Time Machine requests more storage than needed!

Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/TM_Backup/Backups.backupdb
No pre-backup thinning needed: 1.94 GB requested (including padding), 109.41 GB available
Copied 2539 files (265.1 MB) from volume Snow_Leopard.
Copied 2547 files (265.1 MB) from volume Leopard.
Copied 2754 files (548.8 MB) from volume Data.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 1.29 GB requested (including padding), 108.86 GB available
Copied 382 files (103 bytes) from volume Snow_Leopard.
Copied 390 files (196 bytes) from volume Leopard.
Copied 435 files (196 bytes) from volume Data.
Starting post-backup thinning
No post-back up thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Backup completed successfully.
As you can see from the log entries above, Time Machine requested 1.94 GB, but it backed up only 548.8 MB.
And then it requested 1.29 GB and it backed up only 196 bytes.
I recall reading in this forum that this may be caused by the size information in some folder being wrong. I have partitioned my internal hard drive in three partitions:
1. Leopard
2. Snow Leopard
3. Data
So, I excluded the Leopard partition and did another backup and it was still more than 1 GB.
I added Leopard and took a backup.
Then I excluded Snow Leopard and did another backup and the space requested was still more than 1 GB.
So I added Snow Leopard and took a backup.
Then I excluded Data and did another backup. It requested more than 1 GB.
So, I was unable to identify which volume had the bad folder info.
I wiped out the Time Machine backup by reformatting the volume,
I then re-created the directory of all three volumes using Disk Warrior.
And then I ran a fresh backup.
And then I ran another backup. It still requests more than 1 GB than needed.
Any else I should try?
Thank you very much.
Roberto
Message was edited by: Roberto Sepúlveda

Pondini wrote:
Roberto Sepúlveda wrote:
As you can see from the log entries above, Time Machine requested 1.94 GB, but it backed up only 548.8 MB.
And then it requested 1.29 GB and it backed up only 196 bytes.
That's more of an over-estimate than usual. TM adds 20% to the estimated size of the backup, and it's usually fairly close.
no it's not. I frequently see large disparity between estimated and actual backup for smaller backups. in the example I posted the ratio is 5:1! this is completely normal. there is nothing to troubleshoot or see here.
There are some things that will cause the estimate to be off significantly, but most of them result in larger backups, not smaller ones.
It's pure speculation, but I suspect if the same file is updated repeatedly between backups, it's size may be counted more than once for the estimate.
But as you mentioned, something corrupted might be a cause, also. Since there's no way to tell how much was estimated from each partition, I'd run +*Verify Disk+* on the partition you're running from, and +*Repair Disk+* on the others, then do a Restart.

Similar Messages

Time Machine sees more data than actually exists

Another way to put it is that Time Machine requires more space than is needed. I found similar posts, but none that were solved.
My MacPro has a 160GB startup drive, and three 1TB (931.2GB formatted) storage drives in it.
I have a 1TB external FW800 drive (931.2GB formatted). I formatted it using Disk Utility and set it as the Time Machine destination. Using the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences, I have exluded everything but the startup disk and the 1TB drive with my actual work data on it (we'll call it data_1) .
There's 79GB in use on the startup disk and 702GB in use on data_1. In the "Options" window of the Time Machine preference pane, it says "Total Included 781.9GB"
When I start the first backup, after a short period of 'Preparing' Time Machine delivers an error message that says the backup is too large for the destination and that 931GB are available but 998.41GB are required.
From system.log:
Jan 7 00:42:23 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd(598): Backup content size: 79.2 GB excluded items size: 8.8 MB for volume davinci
Jan 7 00:42:23 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd(598): Backup content size: 702.8 GB excluded items size: 0 bytes for volume vivaldi
Jan 7 00:42:23 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd(598): Starting pre-backup thinning: 998.41 GB requested (including padding), 930.97 GB available
Jan 7 00:42:23 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd(598): No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
Jan 7 00:42:23 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd(598): Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
Jan 7 00:42:23 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd(598): Backup Failed: unable to free 998.41 GB needed space
Jan 7 00:42:29 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd(598): Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
Where is the extra 217GB coming from?
I've reset everything; reformatted the drive, turned TM off, cleared the exclusion list, turned TM back on, reset the TM destination, repopulated the exclusion list. Same error.
Time Machine has worked properly on this computer before. I had a smaller external drive, and only backed up the startup disk.

