Using MacMini for Time Machine Storage & Work?

I have recently got my brand new Macbook Pro and absolutely love it!
It replaces my Mac Mini PowerPC G4, which has a hard drive of about 70g.
It also has all my work on.
Basically can i use the MacMini for time machine, over an ethernet network, as shared my pro sees the mini when they are both connected to ethernet.
Is this connection ok for Time Machine?
Also would it be worth just leaving all my work on the mini and opening it on my pro through the shared network also?
Work such as using Photoshop and Dreamweaver or would this be hindering the power of the Pro and i might as well copy my work to the Pro and not work over the shared network?
Or no difference?
Thanks for any input

If you install Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) on the Mac mini you can use it as a Networked Time Machine backup device.
NOTE: Leopard running on the Mac mini is a requirement.
I have a Mac mini attached to my WiFi network. I use it as my Time Machine network backup device for my MacBook, and my Wife's MacBook Pro. I've added 3TB of external storage (Drobo).
The only problems I've had a closing the lid on my MacBook while a back was in progress. So I'm very careful about making sure Time Machine is not running and that the Mac mini shared volume is not mounted when I put my MacBook to sleep.
Setup:
Install Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) on Mac mini
Enable file sharing on the Mac mini
Mount the Mac mini's shared volume on your MacBook Pro
Configure your MacBook Pro's Time Machine to use the just mounted shared volume.
Once configured, when Time Machine runs it will automatically mount the Mac mini's shared volume, create a sparsebundle disk image (at config time), and perform Time Machine backups to the sparsebundle.
The Time Machine applications (viewing/restoring backups) will also automatically mount the Mac mini shared volume.
NOTE: I am a bit paranoid about backups, so Time Machine is NOT my only backup. I also use SuperDuper! to backup my MacBook each work day onto my PowerMac G5 at work. That way I also have off-site backup.

Similar Messages

Can I use iPod for time machine back up?

I have several iPods that I don't use, and would like to use them as time machine back up drives, for multiple computers.
They are 30gb iPod videos. I am aware they aren't as reliable as an actual external hard drive and that this much read/write can cause the iPod to burn out, but for these purposes I don't care.
I have 300 computers that I want to restore to one master, as they are all used for the same purpose, but currently they all have OS 10.5.x of varying versions. I currently use a time machine backup on an external hard drive to restore the systems, but I have 15 iPod videos, and I would like to use 2-3 of them, to speed the process up.
I use carbon copy cloner once I get a system restored, to restore the stations around it, but time machine is about 15% faster than using CCC, so I would like to use these iPods to increase my ability to restore these systems on a regular basis without having to buy external hard drives or enclosures to make external HDs.
I have tried:
Erasing the iPod in disk utility.
-It will erase the volume as HFS+ (extended journaled) but it won't erase the main device as it shows in Disk utility, it consistently stays as Fat32.
--Same idea if I recreate the partition. I tried GUID partition scheme, Apple Partition Map and Master boot record, but all produce the same result.
I also selected the iPod and attempted a zero-out of the whole iPod using the security options in disk utility. The system still will not let me use it for time machine.
Has anyone been able to use an iPod for backup? Are there any other techniques anyone can suggest to get this iPod to work?
Thanks for your help.

And to clarify, originally I made sure disk usage was enabled on the iPod.
I have also tried dragging and dropping the contents of a time machine backup to the iPod, but it's still not seen as a backup volume. I suspect there are some hidden files that enable a volume as time machine capable. Any ideas on how to maybe copy the hidden files or any other methods that might work?

How to turn off the 'Use disk for Time Machine?' warning

I have Time Machine set to OFF.
I use cloning software instead; "SuperDuper" with a "Voyager Q" unit attached via FW 800
I rotate my external backups HDs using 2 x 3.5" HDs.
How do I get rid of the annoying message; ‘Use disk for Time Machine?’ each time I attach an external HD?
I have tried the solution at;
http://www.macworld.com/article/133175/2008/04/105notmdrive.html
but doesn't work for me.
Mind you, the article was written for 10.5 and I was hoping the same solution would apply to 10.6.
Anyone have an answer?
Many thanks in advance,
Michael.

Think I just found the answer to my own question.
External drive has to be mounted on the desktop BEFORE the following command is run.
defaults write com.apple.TimeMachine DoNotOfferNewDisksForBackup -bool YES
this assumes you've setup TM
Now I don't see that annoying message.

I have a 1TB external hard drive (NTFS) that has all my files from my old PC, how do I create a partition on it for HFS without formatting it so that I can use it for Time Machine and the like?

I have a 1TB external hard drive (NTFS) that has all my files from my old PC, how do I create a partition on it for HFS without formatting it so that I can use it for Time Machine and the like?

