Ext. HD for Time Machine

[mysterytramp]

Originally Posted by Rhobes

I don't feel like I have a clue as to what I want now. Basically your saying that Time Machine is not a true backup? I thought that is what it was. In other words I should keep a separate ext. HD to store my pictures on because it won't really do that? And as far as backing up all the applications etc. if the computer crashed it's not made for that either? I see little point in it now...
I find the more I read threads here on backup systems including using Time Machine, Airport, Raid & all that I don't know where I'm at. I'm thinking to go into a Apple store and ask them but feel this is what they will tell me, use TM with Time capsule...

P.S. I'm going to buy a new iMac 27" 2.8GHz i7, just trying to plan a backup system for that.

Time Machine IS a true backup. It works a little differently so sometimes it's hard to describe.

Here's how it works ... You connect a hard drive, tell TM that it's your backup drive, and it copies your hard drive.

Then, every hour, it looks for changed files and save them. At the end of the night, it consolidates the changed files.

Files that haven't changed aren't included in the daily backup, thus conserving hard disk space. When the disk is full, TM deletes backups, oldest first, and you can set it to warn you first.

You can retrieve files two ways. You can just browse your backup hard disk looking for a file, or you can use the Time Machine app, which makes it easy to find files based on dates (and it's got a really cool UI).

One of the things to be a bit concerned about with TM is that lots of people offer suggestions on things to exclude from your TM backup to extend the life of your hard disk. For example, it does make sense to leave out your Applications folder because the apps are from the Internet, store-bought CDs or your install DVDs so you've got backups, right?

The trick is knowing where your data's stored first. I had an app that stored its data inside itself. I accidentally deleted some data, went to TM to retrieve and it wasn't there -- because I excluded my Applications Folder. Other apps store important data in the Application Support folder. Most apps, of course, save data where you say so (most likely the Documents folder), but some don't, and if you don't know where the data is, be careful when you tell TM to exclude a folder.

Depending on the value of your data, you might want something other than TM or in addition to TM. Don't feel that you have to use Time Capsule. There are lots of companies making reliable drives for far less.

mt

[Rhobes]

Thanks for your post MT,
That clears it up. I guess I would go with a large drive & have it back up everything.

Question: Can I just run TM when I want to? I don't think it would be necessary to have it running all the time, that's got to rack up the hours on a drive(always running). I would think I could turn on the ext. HD then click on TM & that would update things when I wanted, eg. after downloading allot of photos, and after I spend long hours working on websites(or have it run on those days).

[mysterytramp]

Originally Posted by Rhobes

Question: Can I just run TM when I want to? I don't think it would be necessary to have it running all the time, that's got to rack up the hours on a drive(always running).

It takes far less time than you'd think. Personally, I wouldn't trust myself to remember to turn the drive on and off. I'm running a 2006 Mac mini -- in other words, old and slow by today's standards -- and I barely notice any degradation in computing horsepower when TM is doing its thing.

mt

[Pondini]

Originally Posted by Rhobes

Thanks for your post MT,
That clears it up. I guess I would go with a large drive & have it back up everything.

Question: Can I just run TM when I want to? I don't think it would be necessary to have it running all the time, that's got to rack up the hours on a drive(always running). I would think I could turn on the ext. HD then click on TM & that would update things when I wanted, eg. after downloading allot of photos, and after I spend long hours working on websites(or have it run on those days).

MT is correct in that TM works best if you let it do it's hourly backups.

(The part about a nightly consolidation isn't strictly correct, but the effect is the same.)

You'll find much more info on the Apple Time Machine forums, including a couple of User Tips at the top. The Snow Leopard / Time Machine forum is at: http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1342

[CylonGlitch]

If you're going to go external storage, you're in the same situation that I am in. I have closer to 20,000 raw images that take up some 400+GB of space. If I copy them to an external drive, if that drive fails, then I lose everything. What I have now is an external drive that I put all the images on; plus I have a server drive where I put all drives that is running all the time. This way, if one of the two drives fail, I have a backup. Additionally I have a Maxtor NAS that has support for an external drive to create backups to automatically; and I use that for data and other things.

I really could use a good 2 to 4 TB RAID system to back up all of my data in one place -- but that is money I don't have. Not yet anyway. So multiple storage locations is my current solution.

[chickyd]

Can someone please explain why I can put an old sata II disk in an enclosure and connect it to my MBP by USB and get time machine support but can't use the same disk in a PC, connect over a network and do the same thing?

From what I've read every TM backup that is not done through either a ReadyNas or TimeCapsule is open to corruption (even the 'officially' supported HP MediaSmart).

It makes no sense to me why I have to hack to get this to work or pay apple £250.

[Angelo95210]

The only drawback when you let the drive switched on is the noise. Whether your drive has a fan or not, it still produces a little humming.

I like to have my work space quiet. So I switched it on from time to time to backup with TM.