they call me 'Oz' wrote:
1) I can't find any documentation published by Apple that defines recommended drive size. Perhaps I'm not looking hard enough.
My G5 is in the shop, so I can't get to Leopard Help. And I don't find it on their Support pages. This has been reported by people who talked directly with Apple (Apple Care and others).
2) I've run Time Machine on dozens of Macs (I manage a small network) and none of them had a TM drive 3 times the size of the source disk. They all worked, no problems.
Yes, of course, in many, perhaps most, cases 2 times or even less will work. But it depends almost entirely on what size files are updated/added and how often.
3) Based on the error I'm currently getting, TM requires an overhead of 22% just to perform its tasks. Can that be true? And if it is, why isn't this reflected in System Preferences? (i.e.: Total Included: 781GB, an additional 217GB will be required for working space)
Yes, there is a great deal of mystery about it's calculations. You may note from it's system log messages that it requests a certain amount of space "including padding". Just what that consists of, and how it's calculated, is unclear.
My completely uneducated guess is, at least some of it is for the many hundreds of thousands of alias-type files it uses. Remember, when you look in the TM interface, it appears to have one copy of every file for every backup. The vast majority of those, of course, haven't changed, and are represented, somehow, by those special alias files some also call soft links. Whatever they are, they have to take up some small amount of space, but multiply teeny by a minimum of half a million of them per backup . . .
4) I understand that a main feature of TM is that it saves a history of files. But at it's root it is a backup system. Even if you only had enough space for one most recent copy, and one expired copy, you'd still have a backup, which does not defeat the purpose.
Yes of course, but you don't have anywhere near that much space.
I don't mean to be argumentative. But I was hoping to hear something other than "Get a bigger drive." If the 2-3x 'rule of thumb' is correct, wouldn't the minimum size for any of the newer macs be 750GB? Making one of Apple's own products (the 500GB Time Capsule) be incompatible? Especially when the TC is meant for multiple systems. Seems like my only option is to get a raid of some sort.
Or use CarbonCopyCloner, SuperDuper, or the like. Or exclude a lot.
I suppose I'm just frustrated and befuddled at the lack of documentation on this, assuming what you say is true? I guess I'd calm down if I could see some actual documentation. Does anyone have a resource or a reference where this overhead?
Agreed. Why don't you contact Apple directly? And post the results here.

Time Machine requiring more space than necessary?

Hi all,
Since I only have a 60gb external drive (whereas my laptop has 250gb) I burned some files to DVDs and then excluded them from the Time Machine backup so the backup would fit in 60gb (~56gb, really).
Anyways, when I managed to reduce the size of my backup to around 51gb, I got a message saying that the backup would require 64.7gb. I thought it was okay, maybe TM needs a bit more space for whatever reason. But even after shrinking by backup to only 41gb, it still says 64.7gb are needed!
I'm desperate because I haven't been able to find a solution and thus I've been unable to backup my files.
Thanks in advance

Thanks for your replies, but I am perfectly aware of how TM works and that I need a bigger hard disk to back up.
A friend also has a computer with a 250 HDD and he backs up perfectly around 50gb of files in a 60gb hard disk.
I've formatted my disk and I'm doing this as my first backup, so I know there are no 'extra files' to be backed up besides those I've chosen not to exclude.
But my question is why does TM require exactly the same disk space (64.6GB) with different backup sizes (from 35GB to 53GB), it's ALWAYS the same space!
I really appreciate your replies, though. =)

IPod wants more storage than needed

I have a iPod Nano 16GB 4th generation. My problem is that both iTunes and explorer says it has around 1GB free. But as soon as I try to transfer movies I get an error that says "needs more storage", I am using iTunes i swedish so I don't know the exact phrase.
For example: If I sync as many movies possible, and I then have 865,9MB free in my iPod. When I try to transfer a movie which in this case is 98,7MB, I get the error and it says: Cannot sync (918,3MB needed)
It's like the iPod needs some spare storage or something... so weird...
Message was edited by: jimpalompa

what if the movies your transferring is more then 1 gb?

365 gig used, 1TB external HD-Time Machine bu fail -claims to need 1.3TB...

