Time Machine

[Udinpetot]

Hi guys,

can any1 enlighten me?
i just bought an external hard drive, and i want to start using time machine
but the idea is abit hard to understand.
i know how the timing works. (hourly for the past 24 hrs, daily for the past .. etc etc etc)
but im not sure if i should use time machine?
my concern is...

usually the songs i downloaded will be put into the desktop,
after i listen and i like it, i put it in the itunes library folder
each week, id probably download 2/3 albums (200mb)

so the thing i want to ask is....
during "pre backup time" i have 200mg on my desktop
during "post backup time" i moved that 200mb to music library
would it mean that i have 400mb in my time machine drive the next time back up?
if yes, is there anyway not to waste my time machine drive?

 

[kid rock]

if at exactly the moment you have just moved the music into itunes and TimeMachine backs up, then yes you will have 400mb of data instead of 200mb


If i remember correctly you can tell TimeMachine to ignore certain folders (i may be wrong here,m im at work and only have a winblows machine) create a folder on your desktop to put the music you download and tell time machine to ignore the folder for backups.


That way you will only have 200mb not 400mb

 

[kid rock]

just checked, yes i was right

have a look at this link for more info about it

Time Machine info

 

[richard.mac]

by default in Leopard downloads are put in the "Downloads" folder in your home directory but you may have changed it to your Desktop im not sure.

i have my Downloads folder excluded because as like you i usually move my downloads somewhere else and trash the ones i dont need anymore. i also have my Desktop excluded as i use it as a temporary location and dont have very important files there.

 

[Udinpetot]

Thanks guys

just 1 more question

if i got 1gb of songs in my drive, and i back it up, after i back it up i RENAME change id3 tags whatever etc etc without actaly deleteing any songs, will it back that up as new files? (2gb in total after 2 backups) ?

 

[richard.mac]

yup! probably better if you tag them before you start a backup.

 

[mysterytramp]

I'm also a noob to Time Machine ...

Can something ever be permanently (securely) deleted if Time Machine is active? Or is OS X smart enough that if you use Secure Delete, you won't want the file in your Time Machine backup either? Can files be deleted from Time Machine?

Suppose you rename a bunch of old files? For example, I just found a folder of old digital photos, all named DSCxxxxxx.jpg. If I rename them, will they appear under the old name and the new name?

mt

 

[richard.mac]

All your files are backed up (unless you specify ones not to be) every hour and so if you delete or securely delete a file before it is backed up it wont show in Time Machine. if you delete a file after it has already been backed up it can still be seen in earlier backups (back in time) but it wont be in future backups. if you rename a bunch of files Time Machine will treat them as new files and back up every one. the earlier named files are still accessible back in time.