my old files disappeared using time machine

Question

my old files disappeared using time machine

I backed up my Macbook Pro 3 weeks ago using Time Machine. Today I went after old files (more than 4 years) and they weren't there. Did TM erase my files?

Macbook Pro Intel, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Jul 13, 2012 11:27 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 13, 2012 11:42 AM in response to Marco Barreto

Is the Time Machine disk where your files are stored full or nearly so? If it is then Time Machine may have deleted the older files to make room for newer back ups.

Time Machine is not meant to be an archival utility (i.e. keep copies of old files forever). It is meant to provide back up and restore capability for your most current files. If you want to keep a file for the long term either don't delete it or archive it on another drive or optical disc.

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Answer 2

Jul 13, 2012 11:44 AM in response to Martin Pace

No, it's not nearly full. It is a 500GB HD and my files are close to 200GB.

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Answer 3

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Jul 13, 2012 6:31 PM in response to Marco Barreto

As Martin says, Time Machine is not a permanent archive.

It will delete it's copies of things that are no longer on your system, sooner or later. Depending on when backups were done, that may be in as little as 24 hours or as long as there's room on your TM drive.

See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #20.

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