I have an iMac with a 500 gig internal hard drive. We have used close to 365gig of that.
I originally tried to set Time Machine up with a couple of older/smaller external HD's. Time Machine told me that it needed 800gig to back up.
I purchased a 1TB LaCie external hard drive.
Tonight when I tried to set up Time Machine it failed and said it now needed 1.3TB.
I have now read through various discussions on sizing the drive for backup and generally it is suggested that 2 to 3 times is fine.
It is also noted that there is no way to restrict this size other than by excluding items. I would prefer to not do this as the point is to back up our entire music, photo and video libraries.
Also, it appears that once set up Time Machine works with the size of back up drive you have and deletes older backups.
I am reluctant to now purchase an additional hard drive, to find that it now needs even more space as the space required seems to be growing exponentially.
I seem to be locked into a catch-22 situation of Time Machine requiring space at a faster rate than I can buy a hard drive.
Any advice?
My ideal solution is telling Time Machine to restrict the size of the back up somehow. I realize, based on previous discussions that this does not seem possible.
1.3TB of back up for a 365gig seems excessive.

How many disks are connected to the system?
Is it possible that Time Machine is trying to backup more than
one disk (if there is more than one)?
Dave

I just bought an iMac now running OSX 10.8.4. I have a G5 running OXS 10.5.8 - External HD connected to the G5 been using Time Machine to back up. Need to get my files, photos etc. but not applications etc. onto the iMac. How do I do it?

I just bought an iMac now running OSX 10.8.4. I have a G5 running OXS 10.5.8 - External HD connected to the G5 been using Time Machine to back up. Need to get my files, photos etc. but not applications etc. onto the iMac. How do I do it?

David JHS21 wrote:
Can I just plug the external hard drive into the iMac and copy the "Documents" and "Pictures" from the hard drive to the iMac?
Not those whole folders, but their contents, maybe.
If the user account now on the Mac has read rights to the user account(s) on the backups, yes. If not, you may have to do some finagling.
Try the Browse Other Backup Disks option, per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #17. If you find an account that can open those folders, restore what you want to an alternate location (#16 in the FAQ).
If not try creating one or more accounts temporarily.

If I do a clean install on my MacBook Pro will I be able to re-install apps (FCP, Aperture, MS Office etc.) from a Time Machine backup, or will I need the original install DVDs with authorization codes?

I have two questions...
1) If I do a clean install on my MacBook Pro will I be able to re-install apps (FCP, Aperture, MS Office etc.) from a Time Machine backup, or will I need the original install DVDs with authorization codes? (because I don't have them)
2) Has anyone ever seen anything like this before on their computers?
The Apple Genius' were stumped by my laptop issues and said they'd never seen anything like it before and recommended I did a clean install. Below you can see my trash bin, and if you look at the "Empty" button it reads "N201" and then there's the "N39" to the left of it. You can also see these numbers over by the folder area--"SD5, SD6, SD7." But that's not all...
When I right click on items I see the numbers again. Instead of "Open with" I get "N152" and there's an "N35" and "LB1" towards the bottom.
I have no idea what's going on so I'm just going to do a clean install on my machine but I don't want to lose my apps. I don't have the original install DVDs for them anymore. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Thanks!

You don't lose them. You can always redownload them from the app store after you log back in with your Apple ID.
"Buy, download, and even redownload.
You can install apps on every Mac you use and even download them again. This is especially convenient when you buy a new Mac and want to load it with apps you already own."

I want a new and more powerful (non-Apple) wireless router but I still want to use my existing Time Capsule to continue with my Time Machine backups and I still need the Time Capsule's Network Attached Storage (NAS) features and capabilities

