HT201250: Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac

Learn about Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac
jennlindsay

Q: Time Machine

Does Time Machine backup iPhotos as well?  So if Im using TIme Machine with my external Hard Drive then can I delete photos off my Mac and they will still be saved onto my external HD?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2010)

Posted on Feb 23, 2015 5:54 PM

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Q: Time Machine

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  • by stedman1,

    stedman1 stedman1 Feb 23, 2015 5:58 PM in response to jennlindsay
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    Feb 23, 2015 5:58 PM in response to jennlindsay

    Yes, time machine will backup your photos. But, and this is a very important but: If you delete the photos off the main hard drive, you will no longer have a backup. You will have a single copy of your photos, this is not a backup. Also, eventually time machine will also delete these photos, leaving you with no photos.

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Feb 23, 2015 6:05 PM in response to jennlindsay
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    Feb 23, 2015 6:05 PM in response to jennlindsay
    Does Time Machine backup iPhotos as well?

    Time Machine backs up everything on your Mac......unless......you tell it not to by excluding specific files.

     

    So if Im using TIme Machine with my external Hard Drive then can I delete photos off my Mac and they will still be saved onto my external HD

    No. Having a backup plan means that you have a copy of your data on two different hard drives.  In case one drive fails, you still have a copy on the other drive.

     

    If you have your data only on one drive.......which would be the case if you delete photos from your Mac......then you have no backup plan at all.

  • by jennlindsay,

    jennlindsay jennlindsay Feb 23, 2015 6:30 PM in response to stedman1
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    Feb 23, 2015 6:30 PM in response to stedman1

    Is there any setting on Time Machine so it doesnt delete stuff?  If Im understanding correctly, after a certain time period Time Machine automatically deletes stuff, correct?  Or is it just once my hard drive is full?  Like if I back up to time machine then its inevitable my stuff will be deleted eventually?  What if there is stuff that is very old but I want to save it on my hard drive still?  I just realized I have time machine so Im a little new to all this, sorry about all the questions!  Thanks!

  • by stedman1,

    stedman1 stedman1 Feb 23, 2015 6:36 PM in response to jennlindsay
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    Feb 23, 2015 6:36 PM in response to jennlindsay

    Time Machine makes a copy of your computer's drive. If that drive contains no photos (because you've deleted them), Time Machine will make a copy that has no photos. If you have issues with a lack of space on the computer's hard drive, time machine is not a way to fix that. You need another external drive for your files.

  • by jennlindsay,

    jennlindsay jennlindsay Feb 23, 2015 7:00 PM in response to stedman1
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    Feb 23, 2015 7:00 PM in response to stedman1

    Oh so like one to transfer files to create space and one to use with time machine?  So every time, time machine does a back up does it replace the version of the drive that was previously saved?  So if I make changes to a file since previous back up it replaces it with the newer version and deletes the older? 

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Feb 24, 2015 1:28 AM in response to jennlindsay
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    Feb 24, 2015 1:28 AM in response to jennlindsay
    So if I make changes to a file since previous back up it replaces it with the newer version and deletes the older?

    Not like that..

     

    TM will keep multiple versions of the file.. but to save space it will not keep every version.. it will thin files and keep files for certain periods..

     

    Unfortunately once you delete a file it will eventually be deleted from the TM backup.. it is near impossible to know when that will be.. there are a large number of factors.. but exactly as you have been told.. you must not delete files you need.. you can move them to an external drive and select that to include in the backup.

     

    Please read up how TM actually works..

     

    http://pondini.org/TM/Works.html

     

    There are several links in there as well.

     

    As far as deleting.. to save space.

     

    Q20 http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

     

    We would all say the same thing.. NO, NO, NO.