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When I enter Time Machine, it brings up a Finder window with "ghost" Finder windows containing older backups behind it. To their immediate right is a pair of arrows just above and below "Today (Now)". When I click either of them, TM moves a random number of backups forward or backward. Is there some rhyme or reason for this? What criteria is it using for how many backups to skip? TIA.
iMac 24″, macOS 12.6
Hi betaneptune,
Here's some information from the About Time Machine local snapshots resource you might find helpful:
"How often local snapshots are saved
Time Machine saves one snapshot of your startup disk approximately every hour, and keeps it for 24 hours. It keeps an additional snapshot of your last successful Time Machine backup until space is needed. And in macOS High Sierra or later, another snapshot is saved before installing any macOS update."
You can find more information in the article linked above. We hope this helps.
Take care.
Hello betaneptune,
The arrows should skip to files from other Time Machine backups as mentioned in this resource: Recover files using Time Machine and Spotlight on Mac – Apple Support
If you still have questions, reach out to Apple Support directly, as this may require closer guidance: Get Support
Cheers!
Lager1 wrote:
Hello betaneptune,
The arrows should skip to files from other Time Machine backups as mentioned in this resource: Recover files using Time Machine and Spotlight on Mac – Apple Support
Does not answer my question.
If you still have questions, reach out to Apple Support directly, as this may require closer guidance: Get Support
Cheers!
I just went through a long chat session at your suggestion. First I was hooked up to an iOS tech. Took a few exchanges to get that figured out. Then to a macOS tech. Never got an answer. Just endless requests for screenshots and version and serial numbers. And you can't take a screenshot while in Time Machine, and neither tech knew that. They just kept either asking for screenshots I can't take, which something is on the ones I could (???), and that you can browse the backups. I kept trying to get the focus on the NUMBER OF SCREENS SKIPPED. But all I got is that you can skip screens. Yes, I know that. That's not the question, and round and round and round. I could try the phone, but it would likely be the same thing. I might. But it appears that I will have to go to an Apple Store and demonstrate my question in person. Oh, I even asked if the tech had a mac in front of them. They did, but that wasn't enough. He just said the same thing, that I could use the timeline to browse backups. Maybe the tech was just "toying" with me, I'd say more, but [Ow, my tongue!].
Hey betaneptune,
What you may be seeing as a random number of days may be just how Time Machine works in the way that it makes and prunes previous backups. Below is a bit of text that explains when the backups occur and what might cause them to be purged:
"Backup frequency and duration
Time Machine makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup disk is full.
Beginning with macOS Ventura, you can change the backup frequency: Open Time Machine settings, click Options, then choose a setting from the “Back up frequency” menu.
The first backup might take a long time, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster. “
This info comes from Back up your Mac with Time Machine and from it we learn that when those hourly, weekly, and monthly backups are created, only the files or folders that have changed will be backed up. Since not every file is backed up every day, there won't be an entry on those arrows for every time that a backup is completed. This can lead to some files having what appears to be an irregular backup history, especially if those files aren't changed periodically.
Hopefully that adds a bit of clarity to what you're seeing.
Be well.
Well, it helps with another issue I've been wondering about: Local snapshots and disk space. If I read this correctly, the free space given by Disk Utility is not what I should pay attention to. Available space is. But there's that "purgeable" bit. Still confused, then. Is that documented anywhere?
But it doesn't tell me what those arrows do. All I know is that they skip what appears to be a random number of backups or "snapshots."
I used to think that, but it doesn't pass my tests. Also, the program hasn't worked so well lately. It failed badly to find files that are definitely there, and it showed them for a split second each time. No, sir, I don't like it!
Also, I have Monterey. The Snazzy guy said he's not upgrading to Ventura because he says the system settings are so, uh, not so good.
In Time Machine, what do the arrows just above "Today (Now)" do? Seems random.
