What is my Time Machine Backing up

I've gotten quite interested in clicking on my Time Machine menu icon when it starts running recently. I've noticed what I think are large amounts of data being backed up, particularly considering I've just started using the machine a few minutes previously. For example, I've been on my computer for about 30 minutes now. I was writing a 1 page Word document for a class I'm taking, and then I started surfing. My Time Machine says it is backing up 51MB of data. Where did this come from? I've seen times when it has been several hundred MB of data, with very little actual files created on the system being backed up (i.e. I'm not working with my iPhoto library or editing a movie, etc).
I'm confused as to what is actually being backed up, and would love to hear some thoughts.
Thanks.
Nabby

Nabby wrote:
My Time Machine says it is backing up 51MB of data. Where did this come from?
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Read item 7 of this post:
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Similar Messages

What exactly does Time Machine back up?

May seem a basic question. I've always assumed my home folder which, at the moment, weighs 120 Gb, give or take a kb. So why does TM report that it cannot complete backup to a 180 Gb external drive as it now needs 220 Gb, despite having done so for a number of years without a hitch?

Time Machine backs up your entire system (except for some things like system work files, most caches, trash, etc.), unless you specifically exclude things.
It sounds like your TM drive is too small -- it usually needs 2-3 times the space of the data it's backing up, to keep a reasonable "depth" of old backups.
It may also be trying to do a new, full backup. Some possible reasons for that are listed in #D3 of the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
If in doubt, see #A1 there. Download the TM Buddy widget and copy and post the messages here. That may clarify the situation.

I have partitioned my time capsule, but I can't get it to work as a Time Machine back up and permanent media server for both mac and PC. What format do I need to partition the drive to so that it works for both mac and windows and so that it will be visab

I have partitioned my time capsule, as I want part of it to act as a media server for both mac and windows. However I don't know what format that I need to partition it to. I also can't make it a permanently accesible drive. I want to restore the drive to the original format (which I don't know) and start again and re-partition the drive in a format that can be used for media by both mac and PC and for time machine back-ups and make the media part of it permanetly accesible so I can add and acccess my files.
Thanks

You are mixing up a couple of things here.
The TC drive cannot be partitioned without removing it.. did you do that?
If you partition it you must use a Mac disk utility and use the HFS+ ie standard Mac format. And GUID partition table not windows type.
You can select erase disk in the airport utility.. that will take the disk back to original format. No partitions. TC is deliberately not partitioned as it is not a media server.. it is a backup device for TM. Over time .. the disk will be filled with TM backups so you have a long history of file changes to your computer.
There is no media server in the TC.. it is merely disk storage.. you can serve files from it to a media device.. but the TC itself is dumb as dumb.
Now the actual format of the drive is irrelevant to the PC.. The TC offers SMB file services to the network. You can copy files to and from the TC as if it was a local disk without caring one iota about the format. The TC handles that .. it is not a local disk .. it is a network drive.
Although you cannot partition the TC. you can still copy files to it.. this does have implications for TM.. but as long as there is plenty of free space should not be a major issue.
You can create a disk image via the disk utility in a Mac.. and as stated you can create partitions if you do it on a Mac with the disk directly connected which means breaking warranty if any exists on the TC.

Trying to restore Time Machine back-up from WD MyBookLive - whats the Password?!

Hi all,
my son has a Macbook Pro running Lion. Yesterday it hung when downloading the 10.7.3 update and wouldn't reboot properly.
We logged in via safe mode and managed to sort this out, however I was initially looking at doing a restore from his time machine back-up. I had booted the recovery partition and chosen the 'restore from a time machine back-up' - then it had prompted me for a username and password to gain access to the back-up...
When I set up the Time Machine Back-ups I always have selected (as recommended by Apple and Western Digital) the Guest user. Therefore I have no idea what the username or password should be??? I've hunted on the web for any kind of answer however theres no certain answer...
I'm hoping someone out there will know what username and password it is expecting? Is this from Time Machine, or a default username/password set by the Western Digital NAS???
I hope someone can help - my time machine backs up both my own, my wifes and my sons macbooks, its all very well having the back-ups but not worth it if I can never get access to them when I need to!
thanks in advance

I think you are not restoring your files in the correct way.
If what you want to do is to restore a complete Time Machine backup, you have to do it in OS X Recovery, so first hold Command and R keys while your Mac is starting up. Then, choose the option to restore a Time Machine backup, and follow its steps.
If you want to restore individual files, you cannot restore that type of user files because you are using them. Instead, you can restore individual files in your user folders. Read > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427

"Your Time Machine back up disk cannot be found." What does this mean?

