Do you have to let time machine backup ALL the way through the 1st time?

[imac123]

The first time it was backing up, I clicked "stop backing up" and next time I started the computer and hit "start backing up" it seemed to start all over again rather than picking up where it left off...

so I'm guessing , for the 1st run through time machine do you have to let it finish backing up the ENTIRE thing all at once???
then after that it just updates what's changed i assume?

 

[trentoncain]

so I'm guessing , for the 1st run through time machine do you have to let it finish backing up the ENTIRE thing all at once???
then after that it just updates what's changed i assume?

This is how I understand it.

Hope that helps!

 

[CrzyCanuck72]

yes, you have to let it run all the way through... the first one takes a long time, but after that they are much shorter

 

[metalray@mac.co]

The system will backup all the files you chose to be "back-mashined". After the initial (sometimes long winded) backup, it will periodically track the changes you have made and update accordingly. The only files that will be copied then are the files that had been altered.

 

[killerwhack]

Time Machine - First time takes a long time

Yes - you must let it go through the entire backup the first time. Most report that it takes about 2 - 3 hours.

Once you have done that, it is much quicker. Also, don't forget to exclude any virtual machine files you are using (parallels or VMware Fusion)

Also, if you use a bit torrent app, you will want to exclude the incomplete directories. Very important because including them will chew through your backup space.