Time Machine no see external Airport AEBS drive -- need incremental backup solution

[Orange Gringo]

I have a Mac Book Pro. Due to the total amount of files and data, I keep my media files on an external drive connected via USB to my Airport AEBS. Of course, I connect wirelessly to the AEBS.

I use Time Machine to back up my computer onto an second external drive also connected to my AEBS in the same fashion.

However, TM does not allow me to choose the files or folders from the external AEBS drive containing all of my media files to also incrementally back them up using Time Machine.

It should. I wish it would. Why won't it? Can I make it work that way? If so, how?

TM is the best incremental backup program I've seen. I really want to back up my media that way. But I don't want to tether my laptop by connecting an external drive directly to it, and I don't have the space to store my media files directly on my laptop. Arghh.

If Time Machine is not my answer, what is?

Before you answer with either SuperDuper or CCC, are you SURE those programs will recognize a drive I have connected to my Macbook wirelessly through the AEBS?

I would assume there are many, many other users out there with this same problem.

 

[macunwired]

Question

What exactly do you mean by incremental backups?

Some people use it to refer to backing up any changes made to files (but only the newest version of the file is backed-up). Other people use it when referring to what time machine does (back up multiple copies of the same file so you can go "back in time" and recover files you made changes to etc).

 

[Orange Gringo]

What exactly do you mean by incremental backups?

Some people use it to refer to backing up any changes made to files (but only the newest version of the file is backed-up). Other people use it when referring to what time machine does (back up multiple copies of the same file so you can go "back in time" and recover files you made changes to etc).

Thanks for asking that so I can be more clear: I am afraid I used the term both ways:

When referring to alternatives to TM, I was using the term to mean an original backup of all data, followed by incremental backups ONLY of information that has changed since the last backup such that the backup itself is only a copy of the most recent and complete data set, but that complete data set was achienved in the most efficient backup possible.

When I was referring to loving TM's backup features, I meant the recurring backups. But I guess even TM uses the incremental backup technology to get to the "by date" backup/restore features it has that are so cool.

 

[Orange Gringo]

No one has a solution? Sad. It always seems I am using my Mac differently than everyone else and have different needs.

Blows my mind that others with external drive attached to Airport Xtreme don't want to remotely backup that drive to protect the data on it.