amiejane23

Q: Time Machine Backing Up Too Much

Hi there,

 

I recently bought a 2TB Time Capsule and started backing up my MacBook Pro using Time Machine. When first installed, I caused an issue with the process and after TM had been working perfectly, backing up every hour I changed the name of the Time Capsule and things went awry even though I tried to change the name back. I reset the Time Capsule to its factory settings, deleted all the previous back up data, relinked it to my Mac and started the initial back up again.

 

All appears fine but now Time Machine is backing up multiple times an hour and at random intervals, sometimes without being scheduled. It doesn't seem to be duplicating files or taking up additional storage space on the Time Capsule, so it's more of an annoyance as there are multiple windows when I enter Time Machine. There are also 2 or 3 for each day over 24 hours ago. I have it set to only back up when plugged in. I don't think there is an issue with my power cable/adaptor.

 

Any advice? Many thanks.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), Time Machine

Posted on Aug 23, 2016 6:55 AM

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Q: Time Machine Backing Up Too Much

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  • by LaPastenague,Solvedanswer

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Aug 28, 2016 10:54 AM in response to amiejane23
    Level 9 (52,290 points)
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    Aug 28, 2016 10:54 AM in response to amiejane23

    Time Machine is designed to backup to local disk if the normal backup target is disconnected.

     

    I recommend you do a reset of Time Machine.

     

    See A4 here. It is old but the method is still valid.

     

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

     

    Then reconfigure it for backup to your TC.

     

    Turn off backups when the target is disconnected.

     

    See http://pondini.org/TM/30.html

     

    IMHO it can be well worth considering purchasing Carbon Copy Cloner or another backup software. Turn off Time Machine and use something that is more reliable and more controllable. It can backup to the TC just as TM does.

  • by amiejane23,

    amiejane23 amiejane23 Aug 28, 2016 10:56 AM in response to LaPastenague
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Wireless
    Aug 28, 2016 10:56 AM in response to LaPastenague

    Brilliant - the reset has worked and Time Machine now seems to be behaving. I have also looked into Carbon Copy Cloner and it seems an excellent alternative, which i shall definitely consider as well as a cloud based back up too. Huge thanks!