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TM backup file sizes...are they smaller than the drives they are backing up to?

Hello to all. Using TM for the first time. Had used a thunderbolt drive [1 TB] to back up my iMac's internal drive [500 GB]. The data on the iMac is 317 GB whereas, after the backup was completed, the thunderbolt drive has only 233 GB of data. I scoured all the individual folders and found a discrepancy in only one folder: that of the final cut projects. The Mac has 68 GB in this folder but the backup folder contains only 6 GB.


Can anyone let me know what is going wrong?


Thanks in advance.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5), garage band, FCPX:10.0.6 version

Posted on Jan 22, 2013 6:01 AM

Reply
10 replies

Jan 22, 2013 8:39 AM in response to somanna

You can restore that Time Machine backup to any drive connected to your Mac. An internal or external. Once it is restored you can startup the computer from that drive you restored to.


Sorry but I have no working knowledge of Final Cut so that other thread means nothing to me.


Yes I wonder why your backup only has 6GBs of FC files when on your internal disk there is 68GB of data. Seems odd to me but then I'm not a Time Machine expert either.

Jan 22, 2013 10:39 AM in response to somanna

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:

tmutil compare


Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).


Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:


☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)


☞ In the Finder, select Go Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.


☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.


Paste (command-V) into the Terminal window.

The command will take at least a few minutes to run. Eventually some lines of output will appear below what you entered.


Each line that begins with a plus sign (“+”) represents a file that has been added to the source volume since the last snapshot was taken. These files have not been backed up yet.


Each line that begins with an exclamation point (“!”) represents a file that has changed on the source volume. These files have been backed up, but not in their present state.


Each line that begins with a minus sign (“-“) represents a file that has been removed from the source volume.


Files that you’ve excluded from backup, or that are excluded automatically, are ignored.


At the end of the output, you’ll get some lines like the following:


-------------------------------------

Added:

Removed:

Changed:


These lines show the total amount of data added, removed, or changed on the source(s) since the last snapshot.

Jan 22, 2013 6:51 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks for this guidance. May I ask you what will happen after I do what you've advised? Would there be a cent percent backup of the drive I am seeking to backup?


I had called up the Apple technician yesterday and informed him of this indiscrepancy. He asked me to manually pull in the FC project folder into the Thunderbolt drive.


Guess I should do this before taking my Mac to the 'hospital' today...the Apple technician had requested me to bring his 'patient' to the service center.


I hope there is an accurate diagnosis made of his illness and the appropriate treatment given!

TM backup file sizes...are they smaller than the drives they are backing up to?

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