Verify option on Time Machine Greyed Out

If I hold the option key and click on the Time Machine icon on the top of screen I notice that the Verify option is greyed out. Any ideas?

I think that I just answered my own question. It appears that the Time Machine software only allows a verify option if your using a Time Capsule, not an externally attached USB drive. But you would think that the wizards that programmed the Time Machine would be able to determine that I am attempting an invalid choice and issue a message.
Just another example of the "not ready for prime time" status of the Time Machine product.

Similar Messages

Time machine greyed out in disk utility

I want to erase a time machine backup to use the HD on a different system, yet it's greyed out in disk utility.
The HD still works fine and I can restore files from it and time machine itself still works backing up to it.
I cannot however erase it using disk utility.
Here's a screenshot.
What am I doing wrong?

You've got other problems in addition to the Erase being grayed out.
The menu icons at the top are not right either. The Info, Burn and Eject menu items should be active also.
I'd suggest quitting Disk Utility, reboot your system and trying again.
Post back if that doesn't fix it.
regards

Unable to secure erase: "Security Options" in Disk Utility greyed out.

Ancient eMac running Leopard. I have moved data to new Mac and am ready to erase old computer and sell/give away.
Went to "Erase" tab in Disk Utilities and both the "Volume Format" option and "Security Options" fields/buttons are greyed out and uneditable. According to instructions, to erase the data I need to select "Security Options" to proceed to erase all the data on my hard drive.
How do I "ungrey" that button? Is there a lock somewhere to unlock? Something to disable first?

You cannot erase the hard drive of the eMac when it is in use. You have to insert the Mac OS X install disk, boot up from there and then erase the disk from the Disk Utility software included.

How do i change the quality settings of my printer? the options are there but greyed out!

how do i change the quality settings of my printer? the options are there but greyed out! ie on my old HP I could print in draft if i wanted to print a doc to read and then bin...the option/box is there but greyed out so I can't select. HELP!!!

You can change the background display color in the playback preferences, either black, white, or checkerboard. This does not change the output color. If you want to add a color to the video, you have to place a custom generator underneath your video and change the color in the inspector.

How can I do to use (useful) Time Machine Buddy OUT of Dashboard ?

Hello dear friends,
How can I do to use (useful) Time Machine Buddy OUT of Dashboard ?
I know there must be a way to use it as an application.
I've noticed TinkerTool can do it, but how do you proceed ?
Does anybody have the solution ?
Thank you for responding
With my kind regards
Olivier Herrbach

Dear Dave Sawyer,
You're perfectly right, I posted the same question in two different topics.
I apologize for that, but I was thinking
that more people would respond if I used :
1) The "Time Machine" topic (it can also interest people to know there's a widget for T.M.) ;
— and there are other softwares that Pondini describes, like Backup Loupe) —
2) The "Using Snow Leopard" topic, because I was talking about ALL other widgets too.
In fact, I didn't know which one I had to choose for my question (?),
in the way that both topics were concerned.
I'll try in the future NOT to publish the SAME question in more than ONE place.
Thank you very much for your remark
With my kind regards
Olivier Herrbach

Time Machine wiped out all my backups!

This morning, Time Machine wiped out all my existing Time Machine backups and started a new, full backup of my startup drive.. My Time Machine volume was only half full, and I use TimeMachineEditor to schedule backups once a day instead of every hour. Does anyone know what might have caused this to happen?

Not helpful. I've been using TimeMachineEditor for years without any problem whatsoever.
It's true, though... it sounds like something went wrong with Time Machine somewhere, and that's one possibility. Having used it for years without a problem does not mean that trend will continue. There was just an update to that software one week ago, adding Mountain Lion compatibility. Something could have been wrong with the update if you installed it, and if you didn't, you were using it with Mountain Lion without it being compatible.
As for Time Machine's default hourly backups, they can result in spinning beachballs each and every hour
Something else may have been wrong then (instead or in addition). That's not normal.
In any event, there's nothing to be done about the old backups now... they're gone. What I would advise is to stop using TimeMachineEditor (for the time being at least), erase your backup drive and start your backups over from scratch, and make sure that your drive is used in one of the supported configurations (ie, directly connected, connected to a Time Capsule or a shared volume on another Mac on your local network).