THE SHORTER STORY
My goal is to successfully use my existing Time Capsule (TC) with a new and more powerful wireless router. I need a new and more powerful wireless router in order to reach a distant Denon a/v receiver that is physically located in a master bedroom some 50 feet away from my modem. I need to provide this Denon a/v receiver with an Internet connection so that it can obtain its firmware updates and I need to connect this Denon a/v receiver to my network in order to use its AirPlay feature. I believe l still need the TC's Network Attached Storage (NAS) features because I am not sure if the new wireless router will provide me with the NAS like features / capabilities I need to share files between my two Apple laptops with OS X 10.8.2. And I know that I absolutely need my TC's seamless integration with Apple's Time Machine (TM) application in order to continue to make effortless backups of my two Apple laptops. To my knowledge nothing works with TM like Apple's TC. I also need the hard disk storage space built into the TC.
I cannot use a long wired Ethernet cable connection in this apartment and I cannot use power-line adapters. I have read that wireless range extenders and repeaters are difficult to successfully set-up and that they will reduce data speeds, especially so when incorrectly set-up. I cannot relocate my modem and/or primary base station wireless router.
In short, I want to use my TC with my new and more powerful wireless router. I need to stop using the TC to connect to the modem. However, I still need the TC for seamless TM backups. I also need to use the TC's built in hard drive for storage. And I may still need the TC's NAS capabilities to share files wirelessly between laptops because I am assuming the new wireless router will not provide NAS capabilities for OS X 10.8.2 (products like this/non-Apple products rarely seem to work with OS X 10.8.2/Macs to provide NAS features and capabilities). Finally, I want to continue to use my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also want to continue to use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Can someone please advise on how to set-up my new Asus wireless router with my existing TC in such a way to accomplish all of this?
What is the best configuration or set-up to accomplish my above goals?
Thank you in advance for your assistance!!!
THE FULL STORY
I live in an apartment building where my existing Time Capsule (TC) is located in my living room and serves many purposes. Specially, my TC is at least all of the following:
(1) Wi-Fi router connected to Comcast Internet service via Motorola SB6121 cable modem - currently the TC is the Wi-Fi base station that connects to the modem and has the gateway address to the Internet. The TC now provides the DHCP service for the Wi-Fi network.
(2) Wireless router providing Internet and Wi-Fi network access to several Wi-Fi clients - two Apple laptop computers, an iPod touch, an iPad and an iPhone all connect wirelessly to the Internet via the TC.
(3) Wired Ethernet router providing Internet and Wi-Fi network access to three different devices - a Panasonic TV, LG Blu-Ray player and an Apple TV each use one of the three LAN ports on the back of the TC to gain access to the Internet.
(4) Primary base station in my attempt to extend my wireless network to a distant (located far away) Denon a/v receiver requiring a wired Ethernet connection - In addition to the TC, which is my primary base station, I am also using a second extended Wi-Fi base station (a Netgear branded product) to wirelessly extend my WiFi network to a Denon receiver located in the master bedroom and requiring a wired Ethernet connection. I cannot use a wired Ethernet connection to continuously travel from the living room to the master bedroom. The distance is too great as I cannot effectively hide the Ethernet cable in this apartment.
(5) Time Machine (TM) backup facilitator - I use my TC to wirelessly back-up two Apple laptops using Apple's Time Machine (TM) application. However, I ran out of storage space on my TC and therefore added external storage to it. Specifically, I added an external hard drive to my TC via the USB port on the back of the TC. I now use this added external hard drive connected to the TC via USB as the destination storage drive for my TM back-ups. I have partitioned the added external hard drive, and each of the several partitions all have enough storage space (e.g., each of the two partitions used by TM are sized at three times the hard drive space of each laptop, etc.). Everything works flawlessly.
(6) Network Attached Storage (NAS) - In addition to using the TC's Network Attached Storage (NAS) capabilities to wirelessly back-up two Apple laptops via TM, I also store other additional files on both (A) the hard drive built into the TC and (B) the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB (there are additional separate partitions on this drive for these other additional and non-TM backup files).
I use the TC's NAS feature with my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Again, everything works wirelessly and flawlessly. (Note: the Apple TV is connected to the network via Ethernet and a LAN port on the back of the TC).
