Hi
I tried to delete several Time Machine backups and was unable to.
These are over a year old and I have many, many more recent ones saved.
So two questions.
Should I be deleting these?
If so, how?
iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), iPhoto 9.5.1
You should not be. You have no reason to manually manage Time Machine backups, the system is perfectly capable of doing so on its own.
Marc is right. In addition, you will lose the ability to restore back to those points in time.
If the time machine is an externally connected drive, all you can do is erase the disk and start again, causing a full backup to occur and loss of any past backups. If it is a network drive, you can rename the sparse bundle, again causing a full backup as it creates a new sparse bundle. In this case you don't lose all prior backups, because, if you know what you're doing, you can configure time machine to use the old sparse bundle again. If you're not entirely comfortable with the info in this paragraph, take Marc's advice and leave it alone; it will delete any previous backups when appropriate.
See > How Time Machine Works its Magic
A Silverstone wrote:
I tried to delete several Time Machine backups and was unable to.
Should I be deleting these?
If so, how?
See Here > Should I delete old backups? If so, How?
From Here > http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
Thanks Ana, because of your post I just learned about "partial" deletions 🙂
Thanks. How can I move the backup folders back from trash? I get an error message that states backups cannot be modified, when I try to move the folders from trash and redeposit them into their original folder.
AS
Don't try to drag/drop or copy/move them, open trash and right-click the items and choose "Put Back". Does that work?
Hi
I can highlight the folders in Trash. I've tried control-click and double clicking the mouse, but I don't get the put back option.
I can't recall how to right click.
Thanks
Ok, instead select the folder and from the menu, choose "Edit". Does "Put Back" appear as a choice? If not, check the other menu choices like "File" etc. Also try holding down "option" key when investigating menus for hidden options.
Message was edited by: SilverSkyRat: extra info
Right click = control click
Thanks everone. The recommendations would all normally work, so I do not know why these folders wont go back home.
When I control click the folders in the trash, nothing happens.
When I check file under the finder, put back is greyed out. I tried doing the keyboard command for put back with the folders highlighted, but nothing happens.
I notice my permissions are only set to read, although I am the administrator.
Do I need to change them to read & write? If so, is there a way to change all folders at once? There are about 10 folders, so doing them individually is a bore.
Thanks
Andrew
Well, having looked at the pondini articles that AnaMusic kindly posted, I don't think I can add any more to what they say.
Hi
Digging through the articles provided by AnaMusic, I found mention of deleting while holding option.
That worked.
Thanks everyone.
Is it wise to delete Time Machine backups?