How do I transfer from time machine lightroom programme to my girlfriends computer (backed up on time machine) with out setting up my full desktop - i need it until i can afford a new computer to restore my old set up completely.

How do I transfer from time machine adobe lightroom programme to my girlfriends computer (backed up on my hard drive via time machine) with out setting up my full desktop - i need it until i can afford a new computer to restore my old set up completely.
Any ideas, I can access files - i.e. jpegs of old work, but can't edit new photos...
P

If you have a license for Lightroom, you should be able to reinstall it from an installer disc or re-download it from Adobe after explaining the situation and clarifying the license issues. Either will be simpler than trying to extract and install it from a TM backup of a different Mac, I think. If it's anything like other Adobe products, it has bits and pieces all over the place that you'll have to find and put in their right places on your girlfirend's Mac.

HOW DO I GET A TIME MACHINE BACKUP OUT OF TRASH ???

I know this sounds like a really stupid question because to get things out of trash you just grab them and move them like you do with all the icons. BUT..... I accidentally put a vital time machine backup in the trash and then tried to move it back to the external disc and it wanted to go through the rigmarole of 'copying' which doesn't normally happen when you move things out of the trash.
Although I thought that was strange I thought it wouldn't matter if it was copied but what happened was it kept on saying it was 'preparing' the huge number of items and that number kept kept on climbing to 12 million before I stopped it. It should have been no more than about two million for the entire hard disc.
I tried this in several different ways but it did the same thing all the time, keeping the icon in the trash and saying it was copying but not actually doing it.
There must be a way of getting the thing out of trash and I need it because it has a year old backup on it I urgently need.
This really is a failure of the time machine software writers to write sensible software. Can anyone tell me how to sort this ?? ( if anyone is still left actually using this wrecked forums that is !)

You cannot just drag a Time Machine backup out of the Trash. It will always copy itself from the Trash to the location you chose to drag it to. What it won't do is copy itself back to where it was on the backup drive. The issue you have is not the fault of the authors of Time Machine. It's the fault of the user by trying to dump a Time Machine backup by putting it in the Trash instead of using the Time Machine application.

I can't select Options in Time Machine

Time Machine no longer works for me. Apparently the volume of stuff it wants to back up is too large for the partition devoted to it (on an external hard drive). But I can't choose the exclude anything because the Options button in Time Machine Prefs is greyed out. I've deleted the TimeMachine .plist file, and restarted, but no go. And I haven't found anything to help either here or on the larger web -- surely this can't be *that* uncommon a problem!?!
Any suggestions? Thanks,
Chris Jones

I've come across the exact same problem where I can't get time machine to backup. It's telling me I don't have enough space. I tried to make changes to the backups, but the options and select disk options aren't actual buttones now, just text. Even the on and off button is missing I only see text.
I don't understand what the MCX settings did to fix it?
Any thoughts? Has anybody come across this issue?

TS1398 After the 6.0.1. update on my iPhone 4s the option for wifi has greyed out and cannot be selected. What can I do to restore wifi?

I have held off updated my iPhone 4s with the 6.0.1 but having problems connecting to wifi I thought maybe being out of date was the problem.
Having done the update the wifi option is now greyed out and cannot be selected at all. I have rebooted, forgotten networks and turned on and off so many times. There is nothing wrong with the wifi at home as other devices connect no problem. What can I do?

I'll repeat the Apple support pages linked in the previous post:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1559
Go through the step outlines there starting at the top and work down until you've solved the problem.

