Time Machine or Disk Image

Hi Everyone,
I want to backup my data to be sure that in the event something goes wrong I can get it all back again. My question is, in the situation where for some reason I have to reformat my hard drive, will there be an option in Time Machine to restore the system completely to a working version? As in, can I just go and reinstall it using the Time Machine data and get everything back?
OR
Would a disk image do this or do the exact same thing? If I created a disk image of my entire drive, after reinstalling the OS and formatting the HD, could I just load the drive as it was from a disk image?
I'm mostly concerned about my applications. I realized recently that several of my discs have gone missing and thus I no longer have my registration codes. I'm looking for a much easier way than having the hassle of contacting the companies or having to repurchase if things go wrong.
Thanks for your help!
Cheers,
Jillian

Here are a few points regarding what will be needed to get back up and running.
If you back up with Time Machine, you will need both your Leopard install disk and your Time Machine backup, in order for Time Machine to put it all back together.
If you back up to a disk image, you need to be able to boot from an external disk of some kind, or attach your Mac to another Mac, because something has to open the disk image and clone it back onto your original Mac that had the problem.
If you back up to a bootable external hard drive (using Disk Utility, SuperDuper, or Carbon Copy Cloner), you only need that drive. You can boot from it and use it to clone itself back to the Mac.
As far as the software licenses go, it's really hard to predict what will happen unless you have an exact list of which software it is and you know how they store their registrations. Looking at my own Mac:
1. Some software stores registration info in the application, so it moves with the application. No prob.
2. Some software stores registration info in a separate file. Sometimes it's in the same folder as the app. Sometimes it's in the Preferences folder. Sometimes it's in the Application Support folder. As long as that file is still where the program wants to find it, you're OK.
3. Some software does #2 but makes the file invisible, making it hard to locate.
4. Some software does #2 but gives the file a name that does not identify which application it belongs to, and encrypts the contents. So you can't figure out where it is or what it looks like.
5. Some software does #4 and has tied your registration info to a specific hardware combination, so there is a possibility that if it finds itself on a modified computer (e.g., you replaced the hard disk) it will notice the change, and fail to register.
If you are lucky, your software will be easy to migrate. But the more expensive or established the software, the more likely it is that at least one of your programs will need to be re-registered due to anti-piracy measures taken with the registration storage.

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Why does time machine backup disk images?

I have Time Machine backing up my folders on my Time Capsule but when I look at the Time Capsule drive in the Finder it shows one Sparse Disk Image Bundle. If I lose a folder on my iMac, how can I easily get the folder off of the Time Capsule? Is there a reason Time Machine and Time Capsule is making this Disk Image and not simply dumping folders on there?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
If you lose a folder, you just have to open Finder, go to the folder where that folder was and open the Time Machine application, so you will be able to navigate through your backups and restore the folder > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
Time Machine always create sparsebundle disk images when you are backing up to a network drive

Time Machine error: Disk image could not be mounted

I had two macs 1 and 2.
1 was stolen. I bought a new one (New 1) and it took the place of mac 2.
Mac 2 was reformated and restored from the TimeCapsule with the backup from the old 1.
The new 1 succeeded in continuing the back-up from 2.
But the mac 2 can't get used to backing up on another sparseimage on the Time Capsule. The result is, that both of the computers now makes back-up to the same sparseimage as if they were two users on the same computer. But the TimeCapsule doesn't accept that they can be using the sparseimage at the same time and claims that the backup is used by another.

I was encountering the same problem. I would navigate to my external drive and I would see the folder for the sparceimage and it would have a circled minus sign icon on the folder and it was not possible to mount it using DiskImageMounter. I would get a window stating the "operation not supported on socket". When I looked at the Time Machine preferences, the disk image was not available so I could confirm that it was chosen as the backup disk. However, when it became the scheduled time for Time Machine to do its scheduled backup according to the information in the Time Machine preferences pane, the disk image mounted and the backup seemed to commence. Similarly, when I went to Time Machine and asked it to "Backup Now", the disk image mounted, and the backup proceeded. However, the disk image then dismounted and again it was no longer available to Time Machine. When I ran Time Machine, I could not choose the disk image and restore files from it because it was no longer mounted.