The issue I am having is when I try to listen to music via Apple's AirPlay in the master bedroom. This master bedroom is located at a distance of two rooms away from the TC's current location in the living room, which is a distance of about 50 feet. This apartment has a long rectangular floor plan where each room is connected to the next in a straight line. In order to use AirPlay in the master bedroom I am using a second extended Wi-Fi base station (a Netgear branded product) to wirelessly extend my WiFi network to a Denon receiver located in the master bedroom and requiring a wired Ethernet connection. This additional base station connects wirelessly to the WiFi network provided by my TC and then gives my Denon receiver the wired Ethernet connection it needs to use AirPlay. I have tried moving my iTunes music directly onto my laptop's hard drive, and then I used AirPlay on this same laptop to connect to the Denon receiver. I always get a successful connection and the song plays, but the problem is that the connection inevitably drops.
I live in an apartment building and all of the many wireless routers in this building create a great deal of WiFi interference on both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands. I have tried connecting the Netgear product to each the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, but neither band can successfully maintain a wireless connection between the TC and the Netgear product. I also attempted to maintain a wireless connection to an iPod touch using the 2.4 GHz band and AirPlay on this iPod touch to play music on the Denon receiver. Again, I was able to establish a connection and successfully play music, but after a few minutes the connection dropped and the music stopped playing. I therefore have concluded that I have a poor wireless connection in the master bedroom. I can establish a connection, but it is intermittent with frequent drops. I have verified this with both laptops by working in the master bedroom for an entire day on both laptops. The Internet connection in this master bedroom proved to drop out frequently - about once an hour with the laptops. The wireless connection and the frequency of its dropout are far worse with the iPod touch and an iPhone.
I cannot relocate the TC. Also, this is an apartment and I therefore cannot extend the range of my network with Ethernet cable (I cannot drill through walls/ceilings, etc.). It is an old building with antiquated wiring and power-line adapters are not likely to function properly, nor can I spare the direct power outlet required with a power-line adapter. I simply need every outlet I can get and cannot afford to block any direct outlet.
My solution is to use a more powerful wireless router. I found the ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router which will likely provide a better connection to my wireless Internet in the master bedroom than the TC. The 802.11ac band of this Asus wireless router is totally useless to me, but based on what I have read I believe this router will provide a stronger connection at greater distances then my TC. And I will be ready for 802.11ac when it becomes more widely available.
However, I still need to maintain the TC's ability to work seamlessly with TM to backup my two laptops. Also, I doubt the new Asus router will provide OS X 10.8.2 with NAS like features and capabilities. Therefore, I still would like to use the TC's NAS capabilities to share files on my network wirelessly assuming the Asus wireless router fails to provide this feature. I need a new and more powerful wireless router, but I need to maintain the TC's NAS features and seamless integration with TM. Finally, I want to continue to use my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also want to continue to use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Can someone advise on how to set-up my existing TC with this new Asus wireless router in such a way to accomplish all of this?
Modem
Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem
Existing Wireless Router and Primary Wi-Fi Base Station - Apple Time Capsule
Apple Time Capsule MC343LL/A 1TB Sim DualBand (purchased June 2010, likely the Winter 2009 Model)
Desired New Wireless Router and Primary Wi-Fi Base Station - Non-Apple Asus
ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router
Extended Wi-Fi Base Station - Provides an Ethernet Connection to a Denon A/V Receiver Two Rooms Away from the Modem
Netgear Universal Dual Band Wireless Internet Adapter for TV & Blu-Ray (WNCE3001)
Addition External Hard Drive Attached to the Existing Apple Time Capsule via USB
WD My Book Studio 4TB Mac External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0
Existing Laptops on the Wireless Network Requiring Time Machine Backups
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012) OS X 10.8.2
MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2010) OS X 10.8.2
Other Existing Apple Products (Clients) on the Wireless Network
iPod Touch (second generation) is model A1288.
iPad (1st generation)
Apple TV (3rd generation) - Quantity two (2)

