Time machine wont go full time

I have a lacie 180g external hard drive. When I try to do a time machine backup it stops about one third into the back up. It appears to have backed up in the time machine preferences, but info from the external drive shows that only about 1/3 data has been backed up. When the next back up runs, time machine shows an error saying that it is unable to back up. I have reformatted the drive several times and repaired disk permissions with no effect.
Is there something Im doing wrong?

Probably not.
I am having the same problem. I would love to actually see a harddrive that has had a complete backup utilizing Time Machine.

Similar Messages

I had a repair done at the apple store where the replaced my hard drive and copied my other hard drive over to the new one. Everything is fine except the time machine wont reconnect to my old file and is trying create a new file but not enough space?

I had a repair done at the apple store where the replaced my hard drive and copied my other hard drive over to the new one. Everything is fine except the time machine wont reconnect to my old file and is trying create a new file but not there is not enough space for both files files? Do I need to do something to have it continue to update my old file instead of recreating a new one?

Depending on what version of OSX you're running, and how the data was transferred, you may be out of luck.
If you're running Lion, and your backups were made to a directly-connected external HD (ie, not a Time Capsule or other network location), you may be able to get Time Machine to "associate" the new disk with the old backups. See #B6 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting, especially the pink box there.
If you're running Snow Leopard, you might be able to do a full system restore of your backups to the new HD. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #14 for detailed instructions. That should leave a "trail" that Time Machine can follow to "associate" the new drive with the old backups. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work, and there's no way to do it manually, as there is with Lion.

What happens when the Time Machine drive is full?

I'm on my second iMac. My first one (G5, 1984) died, and I replaced it early 2010 with an Intel mac. The transition when exceedingly well largely due to Time Machine. I just hooked the Time Machine drive to the new system, and I was soon back up running!
My home folder has 70GB of data. The Macintosh drive has 105GB of data and 395GB free. The Time Machine drive has 220GB used and 30GB free.
1. What happens when the Time Machine drive is full?
2. Do I have control over what backups get deleted?
3. If lightning strikes twice, will I still be able to restore my Intel mac like my G5 mac, even if backups get deleted?
4. Is there anyway to control what backups/backup files get deleted?
5. Any other thoughts?
Thanks.

maxseven wrote:
i have deleted the time machine folders and they are now in my trash. when i try to secure empty my trash it will delete everything but the t/m folders. how do i delete them?
Do you mean all of them? The entire Backups.backupdb folder?
That's a large mess. First, even a normal delete will take a very long time, as there are probably hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of files. Your best bet by far is to simply erase them with Disk Utility -- that will only take a few moments. If your TM drive has a single partition, see #1 in [Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/DU.html]. If there are other partition(s) on the drive, see #2 there.
If not, and you only deleted some of the folders, you have a different, worse problem. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't do a very good job of warning folks: +*Never move, change, or delete anything in your backups via the Finder or Terminal.+*
You shouldn't have to delete backups at all, since Time Machine will do that automatically when the disk/partition gets full. But you can do it without harm via Time Machine. See #12 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).
A normal delete will take a very long time, as there are probably tens or hundreds of thousands of items, each of which must be individually deleted. A secure delete will take much, much longer, as each deleted file must be overwritten with zeros.

Time Machine wont backup

I bought an external hard drive and put files from my old computer on it before I bought my iMac. Now I want to use it for backing up my iMac but Time Machine wont backup to it without erasing the contents. Is there a way around this? Or will I have to buy a new EHD? Or is there a way to backup to cyberspace?
Thanks

jmhoskin wrote:
I bought an external hard drive and put files from my old computer on it before I bought my iMac. Now I want to use it for backing up my iMac but Time Machine wont backup to it without erasing the contents. Is there a way around this? Or will I have to buy a new EHD? Or is there a way to backup to cyberspace?
The drive is probably set up with the MBR (Master Boot Record) partition map, that Windoze uses. To use it for TM you must completely reformat it, which will erase it. If you have enough space (or can borrow another external temporarily), you can copy the data off, reformat it, then copy the data back.
TM works best with it's own, exclusive space, so you should partition the drive anyway. If you're going to use the other data with a PC, make the other partition MS-DOS (FAT).
For formatting instructions, see item #5 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
Also see #1 of the FAQ Tip for size considerations.

My time machine wont let me restore folders

My time machine wont let me restore folders it restores it as an empty folder after saying "copying 48 items - estimating time remaining" if I try to copy them manually it will either say it is copying them then ask me if I want to replace the existing folder of add a folder with the same name adding .localized to the end then it again adds the blank folder except it says "0KB of 64GB - estimating time remaining..." or "1 byte of 64GB - estimating time remaining" I have verified the disk in disk utility and it said it was "OK"
Started Happening after supplementary update

I think this was fixed in the 1.7.3 supplementary update

HT1338 Time Machine wont boot!