I have an external hard drive that has never been disconnected from my iMac.
About 3 weeks ago, I started noticing that some of my iTunes library songs had "!" in front of them, and I wasn't able to find them to play. Over time, more and more iTunes songs had this problem. Someone recommended that I look in the hard drive library, for individual titles, and sure enough, there they were! I've been dragging them back to iTunes but this is going to take forever, because I'm a music teacher and I have a lot of songs in my library.
In this process, I decided to see if the songs were still on the external hard drive, the Time Machine. However, I get the message "your time machine back up disk cannot be found." I have no idea what this must mean, because the Time Machine has been plugged in for a couple of years now. But somehow, the computer doesn't recognize it any more.
Are the two problems related? And what should I do?

There is no relation.
Time Machine backups : my opinion is that this is a real waste of disk space, usefull for a few number of files but that's all ! In case of a reinstallation, everyone is performing a fresh installation ... In addition, after a certain time, TM erases the oldest files.
I personnaly backup only on mediums (CDs, DVDs, DVDs) etc ... then i'm always sure to find again what i'm searching for.
iTunes : a "!" means that you have moved from one place to another an audio file (or erasing it by error) and iTunes has just stored a link to the file and not the file inside its own folders. Probably you have never consolidated you library. The question is : where are you storing your files ? inside your mac plus inside external drives ? Please make sure, if you are managing often files in iTunes, to consolidate them in order for iTunes to copy them inside its own folders, else it becomes quickly a nightmare.
iTunes manages files on 3 different ways now :
- real files inside it
- links to files out of its folders
- files from iTunesMatch

I just restored my Mac HD from a time machine back-up and PS 4 Will not open. I get an error code 150:30. Any Idea what I should do ?

I just restored my Mac HD from a time machine back-up and PS 4 Will not open. I get an error code 150:30. Any Idea what I should do ?

Photoshop's licensing information might have lost when you restored it to new HD. Re-install Photoshop CS4 and enter the same serial key for PS CS4 which you used before.
In case you need the download link for PS CS4, you can get it from here. Download CS4 products
Let me know in case you still get any issues.
~ Arpit

HT201250 How do I get Time Machine back on my dock? I made a mistake and removed it from dock, somehow ended up in trash, what do I do

How do I get Time Machine back on my dock? I made a mistake and removed it from dock, somehow ended up in trash, what do I do?

Uh…you're saying two entirely different things here. If you removed Time Machine from the Dock, it could not be in the Trash. But if you removed it from your Applications or Utilities folder and put it in the Trash, that's a problem.
So, which one did you really do?

Time Machine backs up 250-300 mb every hour no matter what

Every time Time Machine backs up it starts backing up 250-300 mb. It can just complete a backup, and once that is over, if I select ‘Back Up Now’ immediately after, it’s another 250-300 mb that it starts backing up. I'm definitely not downloading anything. This seems to have started with 10.10.3.

Load in the widget so you can see the log.
A1 here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
And if you really want to know what TM is doing.. here.
Q7, Q8 http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
TM always seems to have a bit to do.. if you don't want it to happen turn it off... but you are worrying about something that TM looks after itself.

What does it mean when a box says my Time Machine back-up disk can't be found?

I clicked on my Time Machine icon on the Dock and a box popped up that says my Time Machine back=up disk can't be found. What does this mean? What should I do about it?

Have you been using Time Machine up until now?
If yes, then check that your Time Machine backup disk is properly connected and mounted. It should appear on the desktop. If it is indeed there, then open Time Machine Preferences and make sure that the disk is designated as the backup disk.
If you haven't been using Time Machine until now, check that a disk that is ~ 3 or 4 times larger than what you plan to back up is connected and mounted, and go into Time Machine prefences and designate it as your backup disk.

Can I use my time capsule for time machine back ups and as an external storage device?

I have a time capsule and have set it up so that my time machine back ups are saved on it, but I would also like to use it as an external hard drive. Is this possible?
I know nothing about computers so please tell me in very basic terms. thankyou!