Thanks Bob Timmons.
In regards to a Plan B, I hear ya brother. I am already on what feels like Plan Z. Getting WiFi to a far off room in an apartment building crowded with WiFi routers is a major pain.
I am basing my thoughts on the potential of a new and more powerful router reaching the far off master bedroom based on positive reviews on cnet.com, pcmag.com and pcworld.com. All 3 of these web sites have reviewed the Asus RT-AC66U 802.11AC wireless router as well as its virtual twin cousin 802.11n router. What impressed me is that all 3 sites rated this router #1 overall in terms of both range and speed (in both the 802.11n and 802.11AC flavors). They tested the router in real world scenarios where the router needed to compete with a lot of other wireless routers. One of the sites even buried this Asus router in a media room with thick walls and inside a media cabinet. This Asus router should be able to serve my 2.4 GHz band wireless clients (iPod Touch and iPhone 4) with a 2.4GHz Wireless-N band offering some 50 feet of dependable range and a 60 Mbps throughput at that range. I am hoping that works, but it's borderline for my master bedroom. My 5 GHz wireless clients (laptops) will enjoy a 5GHz Wireless-N band offering 150 feet of range and a 200 Mbps throughput at that range. I have no idea what most of that stuff means, but I did also read that Asus could reach 300 feet and I got really excited. My mileage may vary of course and I'm sure I'm making some mistakes in my interpretation of their data. However, my Winter 2009 Time Capsule was rated by cnet.com to deliver real world performance of less than that, and 802.11AC may or may not be useful to me someday. But when this Asus arrives and provides anything other than an excellent and consistent wireless signal without drops in the master bedroom it's going right back!
Your solution sounds great, but I have some questions. I'm using OS X 10.8.2 and Airport Utility (version 6.1 610.31) and on its third tab labeled "Wireless" the top option enables you to set "Network Mode" to either:
Create a wireless network
Extend a wireless network
Off
Given your advice to "Turn off the wireless on the TC," should I set Network Mode to Off? Sorry, I'm clueless in regards to how to turn off the wireless on the TC any other way. Can you provide specific steps on how to turn off the wireless on the TC? If what I wrote is correct then what should the rest of this Wireless tab look like, or perhaps it is irrelevant when wireless is off?
Next, what do you mean by "Configure the TC in Bridge Mode?" Under Airports Utility's fourth tab labeled "Network" the top option "Router Mode" allows for either:
DHCP and Nat
DHCP Only
Off (Bridge Mode)
Is your advice to Configure the TC in Bridge Mode as simple as setting Router Mode to Off (Bridge Mode)? If yes, then what should the rest of this "Network" tab look like? Anything else involved in configuring the TC in Bridge Mode or is it really as simple as setting the Router Mode to "Off (Bridge Mode)"?
How about the other tabs in Airport Utility, can they all stay as is assuming I use the same network name and password for the new Asus wireless router? Or do I need to make any other changes to the TC via Airport Utility?
Finally, in regards to your Plan B suggestion. I agree. But do you have a Plan B for me? I would greatly appreciate any alternative you could provide. Specifically, if you needed a TC's Internet connection to reach a far off corner of your home how would you do it? In the master bedroom I need both a wired Ethernet connection for the Denon a/v receiver and wireless Internet connection for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Power-Line Adapters - High Cost, Blocks at Least One Wall Outlet and Does Not Solve the Wireless Need
I actually like exactly one power-line adapter, which is the D-Link DHP-540 PowerLine AV 500 4-Port Gigabit Switch. This D-Link power-line adapter plugs into your wall outlet with a normal sized plug (regular standard power cord much like any other electronic device) instead of all of the other recommended power-line adapters that not only use at least one wall outlet but also often block the second outlet. You cannot use a power strip with a power-line adapter which is very impractical for me. And everything about my home is strange and upside down. The wiring here is a disaster and I don't have faith in its ability to carry Internet access from the living room to the master bedroom. And this D-Link power-line adapter costs $90 each and I need at least two to make the connection to the Denon A/V receiver. So, $180 on this solution and I still don't have a dependable drop free wireless connection in the master bedroom. The Denon might get its Ethernet Internet connection from the power-line adapter, but if I want to use an iPhone 4 or iPod Touch to stream AirPlay music to the Denon wirelessly (Pandora/iTunes, etc.) from the master bedroom the wireless connection will not be stable in there and I've already spent $190 on just the two power-line adapters needed.
Extenders / Repeaters / Wirelessly Extending the Wireless Network
I have also read great things about the Amped Wireless High Power Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Dual Band Range Extender (Repeater) SR20000G and the My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender. The former is very powerful and the latter is easier to install. Both cost about $150 ish so similar to a new Asus router. However, everything I read about Range Extenders points to them not being very effective for a far off corner of your house wherein it's apparently hard to place the range extender in the sweet spot where it both gets a strong enough signal to actually effectively extend the wireless signal and otherwise does not reduce network throughput speeds to unacceptable speeds.
Creating a Roaming Network By Hard Wiring with Ethernet Cable - Wife Would Say, "**** No!"
Even Apple seems to warn against wirelessly extending your network (see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145#) and otherwise strongly recommends a roaming network where Ethernet cable is used to connect two wireless base stations. However, I am in an apartment where stringing together two wireless base stations with Ethernet cable would have an extremely low wife acceptance factor (WAF). I cannot (both contractually and from a skill prospective) hide Ethernet wire in the walls or ceiling. And having visible Ethernet cable running from room-to-room would be unacceptable, especially to the wife.
So what is left? Do you have a Plan B for me? Thanks in advance for your help!

