File discrepancies on time capsule

[Zildog]

Hi there. I have a particular problem I hope someone can help me with.

I have a 1TB Time Capsule that I recently cleared off (I didn't re-format it) so that I could make space on my iMac which was almost at capacity ( also 1TB ). Instead of doing a backup of the iMac HD, I dragged and dropped specific files from the iMac desktop and supporting folders into the TC and waited for each to finish before repeating the process.

All folders are from my work as a photographer. Thinking the process was finished, I deleted the files from the iMac. Then, upon inspection of one of the folders, I notice that a number of sub directories are missing. There was a ton of content missing.

Fearing the worst, I used the application Grand Perspective to check the contents of the TC and it confirmed that the files I was looking for had indeed disappeared.

But then something strange happened. When checking the contents of the TC on the imac, using finder, it tells me that there is 189GB of space on the TC.

BUT, when I check the TC itself, it tells me there is only 123GB of space left.

So, I am now wondering why there is a discrepancy and where the other 63 GB of files are located. If they are there, I would like to find them but have no idea how.

I have searched and searched for solutions and have not found any solid resources of info - almost all are related to Time "Machine"... and before anyone asks, no, I did not backup the TC in TM before transferring the files. That was my error. But... I still have hope those files are there somewhere because of what I explained above.

Can someone please help me in sorting this out, and offer a solution if there is a way to fix this mess I have gotten myself into??

Thank you.

 

[Zildog]

Anyone...???

 

[Zildog]

I don't get it - 450 people have read this post and not a SINGLE person has replied.

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated.

 

[skorpien]

I don't believe there's much you can do other than open the Time Capsule and take the HDD out and, using a dock or enclosure, connect it to your Mac. You may then be able to use a utility like Disk Warrior to try and salvage the missing files.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but I highly suggest you use multiple backups and keep multiple copies of your files, especially if they're crucial for your work. A hard drive with the files on them connected to your Mac (if you'd rather keep your Mac's HDD free), backed up to the Time Capsule or other HDD, and if possible either a cloud storage or other offsite backup to safeguard against fires/theft/etc.

Sorry about your situation and best of luck...

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I don't get it - 450 people have read this post and not a SINGLE person has replied.

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated.

I realize you're frustrated, but this type of attitude will not get you any help. Those that may be willing to will be put off by such remarks. In fact, had I read this before replying, I doubt I would have replied.

Just because somebody reads your thread, it doesn't mean they necessarily have the knowledge to help. It may take time, but people on these forums are usually good at providing help.

 

[Brian33]

But then something strange happened. When checking the contents of the TC on the imac, using finder, it tells me that there is 189GB of space on the TC.

BUT, when I check the TC itself, it tells me there is only 123GB of space left.

So, I am now wondering why there is a discrepancy and where the other 63 GB of files are located. If they are there, I would like to find them but have no idea how.

I can't think of why there'd be such a discrepancy, but I'm a little confused about the two ways you checked the remaining disk space on the TC drive. Apparently using Finder from your iMac shows 189GB remaining, OK. But what is the other method that showed 123GB? Was that using "Grand Perspective?"

You could try using the 'df' command in Terminal.

According to my math, the discrepancy is more than the usual 1000 vs. 1024 issue that often causes confusion about disk space.

I'll admit it is a (frustrating) mystery.

If I were you, I'd be looking into a utility to reclaim deleted files from your iMac. I've never done it, but I'd recommend that first, then investigate the TC space discrepancy afterward. (The more you do with your iMac, the more likely you are to overwrite the deleted file data making it unrecoverable. Still, it seems like there's a good chance you could recover a large amount of what you lost.)

 

[Markarius]

Same Problem...

I had the same problem... I'm running latest version of firmware (7.6.3) on the latest generation of 2TB time capsule.

I was able to partly figure it out.

I had copied about 500GB of data on the the TC.... some 270 folders (each folder contained about 2-4 files).

the strange thing is that on the time capsule it was showing only 267 folders... the last few folders didn't show.

I connected a USB3 external hard drive (first formatted to OS X Extended journaled), to the TC and copied the same 270 folders to the external drive...same problem.. EXACT same folders do not show.

then I disconnected the drive and connected it directly to my MacBook Pro...the missing folders now showing up!!! Connect back to TC.. and they do NOT show up.

initially I suspected that the folders might contain files that do not meet file system requirments (maybe too long, or strange characters). but when I looked at the missing folder/files.. they were no different than the rest... so I ruled it out.

then the strangest thing happened.

I created a new folder named "videos"
/Volumes/USBDrive/videos

and moved all 267 folders into the "videos" folder.... suddenly the 3 missing folders showed in the parent folder.
/Volumes/USBDrive/

I moved the remaining 3 folders into the videos folder.. thinking they might disappear, but they actually stayed visible.

hence, the only conclusion I've come up with is that the root folder has a limit on the number of folders it can display. I checked with the file system and device specification, and found all claims contrary to my experience. So i'm not sure what the cause is, but clearly, the issue only appears when the drive is viewed over the network. everything seems fine when I connect it directly to my lappy.

btw, even though the folder/file doesnt show up, it's actually there... you'll notice this when you try to copy the same file into that location, it will ask you to overwrite, and if you say yes, you will see the transfer progress bar as usual... but once transfer is complete, it will just not show up via network view.

currently, whenever I do copy something to the TC (or attached drives), I go back and do a "get info" on source and copy to make sure they match. (pretty lousy I know!). the scariest part is that one doesn't know if something will go missing if you move a file or folder around... so what may look "ok" upon initial comparison, can go missing over time due to moving it around. this is hardly my idea of "backup". apple dropped the ball on this one pretty badly.