By external hard disk we usually mean one plugged into the computer by USB or Firewire or Thunderbolt.
None of those works on the TC.. it is plugged in by ethernet or use wireless connection.. that means it is a network drive.. not an external drive. The difference might not mean much to you.. but it is totally different to the computer. In the former case the computer has full control of the disk. In the case of the network drive, the disk is controlled by the TC firmware and the files are stored and accessed by network. This has large implications.
So here is my standard response.
Store files on the TC.
This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.
The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.
Major issues.
1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.
2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.
3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no control. In fact the TC is so lacking in controls for even the router side.. that you cannot do more than the most basic of setups.
The following are controls on the hard disk side.
Reformat it. You can name the share. You can do a full archive of the whole disk. This will go at a speed of aprox. 30-50GB/Hr so calculate how long an archive of a full 2TB will take.
4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!
Even apple btw say don’t do it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168 Although mostly about FAT32 it adds network drives.
5. iTunes can constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.
6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.
7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.
Read pondini for some work arounds.
Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

I am trying to get space on an external hard drive which has some old time machine back up files that I do not need but can not eliminate, even by going into the time machine, clicking on the backup file to be eliminated and using the drop down eliminate

I am trying to get space on an external hard drive which has some old time machine back up files that I do not need but can not eliminate, even by going into the time machine, clicking on the backup file to be eliminated and using the drop down menu with the gear box symbol to eliminate

I cannot find this 300GB "Backup" in the Finder, only in the Storage info when I check "About This Mac".
You are probably using Time Machine to backup your MacBook Pro, right? Then the additional 300 GB could be local Time Machine snapshots. Time Machine will write the hourly backups to the free space on your hard disk, if the backup drive is temporarily not connected. You do not see these local backups in the Finder, and MacOS will delete them, when you make a regular backup to Time Machine, or when you need the space for other data.
See Pondini's page for more explanation: What are Local Snapshots? http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
I have restarted my computer, but the information remains the same. How do I reclaim the use of the 300GB? Why is it showing up as "Backups" when it used to indicate "Photos"? Are my photos safe on the external drive?
You have tested the library on the external drive, and so your photos are save there.
The local TimeMachine snapshot probably now contains a backup of the moved library. Try, if connecting your Time Machine drive will reduce the size of your local Time Machine snapshots.

Can I make one iphoto library from two time machine back-ups?

Hi
I have recently purchased a new Mac Book. I previously had two MacBooks, which I backed up with time machine onto two separate external hard drives.
I did a straight transfer of all data from one of these time time machine back-ups to my new laptop. I'd like to migrate select data from the second time machine back-up to my new Mac Book, and I'd like to start by transferring photos.
My laptop has an iphoto library, so I would like to know if I can import select photos from this second time machine back-up, and how do I do that?
many thanks
Linda

First you need to restore the second Library from the back up. You need to restore the whole library, you can't just gather bits of it, I'm afraid.
Once that's done you have two Libraries. The easiest way to do what you want is to merge the Libraries with the paid version ($20) of iPhoto Library Manager This can be set to avoid duplicates. See the Help on it for more.
This is the only way that will get all the versions and all the metadata.
Other than that you'll need to export from one Library and import to the other.
Regards
TD

Time machine back-up stuck on "cleaning up" before actually showing back-up progress

On my MacBook Pro running latest Snow Leopard, after replacing the internal HD and restoring the data from the Time Machine back-up apparently seamlessly, when starting back-up again to the the same external disk connected to another mac on the network, this happened. Almost 12 hours now. There is activity on the external back-up disk as the LED light is blinking and I can hear it work.
The message in Time Machine Preferences pane is "cleaning up" which usually shows at the end of the back-up but this time it is before any progres has shown.
I have Time Machine Buddy widget installed and this is what it says, again for the last 12 hours or so:
Starting standard backup
Network destination already mounted at: /Volumes/TM WD Book-1
Failed to attach to image: /Volumes/TM WD Book-1/Vladskibook.sparsebundle, DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 35
Disk image /Volumes/TM WD Book-1/Vladskibook.sparsebundle mounted at: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups
Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:must scan subdirs|new event db|
Should I just wait patiently or perform a repair of the back-up disk or do a full reset of Time Machine?
If I should wait, can I use my mac without affecting this process?
Thanks

Yellowvan wrote:
Hi Pondini,
Yes, I bought DiskWarrior 4.1.1 - it came up with this report:
" DiskWarrior has successfully built a new optimized directory for the disk named "Untitled."
The new directory is ready to replace the original directory."
Did you let it do that? If not, nothing was changed!
The drive is still under guarantee - can they really fail this quickly?
Sure, a few drives from any production run will be D.O.A, and a few others will fail very quickly, as with nearly any manufactured product.
But you don't know yet whether the drive is bad. If you didn't let DW replace the directory, run it again and do so.
If it's still troublesome, try the other things in my last post before deciding it's the drive.

Can you transfer files using Time Machine back-up to a new computer?

I have an early 2006 iMac and would like to get a new one. Would I be able to copy the files that I want moved to the new computer by using my Time Machine back-up? I would only want to transfer a handful of items including my iTunes and iPhoto libraries as well as my iWork files.

