Is there a safe way to change the default time interval for Time Machine backups?
I don't do that much work on my computer and don't really need Time Machine to backup more than, say, once every 6 hours or so.
Many thanks for any help.
iMac 27″, macOS 11.0
No, it is best to just let TM run the way it was designed to. When users begin monkeying with TM that is when you get in trouble. The key to having a reliable TM experience is to use a high quality EHD and let TM run as it was designed to out of the box.
No, it is best to just let TM run the way it was designed to. When users begin monkeying with TM that is when you get in trouble. The key to having a reliable TM experience is to use a high quality EHD and let TM run as it was designed to out of the box.
Since I have your attention, may I trouble you with another Time Machine related question?
Could you cogitate on this & let me know what you think?
Up to last Sunday my 2017 iMac was running Catalina.
I purchased a 500 GB external SSD, cloned my MacintoshHD to that SSD and then updated the SSD to Big Sur.
All is going well; so well that I am tempted to continue to remain booted from that SSD as it’s somewhat faster than the MacintoshHD which is a HDD and not an SSD.
That leave me with a 1TB MacintoshHD on my iMac and the decision of what to do with it.
I thought that I would erase it, partition it into two 500 GB partitions, use one partition for my routine cloning of the external SSD and use the other for 500 GB partition for a Time Machine backup for a 2013 MB Pro running Mojave, which my wife & I use together in another part of the house.
The problem is, how does one connect that 2013 MB Pro to the MacintoshHD once a week to do the cloning?
I found this Apple Support document:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202784
In it there is this section:
Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination. Might that work for me?
Here's hoping you have time to address this and thank you in advance.
It is a VERY bad idea to use one drive for both Time Machine and cloning, the reason being is if that drive fails (and they can) then you have lost ALL of your backup and totally hosed yourself. I would buy a good quality external hard drive for doing your Time Machine backups, these are recommended by experienced users:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-mercury-elite-pro
Then use your SSD as a bootable backup. Without knowing the connections the SSD has and the MBP has I can't say what I'd recommend but USB 3 is likely your best option.
Thanks you sir! Will keep my grubby little fingers from messing with things best left alone. My thanks.
Your welcome.
Got it and thank you once again. Very kind of you to take the time to respond.
Your welcome and good luck!
Change the default time interval for Time Machine backups
