What do I do when I suspect a virus? Is it safe to do a back up on my external time machine?

What do I do when I suspect a virus? Is it safe to do a backup on my external time machine?

It is not a virus.
Please explain exactly what makes you think you might have a virus.
Yes. It is safe to backup to an external Time Capsule using Time Machine as the software to do that on your Mac.

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I have backed up my disk using Time Machine. Now I want to delete the backed-up files from my hard drive. But when I do and reconnect the external hard drive, the files are also deleted on that. What do I do?

I have backed up my disk using Time Machine. I then deleted the back-up files from my MacBook hard drive.
I then reconnected my external hard drive and find the files I deleted from my hard drive are also deleted from
my external hard drive. Can someone tell my what what happened? I'm confused.

Hello,
Time Machine is not a good way to do that, when it eventually needs more room it deletes old Backups to make room.
If you really want to keep Files but remove them from the Internal Drive, then I'd get another external drive to copy or clone them to that is not used for TM.

What do you do when photos appear on iPhoto fine with preview, but show up back with an explanation point when selected?

What do you do when photos appear on iPhoto fine with preview, but show up back with an explanation point when selected?

The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
What version of iPhoto? Assuming 09 or later...
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Rebuild iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one. .
Regards
TD

HT1414 When updating my iphone with new software it came up on screen with the cable and itunes sign (which is what I should get when restoration has been completed) yet it is still saying restore. I have tried 3 times and the screen won't change. HELP!

When updating my iphone with new software it came up on screen with the cable and itunes sign (which is what I should get when restoration has been completed) yet it is still saying restore. I have tried 3 times and the screen won't change. HELP!

If the sign does not go away it has not completed the restore. So you are incorrect when you say it "keeps completing the restore" if that message is still displayed.
Do you get an error message? If so, what is the error number?

HT1338 I was backing up my MacBook with Time Machine on my new (correctly formatted) external hard drive. It was going fine when my 2 yo knocked the hard drive. Now TM said "failed" and the Mac refuses to recognize the external hard drive. Help please?

I was backing up my MacBook with Time Machine and using my new (correctly formatted) external hard drive. All was going well when my 2 yo knocked the disk leading to a "failure" by time machine (Latest Backup: Failed). Now the MacBook will not even recognize the hard drive. I have rebooted, tried all I can think of, but no acknowledgement of the drive. The drive itself makes noise and vibrates as if working, but nothing from the Mac. Please help or $100 down the drain... Thank you.

You may have already done these resets in the "tried all I can think of " portion of your post.....if not then here they are.....
PRAM
support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
SMC
support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
.....hopefully that is all that is required.....

My MacBook pro won't recognize hard drive I put in it. It boots only to a white screen unless I boot to my recovery USB. If I do that then I can select my USB and my external time machine drive in the disk utility, so no problems there. But what do you

My MacBook pro won't recognize hard drive I put in it. It boots only to a white screen unless I boot to my recovery USB. If I do that then I can select my USB and my external time machine drive in the disk utility, so no problems there. But what do you think it is? It won't recognize any hard drive I put in the machine, so might it be the sata cable?

Boot the Recvoery USB, use Disk Utility to select the internal drive makers namea and size on the left.
Now select erase and select the midde option and click erase, it will take a bit to complete but it's best for the drive.
Now select Partiton tab, click the big box and Options: GUID and then Format: OS X Extended journaled and click apply.
Quit and you should be able to install OS X now with your Apple ID and password.
see
http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/08/lion-recovery-disk-assistant-tool-makes-external- lion-boot-recovery-drives/

HT201250 I've just used an external drive to back up my Mac with Time Machine. I have Lion, but didn't click and check the "Encrypt Backup Disc". What should I do? Can I delete the external drive and start again, or can I encrypt later?

I've just used an external drive to back up my Mac with Time Machine. I have Lion, but didn't click and check the "Encrypt Backup Disc". What should I do? Can I delete the external drive and start again, or can I encrypt later?

I guess if stolen or lost it would protect my "stuff", and if I'm travelling would protect my privacy.
You must understand the purpose and implications of encryption before deciding whether to use it.
Encryption locks your data with a password. If you forget that password, the data is lost beyond any chance of recovery. Neither Apple nor anyone else will be able to help you recover that data if you don't know the password.
By the same token, the password must be strong enough to provide the security you want. For example, if you're the potential target of industrial espionage by a government or large corporation, you need the strongest possible password. To create and manage such a password safely is a task in itself, not to be undertaken lightly.
If you're only concerned about casual snooping by someone with no special skill, a weak, easily-remembered password is appropriate.
But regardless of the strength of the password, if you lose it, the data is gone forever.
Another point to remember is that if you encrypt your data on one storage device, you must also encrypt it on all other storage devices that would be accessible to the same attacker. Otherwise the data isn't protected. For example, if you keep your computer and your backup drive in the same room, and the internal drive of the computer is not encrypted, then there's no point in encrypting the backup drive.

My MacBook w/ OSX 10.6.8 cannot access my external Time Machine Backup USB Drive. It says it is a Read Only drive. When I went to change permissions I found all pernissions were listed as "Custom" and I could not reset them to "Read Write". Any help!

My MacBook w/ OSX 10.6.8 cannot access my external Time Machine Backup USB Drive. It says it is a Read Only drive. When I went to change permissions I found all pernissions were listed as "Custom" and I could not reset them to "Read Write". Any help would be appreciated.

