Time Machine is Apple's built-in backup software. Time Machine was first introduced on OS 10.5 Leopard.
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How can I manually delete old backups to free space for Time Machine?
I use a Time Capsule for backup and now I want the drive to back up data from an extra Mac. But the drive is filled up with old backups from Mac 1. There simply is not enough space available for the ...
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4answers
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On Lion, what files are excluded by rule from a Time Machine backup?
In addition to whatever files I may choose to exclude, what files does the system exclude by rule or classification?
It might make sense not to backup Trash or Caches, but I'm looking for a way to ...
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11answers
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How to fix slow Spotlight and Time Machine after upgrading to 10.7.5?
Since updating to 10.7.5 both Spotlight and Time Machine are very slow.
To index a normal system drive Spotlight calculates to need several days.
As a result Time Machine takes up to an hour or more ...
10
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4answers
570 views
Upgrade time machine storage?
I'm going to buy 2T external HDD to replace my already full 1T HDD external. I want to keep the time machine backup data. In this case, is it just OK to copy all the time machine backup data in 1T HDD ...
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2answers
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Enabling Time Machine for a USB HDD with NTFS
When I've plugged in my USB HDD (WD Passort Elite) for the first time, the system had asked me whether I want to use this HDD as time machine drive. I've chosen smth like 'decide later' and continued ...
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0answers
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How can Time Machine in Lion backup the volume content of a sparse bundle disk image?
Using Mac OS X 10.7 (Build 11A511), attempts to backup volume content with Time Machine have failed.
With a simple non-encrypted image I tried three approaches:
the traditional workaround, which ...
12
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3answers
507 views
What is time machine backing up?
Is there a way to find out what time machine is backing up?
My time machine has been running fine, but it suddenly started to back-up 20GB a few days ago when I have not changed that much since last ...
9
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5answers
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Is there a bash command to check to see if Time Machine has finished backing up?
I'm writing a script that will rsycnc my Time Machine directory to a remote server using ssh. I've switched from a shell script to an AppleScript and then back to an Apple script and I don't really ...
3
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1answer
326 views
Time Machine Backing Up Large Amounts of Data Each Time
I've got 2 time machine drives. I have one at home that gets used on the weekend and another that gets backed up to during the week. I recently replaced the one at my office. The only thing that is ...
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2answers
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How can I get Time Machine to back up the contents of a File Vault while logged in?
Disclaimer: this question and answer are targeted to the Snow Leopard implementation of FileVault where the user home folder is only encrypted in a bundle. Lion's implementation of FileVault doesn't ...
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6answers
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Time Machine: “Enter Time Machine” menu command does not do anything
I have Time Machine running on an external hard drive and it reports happily that it is doing backups and I have no reason to doubt it.
But when I try to look at the backups by clicking "Enter Time ...
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2answers
5k views
How do you access the user library on a time machine backup
With Lion 10.7, how does one access the user library on a time machine backup through the Finder?
3
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2answers
807 views
How can I use tmutil to figure out which files just got deleted?
I'm on Lion and until ten minutes ago I didn't know that the nifty new tmutil existed. But now I'm a little uncertain with all its options and sub-commands which to use to try and figure out what went ...
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vote
1answer
152 views
Time Machine + FileVault on Lion or Mountain
If I stop the backup it says: "now encrypting...", is the data saved "not encrypted" before being encrypted? Can I make it "always encrypted"?
Non-encrypted transfers are a problem for me.
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vote
1answer
2k views
How to restore from a Time Machine backup when there is already a user account set up?
I can't figure out how to access my Time Machine backups since Apple replaced a defective hard drive.
Some Background:
My setup: iMac 24" (Early 2009), 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo, OS X 10.7.3. I have been ...
7
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4answers
2k views
Why is Time Machine over-stating the amount of data that needs to be backed up?
I shuffled my home directory around and moved it back to my spinning platter drive in my MacBook. Ever since, Time Machine has been running my machine hot (the fan comes on when Time Machine starts ...
