Stop Time Machine

Question

Stop Time Machine

How do I stop Time Machine? I've already turned the switch to OFF in system preferences, but it keeps going. I have video for an old project on the same drive and once it found the drive, Time Machine has taken all of my computer's resources to do the backup I don't need right now.

Mac Core 2 Duo 2.33 Laptop, Mac OS X (10.5.8), Studio 3

Posted on Dec 15, 2010 2:44 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Dec 15, 2010 3:04 PM in response to creativestuff

TM should stop as soon as you stop it, but it can't hurt to open TM prefs, click on Options and then select No Drive from the list of available backup drives. Click the button at the bottom. It also doesn't hurt to unmount the assigned backup drive.

See User Tips for Time Machine for help with TM problems. Also you can select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for "time machine" to locate articles on how to use TM. See also Mac 101- Time Machine.

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Answer 2

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Dec 15, 2010 3:29 PM in response to creativestuff

Did you ever use +Time Machine Editor+ or a similar app, or manually edit any plists, to change Time Machine's default behavior? If so, it's still doing the last thing it was told by that app or editing.

Use the app (or re-edit) to return it to the default behavior, then turn TM off.

If you've deleted the app, download it again.

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Answer 3

Dec 15, 2010 3:45 PM in response to Pondini

I haven't done anything deliberately to alter Time Machine. The spinning Time Machine icon has stopped but the drive activity and the slow computer has not. I've got Safari and FCP open (on the project using the video on that drive). It takes minutes for the screen to update on every step. Every edit on FCP pauses with a spinning beachball--obviously is is not a workable situation. I've restarted the computer and it continues.

I asked in a previous post, over a week ago, about finding what else might have seized control of this drive. I was sent on a wild goose chase to download some lsof software that is apparently no longer available and then enter some code into it. Obviously that netted nothing.

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Answer 4

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Dec 15, 2010 4:16 PM in response to creativestuff

creativestuff wrote:
I haven't done anything deliberately to alter Time Machine. The spinning Time Machine icon has stopped

Then Time Machine isn't running, and isn't the cause of whatever's wrong.

Are there Time Machine backups on the drive? If so, and you don't need them, delete them.

Exclude the drive from any anti-virus software.

Also exclude it, at least temporarily, from Spotlight Indexing, via +System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy.+

I've got Safari and FCP open (on the project using the video on that drive). It takes minutes for the screen to update on every step. Every edit on FCP pauses with a spinning beachball--obviously is is not a workable situation. I've restarted the computer and it continues.

I don't use FCP. Is the drive formatted properly for FCP? Is it USB, F/W400, or F/W800? Did it ever work well on that drive?

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