TimeMachine or Time Capsule Issues

Question

TimeMachine or Time Capsule Issues

Something with Time Machine is either not working right or I am just to stupid to set it up right.

I inherited a Time Capsule and thought maybe all this commotion about Time Machine has something to it.

Working with Apple computers since 1983 I know, if I throw something into the Trash and then empty it, it is gone forever (basically, but I was also able to retrieve some data after emptying the Trash). Nevertheless, I feel Time Machine is not an ideal BACKUP option rather just a memory of past files or documents.

Since Time Machine does not have a Bootable option, I hold it even for Backup as a waste of time and resources. Using since years Carbon Copy Cloner and backup every day automatically in the morning after the Computer started up, I am sure (and I never had any problem with it) that I could restart my Computer within two minutes (literally) when needed and would be back in business if my internal Hard Drive would fail. I make also a weekly CCC Backup, but that is not relevant to this issue.

Now after using Time Machine for almost one Month the following issues come up:

Why are some Backups “purple” and some “white” in the Time Line display at the right, when Time Machine is open?
Why are there several Backups (sometimes up to three) with the same Time Stamp?
Why is the Time Machine Disk from the Time Capsule only mounting occasional?
Why is Time Machine not saving a just created document, even if it is not saved yet?
Why is Time Machine keep crashing, or do not makes a Backup every hour as it supposed to be?

Final question: Has Time Machine truly any value if it does not perform properly as described? Even a restore from Time Machine will take hours, if not even days if needed, whereas CCC or Super Duper can restart within minutes. What is the real value of Time Machine? If it would be bootable it would be worth its money in gold, but without?

Also on the Apple Website seems to be some problem, if you search for some info, how to back up with Time Machine, the comments are either so of target or they are outdated, talking about MobileMe and not iCloud for wireless Backups but at the other hand they are pushing even the latest Time Capsule for $400+. That all seems to be not only confusing but also is packed with irrelevant information. I guess Steve Jobs's so hated management style is missing because then there where results and quality and that seems to vanish.

I am not criticising rather would like to get some reasonable answers on above questions.

MacBook Pro (15-inch 2.4/2.2 GHz), Mac OS X (10.7.4), MBP mid 2010

Posted on Oct 5, 2013 10:59 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

LaPastenague

Level 9

67,208 points

Oct 5, 2013 1:13 PM in response to Joerg Von Veltar

Much of your comment is valid.

The idea of the TM is set and forget.. for the non-fluent computer user.

It is easy and fast to setup and using a very complicated method stores each variation of a file so you can recover..

Read some Pondini.. or TM guru master.

Particularly how TM actually works.

http://pondini.org/TM/Works.html

And a whole bunch of stuff about the method of backup and restore.

http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

Issues.. always issues.

http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

Now I think TM was more stable in the past.. I still run Snow Leopard.. my entry point to Mac and it is very very solid.. but since Lion and worse on Mountain Lion the networking has gone to pot, and this has introduced a whole series of issues.

TM works differently to network drives than to local external drives.. and that difference is crucial.. I think it is far better using an external disk.

It offers some things that CCC cannot offer.. migrate for example.. where you can move files and applications to a new OS.. but you are correct that CCC is much faster to recover a computer.. especially the way you are using it.. to a local drive.. it would take a lot longer if it was to a network drive so the comparison is a bit unfair.

Specifics.

Why are some Backups “purple” and some “white” in the Time Line display at the right, when Time Machine is open?

Because that is how Apple made it.

See http://pondini.org/TM/15A.html

Why is the Time Machine Disk from the Time Capsule only mounting occasional?

The sparsebundle is mounted each time Time Machine runs.. it has to be dismounted when it is finished.. it is most important that it is not interfered with.. if you manually mount or dismount it things will go bad. It is due to network drive limitations and the need to create a virtual disk.

Why is Time Machine not saving a just created document, even if it is not saved yet?

TM does not save temporary files.. you need to save the work and then TM will back it up at the next pass.

See http://pondini.org/TM/2.html Q10 and Q11 are also relevant.

There is a bug causing issues for a few people on ML.

See http://pondini.org/TM/D10.html

Why is Time Machine keep crashing, or do not makes a Backup every hour as it supposed to be?

This is the hardest of all.. because for some people it is not stable.. Mountain Lion in particular seems to have issues with TC.. they sort of hate each other.. every day or so the TC needs to be restarted to remind ML where it is. There are some steps to try and overcome it.. but for some people it works fine.. and for others is a pain.

Apple recommends the TC is used as main router.. this is simply not always possible. Of late they recommend using double NAT rather than bridge so something is going on.

Joerg Von Veltar wrote:

Final question: Has Time Machine truly any value if it does not perform properly as described? Even a restore from Time Machine will take hours, if not even days if needed, whereas CCC or Super Duper can restart within minutes. What is the real value of Time Machine? If it would be bootable it would be worth its money in gold, but without?

Also on the Apple Website seems to be some problem, if you search for some info, how to back up with Time Machine, the comments are either so of target or they are outdated, talking about MobileMe and not iCloud for wireless Backups but at the other hand they are pushing even the latest Time Capsule for $400+. That all seems to be not only confusing but also is packed with irrelevant information. I guess Steve Jobs's so hated management style is missing because then there where results and quality and that seems to vanish.

I am not criticising rather would like to get some reasonable answers on above questions.

The value is to people who do not know enough to setup what you have.. backup by TM is still miles ahead of what is built into windows.. and the idea is excellent even if the implimentation has some holes.

The documentation is really lagging.. I think apple now give most attention to the most profitable areas.. in other words iphones.. and less profitable areas get much less attention judging by long waits for urgently needed firmware updates.

Apple do not directly answer questions here so if you want to make a comment you will need to put it to the Apple support.

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Answer 2

Oct 15, 2013 9:13 AM in response to LaPastenague

Dear LaPastenague,

Thank you for your answer. It was very helpful and informative.

What baffles me is that you from around the world answer me very concise but none of my fellow Americans coud find an answer suitable or even half as intelligent and usable as yours.

Says something dosn't it...

Thank you again, you did very great.

JBV

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Answer 3

Oct 15, 2013 1:30 PM in response to Joerg Von Veltar

Many of your compatriots would do as well or better, and indeed I have learned heaps from these forums and some of the true eggs spurts here.

Aussies are kinda blunt sort of people.. You asked bluntly.. I like that.

I am getting old and grumpy .. so I fit the bill.

Have a great day.

The StingRay

LaPastenague

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