Transfer Time Machine data to Time Capsule?

[DaveF]

My 160GB Time Machine drive is filling up and will need replacement in a few months. If I buy a Time Capsule, can I transfer my existing Time Machine backup to it, so I don't have to start all over?

This is easy with a second USB hard drive and SuperDuper!. But I don't know about Time Capsule.

 

[Batt]

I couldn't figure out a way to do it. I just started fresh with TC.

 

[gwsat]

Unless there is a particular reason you want to retain them, I wouldn’t worry about my old backup files, either. The best bet, it seems to me, would be to backup your computer’s hard drive to your Time Capsule but exclude the old backup files. Then, if the backup to the TC is successful, just delete your old backup files.

 

[DaveF]

Unless there is a particular reason you want to retain them, I wouldn’t worry about my old backup files, either. The best bet, it seems to me, would be to backup your computer’s hard drive to your Time Capsule but exclude the old backup files. Then, if the backup to the TC is successful, just delete your old backup files.

Well, I particularly want to keep my backup files. Isn't that what one does with backups, keep them in case they're needed? If I didn't want to keep old versions of files, I wouldn't use Time Machine at all.

It seems obvious to me that people would want a way to transfer an existing Time Machine backup when upgrading to a larger hard drive. I'm surprised Apple doesn't provide a way to do this for Time Capsule.

If I really want to use Time Capsule, I can start fresh, and put my current drive in storage. If it's needed, I can put reconnect it and access the old Time machine archive. But that's a nuisance and doesn't have the same warm fuzzy as a wholly continuous Time Machine backup does.

 

[gwsat]

Well, I particularly want to keep my backup files. Isn't that what one does with backups, keep them in case they're needed? If I didn't want to keep old versions of files, I wouldn't use Time Machine at all.

It seems obvious to me that people would want a way to transfer an existing Time Machine backup when upgrading to a larger hard drive. I'm surprised Apple doesn't provide a way to do this for Time Capsule.

If I really want to use Time Capsule, I can start fresh, and put my current drive in storage. If it's needed, I can put reconnect it and access the old Time machine archive. But that's a nuisance and doesn't have the same warm fuzzy as a wholly continuous Time Machine backup does.

I use backups only to have them available in the event of disaster, that is to say, until and unless the hard disk on my computer fails. I keep incremental versions of stuff I want to retain on the computer hard drive, not in backup files. Thus, I have no reason to want any backups but the current ones. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I suppose you could restore stuff you were interested in keeping from your old backups to your computer’s hard drive and then back it up to your TC, but I have to leave it to you to explain why doing so would be important.

 

[DaveF]

I use backups only to have them available in the event of disaster, that is to say, until and unless the hard disk on my computer fails. I keep incremental versions of stuff I want to retain on the computer hard drive, not in backup files. Thus, I have no reason to want any backups but the current ones. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I suppose you could restore stuff you were interested in keeping from your old backups to your computer’s hard drive and then back it up to your TC, but I have to leave it to you to explain why doing so would be important.

I don't use TM as a rolling revision system. But it is useful in case of unexpected data loss. Last month some photos mysteriously vanished from iPhoto. I used Time Machine and dialed back until I found an intact copy of them. Had I only kept the last backup, and nothing before, I would have only had a backup with missing photos. I had to go several backups backwards to find the photos.

 

[wentwj]

What I'd do is keep your old backup's around then until you've gone long enough that your sure you won't need those old backups. Unless you need that 160gb right away, it doesn't seem like it's crucial that you get rid of the old backups... Of course I guess it calls into question exactly if you NEED a more space. As others have mentioned the purpose of Time Machine isn't generally to have an infinite revision, you are meant to fill up your back up disk and lose old data.

A back up is simply meant to save you in the case of disaster. It can help you out if you've accidently deleted a file a week ago, but you shouldn't count on it to help you with that file you deleted a year ago.

 

[SVT Amateur]

Dave, I just hooked up my Time Capsule today and am running a backup right now but it would seem to me you could copy your backup files using Finder from your old drive to your new Time Capsule drive.

 

[DaveF]

Dave, I just hooked up my Time Capsule today and am running a backup right now but it would seem to me you could copy your backup files using Finder from your old drive to your new Time Capsule drive.

A standard copy won't work on Time Machine data. SuperDuper will do the exact copy needed to move a TimeMachine archive from one drive to another.

I don't know if that will work to move the archive to a Time Capsule

 

[SVT Amateur]

DaveF, I was playing with the settings for Time Capsule on my Macbook Pro and think I've found what you are needing. If you run AirPort Utility on your Mac, choose your Time Capsule and select manual setup, you then will have access to a lot of options for your Time Capsule. You can then click on the Disks icon and an option on your Time Capsule disk will be to archive. The description states "Select Archive to transfer the data from your Time Capsule disk to an AirPort disk connected via USB.

 

[balk]

This tutorial explains how to do it with a sparsebundle image (skip to point 4) so I think it should also be possible to do it with two attached disks

My guess would be:
- turn off TM
- connect the drive
**
- start Disk Utility
- do the partitioning you like (Mac OS Extended Journalled)
- click in the left pane on the target partition
- go to the tab <Restore>
- Drag the old partition in the Source and the new partition in the Destination field
- Click restore and wait
- Disconnect the old drive
- turn on TM
- let TM do a first backup, if it is a fairly small amount of data you succeeded!
- come back here and tell us if it worked.

disclaimer: I never tried this so you are on your own!

Ooh, I cannot read... Time Capsule != USB attached
But maybe it is not so much different:
Initialize TC so that it makes a sparsebundle, stop the backup
Go to the TC and mount the sparsebundle by double clicking it
go to ** above and do the copy. Alternatively, user SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.