How do I create a Time Machine schedule for backups?

Question

How do I create a Time Machine schedule for backups?

How do I create a Time Machine schedule for backups? I have a MacBook Pro and an external drive for Time Machine backups. However, I don't like keeping the external drive connected at all times (I don't have a lot of room on my desk). So I would like to be able to create my own schedule on a certain date every month, say on the 15th of each month, to hook up my external drive and use Time Machine to backup my files. (Right now, I get messages saying that my Time Machine backup "failed," because it has a default schedule on it, I guess.)

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5), Time Machine - scheduling problem

Posted on Dec 4, 2012 11:21 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

BDAqua

Level 10

238,991 points

Dec 4, 2012 11:38 PM in response to Marsha Boutelle

Hi Marsha,

TM is the most catankerous & worst Backup App I've ever run accross. 😟

But...

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_create_time_machine_backup_reminder_al ert

http://www.markwheadon.com/blog/2009/03/changing-time-machine-backup-schedule/

http://timesoftware.free.fr/timemachineeditor/

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Answer 2

Dec 7, 2012 3:41 PM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for your tips.

It hadn't occurred to me that I can turn Time Machine OFF and then just do backups when I want to.

I found this at: http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/10_tips_using_time_machine#slide-1

Even if you have Time Machine switched off, you can still use it to back up using the menu bar icon. Click the icon, then click Back Up Now to perform a manual backup. However, it’s best to enable Time Machine’s automatic backups. To set this up, go to Time Machine > System Preferences and switch Time Machine’s status to On. It will now automatically maintain backups of your content every hour for one day, every day for a month, and weekly beyond that.

So I'm going to turn TM off.

Marsha

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

238,991 points

Dec 7, 2012 3:49 PM in response to Marsha Boutelle

Good work, thanks for the tip Marsha! 🙂

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