Time Machine do you trust it

[Black_Mage]

I absolutely trust Time Machine. The other day, I realized I forgot to copy files from an old deleted account to the new account. I had that sense of dread when you think you lost data. Then I remembered to check Time Machine and I was able to restore my files. Time Machine is a backup solution that just works.

However, I don’t rely on just Time Machine. I have a much bigger external SSD that I use for backups and storage, and I manage the files manually. I also have another big SSD that I occasionally update as my offsite backup.

 

[mw360]

I feel I didn’t/haven’t properly explained.

The smaller of my TM drives was created in mid December 2025 but the oldest backup is now late March 2026.
View attachment 2627357
However, I can see what would have been, what was backed up in late December via the larger capacity (4TB) drive.


In the following demo, I briefly highlight a similar example file as before, then unmount the larger drive, and return to Time Machine. As I step/jump through the timeline (i.e., snapshots), notice how the example file no longer appears in any instance on the smaller drive, which has had to trim itself several times since its creation.

View attachment 2627358

Anyway… I’ll leave it at that as this specific discussion probably should have its own thread if taken further.

Actually I think you're right in that, while folder can't be removed anymore, whole snapshots should get deleted at some point, supposedly getting rid of deleted files, but it's not happening on this SSD in front of me which has been full for weeks despite being 2x the size of the data its responsible for backing up.

 

[boppin]

Hi there,

Honestly, I didn't used Time Machine. I backup my files by copying to another drive manually. And so often the data weren't change that much. And I don't need to be saved of all data and passwords and whatever. Except when you need your Mac for business purposes then I suggest use Time Machine, but for private use? I don't think so. Would be used up too many space like music.

 

[Aves]

It saved my

Spoiler

(sweet)

ass countless times....

From missing files to full backup recovery.

Countless times.

 

[Ignacio Russo]

So are you saying to have to install Mac OS first then restore from TM is that how you do it I have never done anything like this

I had the same issue. Besides that it worked. I'm keeping a loooot of clutter.

 

[boppin]

Countless times.

And what the hell are you doing? 🤔

 

[Black_Mage]

Meanwhile, in the land of MicroSlop.....

KB5083769 April 2026 Update Breaks VSS Backups on Windows 11 24H2/25H2

Microsoft’s April 14, 2026 cumulative security update KB5083769 for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 is reportedly causing third-party backup failures tied to Volume Shadow Copy Service timeouts, with Acronis, Macrium, NinjaOne, and UrBackup users among those reporting trouble. The...

windowsforum.com

Wow. Just wow. How many times can a company shoot their own feet?

 

[clarencek]

Don’t trust it and one two occasions tried to restore and it failed. It got corrupted or something. I keep everything on iCloud Drive so that salvaged most of my data but it’s really not reliable at all.

 

[WebHead]

After 15 years it let me down a few months back, but it was partially my fault.

I had a slowly failing startup drive (like, over 18 months) and I expected TM to alert me when it could no longer read it. Instead it just copied what it could and I ended up losing the rest.

(By sheer chance my most critical data survived, probably because it wasn't on frequently rewritten sectors)

 

[Aves]

And what the hell are you doing? 🤔

Weeeeeeeeell you know, I have been using Time Machine since Time Capsule launched, I tend to get a bit distracted when busy so it came very handy mostly for recovering missing files. Last time a few months ago!

I was able to recover notes that I lost.

 

[Happy_John]

Don’t trust it and one two occasions tried to restore and it failed. It got corrupted or something. I keep everything on iCloud Drive so that salvaged most of my data but it’s really not reliable at all.

Not the same thing. Time Machine is an incremental backup solution. iCloud is a syncing solution. You've no incremental "wayback" with iCloud Drive.

It doesn't have to be Time Machine, but you really do need a "proper" incremental backup solution.

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

Time Machine stopped including a full backup of macOS quite a few years ago (since the introduction of the SSV). You have to reinstall the macOS version you want to go back to and then migrate your data.

Why would you even want to? Honestly, the default backup scope today is far too broad. Depending on what happens on the machine on any given day (app installs, app upgrades, os updates, etc) the daily backup snapshot can be dozens or even hundreds of gigs. So I just exclude pretty much anything that isn't my data or docs. Maybe I'm using it wrong, but in file restoration scenario, or even a full system recovery, why in the world do I need a copy of /Library/SystemExtensions/1AF0C5D7-405E-4FE4-B494-B37B53740A01/com.fortinet.forticlient.macos.vpn.nwextension.systemextension ?? I'm just going to reinstall the FortiClient anyway.

 

[Happy_John]

Why would you even want to? Honestly, the default backup scope today is far too broad. Depending on what happens on the machine on any given day (app installs, app upgrades, os updates, etc) the daily backup snapshot can be dozens or even hundreds of gigs. So I just exclude pretty much anything that isn't my data or docs. Maybe I'm using it wrong, but in file restoration scenario, or even a full system recovery, why in the world do I need a copy of /Library/SystemExtensions/1AF0C5D7-405E-4FE4-B494-B37B53740A01/com.fortinet.forticlient.macos.vpn.nwextension.systemextension ?? I'm just going to reinstall the FortiClient anyway.