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vote
4answers
2k views
Why won't Time Machine work with a drive connected to an Airport Extreme?
Is there any technical limitation or engineering reason that could possibly be behind the inability to RELIABLY use a connected USB drive with Airport Extreme for Time Machine?
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1answer
67 views
Terminal bash name
Right now I have a Mac Mini. I migrated macbook pro data from a time machine, but I didn't do it from the beginning of my startup. I used the migration assistance to migrate the data. However, I'm ...
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2answers
382 views
Time Machine stuck on “Preparing backup” whenever returning from Boot Camp to OS X
I have Windows 7 installed in Boot Camp. Whenever I go into Windows 7 and then go back to OS X Lion, and then run a Time Machine backup, Time Machine is stuck on the "Preparing Backup" stage for a ...
16
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4answers
14k views
Upgraded to Lion: Time Machine spends a LOT of time indexing backup
I upgraded my MacBook Pro to Lion and one of the problems I've had is that Time Machine keeps running and running, and the fans go on.
This usually seems to be in the state where it indexes the ...
13
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3answers
4k views
How can I “clean out” my Time Machine backups if Time Machine won't backup because the disk is full?
When Time Machine tries to make a backup, it informs me that it can't because the backup disk is full.
What it's mostly full of (about 700GB of 1TB) is prior backups of the same machine. Time ...
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2answers
4k views
Time Machine keeps asking to create new backup?
Every time a backup completes I get this message -
'Time Machine completed a verification of your backups. To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you.'
I am backing up to ...
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3answers
1k views
How to see what files were changed in TimeMachine?
I tried TimeTracker, tms and timedog but none of them works with OS X 10.6
Any suggestions?
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2answers
4k views
Can Time Machine volumes be easily encrypted with FileVault 2?
Now that File Vault 2 can encrypt the entire disk and encrypt external drives, can I have a fully encrypted Time Machine volume?
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2answers
6k views
With File Vault ON are time machine backups encrypted?
I have been using time machine to back up to a wireless external drive since I got my mac. Today I used filevault to encrypt my hard drive.
Will this affect how Time Machine backs up my files?
Will ...
6
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2answers
1k views
huge Chrome Time Machine backups
My 1TB Time Machine drive just filled up, apparently due a bug in Chrome. Since this issue has been open for a year and a half, I don't expect that Google will fix it any time soon.
Can anyone offer ...
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3answers
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Can I restore a Snow Leopard backup onto a Lion machine?
So I am a little confused and slightly worried, and I was wondering if someone could answer this.
I have a Time Machine backup saved on an external HD for my Mac mini that is running the latest ...
6
votes
1answer
5k views
Why are some backups grey and others purple in Time Machine in Lion?
I started Time Machine for the first time in Lion (you know, to make sure everything was working properly), and I noticed something odd – on the timeline on the right side of the screen, some backups ...
6
votes
4answers
7k views
Can I simply manually delete individual Time Machine backups from the Finder or command line?
I have moved from a Mac running Snow Leopard to a new Lion machine. Since there was a lot of cruft on the old machine, I set up the new one from scratch, only copying the data over I need. I still ...
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3answers
3k views
Why is “Verify Backups” in the Time Machine icon menu disabled?
I learned in Upgraded to Lion: Time Machine spends a LOT of time indexing backup that if I hold down the option key and click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, the "Back Up Now" menu item changes ...
4
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3answers
1k views
How do I encypt Time Machine with Mac OS X Lion?
I am thinking about upgrading to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, because it offers full disk encryption.
However, if I use Time Machine with on an external hard drive, will the Time Machine backups be encrypted ...
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4answers
232 views
Time Machine External Drive
What factors are important when selecting an external hard drive for time machine backups?
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3answers
352 views
Copying Time Machine backup, destination takes more than original size, are hardlinks being expanded?
I'm copying the backup folder of Time Machine, but it's taking too long, the backup is 90GB and the copy already reports 160GB and there's 60% to go yet, so I suspect it's copying hardlinks as ...
