Question on Time Machine

[komatsu]

If you have a Time Machine backup which states March 2017. Then beside this is written
"last updated 1hour ago"

Does this mean that the Time Machine has been backing up incrementally on top of a backup performed in March 2017.

How safe is this if it ever had to be restored?

 

[Fishrrman]

I believe that if you restore, it will give you "the latest backup".

Suggestion:
Try CarbonCopyCloner as a second backup.
It's free to download and use for 30 days:
Carbon Copy Cloner - Download

A CCC backup -ALWAYS- represents "the state of your drive" at the moment it was last backed up.
You can boot from it, as well -- right into the finder. It will behave "just as" your internal drive does.
Then copy back one file, several files, folders -- or RE-clone the entire drive back to your internal drive.

 

[komatsu]

Does CCC work with a Time Capsule over WiFi?
and what is your experience of CCC purging old backups?

 

[Fishrrman]

"Does CCC work with a Time Capsule over WiFi?"

No, not to my knowledge.
It works with external drives that you plug in (USB3 drive is fine).

"and what is your experience of CCC purging old backups?"

When you run CCC for the first time, it will completely "clone" your internal drive to the backup.
Afterwards, when you run it, it will "incrementally update" the backup -- so it always remains AN EXACT COPY of the source drive.

There are no "old backups".
However, you can set CCC up so that it "archives changed files" (keeps the changed files in a separate folder).
I don't use this.
I want my cloned backup to represent "my drive as it existed at the moment of backup".
That's all.

I understand that CCC can be set up to run "in the background" at pre-set intervals, but I never use this feature either.

I just:
1. connect my backup
2. run CCC
3. disconnect my backup and store it away.

Works for me.

 

[komatsu]

ok thanks FM!