Time Machine - "backup disk image could not be created"

I have been successfully using the Time Machine to backup my Macbook Pro to an HP Network Server for about six months. A month ago the the Time Machine setup became corrupted and no backups were conducted until yesterday when I found a solution to Time Machine setup problem. Once I set the Time Machine up again, a backup was unsuccessfully attempted with an error message: "backup disk image could not be created" being generated. I followed several other posts on this issue and confirmed my computer is correctly named in the file sharing setup. Since I am not using a Time Capsule - that other suggestions in that post possibly may not apply. The file image showing all of the previous Time Machine backups is present and accessible on my desktop. The NAS is functioning properly. Any help is appreciated.

gonecoastal wrote:
Once I set the Time Machine up again, a backup was unsuccessfully attempted with an error message: "backup disk image could not be created" being generated.
That sounds like it's trying to create a new sparse bundle for a new set of backups, but can't for some reason.
It's possible that your backups are corrupted; see if you can repair them, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If that doesn't help, try re-selecting them in Time Machine Preferences. If still no help, try a "full reset" of Time Machine, per #A4 in the same link.
If still no help, you may need to reset the NAS, or use it's instructions again to "reconnect" to the backups. Unfortunately, that's different for each NAS, so you may have to work with the maker on that.

Time Machine encrypted disk image backup?

When Time Machine backs up my hard drive, it backs up a password-protected disk image as an open folder. Is there a way to back up the disk image without Time Machine opening it up?

I've played around with this a little. As best I can tell, when cloning an entire HD volume both CCC and SuperDuper will always copy an image file (.dmg, .sparsebundle, etc) that resides that on that HD, whether or not that file's disk image is mounted at the time. However the contents of the mounted disk image volume will not be copied separately, and so If the disk image is encrypted, no unencrypted content will get transferred this way. However as mentioned in the SuperDuper link above, it's better to unmount the image in any event, in order to ensure that the underlying .dmg or .sparsebundle file gets copied faithfully.
If you want to copy the contents of a mounted disk image with CCC or SuperDuper, you can do so as a completely separate procedure from copying the HD. If you first mount the image (giving a password if it was encrypted), that mounted image will appear as an independent volume in the "source list" of CCC or SuperDuper, and you can choose that volume as a source for the copy procedure. You would need to designate a different target volume as well, so as not to overwrite your HD clone. If the disk image was encrypted and you deliberately copy its mounted image separately in this fashion, the resulting files on the target will not be encrypted.

TS1337 Time machine backup disk image can not be accessed

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping someone can help me as I'm constantly getting the following message:
Time Machine could not complete the backup.
The backup disk image "/Volumes/My name Time Capsu/My name's iMac.sparsebundle" could not be accessed (error -1)
Does anyone know what this means as I can't find anything regarding this message in troubleshooting? My time machine has been running perfectly for well over a year until a couple of days ago.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

I had this same problem. Unplugged the power for a minute and plugged back in after reading this https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4984048
Working for me now.

Time machine backup disk image

I am just starting to use my Time Capsule and I keep getting this message when I try to do my first backup: "backup disk image could not be mounted". How can I fix it?

Run AirPort Utility, go to Disk, and then choose Erase. Then start over and try to backup again. I'd recommend using an ethernet cable for your first backup.

