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User profile for user: JOHN PAGE
JOHN PAGE Author
User level: Level 1
15 points

How To Transfer Time Machine Backup to New Drive

On our School's wired network, there's a MacPro that has four internal hard drives. One is a 1 Terabyte drive dedicated to three different computer's TM backups. It has worked flawlessly for quite a while now. However, it is starting to get full and I would like to swap it for a 2 terabyte drive. How can I copy the TM backup to it and then have the computers that backup to it see the new drive as their backup drive and have the switch be basically invisible? Can I merely copy all the data to the new drive and have it be recognized?

I have looked at some very old posts that suggested using SuperDuper! and I have it, but I'm wondering if there is another way. This must be a common enough issue that there is an Apple way of doing it without the need of 3rd party software.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.1), MacPro 3 GS iPhone

Posted on Sep 25, 2009 4:53 PM

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42 replies
User profile for user: KeithEllis
KeithEllis
User level: Level 1
45 points

Sep 26, 2009 6:02 AM in response to V.K.

I have a similar problem, however my external drive is connected to my Airport Extreme. The drive contains a .sparsebundle file. This file seems to be a container file with a file size set to that of my old smaller hard drive. When I copy the old disk to the new one using the restore function of Disk Utility the .sparsebundle file is still restricted to the size of the old hard drive and thus I am not gaining any benifit to upgrading the hard drive.

Does anyone know how I can get over this problem. Thank you.
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Sep 26, 2009 7:24 AM in response to Binu Varghese

Binu Varghese wrote:
does this really work? have you tired it?


Yes, on a small set of backups. It does take quite a while (either way), but it works. The copied backups are recognized properly (you must do a +Change Disk+ of course).

It's no faster than using the Restore tab of Disk Utility, and the Leopard Finder will not copy them properly; only Snow Leopard's Finder works.
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Sep 26, 2009 7:40 AM in response to KeithEllis

KeithEllis wrote:
I have a similar problem, however my external drive is connected to my Airport Extreme. The drive contains a .sparsebundle file. This file seems to be a container file with a file size set to that of my old smaller hard drive. When I copy the old disk to the new one using the restore function of Disk Utility the .sparsebundle file is still restricted to the size of the old hard drive and thus I am not gaining any benifit to upgrading the hard drive.

Does anyone know how I can get over this problem. Thank you.


I've not had a chance to try it yet, but in theory you might be able to create a new sparsebundle with the max size you want, then use the Snow Leopard Finder to copy the Backups.backupdb folder from the old sparse bundle into the new one.

If you try this, be sure not to disturb the old one until you're *absolutely sure* the new one works properly; you can do new backups to it, see and restore from both old and new backups via TM. And let us know if it works.
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User profile for user: V.K.
V.K.
User level: Level 9
56,174 points

Sep 26, 2009 7:42 AM in response to Pondini

Pondini wrote:
Binu Varghese wrote:
does this really work? have you tired it?


Yes, on a small set of backups. It does take quite a while (either way), but it works. The copied backups are recognized properly (you must do a +Change Disk+ of course).

interesting. thanks for sharing. definitely not something I would have tried myself.
It's no faster than using the Restore tab of Disk Utility, and the Leopard Finder will not copy them properly; only Snow Leopard's Finder works.
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Sep 26, 2009 7:51 AM in response to V.K.

V.K. wrote:
Pondini wrote:
Binu Varghese wrote:
does this really work? have you tired it?


Yes, on a small set of backups. It does take quite a while (either way), but it works. The copied backups are recognized properly (you must do a +Change Disk+ of course).

interesting. thanks for sharing. definitely not something I would have tried myself.


Neither would I, after all the folks that got messed-up by trying it in Leopard, but I got a message a couple of weeks ago from a Host here, that they'd changed my FAQ User Tip, because an Apple engineer said it would work. So I tried it, and they were right!

But they also said TM would no longer do a full backup after a full restore, so I tried that, and, at least for me, on a new set of directly-attached backups, they were wrong! So I changed that part of the Tip back. Still awaiting clarification . . .
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Sep 26, 2009 8:37 AM in response to V.K.

V.K. wrote:
actually, I also did a full restore of snow leopard and it did NOT do a full backup afterwards. I wonder what's going on here.


Yeah, that would happen under Leopard, too: sometimes a full backup (always for me on my old PPC iMac), sometimes not for other folks.

I directly-attached my GUID drive via USB, erased a +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ partition, did a full backup, then one small incremental, then did the restore and a backup. No old Leopard backups, no lost time in between, no updates, nothing else in the meantime.

And of course, when I put the drive back on my AEBS and selected the partition with the previous sparse bundle backups (but only from SL), another full backup.

Maybe I'll hear something from Apple one of these days . . .
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User profile for user: KeithEllis
KeithEllis
User level: Level 1
45 points

Sep 26, 2009 2:00 PM in response to Pondini

With regard to the .sparsebundle file not increasing in size to allow it to be used on a larger backup drive. There is an option in Disk Utility to resize the .sparsebundle file. I will give this ago to see if this works and let you know.

Does anyone know why I have .sparsebundle files on by Time Machine backup drives, is it because my drives are attached via an Airport Extreme?
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Sep 26, 2009 2:06 PM in response to KeithEllis

KeithEllis wrote:
With regard to the .sparsebundle file not increasing in size to allow it to be used on a larger backup drive. There is an option in Disk Utility to resize the .sparsebundle file. I will give this ago to see if this works and let you know.


I'd never seen that (looked everywhere, I thought!). Yes, that should work.

Does anyone know why I have .sparsebundle files on by Time Machine backup drives, is it because my drives are attached via an Airport Extreme?


Yes. Whether you back-up wirelessly or via an Ethernet cable, TM puts your backups in a sparse bundle.
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User profile for user: Benny B
Benny B
User level: Level 1
49 points

Sep 26, 2009 6:14 PM in response to JOHN PAGE

Anyone want to help dumb this down for me? I got a new larger hard drive and want to move my old Time Machine drive over to the new one. I erased the new one using Disk Utility and followed the FAQ to do the Restore to move the old drive. I get a "Could not validate source - Bad file descriptor" error and it doesn't go further. I'm already switched over to 10.6.1 - does that have something to do with it? If I use the Finder to move it over do I just take all the folders and move them over, rename the drive and fire up TM? Thanks for any info.
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User profile for user: Pondini
Pondini
User level: Level 8
38,863 points

Sep 26, 2009 6:34 PM in response to Benny B

Benny B wrote:
Anyone want to help dumb this down for me? I got a new larger hard drive and want to move my old Time Machine drive over to the new one. I erased the new one using Disk Utility and followed the FAQ to do the Restore to move the old drive. I get a "Could not validate source - Bad file descriptor" error and it doesn't go further.


You need to do a +*Repair Disk+* (not permissions) on the old drive. If DU repairs some error(s) but not all, run it again (and again) until it either repairs them all or can't fix any more. If it can't fix them all, post back for options.

I'm already switched over to 10.6.1 - does that have something to do with it? If I use the Finder to move it over do I just take all the folders and move them over, rename the drive and fire up TM?


No, don't try that until you get the old backups repaired. The Finder won't be able to copy them, either. And you must copy the entire Backups.backupdb folder.

Oh, and please update your profile ... 10.4.10?
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How To Transfer Time Machine Backup to New Drive

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