Time Machine - which old backups are deleted?

Hi,
     Apologies if the answer is obvious - just wanted a second opinion.
     I'm backing up a 500GB MBP and a 2TB external to a 4TB Time Machine. If I complete a backup right now, can I be sure that everything on both drives is contained on the Time Machine drive?
     If both my MBP and 2TB drives exploded in the next few minutes, will I be able to get back all those files from my Time Machine?
     I ask because TM deletes old files during the backup process but we're never told which ones. If I've created and then backed up files in March (and not deleted them from the original drives) can I be sure that they're still available to restore from in July?
     Thanks,
A

championshipdigital wrote:
I'm backing up a 500GB MBP and a 2TB external to a 4TB Time Machine. If I complete a backup right now, can I be sure that everything on both drives is contained on the Time Machine drive?
Everything you need, yes (Time Machine skips some things that aren't needed, such as system work files, most caches & logs, trash, etc.).
I ask because TM deletes old files during the backup process but we're never told which ones.
It "thins" backups, per the schedule on the prefrences window:
If I've created and then backed up files in March (and not deleted them from the original drives) can I be sure that they're still available to restore from in July?
Yes. Time Machine will never delete the backup copy of anything that's still on your system.
The mistake some folks make is, they start deleting originals to save space not realizing that Time Machine will, eventually, delete the backups of those files.
See #12 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions for details.

Similar Messages

"Notify after old backups are deleted. Be notified if your backup disk is full and Time Machine deletes old backups to create space for new ones." I would prefer to be notified BEFORE things are deleted. Can the deleted items be recovered?

Time Machine option #2:
"Notify after old backups are deleted" Wouldn't it be better to get this notification BEFORE things are deleted? I suppose the real question is, is it possible to recover files deleted from time machine?
The bold phrase above has a checkbox. But if I leave it blank it appears that I will receive no notification at all.
I am using MacBook Pro, OS X version 10.9.5

TIme Machine is not an archival tool. And no, you won't be able to recover the files that are deleted.

TimeMachine not backing up, as hard drive is full. Can the time machine clear old backups and replace them with new?

Time Macine not backing up.
As the harddrive is full, Can the time machine clear old backups, and override them with new backups. For example 5 - 6 days +++ old. Backups were proformed dayly
Any help much appreciated
Many thanks,

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message. Clear the text field and scroll back in the log to that time. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

HT201250 Can I recover the backups from Time Machine, but the backups is deleted by the Time Machine!

Unfortunately, the Time Macchine deleted my oldest backups in my hard drive.
I have the important files in the backups.
So hope someone could help me to recover the backups.

Time Machine will remove old backups automatically. It tells you when it does, but of course by then it's too late.
There is no recovering deleted backups, since it was necessary to overwrite them with newer backups.
For further explanation read the following entries from Apple Support Communities contributor Pondini's Time Machine FAQ:
12. Should I delete old backups? If so, How?
20. Once my Mac is backed-up, can I delete some stuff to save space?
Time Machine is for backups. It is not an archiving utility. To archive files requires something like one of these:
Carbon Copy Cloner ($39.95) http://sites.fastspring.com/bombich/product/ccc
or
SuperDuper! ($27.95) http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

Time Machine: removing old backups w/o redoing whole thing!

I've been using time machine for years now. In the past, when my backup disk has become too full, I've wiped the entire backup (delete) then created a brand new one. Why?? Because having a backup of what I have RIGHT NOW is all I want or need.
Now, all that said I would rather just prune all files not needed. Right now my 250gb mac HD has a 475gb backup file, and I have 100gb free on my mac's HD.
Is there any way to remove all old backups...or prune up to, say a week prior? I would have to imagine that this would be of some value. Reasons:
1. Save me (some) time of pruning/deleting vs doing a wifi backup from scratch.
2. I could potentially lose all of my data should my HD crash before my backup completes.
Help?

Greazy wrote:
I've been using time machine for years now. In the past, when my backup disk has become too full, I've wiped the entire backup (delete) then created a brand new one. Why?? Because having a backup of what I have RIGHT NOW is all I want or need.
Then Time Machine is not the right backup app for you. The backups of things you've changed or deleted can be very useful, for a number of things, but if you really don't want that, you're using the wrong app, because that's what Time Machine is designed to do.
Try CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper, to make "bootable clones." CCC is donationware; SD has a free version, but you need the paid one (about $30) to do updates instead of full replacements, or scheduling. Either is easily found via Google.
Now, all that said I would rather just prune all files not needed. Right now my 250gb mac HD has a 475gb backup file, and I have 100gb free on my mac's HD.
Is there any way to remove all old backups...or prune up to, say a week prior? I would have to imagine that this would be of some value. Reasons:
1. Save me (some) time of pruning/deleting vs doing a wifi backup from scratch.
2. I could potentially lose all of my data should my HD crash before my backup completes.
Where is your backup disk? You mention a WIFI backup, so is it an external disk connected to a Time Capsule, or Airport, or another Mac; or are you backing-up to a Time Capsule, or ??
There are ways to limit the size of TM backups, depending on what version of OSX you're on (this is the Leopard forum, but your signature says you're on Snow Leopard), and where the backups are. Once you do that, Time Machine will delete old backups automatically when it needs room for new ones.
If they're on an external HD, partition it to the maximum size you want. If they're elsewhere, tell us where, and confirm what version of OSX you're on.