TS1574 Hi, I dont have sound on my imac. The options in sound are greyed out and there is nothing in the output list

itunes and you tube are not working. There is no sound. When I am in itunes and play a song, the song does not start.
I checked system preferences, sound. There is no output options and the input options are greyed out.
Does anyone know how to fix this problem?
Thanks

Go step by step and test.
1. System Preference > Sound > Output > Internal Speakers
    Highlight Internal Speakers.
    Make sure that Mute is not enabled.
2.Plug in and remove the headphone.
    If you see red light in the headphone port, plug the headphone
    in and out of the port 5 or 6 times to flip the microswitch inside.
    Sound output may be stuck in the digital mode.
3. Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
4. Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Choose the method for:
    "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
5. Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
    Audio Devices window
    Side Bar
    Click the Built-in Output.
    Under Mute any of the boxes checked? If so, uncheck it.

Useful View Options in Time Machine: Changed Files?

I set up time machine and a day later I can browse around. Very cool graphics.
But it seems to be missing something useful (essential?) -- a way to look at what changed from backup to backup. Looking at the Info on a particular file on a particular backup I can see that the Last Modified Time is 3 weeks ago. But if I'm making changes to a set of files, figuring out WHICH backup I want (2,3 or 4 hours ago) would be easier if I could see what I've changed. It would be especially useful if "backups" where nothing changed were simply omitted.
Just for "fun" I restored a backup from a couple hours before, during which time I had not used the computer. And strangely, TM said it was going to restore some pdf from my desktop. I kept the original, and the two files were identical AND had the same modification time. (That's when I went to try to explore what files have changed unsuccessfully).
There's obviously a bit of a technical issue with knowing the changes from the latest backup to the current machine state. But going the other way TM must have that information.

As far as I'm aware the start & stop times are stored in the library database, not the media files. If you backup/restore/transfer the whole library then the settings are included. If you create a complete copy of your iTunes folder on another drive you can connect to that copy by holding down option/alt as you start iTunes so you can check that everything is working properly before you send the Macbook away.
tt2

Time machine errors out repeatedly

Hi all,
I have a user who is running an iMac with OS X 10.6.6 (I can get you the specs of the Mac if necessary, I don't have it off hand though). She has an external USB disk set up for Time Machine. A couple weeks ago, Time Machine started erroring out, saying that there was an error copying files to the drive. I ran Disk Utility volume and permissions repairs on both the internal HDD and the Time Machine disk, which seemed to fix the issue. But it's back now. Before I reformat either of the drives, does anyone have any other suggestions? I also plan to update that machine (along with all the others in that group) to 10.6.8 in preparation for a move to Lion in the coming months, but I don't know if OS updates would fix this issue or not.
Thanks!

lsudul wrote:
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Home Folder
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
These mean that TM isn't sure that what's on these volumes is what it expects. This is usually caused by an abnormal shutdown, but can also happen after certain hardware repairs, a full restore, or going several days without a successful backup. If you see this often, without a good reason, you need to investigate the cause. Among other things, it can cause corruption on your drive(s).
If "Home Folder" is an external drive, the message could mean it was disconnected without being ejected.
Waiting for index to be ready (-903 < 0)</div>
Clue: this often indicates some sort of problem with (or communicating with) your TM drive.
Exclude it from any anti-virus scanning.
Also exclude it, at least temporarily, from Spotlight (via System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy).
Try de-selecting the +Put the hard drive(s) to sleep ...+ option in System Preferences > Energy Saver. Most drives don't respond to this, but some do, so it's worth a try.
What kind of disk (FireWire or USB) is your TM drive? If USB, how is it connected (directly or via a USB hub)? Does it have it's own power supply, or does it get power from your Mac?
How old is it?
How is it formatted? It should have the GUID partition map scheme for an Intel Mac, or the +Apple Partition Map+ for a PPC Mac; and the format must be +Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Time machine locked out - how do unlock it?

I seem to have gotten into a situation where my control of Time Machine has been locked out.
Is there a way to manage this setting via a terminal command?

I ran an experiment. I forced TM to execute a backup with the ON/OFF switch in the Off position. My conclusion is that affects only the automatic backups. (it still should operate)
Do the 'Select disk..." and the 'Options...' work?
I'm grasping at straws, but Update you OS to 10.6.8.. Lets see if that is the cure?
Ciao.

Back up options? Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner? What's Better?