Time Capsule and Time Machine (Sparse Disk Image Bundle)

I just changed the HD that I use to backup TM for Time Capsule. I do not know why it is taking so long (more than 45 min) to calculate size... I took a look at TC and I found "Backups.backupdb" with no item (in TC) and a disk image called "Mac Pro’s Mac Pro.sparsebundle" right beside another dm called Mario.sparsebundle (my MacMini). Did it change from before, it used to be a folder called Backups.backupdb and inside her, folders with your computer's name? Is there something wrong? Should I stop TM?
Mario Lordeiro

You may have successfully increased the sparsebundle's potential capacity while failing to resize the contained partition. That seems to be what happened when I tried this myself. A resized sparsebundle containing the same files would not occupy much more space on disk than it did before.
*Provided you have a backup*, you could try the following:
Remount the image, then run Disk Utility and select the .sparsebundle (non-indented icon) in the left pane. Click on the Partition tab, and then see if you can pull down the lower right corner of the disk image partition to increase its size. If you can, then drag it to the bottom and click Apply.
Again don't try this without a backup. It may not be worth doing in any event - it's easy enough just to make a new, bigger sparsebundle and copy your stuff over.

Did Os Lion clear time machine archived disk images under OS Snow Leopard?

Just looked back on my time machine drive - and realised to my shock that there were no snapshots of my files prior to mid July 2011. I bought this 15in Mac Book Pro in April and have used the same back up drive throughout. I have 480GB of free capacity on the drive. The only thing that happened the week of the 'first' archived 'snapshot' is the upgrade to OS Lion...
Anyone else find this?

Changing the short name may have been the problem, but I would have thought Migration Assistant would have done it (messily - you'd have two accounts and loads of permissions to change).
Best I can suggest for now is that you have a good look at Pondini's TM and Setup/Migration Assistant articles
http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html

Time Machine Backups disk image displays the wrong capacity

I have a USB hard drive partitioned and connected as an airdisk on a time capsule. The drive "TIME" is partitioned for 300 GB and serves both my MacBook (MB) and MacBook Pro (MBP).
If I connect to TIME from Finder, it shows 155.68 GB free of 300 GB total.
When MB runs Time Machine, the Time Machine Backups volume mounts and shows 155.68 GB free of 300 GB total.
Here is what is weird - When MBP runs Time Machine, the Time Machine Backups volume mounts and shows 155.68 GB free of 429.5 GB total.
Why does the MBP show a different and inaccurate total?
I tried reconfiguring Time Machine to point to a different backup drive and then back to TIME hoping it would just 'reset' but that did not work.
Something I just thought of - I did move that sparse from a different volume that was larger. I bet the total size is saved in the information in the sparse.
Can anyone confirm this?
Will this cause me any problems in the long run?

redemily wrote:
Something I just thought of - I did move that sparse from a different volume that was larger. I bet the total size is saved in the information in the sparse.
That's possible, depending on how you moved the sparse bundle. If it had a smaller maximum size than the volume it's on, Time Machine would automatically resize it to the size of the volume it's on, making it larger (effective with 10.6.3).
I don't know if it will make a larger one smaller, though.
Will this cause me any problems in the long run?
No. Time Machine will figure out how much space there really is anyway. But if you want to change the size, see #A8 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Time Capsule - "Backup disk image could not be created"

Trying to set up time machine and consistently getting this error message. I can login in to the device and see the drive and space quantity with the airport utility. Airport wireless network is working fine - just can't get past this error message when I initiate the time machine backup process. Ideas? mike

Mike,
"The Backup Disk Image Could Not Be Created"
Here are a couple possible reasons for the error message, “The Backup Disk Image Could Not Be Created”:
*Missing Computer Name*
First you might be missing a computer name in the Sharing Preference pane. Go into System Prefs. Then Sharing. In the box labeled “Computer Name” is it empty? If it is blank, you need to put in a name for your computer. Otherwise Time Machine won’t be able to link this Mac with the previous backups.
*Reselect Time Machine Backup*
Next, the link to the network drive “Backup” has been lost. Go into System Preferences --> Time Machine --> “Change Disk…” and select the the backup drive again from the list of available volumes. Do this:
Go to System Preferences --> Time Machine.
Click the "Change Disk..." button.
Select "None" and click "Stop Backing Up".
Now click "Choose Backup Disk" and reselect your drive again.
Close System Preferences and try backing-up again.
Let us know if any of the above resolved your issue.
Cheers!
Message was edited by: Glenn Carter