Time Machine - Removing Old Backups

I am using "time machine" to back up my new iMac, the disk being used also was used to back up my old iMac and I do not require those backups any more. I have deleted those files but when I want to "empty trash" I still have the related folders etc. as it is not allowing me to remove bootx and bootefi files - need to use the option key - but this is not working...
can anyone assist in how i can clean out my trash (and 1st step confirm which is the option key on the new wireless keyboard)?
thanks Neil

You should be sure your TM backup drive has been partitioned GUID and reformatted before initiating any new TM backup for your new computer. I would do the following:
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.
+BTW, this is the Tiger forum. TM is not available in Tiger, so please post Leopard related questions in the appropriate Leopard forum. Thanks.+

Time Machine lost old backups :(

I thought I would try doing Time Machine over wireless connected to my AE base station so I connected my existing Time Machine drive to the AE and tried to make it pick up where it left off, which it would not do. It wants to start fresh, which I do not want since I don't want to lose all my old backups. I tried to reconnect it the old way and it doesn't pick up where it left off anymore. I can view my old backups but now I cannot add to them. It wants to start fresh this way too now. Is there any way to fix this? I want to pick up where Time Machine left off.
Message was edited by: Matt Petruzzelli

-(.)^(.)- wrote:
To answer why connecting your USD HDD to your AirPort Extreme doesn't allow you to continue your Time Machine backup, well the backups to a NAS (effectively what you are doing by attaching the HDD to AXBS) are saved as a sparsebundle as opposed to your current file structure.
To use your HDD connected directly to your Mac, try opening TM Preferences and Change Disk. Can you select the USB HDD now?
Thank you. That explains where this odd folder on my HD came from, but it has a little red "x" in the corner. When I tried switching to backing up off of the AirPort Extreme base station I selected Change Disk. I used Change Disk again when I connected it back with the FW800 and it lets me view my old back up, but neither method (shared or wired) allows me to continue my old backup. I don't have enough space on the drive to waste another 80GB on another full backup AND keep my old backups, which happened to come in handy recently, the reason I wanted to switch to the shared drive so I could do it more often.
I'm still unable to continue where I left off. It still wants to do a new full backup
Message was edited by: Matt Petruzzelli

Time machine dropping old backups after migrating

I recently changed from an iMac to a retina Macbook Pro. I read that I could continue my time machine after migrating my mac. My new macbook keeps trying to create a brand new backup. I enter time machine and go back to find all my old dates but it drops after a minute or so. Is my mac trying to create new backups instead of continuing? I have a second backup portable hard drive with thunderbolt. It only took an hour to do what my network storge was taking 22 hours! how can I keep my old backups without my mac trying to restart again?

For all things TM... See Pondini's excellent Information Here...
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
Perhaps this is what you are looking for...
http://pondini.org/TM/B5.html
From Section B = Troubleshooting.

TM Options - Warn when old backups are deleted

I have this option checked. At what threshold will that occur, and is there a way to define at what point they'll start to get deleted?

You can do that.
Then your backup would be safe and you simply have to assign a new HD from within TM Preferences.
But you're forced to be careful and monitor your backup folder size. Not at all the spirit of TM that's meant to automate with no worries.
As for the "normal case" argument:
There is no "normal case"; every Mac user has his own way to use his Mac. TM is a great time tool, for those who need to keep everything, especially the oldest data without having to remember exactly what it is.
And TM does work that way:
This problem we are having now is just a bug, not about TM's design.

Does not say "The oldest backups are deleted when your disk becomes full."

I am helping someone set up her backup, but I noticed that in the Time Machine window, there is no line that says: "The oldest backups are deleted when your disk becomes full."
She is running Mac OS 10.5.8, on a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core. Her first backup ran fine, but we're concerned that it will not delete older backups automatically to make space.

It works differently in Leopard and Snow Leopard.
In Leopard, the box is titled +Warn when old backups are deleted,+ and Time Machine will fail with a message when it runs out of room and that box is checked.
On Snow Leopard, the title is +Notify after old backups are deleted,+ and that's what happens -- the old backups are deleted, then you get a notice.
See #C4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Time machine refuses to backup any more

Been using time machine for a long time now. Backing up 100GB or so to a 300GB external disk for the past few months. The disk in question is used exclusively for time machine.
This morning I get this error:
time machine error this backup is too large for the backup volume. The backup requires 11.7 GB but only 3.4 GB are available.
This is correct, but I thought the whole point was that time machine will just delete previous backups.
Do I have any option other than to re-format the disk, thus losing ALL previous backups?