The basic pemise is "back up everything". You don't need to restore everything, but it makes a lot more sense to backup up files you might not ever need then to not back up files you may never need. It's ALWASY better to have something you don't need than not having something you do need.

Storage has got significantly more expensive, but it's still the case of backing up the entirety of a system is a smarter choice than only keep partial backups.

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

The basic pemise is "back up everything". You don't need to restore everything, but it makes a lot more sense to backup up files you might not ever need then to not back up files you may never need. It's ALWASY better to have something you don't need than not having something you do need.

Storage has got significantly more expensive, but it's still the case of backing up the entirety of a system is a smarter choice than only keep partial backups.

I can't fault that logic in a vacuum. In practice, the long runtimes of the jobs and large backup sizes bugged me when I dug into what was being backed up and knew that there is virtually no chance that I'd ever need (or even be able to use at all, honestly) a very large portion of it. In practice, I'd sit down at my desk at 8:30 on Monday, check email, then get up for a staff meeting at 9 only to find that my backup drive won't eject because there's a backup running and its at 35%.

So, yeah, I'll concede that its mostly a me problem. But also, gun to their head, I doubt that Apple themselves would have much use for some random file in /System from a month ago.... they'd just tell you to repair.

 

[SkweeBop]

Once they stopped letting me have a time machine backup and simultaneous normal use of the drive, I said goodbye to time machine.

 

[splifingate]

I've been stung by a wasp, and bit by TM...

...wasps make more sense to me 😉

 

[wilberforce]

I use TM because it is convenient but I do not solely rely on it. About a dozen times in ten years I have had corrupted backups (failed verification). Whether this is the fault of TM or the drive(s), I don’t know. (Despite using NAS grade drives.) Haven’t had it fail for several years now, but my confidence is not high. I suggest use it but not 100% rely on it (same goes for any backup method).

 

[MacHeritage]

I have had Time Machine lose the plot on a single external back up drive often enough to not rely on it alone.

It is *a* backup source, I would not rely on it as your only backup.

Agree. That is why I also use SuperDuper! A full backup by SuperDuper! was the only thing that saved me when TM failed for some reason.

 

[throAU]

Agree. That is why I also use SuperDuper! A full backup by SuperDuper! was the only thing that saved me when TM failed for some reason.

Yeah whether it is a different product or multiple disks: just do not rely on a single Time Machine disk.

 

[edubfromktown]

For restoring individual/selected files or dorectories from past backups, sure.

I've used Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) since the mid-2000's to create full backups prior to installing major updates and at times, before applying dot releases too.

In a pinch I've done full restores (mostly of other peoples systems) with TM though find it to be much slower than CCC.

 

[dizmonk]

I have had Time Machine lose the plot on a single external back up drive often enough to not rely on it alone.

It is *a* backup source, I would not rely on it as your only backup. I work from iCloud mostly so thats one level, Time Machine is another, important stuff on my NAS is another...

I can't deal with NAS... I do mostly what you do. Work from iCloud and have multiple TM backups to different SSDs.

 

[dizmonk]

Same idea. Time Machine is great for retrieving the last good version of a file you just screwed up, or that you need to see an older version of.

A formal backup somewhere else for the case the whole OS goes down or the SSD/HDD dies horribly is still needed. Even with versioning turned on the formal backup won't have this morning's work, and Time Machine is tied to the current OS/Mac, and if you have TM on a partition of the same Mac, well, it's not crash proof.

My main beef with TM is actually the visual layout. It's very confusing, counterintuitive and unnecessarily confusing.

 

[dizmonk]

Once they stopped letting me have a time machine backup and simultaneous normal use of the drive, I said goodbye to time machine.

I have no idea what this means. I'm working on my MBA, with an external SSD plugged in for time machine backups. I'm working fine.

 

[Fishrrman]

diz wrote in reply 97 above:
"My main beef with TM is actually the visual layout. It's very confusing, counterintuitive and unnecessarily confusing."

Another reason why a cloned backup (from CCC or SD) is superior.

The cloned backup is "just another drive" as far as the finder is concerned. It looks just like the source drive. It mounts right on the desktop as would any other drive.

If you know where something is on your source drive, then you know where it is on the cloned backup, because "it's in the same place".

Also agreed with another poster above that doing a restore (or simply a migration) using migration assistant or setup assistant will go faster if you use a cloned backup.

Those posters who claim that tm is better because it saves "previous versions" are ignorant of CCC's "safety net" feature. It keeps copies of old (changed) files around, but "apart from" the cloned backup...

 

[Le Big Mac]

It's been a bit, but I have restored two laptops using TM (i.e., old laptop drive was destroyed and used TM to load onto replacement).

It is definitely finicky, especially on network drive. But I am mainly worried about the most recent backup . . . if I have to restart backups from scratch ever year or so I don't really care that I've lost a backup from 3 years ago.

But, for various reasons including admonitions upthread, I now have two backups. One using an offsite HDD that I bring home every few weeks.