Time Machine wont boot although it still is backing up and works in the preferences. How can I fix this? Any ideas?

Please try each of the steps below that you haven't already taken.
Step 1
From the menu bar, select
 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Time Machine
and make sure that at least one backup destination is selected and available.
Step 2
If you're entering Time Machine from the Finder, make sure no Finder windows are open in other Desktop spaces in Mission Control. You must enter from a window open in the current space.
Step 3
If you're backing up to an external hard drive attached to your Mac, open the backup volume in the Finder. You should see a folder with the name "Backups.backupdb". If you instead see a file with a name ending in "sparsebundle," the backup was created over a network. You have to mount the backup volume manually when you want to restore from it by double-clicking the sparsebundle file.
Step 4
Select the "Backups.backupdb" folder and open the Info dialog. Either "staff" or "everyone" should have Read onlyaccess. If not, click the lock icon to unlock the access settings and make the necessary change. If you're not sure how to do that, consult the built-in help or ask.
Step 5
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it, then copy the text to the Clipboard (command-C):
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Go to Folder...
from the menu bar, paste into the box that opens (command-V) and press return.
A folder will open with a file selected. Move the selected file to the Desktop, leaving the folder open for now.
Relaunch the Finder by selecting  ▹ Force Quit from the menu bar, then selecting Finder and pressing return. Your Finder settings will be lost.
Try again to enter Time Machine. If you still can't, put back the file you moved to the Desktop, replacing the newer one that will have been created in its place.
Otherwise, close the folder you opened and delete the file you moved to the Desktop. Recreate your Finder preferences.
Step 6
Do as in Step 5, but with this line:
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
This time you may be prompted for your administrator password. Reboot, recreate your settings in the Time Machine preference pane, and run a backup to test.
Step 7
Launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the backup drive in the pane on the left (not any of the volume icons below it.) At the bottom of the window, you should see this:
Partition Map Scheme : GUID Partition Table
If the partition scheme is anything else, the drive has to be repartitioned (with the loss of all data.)
Step 8
Skip this step if you're backing up to a network device, such as a Time Capsule.
Boot in safe mode. Try again to enter Time Machine.
Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Step 9
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.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Try again to enter Time Machine. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).

Time machine wont start?

Time machine wont start in my computer after I double click on the icon. There is no error message -- seems to ignore me completely.
Any tools to find out what is going on?

Not sure what happened, but re-booting fixed the problem.

My HD is shrinking/ Time Machine wont back up

So my Macbook pro has been running really slowly lately, like getting progressively worse, and now the external hard drive that I back up to time machine is spinning all the time, Time Machine wont back up, it just says "Calculating changes" and now I noticed that I have 3 less gigs on my internal HD although I have written nothing to it today. The external HD works fine other wise, I can move files manually to and from it, but I'm getting really freaked out that I maybe have a virus or something, although I have never know anyone whos had one on a mac. I have a genius bar appointment tomorrow, but I need to work on my machine now. I my main log in got so slow yesterday that it was unusable, so I created a second log in which work much faster last night, but now seems to be slowing down too. Oh, my right fan has been noisey for some time too, and my system runs at 140-160 degrees, which I have read is fairly normal, although it is often hot to the touch. Any Ideas??!?!
THB

tylerhbrown wrote:
So my Macbook pro has been running really slowly lately, like getting progressively worse, and now the external hard drive that I back up to time machine is spinning all the time, Time Machine wont back up, it just says "Calculating changes" and now I noticed that I have 3 less gigs on my internal HD although I have written nothing to it today.
That sounds like something corrupted on your internal HD. Verify it, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). As noted there, if that shows errors, you'll have to repair it, per the yellow box there.
The external HD works fine other wise, I can move files manually to and from it,
Was that just an experiment, or are you keeping other data there, in the same partition as your Time Machine backups? If so, that's not a good idea. See #3 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Updated to mavericks but time machine wont back up?

Updated to mavericks but time machine wont back up. I have tried and tried.it will not delete old files like it used to.Please help

I bought a new MacBook Pro in late august this year, and since then I`ve had some serious problems backing up my iPhoto library. I have searched severals forums in both english and norwegian, with no luck. But today, I found this... http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4116
Thank you so much, Pondini. You made my day
Kind regards, Erlend.

Apple tv wont play full songs

My apple tv wont play full songs durring shuffle mode. Its really frustrating because it is completely at random. I reset and restored and nothing seems to be helping.

MOV is a container, the codec and specs inside need to be compatible as well. Depending on what software was used for the conversion, that may also be a factor.
See below
H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High or Main Profile level 4.0 or lower, Baseline profile level 3.0 or lower with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Quicktime wont stay full screen when streaming?