HT201250 My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

Inherit a Backup
Inherit a Backup (2)

How do I get back iphone app information from a DELETED Time Machine Backup disk

Hi People,
here is what happened:
I have been using an iPhone App (Audio Memos Free - The Voice Recorder) to record song ideas (I am a songwriter). I have been using it for years.
I backed up my iphone to itunes, and backed up my mac on Time Machine. After a month or so I did a fresh OSX install on my mac, copied all of my files back from Time Machine into my mac, and tried to set up Time Machine. I was not able to do so, so I had to format the Time Machine Backup disk and doing a "fresh" mac Time Machine Backup.
After a week or so, my iphone asks me something like "you do not possess the rights for one or more applications". do not know what i did, but after 1 minute my iPhone was wiped out of all my apps and app contents. I had also the icloud app sync, so i did not worry, recovered from icloud notes, contacts, and all other things. so i did another backup to itunes.
Now i discover icloud did not recover or save the "Audio Memos Free" app content. I know the data are hidden into the Time machine Backup HD, but i do not know where to search for the itunes backup in it.
I know it is in library, but library won't show up.
Any help would be much appreciated.
PS there is a chance that, even without a data recovery, my latest itunes backup was containing these songs, but i do not know how to fish that out of the Time machine drive.
Thank you in advance.

I would email iTunes Customer Service:
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/browser/
CG

Migrating content from an encrypted Time Machine external disk (will not easily work)

I recently purchased an SSHD to upgrade my Mac. I preferred not to completely restore from Time Machine, but rather to install a new copy of Mavericks on the new disk and then migrate my TM content afterwards. At the end of installation, Mavericks proposed the option to migrate data from a TM backup, which I chose.
It turns out that the Migration Assistant did not recognize any disk, perhaps because it was encrypted, nor displayed any way to select the volume and unlock it by entering its password. Despite what Pondini says the Time Machine backups disk was not seen by the Mac: as workaround I had to create a fictitious user, log in, unlock the disk (that was immediately recognized by the system) and then run the Migration Assistant from there (by the way, after 4 hours I finally logged into my migrated account and found out that apps were not imported at all!)
I find all this quite not…applish! I could have preferred to unencrypt the TM disk rather than
Is there anyone facing this same experience? Hope that this, if it's a bug, will be fixed, otherwise I'll have to make a TM backup on a secondary disk (which I don't own so big).

Well a google search would appear that disk utility will show you the disk regardless if it's mounted or unmounted. you're best bet would be to unmount the disk in finder, shut down the computer completely, unplug it from a power source, and then unplug the firewire...
I think this is your safest bet but then again, I'm not that worried about ejecting my disks.
you get no error messages when you right click and eject the disk in in disk utilty? you said you have a my disk, do you mean My Book by western digital? I know that they load software onto the machine for encryption purposes. have you tried ejecting the disk from there? I uninstalled said software so I can't tell you if there is an option for that or not.

Restored system from Time Machine backup disk but the system could not start-up

On MacBook Pro early 2008, restored the entire system from Time Machine backup disk to the entire disk.
The previous system on the backup disk had FileVault turned on.
The restore completed successfully and I was prompted to restart the system via the new restored system disk.
I heard the normal start-up sound, then the Apple logo, but it stuck at the logo screen. And the cooling fan run at almost full speed?
I have been waiting for a few hours, guessing it might FileVault the disk.
Finally I have to shutdown the machine as it stuck at the logo screen forever.
Anyone has the same issue? Any ideas?

BTW, I also tried Repair the system disk, Fix permissions via Disk Utility.
I guess I must lose some files either during the backup or the restore.

Time Machine or Disk Image

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