You most certainly can. What you want to do is to go to System Preferences>Time Machine>Advanced> and exclude everything except the files you want to bring over. Then, plug the Time Machine Backup into the new machine and use Setup Assistant; It'll walk you through the rest.
Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

Will existing Time Machine back ups build after 1 account migration

I have one i-Mac happily backing up with Time Machine to an external hard drive.
I have just bought a second i-mac (the old one's filling up) and propose to use migration assistant to move an admin account from the old to the new i-mac leaving two other accounts (and their files etc) on the old one. I see from some posts that it seems as if Time Machine will start a new back up series for the new i-mac's back ups (cos its a new MAC address). But what about the old i-mac? Will that continue to extend the existing (old) Time Machine back up files, albeit without my transferred account and its files? I'd like to end up with the old i-mac continuing to work with and build its Time Machine back ups (less my account and its new files) and have a new back up series from the new i-mac building to a separate partition on the external drive.
Second minor point: I have read that putting a partition on the external drive is the best way forward as it will stop competition for space and allow changes in one set up in future to have no impact on the other. Is this the best way forward?
Does this all make sense?
Sorry but I can't see an answer in the forum to what must be a reasonably common issue in this expanding mac world.

I then tried to move it (TM back up files) off with Restore, whilst preserving the TM back ups but I couldn't seem to do it to the i-Macs hard drive nor to partition that to allow this to happen (assuming the lack of a discrete partition was the problem).
That's likely correct. This only works if you restore one entire partition to another, and check the +Erase destination+ box.
The problem was that I could not (maybe for the same contiguous reasons) create a new partition on the old i-Mac just to temporarily move the TM back up to. Without it I could not 'empty' the WDC firewire drive and partition it prior to returning the TM back ups to it albeit contiguously in a dedicated partition.
Unfortunately for me to retain the TM back ups for the account I moved to the new i-Mac, I will have to leave that account on the old i-Mac as well. I can't see a way around that? If I delete the account on it then surely I will lose the ability to Log onto it and then to click TM and see back in time on that account?
If I understand you correctly, that will be true eventually, but not immediately, as TM will, eventually, delete it's copies of anything that's no longer on your internal HD. That will depend, of course, on how long TM can keep it's backups. But while they're still there, if you log on with Admin privileges, you should be able to view the old backups.
Not sure I explained myself clearly. Sorry. Having understood from your earlier help that 'migrate' actually means 'make a copy in another place', I have the migrated account in two places: one now dormant, on the old i-Mac and two, where it is migrated to (the new i-Mac). But TM continues to back up all accounts, indeed everything, on the old i-Mac by dint of its MAC address. So to see the migrated account's past history I assume I have to access the version on the old i-Mac. To put it another way, when logged into one account on the old i-Mac I believe it is not possible to see the TM history and files of another account on that i-Mac despite TM backing the entire HD. You have to be logged in to that account to see it. On the new i-Mac, with its different MAC address, TM is busy creating the first TM back up and I assumed that in the migrate it did not bring TM history as I had read that it is MAC address specific.
The only issue (apart from having this account's history spread over two machines (pre-today on the old i-Mac's TM and today onwards on the new i-Mac) is that I have all the files on both machines. I am not worried about security only unnecessary usage of disk space. It isn't critical, there's lots of it, but it just seems wasteful and untidy. Unless you guys know otherwise?
If I understand what you've done, you do have duplicates of the current contents, but only one copy of the old backups (on the old F/W drive).
On the old i-Mac I have the two accounts I wanted to stay there plus the now dormant account I migrated. TM continues to work away at memorising ALL these although there will be no further changes to the dormant migrated account as I will not be running it on the old i-Mac. On the new i-Mac I have the migrated account of which TM is now creating its first (huge) back up but starting today. There is no history here. So I have copies of everything; its just that the old history of the migrated account remains on the old i-Mac and a new history (does that make sense?) is building from the new one. My point was that if I were to delete the dormant account from the old i-Mac, then I could not access it to use TM with it. I believe TM only shows the history of the account and screen you're in at the time?
There is an option in TM that will allow you to selectively +Delete all backups of+ selected items. +Enter Time Machine,+ locate and select the item(s), click the "gear" icon in the Finder window's toolbar, and select the +Delete all backups of ..+ option.
What you can't do is, keep the backups of only previous versions of things that were changed or deleted. It's all or nothing.
Not sure I understand this. What would have been nice but I do not think is possible is to have moved the account to the new i-Mac together with the TM's back ups of that account and continue to build it up (whilst having access to its history) on the new i-Mac. If that were (is?) possible I could have totally deleted the old account and with it its files from the old i-Mac, freed up some HD space and had a full AND growing TM history all on the new i-Mac.
Many thanks for staying the course and for your continuing help.

What is my Time Machine Backing up

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