Hey guys,
I'm considering performing a clean install of OS X Mavericks on my macbook pro mid 2010. I've been having a lot of lag issues with opening/switching programs and slow browser performance (Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox). I'm currently using Time Machine to back up my macbook pro, but I recently heard of Carbon Copy Cloner as a back up option from the Apple community forums. What do you guys think is a better option? When I do a clean install of Mavericks, which backup option will give me the safest and quickest file transfer?

TM is a system backup, not an archive or best idealized "all data backup"
Carbon Copy and Super Duper are for making system clones for quick recovery of your internal HD
NIETHER are close to "best" or idealized data-only backups or archives, theyre both system emergency backups / restores.
External NAS or HD data collections are for your expanding data archives and backups.
Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection
Data Storage Platforms; their Drawbacks & Advantages
#1. Time Machine / Time Capsule
Drawbacks:
1. Time Machine is not bootable, if your internal drive fails, you cannot access files or boot from TM directly from the dead computer.
2. Time machine is controlled by complex software, and while you can delve into the TM backup database for specific file(s) extraction, this is not ideal or desirable.
3. Time machine can and does have the potential for many error codes in which data corruption can occur and your important backup files may not be saved correctly, at all, or even damaged. This extra link of failure in placing software between your data and its recovery is a point of risk and failure. A HD clone is not subject to these errors.
4. Time machine mirrors your internal HD, in which cases of data corruption, this corruption can immediately spread to the backup as the two are linked. TM is perpetually connected (or often) to your computer, and corruption spread to corruption, without isolation, which TM lacks (usually), migrating errors or corruption is either automatic or extremely easy to unwittingly do.
5. Time Machine does not keep endless copies of changed or deleted data, and you are often not notified when it deletes them; likewise you may accidently delete files off your computer and this accident is mirrored on TM.
6. Restoring from TM is quite time intensive.
7. TM is a backup and not a data archive, and therefore by definition a low-level security of vital/important data.
8. TM working premise is a “black box” backup of OS, APPS, settings, and vital data that nearly 100% of users never verify until an emergency hits or their computers internal SSD or HD that is corrupt or dead and this is an extremely bad working premise on vital data.
9. Given that data created and stored is growing exponentially, the fact that TM operates as a “store-it-all” backup nexus makes TM inherently incapable to easily backup massive amounts of data, nor is doing so a good idea.
10. TM working premise is a backup of a users system and active working data, and NOT massive amounts of static data, yet most users never take this into consideration, making TM a high-risk locus of data “bloat”.
11. In the case of Time Capsule, wifi data storage is a less than ideal premise given possible wireless data corruption.
12. TM like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
13. *Level-1 security of your vital data.
Advantages:
1. TM is very easy to use either in automatic mode or in 1-click backups.
2. TM is a perfect novice level simplex backup single-layer security save against internal HD failure or corruption.
3. TM can easily provide a seamless no-gap policy of active data that is often not easily capable in HD clones or HD archives (only if the user is lazy is making data saves).
#2. HD archives
Drawbacks:
1. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
2. Unless the user ritually copies working active data to HD external archives, then there is a time-gap of potential missing data; as such users must be proactive in archiving data that is being worked on or recently saved or created.
Advantages:
1. Fills the gap left in a week or 2-week-old HD clone, as an example.
2. Simplex no-software data storage that is isolated and autonomous from the computer (in most cases).
3. HD archives are the best idealized storage source for storing huge and multi-terabytes of data.
4. Best-idealized 1st platform redundancy for data protection.
5. *Perfect primary tier and level-2 security of your vital data.
#3. HD clones (see below for full advantages / drawbacks)
Drawbacks:
1. HD clones can be incrementally updated to hourly or daily, however this is time consuming and HD clones are, often, a week or more old, in which case data between today and the most fresh HD clone can and would be lost (however this gap is filled by use of HD archives listed above or by a TM backup).
2. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
