If you have two or more accounts on your MBA how come the Time Machine back up is recognized on only one account?

[a-m-k]

Is it recognized on the account that the Time Machine back up was set up on? I have my original account and a "test" account. (I had trouble awhile back and Mac support suggested I create a test account.) Wouldn't/shouldn't all accounts be backed up regardless of where (the account) it was backed up?

 

[duncandb]

Is it recognized on the account that the Time Machine back up was set up on? I have my original account and a "test" account. (I had trouble awhile back and Mac support suggested I create a test account.) Wouldn't/shouldn't all accounts be backed up regardless of where (the account) it was backed up?

Time Machine is not account specific, it affects the whole Mac and all accounts on it. It backs up the whole /Users folder which has the account-specific things in it for all user accounts.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I believe the exception that might apply to your- OP- case is if the test account was set up as a guest account. I don't know for sure but I would guess that TM wouldn't backup a guest account... only true ADMIN and User accounts.

For example, if there were 2 users + a guest account, I would 100% expect TM to backup the 2 users but not necessarily the guest... as guest is usually an account set up for only temporary access such as by someone visiting and needing a computer for a while but you want to mostly lock them out of access to your own files and/or having the ability to add/delete apps to the system.

That shared though- I don't know this for sure. I'm speculating based on how user accounts work and the suggestion that if "test" was a guest account instead of a true user account, it might NOT be backed up too. If you want test to be backed up too (and it is not), you can easily switch it to a user account.

 

[a-m-k]

Thank you. So should I change the test account to have administer privileges?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Are you wanting to also back up the test account too? Else you can just delete it now that testing is finished?

But no, I wouldn't give a test account I want to keep full administrator privileges. Just "user" or "standard" or whatever it is called... ONLY if you want to keep it. You should be the administrator.

If you delete it (because maybe you no longer need it), you can also add a new user or guest account at any time.

If me, if there was something in the test account I wanted to preserve, I'd probably move it to my own account and then delete the test/guest account. Then TM will back it up with the rest of my digital stuff.

 

[a-m-k]

It was set up shortly after I got this MBA. I forget the reason why I was told (by Apple tech support) to create it. I have had this Mac since 2020,

 

[FreakinEurekan]

It was set up shortly after I got this MBA. I forget the reason why I was told (by Apple tech support) to create it. I have had this Mac since 2020,

Why not simply delete the test account, if you don’t have a use for it?

 

[a-m-k]

I think it was set up to use if I have to call for some other problem and it could be used to compare behaviors between the actual account and the test account. It's been years since I have had to use it.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I think it was set up to use if I have to call for some other problem and it could be used to compare behaviors between the actual account and the test account. It's been years since I have had to use it.

Simple enough to re-create on demand if such need would ever arise again. Trash it.

 

[Saturn007]

Agree… delete it!

 

[Ben J.]

how come the Time Machine back up is recognized on only one account?​

I guess the simple answer is; a non-administrator account is locked out from accessing certain system functions, TM among them. As mentioned, TM is backing up all accounts, but you can only access its settings from an administrator account.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

My wife has an account on my Air that she uses for work when we travel. I can't remember if it's an admin account or not, but mine is, and time machine backs up both accounts.

 

[a-m-k]

Is there anything I should check? I am not sure if it has even been backed up automatically.

 

[Ben J.]

Is there anything I should check? I am not sure if it has even been backed up automatically.

No need to check anything. TM backs up the disk, and all user accounts in the Users folder, that's a fact. A simple check would be to log in to any account, open a finder window (preferably one that has seen some activity lately) and select "Go to Time Machine". You'll be able to scroll thru time and see how the folder looked at an earlier date, and restore earlier versions of files by dragging them to the desktop f.ex.

Restore items backed up with Time Machine on Mac

On your Mac, use a Time Machine backup to retrieve lost items or recover older versions of files.

support.apple.com

 

[a-m-k]

Both accounts are administrator accounts so the test account, if needed, had access to everything the Administer account had access to.