HT201250 Do I need to partition my external hard drive if I'm using Time Machine and other storage?

I never used Time Machine before. I was storing select files on my external hard drive as well as using my libraries (IPhoto, ITune, IMovies) directly off of the external hard drive. That hard drive is giving me problems, so I bought a new one. I want to set up Time Machine on this one, but I also want to keep my active libraries on it. Do I need to partition the external hard drive?

You can partition the new drive, just don't make one of the partitons a TimeMachine drive, save a TM for a entire drive with more space than the boot drive as it saves "states" thus requires more room than most people expect.
I highly advise one drive to one drive for backups, and not placing too many backup eggs in one vulnerable hardware basket basically.
Drives are cheap, data is not. Hardware can fail just as often as software, so you need a multiple backup and storage stragedy to protect even against theft and fire.
Most commonly used backup methods

If my backup HD is not large enough, can Time Machine use more than one destination HD?

Hi, I have about 0,8 Tb on my Mac + 0,9 Tb in an external HD + 2,5 Tb in another external HD.
I have plenty of other HDs with 1-2 Tb that I could use as backup. Can I use them in Time Machine? Can Time Machine split all the data from my Mac and source HDs in more than one destination HD? I would love it if I could avoid buying large 6-10Tb HDs; they are still expensive... I'll appreciate your kind inputs!

Technically, you could store parts of your backup on different drives, but it would require you to be constantly changing the items excluded. It is designed to be a single backup, which you can do the entire backup to more than one drive.

TIME MACHINE ON MORE THAN ONE DISK KEEPING THE OLD DISK

If the HD used for TM becomes full I would like to install a new one bigger and stert it over. I see one could clone the previous HD to have acces to previous BU but I would prefer to keep the old disk for few months untill I am sure I will not need anithing older and in the time TM has built up a new BU.
To be more clear: mi present TM Disk goues back to May 2008 and is 320GB. I remove it and use a new HD 500GB which will start to keep my BU from now. Will it be possible to disconnect the nes HD and connect gain the old if I wish to find something dated from May to today ??

Yes,
it will be possible. Just plug the old 320GB HD, you won't even need to unplug the new 500GB one, then right-click the Time Machine Dock icon and choose "browse other Time Machine disks", then you may choose the old 320GB one and restore anything you need from it.
You can then change back to the 500GB or to any other newer one too, as you wish.

HT201250 Can I use Time Machine on more than one computer?

I have a new Mac Air and would like to back up to my existing Time Machine which I also use for my older Macbook. Can I use back up both on time machine?
thanks

General rule of thumb is you need a drive about 2-4 times the size of the total amount of data being backed up. See #1.
Time Machine FAQ
I backup 2 computers to the same drive and have never had any problems.

I had to upgrade from ios7 to ios8 but it needed more storage than i had so i backed up my phone to my computer then deleted the content on my phone and upgraded to ios8. i have not connect my phone and computer since. how do i get my content back?

i had to upgrade from ios7 to ios8 but it needed more storage i had so i backed up my phone to my computer then deleted the content on my phone and upgraded to ios8. i have not connect my phone and computer since. how do i get my content back?

Restore the backup from your computer

Can Time Machine backup more than just one disc?

I'm new to Time Machine and have set it up to back up my iMacs main hard drive and this seems to be working fine, but I would like Time Machine to back up one other folder on an external hard drive to.
Is this possible?
Hope someone can help.
Pete

Time Machine can back up external HDs, if they're formatted for a Mac. See how the drive in question is listed in the exclusions box in TM Prefs > Options. If it's listed in black, just select it and click the minus sign at the bottom of the widow. Then it will be backed-up.
If it's listed in gray, though, that means it's not formatted for a Mac and Time Machine cannot back it up (and you can't remove it from the exclusion list). You'll have to copy the data elsewhere temporarily, reformat it, then copy the data back. See #1 in Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks if you need formatting instructions.

Time machine on more than one back up drive?

Once you outgrow a hard drive, can you specify Time Machine to continue on a 2nd drive or do you have to buy a bigger drive? This is really confusing to me as i almost filled 500GB and do video work.

I have a slightly different fix on the same question. I have been backing up to two external drives, one at home and one at work. Time machine does not seem to mind - I just open time Machine Preferences and choose the appropriate disk drive depending on where I am at the time. The drive icon goes from orange to blue and the backup starts.
That said, I did fill up one drive and began fresh on a new drive at work I just keep the old drive in a drawer and have never tried to restore from it. Are you saying the content of that old drive is lost?
Walt

Time Machine requests more storage than needed!

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