There aren't any 3rd party apps or anything. I use PC's and Mac's at school and the only computer connected to a printer at my house is a PC so i need access to both

Partition external HD to use it for time machine backup and nas storage

i have a macbook pro with retina display with 500gb of ssd storage runing yosemite and a airport extreme latest model.
what i want to do is to use an external drive (1TB) and use it to hold all my files of my macbook, and i want to make time machine backups for each drive over airport extreme.
so i have made in my mind a backup plan and im not sure if it will work.
im planning to buy a 4TB external HDD and make 3 partitions, one for my macbook of 500gb, another for my external drive of 1TB and a third to use it as a NAS.
im not an expert in storage but i have read a lot from internet.
Thanks.

so i have made in my mind a backup plan and im not sure if it will work.
It won't work with TM..
TM will either backup the internal disk plus external or internal only.. it cannot backup external only. So there is no point using 3 partitions.. just two will work fine.
You can buy Carbon Copy Cloner and it will work fine doing backups of internal and external as separate items.. but it is better over network to backup as sparsebundles.. much faster than direct copying.. but it does work.
As a NAS.. an Airport Extreme plus USB drive.. is slow.. might be ok over wireless.. because the wireless is even slower.. but it is not ok over ethernet. A Time Capsule or a cheap single disk nas will work a lot better.
So your plan can be made to work.. just need some adjustments.
BTW be very careful what USB drive you buy. Not all work on the USB of the Airport routers.
USB drive compatibility with Airport Routers. Help make database.

Verbatim disk drive historically used only for time machine backups. Recently i added some other media files to use some of available space without partitioning, the disc now refuses to mount in finder despite appearing in disk utility. Repair fails. HELP

Sorry to elaborate a bit more.
I have used time machine since owning my mac book pro with no issues. i keep the timemachine backups on an external hard drive made by Verbatim. This has not external power source.
Recently i decided to use up some of the available space on the external verbatim disk drive to store some movie files which were sitting on my macbook pro.
Therefore i created a new folder outside of the time machine backup folder and stored the movie files in there.
From then on Time machine failed... and a few days later i noticed it was not mounting in 'finder'
Therefore i used disk utility to see if it was recognising it. Which i was. However when i try to repair it the repair process fails.
In disk utility i am presented with 1 TB Samsung HN M10 which has a child called Verbatim HD.
The 1TB Samsung hardware appears fine, but the verbatim disk i am unable to fully verify and fix.
Does this mean i have lost all my back ups?
Have I lost all the media that i put on there?
Is there any way to fix this?
Any help would be appreciated.
didier07...

To summarize: You used an external Verbatim HD for your TM backups. Then, you stored some movie files on the "spare" space on the Verbatim drive. Now, Disk Utility isn't being recognized, and repair is disabled. Your home Samsung drive is working fine, but the Verbatim cannot be verified.
The problem, I believe, is that the external Verbatim drive wasn't partitioned. There should be two partitions: one for TM backups, the other for video. That way, you can perform backups, and still retain some space for video or somesuch.
Frankly, I don't know how to fix this except through the following. (1) Erase the Verbatim drive, (2) Create a new blank space and format it, (3) Make two partitions - one for backup, the other for video. (4) Run TM through one partition, but switch to the other for your videos. The better solution might be to have one dedicated drive (perhaps the Verbatim) for backups, and another dedicated drive for video backups; that way, you'll have plenty of space for expansion.
I hope someone will correct me if I'm incorrect, but I believe you've essentially lost your backups and media. I don't know how you can retrieve that clump of the now-undifferentiated data on the Verbatim drive. To retrieve any lost data, you're going to require another external drive that's larger in capacity, as well as data recovery software; don't expect encouraging results. If you're desperate, there are firms like Drive Savers that can offer a more comprehensive solution - at a cost.
Post if you have questions, or additional concerns!

I want to use TC for time Machine

Hello, I am wanting to set up my New Time Capsule a certain way. I have a 13" Macbook with a 250GB internal HD.
I want to know if I can use time capsule for my time machine back ups & also as an external Hard Drive.
I have about 600GB of music and 200GB of pictures and Videos that i want to keep on my TC but not on my Macbook.
I would still like to have acces to all my music and pictures on my Macbook to sync up certain music playlists and photo albums.
Is this possible to set up this way

Sure.. anything you actually store on the TC is not backed up.. so you do need to plug in a USB drive and backup the whole TC or use some other storage method. But you can share the TC for different uses. I am presently running my TC that way. But using the hard disk of the TC to store near to a TB of stuff, leaves you about 1TB for backups, which is fine but remember that if you make a lot of changes the incremental backups will eventually fill the disk.

Using Airdisk for Time Machine backup

I've been using Time Machine to make backups to an external drive for sometime now and would like to change to using my Airport Extreme to make wireless backups. When connecting the hard drive to the airport I am able to detect and mount the hard drive and time machine can select the drive for backups, unfortunately time machine doesn't realize that I already have backups made on that drive and instead tries to make a new full backup. Does any one know of way to tell Time Machine to use the preexisting backups? Thanks.

First of all, Apple doesn't support using Time Machine to back up to external drives connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station. See:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2038
But that doesn't mean that it won't work—a least for awhile—but it will need to start a new full backup.