Advantages:
1. HD clones are the best, quickest way to get back to 100% full operation in mere seconds.
2. Once a HD clone is created, the creation software (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper) is no longer needed whatsoever, and unlike TM, which requires complex software for its operational transference of data, a HD clone is its own bootable entity.
3. HD clones are unconnected and isolated from recent corruption.
4. HD clones allow a “portable copy” of your computer that you can likewise connect to another same Mac and have all your APPS and data at hand, which is extremely useful.
5. Rather than, as many users do, thinking of a HD clone as a “complimentary backup” to the use of TM, a HD clone is superior to TM both in ease of returning to 100% quickly, and its autonomous nature; while each has its place, TM can and does fill the gap in, say, a 2 week old clone. As an analogy, the HD clone itself is the brick wall of protection, whereas TM can be thought of as the mortar, which will fill any cracks in data on a week, 2-week, or 1-month old HD clone.
6. Best-idealized 2nd platform redundancy for data protection, and 1st level for system restore of your computers internal HD. (Time machine being 2nd level for system restore of the computer’s internal HD).
7. *Level-2 security of your vital data.
HD cloning software options:
1. SuperDuper HD cloning software APP (free)
2. Carbon Copy Cloner APP (will copy the recovery partition as well)
3. Disk utility HD bootable clone.
#4. Online archives
Drawbacks:
1. Subject to server failure or due to non-payment of your hosting account, it can be suspended.
2. Subject, due to lack of security on your part, to being attacked and hacked/erased.
Advantages:
1. In case of house fire, etc. your data is safe.
2. In travels, and propagating files to friends and likewise, a mere link by email is all that is needed and no large media needs to be sent across the net.
3. Online archives are the perfect and best-idealized 3rd platform redundancy for data protection.
4. Supremely useful in data isolation from backups and local archives in being online and offsite for long-distance security in isolation.
5. *Level-1.5 security of your vital data.
#5. DVD professional archival media
Drawbacks:
1. DVD single-layer disks are limited to 4.7Gigabytes of data.
2. DVD media are, given rough handling, prone to scratches and light-degradation if not stored correctly.
Advantages:
1. Archival DVD professional blank media is rated for in excess of 100+ years.
2. DVD is not subject to mechanical breakdown.
3. DVD archival media is not subject to ferromagnetic degradation.
4. DVD archival media correctly sleeved and stored is currently a supreme storage method of archiving vital data.
5. DVD media is once written and therefore free of data corruption if the write is correct.
6. DVD media is the perfect ideal for “freezing” and isolating old copies of data for reference in case newer generations of data become corrupted and an older copy is needed to revert to.
7. Best-idealized 4th platform redundancy for data protection.
8. *Level-3 (highest) security of your vital data.
[*Level-4 data security under development as once-written metallic plates and synthetic sapphire and likewise ultra-long-term data storage]
#6. Cloud based storage
Drawbacks:
1. Cloud storage can only be quasi-possessed.
2. No genuine true security and privacy of data.
3. Should never be considered for vital data storage or especially long-term.
4. *Level-0 security of your vital data.
Advantages:
1. Quick, easy and cheap storage location for simplex files for transfer to keep on hand and yet off the computer.
2. Easy source for small-file data sharing.
#7. Network attached storage (NAS) and JBOD storage
Drawbacks:
1. Subject to RAID failure and mass data corruption.
2. Expensive to set up initially.
3. Can be slower than USB, especially over WiFi.
4. Mechanically identical to USB HD backup in failure potential, higher failure however due to RAID and proprietary NAS enclosure failure.
Advantages:
1. Multiple computer access.
2. Always on and available.
3. Often has extensive media and application server functionality.
4. Massive capacity (also its drawback) with multi-bay NAS, perfect for full system backups on a larger scale.
5. *Level-2 security of your vital data.
JBOD (just a bunch of disks / drives) storage
Identical to NAS in form factor except drives are not networked or in any RAID array, rather best thought of as a single USB feed to multiple independent drives in a single powered large enclosure. Generally meaning a non-RAID architecture.
Drawbacks:
1. Subject to HD failure but not RAID failure and mass data corruption.
Advantages:
1. Simplex multi-drive independent setup for mass data storage.
2. Very inexpensive dual purpose HD storage / access point.
3. *Level-2 security of your vital data.

Verify option on Time Machine Greyed Out

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