to computer going into Sleep/Hibernation Mode then restarts to try to start the Back up process again and again vicious cycle. I have made sure all settings are turned off. I have done one or two backups since the initial first backup. My HDD is almost full and I want it backed up before I try to clone/mirror the drive to upgrade it to a 1TB HDD. Thank you in advance.

Set the Energy Saver (in System Preferences) to Never. Then reset the NVRAM, as follows:
Shut down your Mac.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the third time.
Release the keys.

How to backup from Time Machine of a different computer

I want to restore my emails from time machine from a different computer?

Look at the Pondini web site and it should be able to address all of your Time Machine questions.
http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html
Ciao.

How do I retrieve files from a backup hard drive (was backed up using Time Machine) on a different computer

how do I retrieve files from a backup hard drive (was backed up using Time Machine) on a different computer?

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

Can I use the harddisk that I used for Time Machine on my previous computer on my new computer without deleting the old back-ups?

Can I use the harddisk that I used for Time Machine on my previous computer on my new computer without deleting the old back-ups?

Yes. See:
http://pondini.org/TM/4.html
My only concern is that you may not have enough free space on the drive.

Access Time Machine backup through different computer

Hi, I have a 1TB Time capsule and I have my Macbook pro and my mother's macbook pro backing up to it. If one of our computers were to crash, could we go about getting a file from time machine through the other computer? I tried the right-clicking on time machine and selecting 'browse other time machine disk', but that only shows the backup for the computer im using, not anybody elses. any help?

Try mounting the "sparsebundle" file for the other computer before you invoke the "browse other ..." option. If that works, please let me know.

How do you get time machine to reset your computer to the specific date you would like?

How do you get time machine to reset your computer to the specific date you would like?

Hey carlleeh,
Thanks for the question. The following resource may guide you through that process:
OS X Mountain Lion: Recover your entire system
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11192
Thanks,
Matt M.

Time Machine makes the Host Computer unusable

I have been running Time Machine for some time now. Long enough that it started notifying me that it was deleting older backups. Shortly thereafter my computer (24" IMac) started to run very slow. So slow that it would take several seconds to type a 4 letter word and the mouse movement delay was several seconds. I went to the control panel and turned Time Machine off. That did not help. So I next disconnected the firewire disk that is hosting the Time Machine backup and my computer returned to normal.
So what do I do now? For obvious reasons I am reluctant to reconnect the Time Machine disk. Any suggestions on what might have happened and/or how I can safely reinstate Time Machine?

Obviously you are running out of space on the backup drive causing TM delays as it combs through data to determine what can be deleted to make up the space. That would suggest you need a new, larger hard drive for TM backups - might consider doubling the size at the least.
To continue with the new drive you want to clone your old backup to the new drive so you will need enclosures for both drives.
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the new backup drive.
Source means the old backup drive.
Be sure to prep the new drive as follows:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Be sure you only use Disk Utility or SuperDuper! to clone the TM backup correctly.

HT201250 Since time machine backed up my computer does that mean I can delete files so I can increase storage space on my hard drive?

Since time machine backed up my computer does that mean I can delete files so I can increase storage space on my hard drive?

NO!
Time Machine is not an Archival Backup. It will keep files for a while, but if it needs the space, it will delete files that no longer exist on the hard drive.
Get a couple external drives and move the files to both of them.

Time Machine crashes whenever the computer goes to sleep or into screen saver mode.

Apologies if there is an obvious answer or post about this. Every time I try to initialize Time Machine, it will begin backing up until the computer goes to sleep or the screen saver kicks in. When I wake the computer up, I get a message that says "The backup was not performed because an error occurred while copying files to the backup disk." The message also tells me that the problem might be temporary and to try Disk Utility to repair the backup disk if the problem persists.
When I run Disk Utility, I am told that the volume cannot be repaired and that it needs to be reformatted. I reformat the disk, try to run Time Machine again, and get the same problem whenever the computer goes to sleep or into screen saver mode. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I managed to get an initial backup only if I turned off the screen saver and the sleep function. However, once I turned them back on, I ran into the same problem when Time Machine tried to update the backup.
I am running OS X v.10.6.8 on an iMac5,1. The backup is a Toshiba 1TB USB external HD. I saw this same problem posted in the Lion forum (and I cribbed the title of this post from there). Nobody has offered a solution yet, but it was a very recent post.
Thanks in advance.