This can be done easily with ethernet.
Please follow the instructions strictly.
To make it easier I want you to do this overnight so you can turn off all your current connection to the internet.
Just go to the airport fan in to the top right and turn airport off.
Get ethernet cable and connect the laptop to the TC lan port.. ie <-> ones.
Press and hold the reset on the TC for about 10sec. until the front led flashes rapidly.
Open the airport utility.. go to manual setup and change the wireless to off. (so other people around you cannot join your network of one).
Ignore all the errors.. they won't stop the backup working.
Go to the TM and reselect the backup target disk as the TC.
It should start after 2min and run through to completion.
That is it.. for a backup of many GB it might take a few hours.. so make sure the laptop has power plugged in and the sleep is off.. (on early ones I think this is needed but I am a late arrival to the scene).. sleep doesn't affect later OS.

When I get to the select disk page it says that the HD is uesd as time machine drive. How can I remove time machine backup from my Mac.

I am tring to installe OS X Mavericks. When I get to the select disk page it says that the HD is uesd as time machine drive. How can I remove time machine backup from my Mac.

Open up your Finder and click on Go on the top menu bar. Select Computer and then double click Macintosh HD. In here delete the backup folder. Might be called backups.backupdb.

Suddenly all my Word documents are gone. What happened? Are they recoverable (no back-up hard drive or time machine)

Suddenly all my Word documents are gone. What happened? Are they recoverable (no back-up hard drive, no time machine)?

Greetings,
What happened right before they went missing? (software updates, "cleaning" up the computer, etc.)
Are your other files still there like music, movies, pictures, bookmarks, etc?
I'm sure you've already come to this conclusion yourself, you need a back up. Its easy to do with 10.5.8 and later: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1553.
Try searching your account for any ".doc" files (Word documents) by going to File > Find and using the options below:
If you don't find any of the documents you are looking for in the search window and nothing else is missing then it would be wise to get a second opinion ASAP before any chance of data recovery is lost.
Make an appointment with a Mac Genius at an Apple store (they don't do data recovery but may be able to see something we can't see from here) or contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider to see if they can look around the hard drive for you.
If the second opinion reveals that the data is really gone off the entire computer then you will need data recovery software or service:
Data recovery software requires you have a separate hard drive so you'll need to buy one first. Data recovery software examples:
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
http://www.macintosh-data-recovery.com/
http://www.subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?main_page=product_info&products _id=1
There are many nationwide / worldwide data recovery companies out there. Here are a few examples:
http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com
http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/
http://www.totalrecall.com/
Best of luck to you.

What is going on when my ipad throws me out of Facebook or a game back to the original desktop?

What is going on when my iPad throws me off Facebook or out of a game back to the original desktop?

if a program such as facebook encounter an bug or malfuction it can't recover from it exit and close
and the desktop is displayed
why facebook or the game encounter this error could be a bug in their code or a bug in the operating system
at any rate restarting the ios device is adviced
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430

How do I restore my iphoto from external time machine if it isn't appearing when I go back to other dates? I can open the old library when I hold option, but it can't get it to stay.

Please help.

For TM questions there is a TM forum
In general you launch Time machine and go back in time to the time you want - select the iPhoto library (by default in your pictures folder) and click restore
What is the reason you are trying to restore an older iPhoto library?
what does
I can open the old library when I hold option, but it can't get it to stay.
Mean?
LN

I am using a WD external hard drive for backing up my laptop with Time Machine, but I have to do it manually. How do I know when it has finished the back up? How long should it take?

I am using an external WD hard drive for backing up my laptop. I have to do it manually, so I can't set Time Machine to just do it for me. How do I know when it is done backing up? How long should this take?

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
tmutil compare -E
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal 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 Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
The command will take at least a few minutes to run. Eventually some lines of output will appear below what you entered.
Each line that begins with a plus sign (“+”) represents a file that has been added to the source volume since the last snapshot was taken. These files have not been backed up yet.
Each line that begins with an exclamation point (“!”) represents a file that has changed on the source volume. These files have been backed up, but not in their present state.
Each line that begins with a minus sign (“-“) represents a file that has been removed from the source volume.
At the end of the output, you’ll get some lines like the following:
Added:
Removed:
Changed:
These lines show the total amount of data added, removed, or changed on the source(s) since the last snapshot.

When backing up the MAC on Time machine does it back up your emails also?

Does time machiene back up emails also when doing a standard backup. I use icloud?
[email protected]
Thanks
Chad

If the emails are stored on cloud, then no, Time Machine will backup what is on your local hard disk and that is all.
If you need mails backed up, then you need to ensure they are copied to your local hard disk.. I think you will need to ask this question in mail how to ensure mail program creates a local copy of the mails.
Apple will of course backup their servers.. so you will not lose your mails en masse.. but if you delete them and then scrub them from the delete box you will not be able to recover them via time machine.

Photoshop Elements 12 has been wiped of my laptop when they removed some viruses. How do I get it back because I bought it online and downloaded it instead of having the program disc?

How do I recover the program for Photoshop Elements 12 that was wiped off my computer when they removed some viruses? I no longer have the program because I bought it on-line and downloaded it instead of having the program disc. I bought it last year and can't seem to contact anyone at Adobe or find out who to call.

You can download it here:
http://prodesigntools.com/photoshop-elements-12-direct-download-links-premiere.html
Follow the Very Important Instructions exactly, even when they don't seem to make much sense. Of course you will need your serial number.

What do I do when I suspect a virus? Is it safe to do a back up on my external time machine?

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