I have latest version of Quicktime, on MacOSX 10.5.5, and whenever playing streaming video from the internet, it wont stay full screen. Whenever theres a pause, it quits full screen. Is there anyway to fix that?

Hi J. thanks for info yesterday although i think its actually a bug.
please see this string.
Looks to be a glitch in iTunes 10 - https://discussions.apple.com/message/13354081?messageID=13354081 <https://discussions.apple.com/message/13354081?messageID=13354081>
cheers Phil.

Backup disk full but Time Machine wont over write?

My Seagate Drive is full, and I get a report every day that the drive is full.
I understand that Time Machine should delete old files to make room for the new Backup.
Any suggestions to get this problem solved would be appreciated.
I can not see any options in Time Machine that can be changed?

See #C4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If that doesn't help, please clarify what's going on. See #A9 in the same link for what we need, and how to get it.

Time Machine, hard drive full

Hello there,
I'm using time machine for my back up, I've get a message saying mi disk it's full, and I want time machine to continue back up in en other empty disk.
I would like to do a back up that it's connected one to en other, a continuation, not two separate entity.
Does any body know if that possible? and if so, how.
thank you in advance.
my system:

Start with C4 in the 1st linked article.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

Time Machine repeatedly does full backups, including FileVault while logged in

So let me preface this - for months I'd hoped for a way that Time Machine could backup my FileVault encrypted account without logging out. Last night Snow Leopard spontaneously started doing this. I know many may think that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, but read further and hopefully someone can help me make sense of this.
Last night I attached my external 1TB USB hard drove to my 15" MBP (spring 2010 model) running OS X 10.6.7. It started doing a Time Machine backup automatically, as usual. Since I was logged into my account that uses FileVault (a massive home folder - 220GB) I expected a fast backup of things only outside my home folder. As i looked at the details, however, i quickly realized that it was backing up all 270GB of data on my hard drive - including my FileVault account while still logged in!
At first i thought i just got lucky - i'd been craving this feature for years and it just happened to me without even doing anything. Curious guy that i am, i logged out of my acct with my USB drive still attached to see what would happen. After FileVault cleared out space in my home folder, it did _another_ backup, that took about 10 minutes to complete. This seemed strange so i logged back in and started another backup manually. To my utter shock, it started doing the whole 270GB over again!
I even cleared out my TM drive, erased, reformatted, checked permissions, etc etc and did the same on my system drive, hoping that it was just a matter of broken permissions. No change.
So there's two things going on here and i'm pretty concerned about both:
1) Why is TM backing up my entire encrypted home folder while i'm still logged in??? Apple has clearly designed TM and FV to NOT work this way for data integrity reasons and the fact that it's happening has me freaked out a bit over the reliability of my backups.
2) Why is TM doing full backups after each time i login to my account? If i stay logged in, it appears to only do incremental (normal) backups but if i logout, then re-login and allow the hour to pass and let a backup start on its own, it starts the whole 270GB again.
I'm getting to the point of wiping the system and starting from scratch but since i presently live in a country with no Apple store and extremely poor internet access, that prospect horrifies me
any ideas?
many thanks,
-Tim

Thanks for the input Pondini -
I tried deleting the file as mentioned in #A4 and it still had the problem. Last weekend i finally got a brand new hard drive and reinstalled OSX 10.6.3 from scratch, then promptly applied the 10.6.7 combo update. I purposely chose to NOT import my old user from backup and instead set up everything again manually (royal pain, but the only way i could be sure that i wouldn't bring the problem with me). Today i whipped out my TimeMachine drive and set it up for backups. I crossed my fingers and it AGAIN started backing up all 250+GB of my system from within my FileVault protected account.
My wife's MBP is still running 10.6.4 and i'm beginning to wonder if his is an issue with 10.6.7 since i'm relatively certain i didn't experience this before that upgrade.
I've checked my wife's exclusions under Options and her home folder is NOT in that list, yet her TM is not attempting to backup everything until she logs out of her FV acct.
In response to Linc Davis, _yes_ it was backing up my info into a sparsebundle file, not just the raw unencrypted data, which is extremely strange.
If i DO add my home folder to the exclude list, will it still be backed up when i log out?
At this point, i'm thinking my next steps are:
1) try a different TM backup drive, even though i've wiped and checked my current drive numerous times
2) downgrade to an older version of Snow Leopard to see if 10.6.7 is the culprit
Any other ideas?

Ho do i restore my files from time machine after a full system restore?

I have just had a full system restore on my MAC, thanks to the genious bar in Bondi, prior to doing this i backed everything on my external hard drive using time machine, i now want to put everything back on to my MAC, including emails, music, photos, movies and important docs etc. what is the best way to do this?
cheers Colin,

See Here > How do I restore my entire system?
From Here > http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
More Info Here > http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

Time machine wont go full time

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for