Oh yeah I forgot to say I use an ETHERNET connection.

Can't view time machine backups from old computer on new computer

My macbook pro laptop recently died and I am trying to access its time machine backup data through Finder on a different computer. In each one of my folders from different dates, however, the majority of the computer folders I would like to access (i.e. desktop, documents, dropbox, etc) have a little red "no" sign in the corner and prompt the following message when selected:
"The folder “FolderName” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents"
How can I gain permission to see its contents? As the former user, I know whatever passwords are restricting these files, but I don't know how/where to go to give permission to these folders. I've tried going into Disk Utility and changing the permissions there, but to no avail, despite successful changing of the "Sharing & Permissions" to "Read & Write" for all listed accounts.
I'm currently trying to view this on an imac OSX 10.6.8. The dead MacBook pro ran OSX
thanks
kate

Hi Kate,
It sounds like you're running into an issue trying to recover that was on your previous Mac from a Time Machine backup. The article linked below will walk you through the process of recovering the data from your older Mac's Time Machine backup.
OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mountain Lion and earlier
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889
Time Machine or other disk migration
If Migration Assistant isn't running on the target (new) Mac, open Migration Assistant (located in /Applications/Utilities/), select "From another Mac, PC, Time Machine backup, or other disk" then click Continue.
Connect your external hard drive if necessary.
Type in your admin password when prompted and click OK.
When the target Mac asks you for a migration method, select "From a Time Machine backup or other disk", then click Continue.
Select the Drive, Time Machine backup, or Time Capsule. If you select Time Capsule you will be prompted to enter the Time Capsule password. After entering the password, select the Time Machine backup.
Close all other applications on the source Mac, then click Continue to start the migration options.
The source Mac will ask you to select items to migrate.
You can customize your selection by clicking to open the disclosure triangles.
After you click Continue, the Migration Assistant will begin to transfer files to the target Mac. The amount of time that it takes for migration to complete depends on the amount of data being transferred and the speed of the network.
Note: To view documents that were migrated, choose Log Out from the Apple () menu, then login as the migrated user. The migrated documents will be located in the migrated user's home folder.
I hope this helps.
-Jason

Time Machine backup from previous computer

So I just traded in my 2009 iMac for a Mac Pro. I had backed up everything from the iMac using Time Machine. Is getting all that info back on the new Pro as easy as turning it on, mounting the Time Machine drive and getting it rolling? Or is there a step I'd be missing. Don't want to screw it up!
Thanks in advance!

NO!
It is easier.
When you start up your new computer, it will run the Setup Assistant. During that process it will ask you if you want to bring forward your previous data, and ask you to specify where it is.
Because you are running nearly the same class of Mac, you can do this without much worry. If converting from an older Mac, especially PowerPC to Intel, you should be careful NOT to migrate your Old Applications, because they will not be optimized for Intel Processors and may exhibit wieird problems.
Some here would suggest that you should re-install ALL your Applications anyway, regardless of what they were running on before. If any Application gives you trouble, that would be the first thing to do -- re-Install from the original CD/DVD.

Can I use time machine to back up computer hard drive AND contents of an external HD (contains only photos) onto another external hard drive (standalone HD for backups only)? PLEASE HELP!!

I keep my photo files on a separate external hard drive, separate from my laptop hard drive. And I want to be able to use time machine as the back-up system to back up BOTH the computer's hard drive AND the external hard drive.... and i want all of the "back-up" information contained on a separate standalone external HD. So in the end, I have a 250GB computer hardrive, a 1TB external hardrive, and I want to have a 2nd external hard drive that will be the location to store the "back-ups" (using time machine) which will be either a 2TB or 3TB harddrive.
I am in dire need of help....

Yes, just make sure that they are not excluded in Time Machine.

Time machine on temporary loaner computer

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