Do you have the +Warn when old backups are deleted+ box in TM Preferences > Options checked?
If so, un-check it, and TM will begin deleting old backups when it needs room for new ones.
If not, TM may have started a new "sequence" of backups, as if you'd gotten a new Mac. This can leave the old backups "stranded," since TM on one Mac won't delete the backups from (what it thinks is) a different Mac.
Have you done any of the following lately: Had certain hardware repairs, especially a new internal HD or logic board; done a full restore; changed your computer's name via System Preferences > Sharing?

Time machine did not warn before deleting older files

I am running Snow Leopard and TimeMachine is off meaning I start backup manually whenever I see it fit. I have, however, in the TM settings checked the 'warn before removing old files' (might not be the exact English wording).
I think that when last time I gave the command 'Backup now' there was no confirmation needed but removing started immediately. Can it be so?
BR, Petri

nyberpe1 wrote:
Just one more question: Is the meaning and behaviour of ""Warn when old backups are deleted" still the same at Lion?
Your welcome.
I don't use TimeMachine or Lion, I consider the two inferior.
Cloning OS X is superior as I can boot and use the computer like before, so I use Carbon Copy Cloner for that.
I'm not too pleased with Lion, all the depressing gray, the UI changes etc, so I'm not using it and likely won't ever, just switch to Mountain Lion when it arrives this summer.
You know a OS X version is bad if Apple releases the next one a year ahead of scheduale.
If your thinking of taking the Lion leap of faith, better check here first. (and clone your 10.6 drive first)
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table

Are Time Machine newly excluded backups deleted?

If you have an external disk included in your Time Machine backup, and then exclude that disk from Time Machine in system prefs, are the old backups of that disk erased/no longer included in the Time Machine backup?

Meetoo wrote:
Thanks, that explains it! I was also wondering, is there a way to have Time Machine only back up particular items on any drive, external or internal, or does it always back up the whole drive?
Time Machine is intended to back up your entire system, and it will do that by default (but it does skip some things like system work files, most logs and caches, and trash). You can exclude things, if you want, per #10 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). But see #11 there, too.

HT201250 I'm using Time Machine. Its Full. Deleting older backups as it goes. My desktop Mini is full. I want to delete all files on my computer. How will this affect Time Machine?

I'm really wanting to make room on my Mac Mini. I have about 70 gb left. I'm not sure what to do. I'm using Time Machine to regularly backup my computer and its already full and deleting older backups. I used to, in the past before Time Machine, just drag and drop files into an external hard drive and empty the file from my computer. Should I follow a similar procedure here? If I have time machine backup up, and I remove all my files from the computer, will Time Machine begin to backup a "clean" machine onto the external drive and begin deleting past backups? What would be the best way to approach my backups, remove all my files from my computer since a variation of them are already on time machine, and not lose viable backups? Thank you.

If you erase the hard disk and you install a new Mac OS X copy, Time Machine will start a new backup and will stop using all backups you made in the past.
One option you have is to reinstall Mac OS X and restore a Time Machine backup, but restoring only some files: for example, instead of restoring everything, restore only your user files, and not your applications, so you will have more free space. Also, doing this, Time Machine will continue backing up to your old backup, because Time Machine will detect that you have "the same computer with the same files and the same Mac OS X version", but it's not.
If you have more questions about Time Machine, see this site > http://pondini.org

If my time machine is full and it deletes backups to free up space does it mean i will eventually loose data

I have been backing up my hard drive with a external hard drive as atime machine
the last time i backed up time machine said that it had deleted the oldest backup to make more space for newer ones .
I looked back through the various back ups i have made and found that all my vidoes that i had taken off my computor and put on my external hard drive were only on the earlest backups
my question is if the earliest backups are deleted to make space will i eventually loose all my videos - if so is there a way to avoid data being lost

troyboy65 wrote:
My time machine is full as it is backing up my imac and macbook. I am getting the orange flashing light.
I have looked at the settings and it does not seem to give many options on length of backups etc.
Im not sure what to do.
You may not need to do anything; Time Machine ordinarily deletes your oldest backups automatically when it needs room for new ones. The orange light is completely separate and independent from that.
Are both Macs getting backed-up regularly? Check via Time Machine Preferences > Options.
How much data is on each of your Macs, and how large is your TC?
I do have an old 500gb hard drive. Can i re format this and piggy back it to the time capsule to give me 1.5 tb?
No. Time Machine backups can't "span" multiple drives.
But if there really isn't enough space, you could connect that drive to your Time Capsule's USB port and back up one of the Macs to it, instead.

Time Machine - which old backups are deleted?

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