2
votes
1answer
826 views
Time Machine backs up a huge quantity of data on every run
I have a MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard and a Time Capsule. In the last few days every backup took over 100GB of data. I don't know if there is some issue with permissions or something similar, but to ...
2
votes
5answers
323 views
Alternative backup solution for a mac?
I know that we can easily use time machine. However, i wonder if there exist any other way to backup the data on my macbook? Since I do a lot of modification to the system and sometimes make it has ...
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vote
1answer
337 views
TimeMachine and an External HFS + NTFS HDD
Can I partition my external HDD into 2 HFS + NTFS? and use HFS+ partition for TimeMachine backup. I already lost my info once in this way, this is why I have to ask now, before doing some stupid ...
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3answers
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What are the advantages of Time Capsule over Airport Extreme with an external hard drive?
I would like for someone to outline the differences between buying a time capsule vs. just getting an airport extreme and attaching an external harddrive. The latter seems more flexible (easy to ...
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3answers
7k views
How can I use an existing Time Machine backup with my new computer?
I've just replaced my existing MacBook Pro with a new MacBook Air. I've got 18 months of Time Machine backups from the old computer. I'd like to configure my new computer to use the old computer's ...
6
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4answers
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How do local TimeMachine backups work exactly?
Since Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) TimeMachine performs local backups to /.MobileBackups if enabled (tmutil enableLocal, default enabled on portable macs).
The different types of backups are color encoded in ...
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2answers
425 views
Time Capsule and multiple Macs
Does the Time Capule support Time Machine backups from multiple macs out of the box?
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1answer
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How do you access the content of the iPhoto bundle from Time Machine?
I would like to access the files of the iPhoto library bundle to retrieve just some of the files to help solving this question about corrupted iPhoto db files properly.
In time machine mode there is ...
4
votes
1answer
3k views
How does the new “local snapshots” feature of Time Machine in Lion work?
Apple's advertising for Lion highlights a new "local snapshots" feature of Time Machine:
OS X Lion lets you take the Time Machine experience with you when you’re away from your Time Capsule or ...
4
votes
2answers
536 views
Time machine wants to backup too much
Time Machine stopped this morning, stating it has too little disk space left. It wants to back up 200 gigs, but my local hard drive has 240 gig used and 150 gig are excluded in the Time Machine ...
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3answers
2k views
Should I use time machine to migrate from one mac to another?
I have had my blackbook for a little over 4 years now and think it's time to upgrade to a new macbook pro. I'm currently running leopard on the blackbook with time machine. I'm wondering if time ...
3
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2answers
3k views
Where does Time Machine store its settings?
I'm looking for the file that contains all the Time Machine exclusions entered in its Options dialogue. I know that (some of?) the scheduling related settings are stored in the ...
3
votes
1answer
448 views
Is it possible to use Time Machine on a shared USB Hardrive?
I've a iMac with an external HD derserved to Time Machine. I also have a MacBookPro.
Is it possible to make this config :
Share the disk on the iMac so that the MBP sees it on the network
Ask Time ...
2
votes
1answer
59 views
Time Machine backup to Airport Extreme AirDisk
I thought it was NOT possible to use the USB hard disk attached to the Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS) as a backup destination for Time Machine backups. This was mostly due to Google results as ...
2
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2answers
789 views
Time Machine drive encryption going for 22 hours. Is it stalled?
I set up Time Machine in Mountain Lion by plugging in a newly formatted 500GB USB drive, selecting that from the Time Machine dialog, and checking the box to encrypt my backups. A window appeared that ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
How do I continue to use Time Machine backups after switching my hard disk?
I replaced my HD with an SSD (256 GB), and restored the contents from my Time Machine backup (external HD 320 GB).
Now, after a day of working, I plugged in my external HD to make the next backup. ...
2
votes
1answer
770 views
Scripting the unhiding of Library folders on Time Machine disks
Here's the context: I have about 400 students with Time Machine backups from Lion computers. We wiped and re-imaged their laptops with new software AND with Mountain Lion. We just discovered that you ...