Time Capsule- Can i use it for Time Machine and store media files?

Hi,
I'm very new to Time Capsule (have a 1TB TC), but have been using Time Machine to back up my MacBook Pro onto an external HD for a while now.
Here's my question. is it possible to use the Time Machine capabilities of Time Capsule while also using it to store music and picture files. Ideally I'd like to be able to have my iTunes and iPhoto library available on the Time Capsule. that way it could be centralized and readable from a few Macs in the house.
Thanks!

brianfallen wrote:
When you say the info on it won't be backed up. What do you mean "the info on it"? Do you just mean the mp3, AAC ...etc files aren't backed up because they live on the TC only?
I just want to make sure cause I did the same thing but I want to make sure I wont lose all my music and photos.
If the only place you have these music and photo files is on the TC HDD, then if the TC HDD fails, you lose all those files. Here's another option. TC has an archive feature. That means you can, via AirPort Utility -> Disks, use the Archive feature to clone the TC HDD onto a USB HDD attached to the USB port of TC. It's not like TM, making incremental backups. You have to manually archive it, but it is an alternative.
My photos remain on my iMac internal HDD. That means they are backed up by TM onto the TC HDD. If my iMac internal HDD fails, I still have the TM backups. I also backup yearly photos to DVDs. Photos are irreplaceble, you know.

What do i need to buy for Time Machine to work . i want to backup my mac

Hi i want to back up my macbook pro and im not sure how to do it. But i know you use time machine. What do i need to buy. Also somthing about airport utility

I have a 512GB internal and use a 2Tb external for my Time Machine backups. Unless you choose to go with one of Apple's Time Capsules (which I wouldn't) you can get a good drive that has 2-3x your internal disk capacity with multiple ports from a variet of vendors. I have two of these G-Drives from Amazon and love them. One a 1Tb and one a 2tb.
For everything you ever wanted to know about Time Machine, check out Pondini's FAQs - http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html.
Good luck - call back with any questions...
Clinton

HT201250 Should I reformat a external drive for time machine to work?

I am setting up a new time machine for a new MacBook Pro and am going to use a drive that I previously used for backing up a windows computer. Will I need to reformat to drive. I assume I will have to.

Yes.. Time Machine requires Mac OS Extended (journaled)
See here for > Format, Erase, or Reformat a drive
Time Machine > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
Time Machine Tutorial > Time Machine Tutorial

I get an error message when I try to empty the trash in order to clear up an external hard drive. I had been using it for time machine, have shifted that to a larger external hard drive, and want to free up the space for photographs. Any suggestions?

What should I do when I get an error message (error code - 8003) when I'm trying to empty the trash to clear up additional space on an external hard drive?

Yes. And you should not have moved that folder. Put it back. To move your iTunes library move the folder from User's Music.
tt2

Use TC 2TB for Time Machine Backup and Storage simultaneously?

Hi
I am planning to buy a TC 2TB.
I would like to know if the TC can be used as a Time Machine backup device and for storage simultaneously?
for example:
Can I use 1TB for Time Machine backups and 1TB for storage.
Please let me know if this is possible?
Thank you

I tried for ages to seek a relatively easy way to do this.. i.e. partition it, it's a huge pain! You can, but i'm pretty savvy and got bored and confused! What I did do was switch the TM back-ups to manual so they don't end up filling the disk. Trust me it's the easiest and best option!

Can you use the same external hard drive for Time Machine backups and as an additional storage drive?

I have an external HD that I've been using exclusively for Time Machine backups. I need to clear space on my hard drive, so I was thinking to move music & photos to an external drive. Wondering if I can use the same one I have (which I'll aslo keep using for Time Machine) or if I need to get another drive.

Hi Jossydtaylor,
Time Machine can use either an entire external disk or a partition of that disk:
OS X Mountain Lion: Disks you can use with Time Machine
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11171
You can use Time Machine with a Time Capsule, and with USB, FireWire, and Thunderbolt disks. The backup disk can be directly connected to your computer or be on a network. If the backup disk has been divided into partitions, you can use one of the partitions.
If the disk is partitioned using the Master Boot Record (MBR) partition type, some partitions may not be available for use with Time Machine. The GUID Partition Table (GPT) partition type is recommended.
For more info on partitioning, see this article:
Disk Utility 12.x: Partition a disk
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845
Cheers!
- Ari

My external hard drive has been used for Time Machine, now it doesn't work on my TV?

I bought a new external HD 3TB, I used it as a back for Time machine and also wanted to use it for watching my movies etc on my TV. The TV won't recognise any video's on the HD. Is there some reason this would happen due to using it for Time Machine?

If you are talking about a drive that you connect directly to your TV, typically they will recognize only drives formatted in some specific way & only certain kinds of movie files. You can check your TV users manual or its manufacturer's web site for information about this, but in general they will not recognize drives using the format Time Machine requires.

Using MacMini for Time Machine Storage & Work?

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