How would TimeMachine work with DropBox?

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Level 1

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How would TimeMachine work with DropBox?

As a designer I have a lot of large files on my iMac, and have been backing up using a TimeMachine.

But I've recently began exploring the idea of saving everything wholesale on DropBox (without saving it on the iMac itself) so that I can access my files wherever, it will be backed up by DB, and I can free up space on my computer.

But I wonder how that would work with TimeMachine? Since I assume (and I may be wrong, please correct me if I am) TM makes a carbon copy of the iMac's HDD every hour, does that mean that if I don't physically store anything on my iMac but everything on DropBox, nothing will be backed up to the TimeMachine?

If yes, does that make my alternative only to save it all to Dropbox, then save it all to my external HDD (disabling it as a TimeMachine) manually and not using the TimeMachine function altogether?

Anyway it could work perfect with TM and DB without having to save anything on my iMac itself?

Thank you!

*Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just want to be sure and I genuinely am looking for a solution. Thank you!

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Sep 29, 2014 12:41 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,308 points

Sep 29, 2014 1:21 AM in response to bykaraanne

Interesting question.

You don't have everything on Dropbox. You have a dropbox folder on your Mac and that's synced to the Dropbox server. But if you remove things from the Dropbox folder it's removed from the Dropbox server.

Delete files as you normally would on computers, phones, and tablets, and they'll be deleted from the Dropbox website, too. You can also delete files from the Dropbox website, and they'll be removed from all the computers, phones, and tablets attached to your Dropbox account. Deleted files will not count against your account's overall storage quota

That's from

https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/40

Another thing to bear in mind is that not everything can go to Dropbox - iPhoto and Aperture Libraries for instance can be damaged by Dropbox.

But if these things are in your dropbox folder on your Mac then they can be backed up by Time Machine.

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Sep 29, 2014 10:33 AM in response to bykaraanne

does that mean that if I don't physically store anything on my iMac but everything on DropBox, nothing will be backed up to the TimeMachine?

Yes.

does that make my alternative only to save it all to Dropbox, then save it all to my external HDD (disabling it as a TimeMachine) manually and not using the TimeMachine function altogether?

Only if you trust Dropbox not to lose or corrupt your files (I sure wouldn't), and if you never delete or modify a file and then change your mind later.

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Answer 3

babowa

Level 9

78,103 points

Sep 29, 2014 10:54 AM in response to bykaraanne

And, just as an additional thought: online servers can be hacked into, or info can be lost due to a glitch - in other words, I would never trust my information to any online server - especially not as a one and only backup.

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Answer 4

bykaraanne Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 29, 2014 8:48 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks for your reply!

Actually, I was hoping to save it in 3 places: 1 on DropBox, 1 on TimeMachine and 1 on an external HDD/SSD. I want to automate as much as possible, so if TM could backup straight from DB that'd be awesome for me, hence my question.

But I get the risk of saving things on DropBox. It just seems like a new transition for me.

Thanks again!

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Answer 5

bykaraanne Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 29, 2014 8:50 PM in response to babowa

I understand that, and would never use it as my one and only backup! Especially not as a designer entrusted with client projects.

But sometimes I feel equally scared of my TM breaking down or dropping my external HDD accidentally, so thought that to have a 3rd backup on DropBox would be great for retrieval since they have a year's archival services...

But thanks for your input!

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